KEI Participated in the UN 2023 Water Conference

The Korea Environment Institute (KEI) participated in the United Nations 2023 Water Conference as the government delegation, which took place at the UN Headquarters in New York from March 22-24.

It was the first United Nations-wide conference on water in 46 years, and over 10,000 participants, including various water research institutes, non-profit organizations, and private entities from different parts of the world, gathered at the event. The topics of discussion primarily focused on how to accelerate the achievement of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and facilitate innovation in water action.

Dr. Ikjae Kim and Dr. Eulsaeng Cho, Chief Research Fellows from the Water and Land Research Group at KEI, participated in a side event titled “Science-based Global Water Assessment (SGWA).” The event took place at ECOSOC, UN Headquarters on March 24th and was co-hosted by the Ministry of Environment of South Korea and UNESCO. International organizations, including the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UN Development Programme (UNDP), and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), participated in the meeting.

During the meeting, South Korea’s Environment Minister Wha-jin Han delivered a keynote speech. The Minister emphasized the importance of reliable assessment and prediction based on scientific data and accurate information. The Minister also introduced South Korea’s science-based water management policies and called for global cooperation for SGWA.

Fourth person from the left: South Korea's Environment Minister Wha-jin Han

Dr. Ikjae Kim introduced KEI as a “broker” that mediates “science” and “policy” in the water sector. Dr. Kim emphasized the importance of data-sharing and IT capacity, introducing South Korea’s monitoring networks for water quality and biota, totaling over 6,000. Dr. Kim also pointed out the need to conduct case studies at the regional or national level for the successful implementation of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Water Sustainability (ISPWAS).

Person at the center: Dr. Ikjae Kim

Another side event titled “Groundwater: an Invisible Cross-Sectoral Fundament for Implementation of the Water Action Agenda,” took place in the Trusteeship Room at UN Headquarters on March 24th. This event was a follow-up to the UN-Water Groundwater Summit on Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible, organized by UNESCO in 2022. UNESCO, UN-Water, World Bank, and more participated in the meeting. Dr. Yunjung Hyun, Chief Research Fellow from the Division for Integrated Water Management at KEI, was also present.

Inside the event venue 

During the meeting, Dr. Hyun introduced South Korea’s groundwater data and the status of digitalization. Dr. Hyun also emphasized the need for groundwater assessment indicators at the national or global level.

The participating countries and organizations all expressed their willingness to support data sharing and cooperation for the implementation of the Water Action Agenda, and the achievement of SDGs.

Left to right: Dr. Hyun, Dr. Kim, and Dr. Cho