Introduction

Water is the invisible thread that runs through every dimension of sustainable development from food security and energy provision to public health, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience. Yet, despite its centrality, water continues to be governed and managed through fragmented, sector-specific frameworks rather than the integrating force it truly is. This structural disconnect has severely undermined global progress on SDG 6.

The evidence is unambiguous and alarming. As of 2025, 2.2 billion people still lacked safely managed drinking water.1 At the current pace, the world will not achieve sustainable water management until at least 2049 nearly two decades beyond the SDG deadline3. The financing dimension is particularly stark. Achieving universal access to safely managed water by 2030 requires approximately USD 114 billion per year in new capital investment yet ODA to the sector hovers around USD 13 billion annually, representing less than 12% of the need. WaterAid estimates an annual financing gap of USD 140 billion2, while broader assessments, including by OECD, place total water security investment requirements at up to USD 500 billion per year. Bridging this gap demands not incremental adjustments, but a fundamental transformation in how water is governed, financed, and integrated across sectors.

This transformation is anchored in the concept of Water Transversality an integrated, cross-sectoral approach that positions water as the central connecting thread across development systems, explicitly linking it with energy, food, health, environment, climate, economy, governance, and social equity. When applied at the scale of multi-stakeholder partnerships, this approach becomes a powerful lever for accelerating SDG 6 implementation.

The scientific and policy case for this approach is well established. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) stresses ecosystem-based adaptation and mitigation as vital for tackling climate risks, including biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation4. The IPBES Nexus Assessment warns that disconnected governance accelerates biodiversity decline across climate, food, water, and health systems, urgently calling for coordinated action5. The UN Environment Programme promotes nature-based solutions (NbS) to concurrently address climate change, ecological degradation, and societal needs such as water security6. The 2026 UN Water Conference, has itself placed “Accelerating SDG 6 through Collective Action and Multi-stakeholder Partnerships” at the heart of its preparatory processes, reflecting a global consensus that no single sector or government can achieve SDG 6 alone7. Therefore, transversality-based, water-centred solutions offer the most robust pathway to transformative and sustainable outcomes. Multi-stakeholder partnerships are the institutional vehicle through which such solutions can be designed, financed, implemented, and scaled.

Objective

The proposed high-level policy dialogue will bring together representatives from governments, intergovernmental organisations, civil society, the private sector, academia, and community-based organisations to advance a multi-stakeholder partnership agenda for accelerating SDG 6 through the Water Transversality framework. The dialogue will explore how water can be positioned as a unifying element across sectors such as environment, agriculture, energy, health, urban development, and climate action; identify innovative governance models, financing mechanisms, and community-led solutions that bridge global commitments with local implementation; and generate actionable recommendations for strengthening cross-sectoral policy coherence, partnership architectures, and blended finance approaches. It will also contribute evidence-based inputs to the preparatory process for the 2026 UN Water Conference, and COP 31 while promoting inclusive water governance through the meaningful participation of women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities. Ultimately, the dialogue seeks to advance integrated, climate-resilient, nature-positive, and biodiversity-supportive water management pathways aligned with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

 

For more details please contact-

Ms. Shweta Tyagi

Chief Functionary

India Water Foundation

Email: shweta.tyagi@indiawaterfoundation.org

Mobile: +91 9899819074