UNESCO-IHP completes 43rd Bureau meeting

From 3 to 5 June 2009, UNESCO-IHP conducted its 43rd Bureau of the Intergovernmental Council meeting. Mr. Abdin Mohd Ali Salih, representing electoral region Vb – Arab States, chaired the Bureau meeting while all vice-chairpersons were present along with several observers.

The Bureau proved to be quite active and set forth many issues that will be discussed at the next Bureau meeting (6-7 May 2010) as well as at the 19th IHP Intergovernmental Council, which will take place from 5 to 9 July 2010.

Many issues were taken up at the Bureau session, ranging from the role of UNESCO Category 2 Centres in the implementation of IHP to strengthening coordination with IHP National Committees and activities in member states and their respective regions to the importance of reinforcing water science cooperation and its implications for policy making. The Bureau requested the IHP Secretariat to prepare an action plan to address these issues and to present it to the Bureau at its next session.

Other discussions took place with regards to the future of IHP. Noting that IHP is already well into its 7th Phase, a six-year period, the Bureau recommended that, indeed, an 8th Phase should be carried out and work should begin soon to prepare this phase.

A finalized summary report of the Bureau session will be available online in the near future.

UNESCO Director-General pays second official visit to Tajikistan, talks water

From 4 to 5 May 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, paid his second official visit to the Republic of Tajikistan, during which he met with the Tajik President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and toured the historic city of Kulyab.

On 5 May, Mr Matsuura had a long and wide-ranging discussion with President Emomali Rahmon on progress in bilateral cooperation. Both agreed that relations between UNESCO and Tajikistan had rapidly expanded since the Director-General’s first trip to the country in November 2002. The latter had been the first ever visit of a UNESCO Director-General to Tajikistan and had led to the launch of a number of important collaborative initiatives, in particular in the fields of culture, education and science. "I am pleased to see that all the commitments we made during our historic meeting in 2002 have been achieved", Mr Matsuura told the President during the meeting.

With respect to the sciences, Mr Matsuura paid special tribute to the President’s international leadership in the field of freshwater, noting that ensuring the sustainable management of world water resources was a top priority for UNESCO. In particular, the Director-General thanked President Rahmon for his participation at the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul in mid-March, when Mr Matsuura launched on behalf of the UN system the 3rd edition of the World Water Development Report (see Flash Info N° 041-2009*).

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UNESCO-IHE and partners launch "TheWaterChannel"

TheWaterChannel is a dedicated web-based video channel on water. It caters to a large audience, making a large amount of video material available in support of many initiatives.

TheWaterChannel brings together several strands: insights in today’s water challenges, multimedia expertise and a passion for better water management and better water services for a growing world. Apart from the website, TheWaterChannel is a repository of visual water material and a media facility. TheWaterChannel provides the following services:

• Hosting of videos on www.thewaterchannel.tv and their active promotion through local broadcasts, social media, real-time announcements and linkage to special target groups
• Media management – management of video material within organizations, converting and processing (voice over, trailers and others), broadcasting and dissemination of new and old material
• Theme development – bringing together videos on special themes, adding supplementary material and special activities to bring the theme to the attention of a large audience
• Support to awareness and educational campaigns and events - prepare background material, provide interactive services, live-streaming and others
• Special productions – developing special videos or communication packages as well also video documentation and fact-finding using a network of contacts
• Off-line services – compilation DVDs for educational purposes and others, where on-line access is inconvenient

For a detailed write-up of what TheWaterChannel can do, contact thewaterchannel@metameta.nl

Access a complete list of water events around the world

Integrated Urban Water Management: Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Edited by Larry W. Mays - Urban Water series - UNESCO-IHP

Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) is a new approach to managing the entire urban water cycle in an integrated way, a key to achieving the sustainability of urban water resources and services. The IUWM incorporates: the systematic consideration of the various dimensions of water, including surface and groundwater resources, quality and quantity issues; the fact that water is a system and component which interacts with other systems; and the interrelationships between water and social and economic development.

Integrated Urban Water Management: Arid and Semi-Arid Regions – the outcome of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme project on the topic – examines the integrated management of water resources in urban settings, focusing on issues specific to arid and semi-arid regions. The urban water management system is considered here as two integrated processes: water supply management and water excess management. The first six chapters provide an overview of the various aspects of IUWM in arid and semi-arid regions, with emphasis on water supply technologies, such as artificial recharge, water transfers, desalination, and rainwater harvesting. Water excess management is examined in the context of both stormwater management and floodplain management. Case studies from developed and developing countries are presented in order to emphasize the various needs and challenges of water management in urban environments in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide. These case studies include: Mexico City, Mexico; Tucson, Arizona; Awash River Basin, Ethiopia; China; and Cairo, Egypt.

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• The world’s population is growing by about 80 million people a year, implying increased freshwater demand of about 64 billion cubic metres a year.
• An estimated 90% of the 3 billion people who are expected to be added to the population by 2050 will be in developing countries, many in regions where the current population does not have sustainable access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.
• Most population growth will occur in developing countries, mainly in regions that are already in water stress and in areas with limited access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities.
• More than 60% of the world’s population growth between 2008 and 2100 will be in sub-Saharan Africa (32%) and South Asia (30%). Together, these regions are expected to account for half of world population in 2100.
• By 2050, 22% of the world’s population is expected to be 60 years old or older, up from 10% in 2005. At the same time, nearly half the world population is under the age of 25.
• Natural resource needs, including freshwater is expected to increase due to longer life expectances and globalization of trade and advertising tempting more consumption by young people in developed and developing countries.
• The urban population is expected to double between 2000 and 2030 in Africa and Asia. By 2030 the towns and cities of the developing world will make up an estimated 81% of urban humanity.
• By 2030 the number of urban dwellers is expected to be about 1.8 billion more than in 2005 and to constitute about 60% of the world’s population.
• Today, there are an estimated 192 million migrants worldwide, up from 176 million in 2000.
• Coastal areas, with 18 of the world’s 27 megacities (populations of 10 million or greater), are thought to face the largest migration pressures.
• About 75% of people residing in low-lying areas are in Asia, with the most vulnerable being poor people.
• The net implication of these demographic processes is clear; the world will have substantially more people in vulnerable urban and coastal areas in the next 20 years.
• 95% of the increase in urban populations is expected in developing countries, especially in Africa and Asia, where the urban population is projected to double between 2000 and 2030.

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

- International Hydrological Programme
- World Water Assessment Programme
- UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
- Water-related Institutes and Centres under the Auspices of UNESCO
- UNESCO Water-related Chairs

Access the UNESCO Water Portal Update archives (starting at issue Nº 85)

For contributions or comments, contact the editor at waterportal@unesco.org