People interested in sustainable wastewater management, with focus on wastewater infrastructure and related aspects of financing.
Over the last decades, wastewater infrastructures have been under constant, increasing pressure. The growing demand for water coupled with the augmented number of anthropogenic activities has increased the global production of wastewater, resulting in the need for building new and upgrading the existing infrastructures, especially in developing countries. However, the limited availability of financial resources undermines this process, with huge amounts of wastewater, on average 80% worldwide, being released in the environment without adequate treatment, or in many cases, without treatment at all. This trend negatively impacts the environment, with enormous quantities of dangerous pollutants entering our rivers, lakes, and oceans, and heavy repercussions on human health too, especially for poor communities. The development and upgrading of wastewater infrastructures are also key to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 6.3, which targets to halve the proportion of untreated wastewater released in the environment by 2030.
Investing in sustainable wastewater infrastructures is not only ecologically, but also economically necessary: the cost of not investing and the impact this might have on job creation, gender equality, and health is far higher than the investments’ costs. When appropriately managed, wastewater can, in fact create green job opportunities, improve food security, provide energy and alleviate the existing pressure on water resources.
This webinar will discuss tools, mechanisms and best practices related to sustainable wastewater management, particularly focusing on wastewater infrastructures and the related aspect of financing. The speakers will elaborate on the challenges and opportunities of developing and upgrading wastewater infrastructures and will provide their expertise and examples on this topic.
Birguy Lamizana, Programme Management Officer, UN Environment and Riccardo Zennaro, Associate Programme Officer UN Environment.