David Kreamer (Geoscience) was invited by the president of the United Nations General Assembly to speak to the member states in open session at a high-level UN meeting on the "Implementation of the Water-Related Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda" earlier his month.
Kreamer spoke on an interactive panel on water data, information, and governance. The United Nations developed the Millennium Strategic Development Goals (SDGs) and the ambitious SDG 6 was to have clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. They are behind in that target and the UN has adopted an acceleration framework to meet that goal. He spoke about how they are lagging behind the most with respect to groundwater concerns, and answered questions from the member states.
Part of the basis for his invitation is that Kreamer serves as president of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH). IAH is the largest international association focused on the wise use and protection of groundwater. It has thousands of members in more than 130 countries, is a registered charity in the United Kingdom that does hydrophilanthropic work, and has regional vice presidents and national chapters throughout the world. The organization hosts the leading groundwater journal Hydrogeology and has hundreds of members in its commissions, networks, and working groups in topical areas such as groundwater and its relation to: climate change, energy, water quality, Karst systems, aquifer recharge, fractured rock flow, hydrothermal systems, regional and transboundary flow, international development, coastal areas, ecosystems, urban areas, early career development, and socio-hydrogeology.
