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We are proud to share that Prof. Kaveh Madani, Director of UNU-INWEH, has been named the 2026 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate.

Honoured for advancing water science, policy, diplomacy & public engagement.

#WorldWaterDay

“Water bankruptcy is a better term to tell us what's happening in the world right now — water crisis is a little vague.”

Listen to Prof. Kaveh Madani explain the true state of global water in this interview.

#WaterBankruptcy #KavehMadani #UNUINWEH

City of Richmond Hill Named the New Host of the United Nations University in Canada

Earlier today, Canada’s International Development Minister @ahmeddhussen and other high-level officials joined the Mayor of the City of Richmond Hill @davidwestrh to officially welcome the United Nations University (UNU) to its new home in Canada. The UN flag was raised outside the City Hall to celebrate the inauguration of the new headquarters of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) in Richmond Hill.

Founded through an agreement between Canada and the United Nations, the institute has been working for nearly three decades on the most pressing water, environmental, and health problems around the world with particular attention to the countries in the Global South. It is one of the 13 UNU institutes located in 12 countries around the world that collaborate with the UN member states on research, education, and policy outreach activities that can improve human well-being and the environment. The institute is currently led by Professor Kaveh Madani @kmadanil, a world-renowned environmental scientist and leader who previously served as the Vice President of the United Nations Environment Assembly Bureau, overseeing the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment, with a universal membership of all 193 UN Member States.

@unuinweh INWEH is globally known as the UN Think Tank on Water for the major leadership role it has played in addressing global water security challenges.

@majidjowhari @leah_taylor_roy
@tonyvanbynen @paulchiangmu

#unu #unuinweh

”Drivers of water insecurity are embedded in governance, investment, and social equity systems – holistic approaches are essential.”

Couldn’t join us live for this week’s UNU-INWEH Science Talk?
The recording is now available on our YouTube channel.

In this session, Prof. Grace Oluwasanya introduces the Water Quality Vulnerability Index, a new approach to understanding water quality through an equity and justice lens. Drawing on data from 138 countries across the Global South, she highlights how structural inequalities linked to wealth, gender, governance, and historical context shape access to safe drinking water – and why similar income levels can conceal stark disparities.

🎥 Watch the full talk: https://go.unu.edu/OI3Mt

#ScienceTalk #UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30 #WaterQuality #WaterEquity

An interesting conversation on managing water resources in a rapidly changing world. 💧

The UNU Hub on Water in a Changing Environment at Lund University in collaboration with LTH Water, was pleased to co-host Jakob Granit, former Director General of SIDA and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management. This presentation explored Swedish and international experiences in water resources management, governance, and sustainability, followed by a panel discussion on “Water Resources Management under Transformation.”

📍 Location: LUX Building, Room B152, Lund, Sweden
📅 Date: 20 May 2026

#Water #Sustainability #ClimateAction #WaterGovernance #UNUINWEH

United Nations University Rector, Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, and UNU-INWEH Director, Prof. Kaveh Madani, joined MP Yoko Kamikawa – Co-Chair of the Interactive Dialogue C “Water for Planet” of the 2026 UN Water Conference, Member of the House of Representatives, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan – for a discussion on the upcoming UN Water Conference.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to present the Global Water Bankruptcy report and exchange views on strengthening international cooperation and advancing action on global water challenges.

#WaterSecurity #UNWaterConference #WaterBankruptcy #UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30

United Nations University Rector, Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, and UNU-INWEH Director, Prof. Kaveh Madani, joined MP Yoko Kamikawa – Co-Chair of the Interactive Dialogue C “Water for Planet” of the 2026 UN Water Conference, Member of the House of Representatives, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan – for a discussion on the upcoming UN Water Conference.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to present the Global Water Bankruptcy report and exchange views on strengthening international cooperation and advancing action on global water challenges.

#WaterSecurity #UNWaterConference #WaterBankruptcy #UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30

United Nations University Rector, Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, and UNU-INWEH Director, Prof. Kaveh Madani, joined MP Yoko Kamikawa – Co-Chair of the Interactive Dialogue C “Water for Planet” of the 2026 UN Water Conference, Member of the House of Representatives, and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan – for a discussion on the upcoming UN Water Conference.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to present the Global Water Bankruptcy report and exchange views on strengthening international cooperation and advancing action on global water challenges.

#WaterSecurity #UNWaterConference #WaterBankruptcy #UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30

For decades, Gulf states have built their water security strategy around the threat of drought. Military attacks on water infrastructure were never part of the equation.

Mohammed Mahmoud, Middle East Climate and Water Policy Lead at @unuinweh, and CEO of the Climate and Water Initiative explains how military strikes have opened a completely new frontier in water security planning, and why they now sit alongside extreme weather as a structural risk for the region.

Watch via link in the story!

@orf_middleeast, in collaboration with @unuinweh, co-hosted an online panel discussion on “Reverberating Effects for Fertilizer, Food, and Water Security in Times of Conflict”. The conversation is a part of the contribution to the UN Water Conference Academic Hub.

Watch the full video and read key takeaways via link in the story!

🎙️ Join us for the upcoming UNU-INWEH Science Talk with Professor Grace Oluwasanya, lead author of our latest report "Water Quality: A Mirror and Magnifier of Structural Inequalities and Social Injustice."

This session introduces the Water Quality Vulnerability Index, offering a new way to understand water quality through an equity and justice lens. Drawing on evidence from 138 countries across the Global South, the talk explores how structural inequality – linked to wealth, gender, governance, and historical context – shape access to safe drinking water, often in ways that income levels alone cannot explain.

🗓 20 May 2026 | 10:00–11:00 (EST)
✍️ Register for free: https://go.unu.edu/O3qHw

#ScienceTalk #UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30 #WaterQuality #WaterEquity

🎙️ Science Talk | 20 May 2026, 10:00–11:00 (EST)

Join us for the upcoming UNU-INWEH Science Talk with Professor Grace Oluwasanya, lead author of our latest report "Water Quality: A Mirror and Magnifier of Structural Inequalities and Social Injustice," who will present a new approach to understanding water quality through an equity and justice lens.

Introducing the Water Quality Vulnerability Index, the talk explores how access to safe drinking water reflects and reinforces structural inequalities linked to wealth, gender, governance, and historical context. Drawing on evidence from 138 countries across the Global South, it highlights how similar income levels can mask significant disparities in water quality outcomes.

The session will also identify global vulnerability hotspots and examine how integrated, justice-oriented water governance can support more inclusive and resilient development pathways.

✍️ We invite you to register for free: https://go.unu.edu/O3qHw

📖 Read the full report: https://go.unu.edu/Nfw1f

#ScienceTalk #UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30 #WaterQuality #WaterEquity

A recent NHK WORLD-JAPAN news report featuring 2026 Stockholm Water Prize laureate, Prof. Kaveh Madani, highlights the concept of Water Bankruptcy – a post-crisis reality in which water-related natural capital – such as aquifers, wetlands, biodiversity, glaciers, rivers, and soils – are already living beyond their hydrological means.

On its 30th anniversary, UNU-INWEH’s Global Water Bankruptcy report calls for a shift away from simply reacting to water crises and toward managing them through transparent water accounting, enforceable limits, and equity-centered decision-making.

The report makes clear that water is not only a growing risk, but a strategic opportunity to advance climate, biodiversity, land, food, and health goals. That is why stronger governance, better data, and protection of natural water systems matter now more than ever.

📖 Read the full report: https://go.unu.edu/mBbUS

🎥 Watch the full video: https://go.unu.edu/guWqb

#WaterSecurity #WaterBankruptcy #UNUINWEH #ClimateChange #UNUINWEH30

In celebration of our 30th anniversary, you are cordially invited to the official inauguration of “The Grace of a Knight,” a UNU-INWEH art exhibition on women, water, and health, featuring speeches from many distinguished guests.

The free public art exhibition features the works of artist Babak Yaghooti, transforming the unseen reality of women and girls who bear the greatest burden of water insecurity into human-centred stories.
 
🗓️ Inauguration time: Friday, 15 May, 7:00 PM
📍Location: Arta Gallery, 14 Distillery Lane, Toronto (Distillery District)
 
#UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30 #Art #WASH #Women

🌍 Inclusive leadership matters

As a speaker at the Northwestern University’s 10th Annual Transboundary Water Symposium, Prof. Grace Oluwasanya, Senior Researcher: Water, Climate and Gender at UNU-INWEH, delivered a presentation addressing one of the continent’s most urgent challenges: how to turn shared water systems from sources of vulnerability into platforms for cooperation, resilience, and sustainable development.

Drawing on examples from the Nile Basin, Lake Chad, and the Congo River Basin, she highlighted how water insecurity in Africa is driven not only by climate pressures, but also by fragmented governance, weak institutions, financing gaps, and unequal representation in decision-making spaces.

The symposium brought together policymakers, academics, and practitioners to explore collaborative approaches to water security across regions increasingly impacted by climate change.

#UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30 #WaterSecurity #Women #Illinois

🌍 Inclusive leadership matters

As a speaker at the Northwestern University’s 10th Annual Transboundary Water Symposium, Prof. Grace Oluwasanya, Senior Researcher: Water, Climate and Gender at UNU-INWEH, delivered a presentation addressing one of the continent’s most urgent challenges: how to turn shared water systems from sources of vulnerability into platforms for cooperation, resilience, and sustainable development.

Drawing on examples from the Nile Basin, Lake Chad, and the Congo River Basin, she highlighted how water insecurity in Africa is driven not only by climate pressures, but also by fragmented governance, weak institutions, financing gaps, and unequal representation in decision-making spaces.

The symposium brought together policymakers, academics, and practitioners to explore collaborative approaches to water security across regions increasingly impacted by climate change.

#UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30 #WaterSecurity #Women #Illinois

🌍 Inclusive leadership matters

As a speaker at the Northwestern University’s 10th Annual Transboundary Water Symposium, Prof. Grace Oluwasanya, Senior Researcher: Water, Climate and Gender at UNU-INWEH, delivered a presentation addressing one of the continent’s most urgent challenges: how to turn shared water systems from sources of vulnerability into platforms for cooperation, resilience, and sustainable development.

Drawing on examples from the Nile Basin, Lake Chad, and the Congo River Basin, she highlighted how water insecurity in Africa is driven not only by climate pressures, but also by fragmented governance, weak institutions, financing gaps, and unequal representation in decision-making spaces.

The symposium brought together policymakers, academics, and practitioners to explore collaborative approaches to water security across regions increasingly impacted by climate change.

#UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30 #WaterSecurity #Women #Illinois

🌍 Inclusive leadership matters

As a speaker at the Northwestern University’s 10th Annual Transboundary Water Symposium, Prof. Grace Oluwasanya, Senior Researcher: Water, Climate and Gender at UNU-INWEH, delivered a presentation addressing one of the continent’s most urgent challenges: how to turn shared water systems from sources of vulnerability into platforms for cooperation, resilience, and sustainable development.

Drawing on examples from the Nile Basin, Lake Chad, and the Congo River Basin, she highlighted how water insecurity in Africa is driven not only by climate pressures, but also by fragmented governance, weak institutions, financing gaps, and unequal representation in decision-making spaces.

The symposium brought together policymakers, academics, and practitioners to explore collaborative approaches to water security across regions increasingly impacted by climate change.

#UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30 #WaterSecurity #Women #Illinois

🌍 Inclusive leadership matters

As a speaker at the Northwestern University’s 10th Annual Transboundary Water Symposium, Prof. Grace Oluwasanya, Senior Researcher: Water, Climate and Gender at UNU-INWEH, delivered a presentation addressing one of the continent’s most urgent challenges: how to turn shared water systems from sources of vulnerability into platforms for cooperation, resilience, and sustainable development.

Drawing on examples from the Nile Basin, Lake Chad, and the Congo River Basin, she highlighted how water insecurity in Africa is driven not only by climate pressures, but also by fragmented governance, weak institutions, financing gaps, and unequal representation in decision-making spaces.

The symposium brought together policymakers, academics, and practitioners to explore collaborative approaches to water security across regions increasingly impacted by climate change.

#UNUINWEH #UNUINWEH30 #WaterSecurity #Women #Illinois