2023 promises to be an essential year in building the political will and advancing actions to address global water challenges. Much of the agenda will focus on the UN Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, on March 22-24, 2023. The Conference is a significant opportunity to reframe the discussions and re-energize the global community around the water and sanitation-related Sustainable Development Goals.

This World Water Week 2022 session will review policy-relevant scientific findings from the water and sanitation sector over the past year to inform future policy directions. What have we learned, and what is on the horizon that should shape how governments approach water challenges? How do we move from data to knowledge that can inform decision-making? The goal is to ensure that we each understand the state of the evidence and are best prepared to develop and advance policy reforms that will meaningfully address the most significant water and sanitation challenges.

SEI researcher Cristo Perez will present the case of the city Villa Imperial of Potosí in Bolivia, which currently struggles to ensure water security and as a result of it is lagging behind the achievement of SDG6 on water and sanitation. The current situation is likely to worsen in the future given population growth and the water supply systems’ vulnerability to climate change. In this work, SEI team explored the supply, demand, and source-water preservation alternatives for the urban water system of Potosi projected to 2044-2045 to evaluate their impacts both at the local and the basin levels. This framework, provides stakeholders and policymakers with science-based tools to make informed decisions to secure current and future water security alternatives for all.