The UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) was established in 2000 in response to a call from the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) to produce a UN system-wide periodic global overview of the status in terms of quantity and quality, use and management of freshwater resources. WWAP actively coordinates the sustained efforts of a broad coalition of UN-Water members and various international partners. This collaboration is central to producing the World Water Development Report (WWDR), the UN-Water's flagship report on water and sanitation issues. Released annually, the WWDR focuses on different strategic water issues each year, providing a comprehensive review of the global state of freshwater resources. WWAP also developed a comprehensive gender component with concrete achievements, namely, the development of Toolkit on Sex-disaggregated Water Data and the Call for Action Initiative supported by a Multi-Stakeholder Coalition composed of Member State institutions, UN agencies, international and regional organizations, Official Development Assistance (ODA) agencies, and civil society.
Background In 1998, during the Sixth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), the need for regular, global assessments of freshwater resources was highlighted. In response to this call, what is now known as UN-Water (then the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources) took the decision to produce a UN system-wide periodic global overview of the status, use and management of freshwater resources. Recognizing the importance for the report to have a multi-stakeholder dimension, it was decided that it would be a United Nations report in cooperation with other stakeholders. The World Water Assessment Programme was established in 2000 to coordinate the production of the Report. The first WWDR was launched on 22 March 2003. Until 2012, the WWDR was produced and released every three years. In 2012, as a result of a Global Stakeholder Survey in which stakeholders called for change in terms of focus and periodicity, UN-Water Members decided to change the WWDR into an annual production with a thematic focus on specific strategic water issues. The World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) is an extra-budgetary programme supported by the Italian government, and hosted by the Umbria region in Perugia, Italy, since 2007. Between 2000 and 2006, WWAP was funded by the Japanese government and was based at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. WWAP, initially through the WWDR series, underlined the importance of gender equality in water domain for Sustainable Development. To add more substance and depth to the gender related discussion, UNESCO WWAP led a special working group that highlighted the substantial and persistent gender inequalities in water access, management, and governance. These inequalities are significant barriers to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In line with the alarming findings of this working group and aligned with UNESCO's Gender Equality Priority, WWAP developed its full-fledged programme on gender.
Mission and Objectives UNESCO WWAP provides knowledge, technical support and publications related to global water governance to help formulate and implement sustainable water policies.
Activities
United Nations World Water Development Report (UN WWDR) The WWDR is an annual thematic report that assesses global freshwater resources and water management challenges. It is launched each year the 22 March on the UN World Water Day. Since 2014, the World Water Development Report (WWDR) has been an annual, thematic publication, focusing each year on a different strategic issue, such as groundwater, climate change, or water governance. Prior to 2014, the reports were produced every three years and took a comprehensive approach. WWAP coordinates with all UN agencies and international academic institutions to prepare the report, which each year focuses on a different aspect of water resources. The report provides policy recommendations to decision-makers by offering the most updated knowledge available, in-depth analyses, and best practices. The report is widely used as a reference in global water policy research and SDG 6 monitoring frameworks. Independent evaluations highlight that the WWDR contributes to data harmonization in global water governance, although it is often complemented by World Bank and OECD datasets.
2026: Water for All People: Equal Rights and Opportunities 2025: Mountains and glaciers: water towers 2024: Water for Prosperity and Peace 2023: Partnerships and Cooperation for Water 2022: Groundwater: Making the invisible visible 2021: Valuing Water 2020: Water and Climate Change 2019: Leaving No One Behind 2018: Nature-Based Solutions for Water 2017: Wastewater: The Untapped Resource 2016: Water and Jobs 2015: Water for a Sustainable World 2014: Water and Energy 2012: Managing Water under Uncertainty and Risk 2009: Water in a Changing World 2006: Water: A Shared Responsibility 2003: Water for People, Water for Life The role of WWAP and WWDR has been analyzed in academic literature as part of broader global environmental governance systems. Studies emphasize its function in aggregating fragmented water data across countries and institutions. Research from water policy institutions such as the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) notes that global water reports like the WWDR help shape international discourse on water security and sustainability.
Water and Climate Change training program WWAP in collaboration with UNESCO Cairo Office conducted regional training on ‘Water and Climate Change'. The online training that took place in March 2021 was attended by the participants from 17 States from the Arab Region (Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait, Oman, UAE Yemen, Qatar, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Iraq, and Syria).
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