IGRAC launches Transboundary Aquifers of the World Map, 2009 update

At the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) presented an updated version of the Transboundary Aquifers of the World Map at scale 1:50,000,000.

Globally, the vast majority of countries share aquifers and/or aquifer systems with their neighbours. Political, socio-economical, cultural and other differences among countries make the assessment and the management of internationally shared aquifers more difficult, compared with national ones. Insufficient knowledge of transboundary aquifers and a lack of coordinated management can lead to undesired changes in groundwater flow, level, volume, and dissolved substances. Therefore, an appropriate assessment of transboundary aquifers is required to prevent or mitigate groundwater problems and to improve the overall benefit from groundwater.

The Transboundary Aquifers of the World Map - 2009 Update, compiled by the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC) shows the present state of information regarding the occurrence and extent of Transboundary Aquifers on a global scale. The intention of the map is to provide a global overview of these important shared water resources and to encourage their further assessment. Cooperation and information exchange among aquifer-sharing States is a prerequisite for appropriate transboundary aquifer assessment and management.

The map is based on the most recent inventory results from UNESCO’s Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management (ISARM) Initiative, and the initiative’s partners involved in transboundary aquifer assessment and/or management at regional and continental scale.

The back side of the map contains an introduction to a methodology for the assessment of Transboundary Aquifers.

For more information and a downloadable version of the map please refer to the IGRAC website.

UNESCO-IHP convenes side event/book launch on water and civilization at 5th World Water Forum

In a side-event on 20 March, the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) presented an advanced draft copy of the forthcoming first volume "Water and Humanity: Historical Overview" of the reference book series History of Water and Civilization (HWC). The book is edited by Vernon Scarborough, in co-ordination with the series Editor-in-Chief Fekri Hassan, and features chapters by over 40 internationally renown authors. Scheduled to appear as the first volume of the HWC series later in 2009, it provides a broad, but in-depth overview of the historically developed, multifaceted water interactions from earliest times to the present. The book was enthusiastically discussed by the meetings high-level participants.

HWC will inform sound water management using insights from the past.  It is conceived as, to date, the only systematic collection of historical case studies and synthesis of historical knowledge on the role of water management in the sustainability of civilizations.  The series will improve the holistic understanding of past water-related experiences in all domains of societies. This provides the necessary long-term perspective against which today’s visions, actions and their potential consequences can be examined. The series will serve as reference material for the elaboration of educational and public information derivatives. 

Representatives of UNESCO-IHP, the series’ editor-in-chief, the project partner International Water History Association and the International Centre for Qanats and Historic Hydraulic Structures took part in the side-event and highlighted and debated salient issues of Water History. Josée van Eindhoven of the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO presented at this occasion the Dutch Water Canon, which unfolds to the public the role of water management in the history of the country.

For more info on this forthcoming volume please contact Alexander Otte.

UNESCO and INBO coordinate Topic 3.1. on basin management and transboundary cooperation at the 5th World Water Forum

On 20 and 21 March 2009, UNESCO and INBO coordinated the five sessions on 'Basin Management and Transboundary Cooperation' of Theme 3 'Managing and Protecting Water Resources and their Supply Systems to Meet Human and Environmental Needs' at the Fifth World Water Forum, Istanbul, Turkey.

213 proposals of contributions were received by the Coordinators of Topic 3.1. This was the result of a year-long process and in particular a "call for contributions" to Topic 3.1., sent in March 2008 and widely distributed directly and through the website of the 5th World Water Forum. All the contributors were considered stakeholders to Topic 3.1., meaning they were considered as interested in and potentially attending Topic 3.1. to take part in the debates. Among the 213 contributions received, 61 formal speakers, retained on the basis of criteria including geographic balance, disciplinary balance, the mandate of the institutions, intervened as formal speakers during the 12 hours of sessions.

Taking account of the various interventions in Topic 3.1., as well as the many contributions received on the Forum's Virtual Meeting Space or sent directly to the session coordinators by the 213 session stakeholders, some findings and recommendations, reflecting the opinion of the majority, can be summarized as follows:

• Strong political will and long term commitment are pre requisites for sustainable basin management and transboundary cooperation in the face of global changes.
• Significant progress has already been made since the 1990s. The gained experience allows now to say that integrated water resources management at the level of river and aquifers basins is a real advantage.

Existing and developing international legal instruments and adapted tools and experiences concerning transboundary water resources management should be further disseminated through efforts of agencies and networks promoting cooperation around water resources.

Read the full article.

UNESCO organises High-Level Roundtable "Adapting to Climate Variability in Transboundary Basins" on the World Water Day

UNESCO organised a high-level roundtable event on the World Water Day 2009 with the support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the UN-Water Secretariat. The topic of the roundtable was "Adapting to Climate Variability in Transboundary Basins". This roundtable was held on 22 March 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey.

The objective of the roundtable was to raise awareness and the political focus required for increased cooperation on shared water resources. The event started with a screening of One Water, an award-winning documentary by Ali Habashi. Ministers, policy makers and other high level figures, as well as the audience, addressed issues of adaptation and management of global challenges and changes in a transboundary water context. The dialogues focused on how the United Nations, intergovernmental political processes and international legal mechanisms could contribute to real progress on the ground and how governments could be made more responsive to urgent water management issues.

For more information about World Water Day 2009 visit the official website.

International Indigenous Water Declaration launched at the 5th World Water Forum

The Garma International Indigenous Water Declaration, with a set of recommendations on Indigenous water knowledge and interests, was presented as a living document at the 5th World Water Forum. Recognizing that indigenous peoples internationally share cultural and customary responsibilities to fresh water, the declarations identifies water as a spirit that has a right to be treated as an ecological entity, with its own inherent right to exist.

For information regarding the Declaration, including endorsements please contact: water@cdu.edu.au.

Deadline extended: Call for contributions of art work, poems or songs for a book targeting children and youth: Join us in our celebration of water!

What do you think of water? Do you like drawing pictures or writing poems? Join us in our celebration of diverse cultural perspectives on water, to help us respect the lifeblood that connects us all.

UNESCO-IHP project on Water and Cultural Diversity is looking for contributions to be compiled into a book targeting children and youth.

Read more

Access a complete list of water events around the world

Policy Brief on Mainstreaming Cultural Diversity in Water Resource Management

UNESCO-IHP

This policy brief was developed by the Expert Advisory Group of UNESCO-IHP project on Water and Cultural Diversity as a contribution to the political process of the 5th World Water Forum. The brief outlines recommendations of actions that can be taken in order to ensure that an active recognition of, and respect for, cultural diversity is mainstreamed into water resources management.  The policy brief underlines the importance of using our diversity to reduce conflict and optimize collaboration, and calls for the need to respect water rights and cultural values of local communities.

Online copy.

Despite improvements in some regions, water pollution is on the rise globally.

• More than 80% of sewage in developing countries is discharged untreated, polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas.
• Many industries – some of them known to be heavily polluting (such as leather and chemicals) – are moving from high-income countries to emerging market economies.
• Although rural populations in Asia are projected to remain stable over the next 20 years, urban populations are likely to increase by 60% before 2025, which affect prospects for water scarcity.
• Globally, the most prevalent water quality problem is eutrophication, a result of high-nutrient loads (mainly phosphorus and nitrogen), which substantially impairs beneficial uses of water.
• In 1998 approximately 90% of the coastal and marine biotopes in the Baltic Sea were threatened by loss of area or reduction in quality from eutrophication, contamination, fisheries and settlements.
• Today, up to 70 million people in Bangladesh are exposed to water that contains more than the World Health Organization threshold value of 10 micrograms of arsenic per litre. Up to half the estimated 10 million tubewells in Bangladesh might be contaminated with arsenic.
• Natural arsenic pollution of drinking water is now considered a global threat with as many as 140 million people affected in 70 countries on all continents.
• A recent study on drinking water in France estimated that more than 3 million people (5.8% of the population) were exposed to water quality that does not conform to World Health Organization (WHO) standards (for nitrates, non-conformity was found in 97% of groundwater samples).

The section "Did You Know…?" is taken from the 3rd World Water Development Report "Water in a Changing World".

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