UN Food and Agriculture Organization chief Qu Dongyu has welcomed the decision to award the King Hassan II of Morocco Great World Water Prize to the organization at the 10th World Water Forum, held in Bali.
Based on the theme 'Securing water resources for food sovereignty and shared prosperity', the award recognises outstanding efforts in the protection, preservation, and sustainable management of water resources, according to a statement from Rome-based FAO.
“On behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), I am delighted to accept the prestigious King Hassan II of Morocco Great World Water Prize. I thank the Jury Committee of this Prize for your recognition of FAO’s contributions to the global efforts towards water security," Qu said in the statement.
"It is indeed an honour to be awarded this prestigious Prize which recognizes and rewards actions that promote the protection and preservation of water resources, improvement in their management, and reuse of wastewater, as well as raising awareness among the population about water issues," Qu continued.
The prize is awarded every three years during a special ceremony held during the World Water Forum, Qu noted.
"Water is now fully integrated into the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31, is at the core of the FAO thematic strategies on climate change, and on science and innovation, and their related action plans, and is well mainstreamed across all of FAO's work," Qu said.
Last year, for the first time in the Organization's history, water was the theme of the 43rd Session of the FAO Ministerial Conference - the highest governing body of the Organization - he pointed out.
"The very same Conference endorsed the theme of water resources management for the 2024-25 biennium, consequently water has been on the agenda of all the FAO Governing Bodies and technical committees over the following two years, to focus discussions on mobilizing the needed knowledge and resources to advance FAO's work on water," Qu added.
Water was also the theme for World Food Day 2023, which marks the establishment of FAO on 16 April 1945, and was celebrated during the World Food Forum: Water is Life, Water is Food. Leaving no one behind', Qu recalled.
In December 2023, the FAO Council endorsed the Conceptual Framework for Integrated Land and Water Resources Management, which serves as a strategy to guide FAO's work on land, soil and water, Qu said.
Through the annual Rome Water Dialogue and the High-Level Dialogue on the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture, FAO helps share knowledge on water, galvanize leadership, mobilize resources and foster sustainable solutions for water and food security, Qu explained.
"These are just a few examples and milestones along FAO's new Water Journey that I launched at the very first Rome Water Dialogue in 2022," said Qu.
FAO is supporting countries in sustainable agriculture development and water management, including helping them develop their national water roadmaps to achieve the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and their irrigation, potential mapping, flood impact assessment and risk management, among other needs, he said.
"FAO Water Productivity Open-access portal technology assists members in areas such as enriching water data and information, water tenure dialogues, water scarcity initiatives, and drought management plans."
FAO has made significant progress in eight commitments it made on global water action at the UN 2023 Water Conference, in which the UN agency played an active role, Qu noted, stating he was "proud" of these achievements.
"FAO is promoting and implementing integrated water-food solutions to address the global challenges of food insecurity, water crisis and climate change through our field work, policy guidance and engagement through the dedicated COPs (conference of the parties)," Qu underlined.
Qu paid special tribute to FAO's Land and Water Division, and other technical divisions responsible for forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, climate and biodiversity, as well as those handling communication and governance, among others "who have supported me in implementing my vision and strategies through their specialized expertise, knowledge and capacities."
The FAO director-general appealed to worldwide partners to work together on water management and the transformation of agrifood systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.
Qu urged "better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind".
"Thank you once again to the Kingdom of Morocco for this prestigious honour and recognition," Qu concluded.
