Nairobi, 8–12 December 2025, the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), was held under the theme “Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet.” 
 

It served as a pivotal stage for the Water4All partnership to expand its international reach, as UNEA is the world’s highest decision-making body on the environment.

The Assembly confirmed to be a valuable platform for Water4All to build cooperation and new opportunities. Strengthening international cooperation is one of the core pillars identified by the Water4All partnership, which represents an opportunity for the development of a strategic research and innovation agenda.  

Highlighting Transboundary Cooperation: more than 50 people attended the side event

At the side event “Flow Forward: Transboundary water cooperation to restore and sustain water ecosystems from source to sea”^1,  Stefania Minestrini² on behalf of the Water4All partnership, presented the project.

During the panel discussions, Stefania Minestrini delivered a targeted intervention highlighting how Water4All contributes to: 

• SDG 6 achievement: Providing knowledge, tools, and methodologies for better water planning. 
• Science-based Decision Making: Stressing the need for inclusive, adaptive, and integrated management. 
• Citizen Engagement: Enhancing the participation of local communities in water governance. 

¹ The side event was organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with the European Union, UNECE, Slovenia and Finland

² Stefania Minestrini from the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA)

Strategic Synergies and Policy Alignment 

The intervention highlighted Water4All’s alignment with the European Commission’s Water Resilience Strategy, referring to the partnership’s recent position paper. Beyond the formal sessions, the mission emphasized high-level networking, including a dedicated meeting with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to initiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Bilateral meetings were also held with key Kenyan stakeholders, see the list¹

List^1: AICS, the University of Nairobi, the Executive Office of the President of Kenya, and the NGO WAFLAK (Water for Life Alliance Kenya), which works on research, education, and access to clean water and sanitation. 

Institutional Relations 

As part of the official Italian delegation, ISPRA co-organized a high-level event with UNEP on Global Data Strategy. On this occasion, Stefania Minestrini met with the Italian Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Vincenzo Del Monaco. The meeting offered a valuable opportunity to present the Water4All project's goals and its contribution to international environmental diplomacy. 

Next Steps 

Following the success of UNEA-7, ISPRA and the Water4All partners are actively working on the follow-up of these networking activities to transform these initial dialogues into long-term, concrete cooperation with Kenyan institutions and UNEP. 

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For further information:   

UNEA website: side events: Link here
 

UNEP website: Link here