The IAEA invites UN 2023 Water Conference delegates to attend the launch of a new network to empower Member States to generate their own chemical, biological and isotopic water data.
Data and analysis have consistently been identified as key concerns of Member States in their ability to meet the goals of SDG6 and the Water Action Decade. The availability of laboratory services capable of generating reliable data in a timely manner is the cornerstone of any country's capacity to better understand and manage their water resources and to plan, implement and interrogate actions that support national water governance and resilience of supply.
Laboratory priorities in the water sector should be established jointly with other national priorities, particularly food and agriculture, human health and minerals and energy sectors, that also depend on functioning national laboratories.
The Global Water Analysis Laboratory (GloWAL) Network is aimed at
- making developing countries more independent in national data generation,
- making countries’ water resource management more sustainable and consequential, and
- reducing technical gaps between developed and developing countries.
Moderator: Ms Najat Mokhtar, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications
Opening Statement & Network Launch
- Mr Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA Director General
GloWAL Network presentation
- Ms Jodie Miller, Head of the Isotope Hydrology Section, IAEA
Statement of Support
- HE Ms Geraldine Richmond, Under Secretary for Science and Innovation, Department of Energy, USA
Country Perspectives
- HE Mr Fernando Andrés López Larreynaga, Minister of Environment, El Salvador
- HE Ms Iordanca-Rodica Iordanov, Minister of Environment, Moldova
- HE Mr Calle Schlettwein, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, Namibia
- HE Mr Konris Maynard, Minister of Public Infrastructure and Utilities, Transport, Information, Communication and Technology and Post, Saint Kitts and Nevis
- HE Mr Hasan Nasir Jamy, Federal Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Pakistan
- HE Mr Juan Francisco Facetti, Resident Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Paraguay to the IAEA
- HE Mr Bahodur Sheralizoda, Chairman, Committee of Environmental Protection, Tajikistan
Remarks by Partner Organisation
- Mr Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization
GloWAL Network engagement
Laboratory Support
- Prof Thomas Himmelsbach, Head of Department, Groundwater Resources and Soil Science, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Germany
Capacity Development
- Prof Eddy Moors, Rector, IHE Delft
Project Implementation
- Ms Sarantuyaa Zandaryaa, Programme Specialist, Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme, UNESCO
Transformative Data Products
- Ms Elisabeth Lictevout, Director, IGRAC
- Dr Joel Podgorski, Senior Scientist, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Switzerland
Water Quality
- Ms Nina Raasakka, Coordinator, World Water Quality Alliance, UNEP
Groundwater Monitoring
- Mr Fran?ois Bertone, Senior Groundwater Specialist, World Bank Group
Announcement of the first GloWAL Node
- HE Mr Mahaman Adamou, Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Niger
- Ms Yogita Mumssen, Global Water Practice Manager, World Bank Group
Concluding Remarks
- Mr Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA Director General