The United Nations 2018 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (2018 HLPF) is taking place in New York on July 9-18. IWMI was invited to be part of the panel at the 2018 HLPF: Official Review of Progress on SDG 6, held on July 9. This meeting reinforced the view, backed by detailed evidence, that efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 – i.e., “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” – are decidedly not on track.
IWMI director general Claudia Sadoff figured as a panelist, addressing the particularly complex targets concerning water scarcity as well as sustainable and equitable water management. She called for ambitious new efforts to confront today’s reality of water scarcity and pollution.
Organized around the theme “transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies,” the Forum will conclude with a 3-day ministerial meeting on July 16-18, giving rise to a declaration. The HLPF’s purpose is to review successes, challenges and lessons learned on achieving the SDGs. In addition to Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) presented by 47 countries, the forum is reviewing a specific set of goals this year, including SDG 6. The July 9 meeting was the only “official” one held to review progress on SDG 6 – perhaps one of only two or three taking place before 2030.
See the webcast on the UN WebTV website (starts at 0:50:58)
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the