The Global Wetland Watch (GWW) has partnered with selected pilot countries to ensure GWW outcomes are designed to serve national needs. South Africa is one of these pilot countries that has joined the discussion and co-development with the GWW team. As part of this in-country engagement, the GWW team has just returned from a 10-day mission to South Africa to conduct workshops and field trips to understand national wetland challenges and come up with new solutions to manage and restore wetlands globally.

The world has mismanaged its freshwater reserves for decades, hampering progress towards the SDGs. Some 50 per cent of countries globally have one or more types of freshwater-related ecosystems – rivers, lakes, wetlands or aquifers – in a state of degradation, finds a recent report from UNEP.

UNEP-DHI is co-hosting a side event during the Tenth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention (MOP 10) in, Slovenia on SDG 6.5 reporting.