Source-to-sea is a highly promising holistic management approach because it highlights the upstream and downstream linkages between actions on land (e.g., urban development, agriculture and forestry), freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems. Additionally, it fosters participation and collaboration between stakeholders to prioritize actions that hold the greatest potential for positive impacts in the whole system.

These characteristics make the approach especially valuable in addressing the accelerating climate and biodiversity crises. These major challenges are impacting the support systems of communities all around the world. However, there is a growing recognition that to address them, a holistic, cross-sectoral management approach such as ‘source-to-sea management’ is key as it fosters the development of initiatives that address one or more targets of the Sustainable Development Goals; especially those centered on water, the ocean, climate change and biodiversity.

In this session, experts will exchange ideas about how source-to-sea management fosters actions to achieve the Agenda 2030. The discussion will contribute to global processes in the lead up to the 2023 UN Water Conference.