Summary
News
- UNESCO publishes the Arabic edition of "Water and Peace for the People – Possible solutions to water disputes in the Middle East"
- UNESCO mourns the loss of Dr Tumaini Anderson Kimaro
- UN-Water launches the UN-Water Activity Information System (UNWAIS)
- Dialogs for Water and Climate Change (D4WCC) at COP 16 advance water and climate change agenda
- UNESCO-PCCP collaborates with Oregon State University on online certificate programme and summer graduate course
- SIWI opens up Stockholm Junior Water Prize
Events
UNESCO Water Family (*)
- National Water Law: Managing Global Water Resources
- International Conference on Integrated Water Resources Management - Management of Water in a Changing World: Lessons Learnt and Innovative Perspectives
Featured International Events
- University of East Anglia Short Course 2011: Water Security for Policy Makers and Practitioners
- University of East Anglia Short Course 2011: Climate Change and Development
Did you know?
Facts and figures about water and cities (part 1)
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News
UNESCO publishes the Arabic edition of "Water and Peace for the People – Possible solutions to water disputes in the Middle East"
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By Jon Martin Trondalen
UNESCO-IHP Water and Conflict Resolution Series
This book proposes practical and objective solutions to the entrenched water conflicts in the Middle East. The author reveals and clarifies the complexity of the water conflicts, drawing on years of experience facilitating and chairing water negotiations in the region.
The book covers four critical areas:
- the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, where new documentation reveals alarming trends;
- the politically sensitive Golan Heights, with its water disputed by Israel and Syria;
- the Hasbani water dispute between Lebanon and Israel; and
- the longstanding water resource dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians.
The publication of this book follows the objective of UNESCO’s PCCP Programme: it facilitates multi-level and interdisciplinary dialogue in order to foster peace, co-operation and development in the management of shared water resources.
The bottom line is: Unless the countries involved co-operate, the consequences will be devastating. The lack of plentiful and clean water for the people will not only result in severe human suffering, but could also have grave geopolitical consequences.
Purchase the book in Arabic and in English
UNESCO mourns the loss of Dr Tumaini Anderson Kimaro
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On 22 January 2011, Dr Tumaini Anderson Kimaro, the Chair of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) National Committee of the United Republic of Tanzania was tragically killed while traveling in Tanzania on official duty.
Dr Kimaro was highly educated, having received both an undergraduate degree and Master’s degree from the University of Dar es Salam as well as a doctoral degree from Kyoto University in Japan. In addition to his duties with the IHP National Committee, Dr Kimora had worked for the Nile Basin Capacity Building Network since 2002 where he joined the Drought Forecasting Research Group. He was an expert in hydrologic modeling and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and planning.
Dr Kimaro served with distinction as the chair of the delegation from Tanzania at the recent 19th Council of the IHP. His interventions as a delegate and his tireless and committed efforts on the resolution drafting committee resulted in multiple resolutions and recommendations to empower the scientific and operational hydrologic and water resources management communities not only in his country but throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
UNESCO mourns the loss of Dr Kimaro and wishes to offer its condolences to Dr Kimaro’s friends and family.
UN-Water launches the UN-Water Activity Information System (UNWAIS)
The UNWAIS is an online tool for managing, analyzing, querying and disseminating information on existing programmes, projects and activities carried out by UN-Water and associated programmes. Currently, the UNWAIS contains information on UN-Water members' and partners' activities regarding transboundary waters. It is expected that activities in other fields related to water will be added as a result of mapping exercises carried out by other UN-Water Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas.
Access UNWAIS
Dialogs for Water and Climate Change (D4WCC) at COP 16 advance water and climate change agenda
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The importance of freshwater for sustainable human development is widely recognized. Water is also the main medium through which the impacts of climate change are felt, thus threatening sustainable human development. However, water resources management has not been adequately addressed in the climate change debate; neither has climate variability been sufficiently dealt with in water resources analyses.
A group of concerned organizations, led by the National Water Commission of Mexico (CONAGUA), thus joined forces with a view to placing water at the heart of the climate change agenda, initially during the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to the UNFCCC, through the Dialogs for Water and Climate Change (D4WCC), an event with 30 sessions convened by 17 organizations, over 600 participants and 15,000 viewers of the live webcast.
The main conclusions from the D4WCC, encapsulated in the Synthesis Team message, were to consider impacts of climate change on water resources in other sectors, including energy, agriculture, health, environment, urban water utilities and development planning; to consider three I’s (Institutions, Information and Infrastructure) in development planning; that well-functioning watersheds and aquifers be incorporated into planning as "natural infrastructure"; and to also take water into account for mitigation. These conclusions were presented during the High-Level Panel on Water and Climate Change, in which the list of presenters reads like a who’s-who of the international development community.
The D4WCC also contributed to water being mentioned in a footnote in the results of the Ad-Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action, part of the Cancun Accords. Furthermore, six countries proposed that water be placed on the agenda for the next meeting of the UNFCCC’s Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA).
The task of the D4WCC is clearly ongoing, through related events and processes, including COP 17, the 6th World Water Forum and the Earth Summit, among others. A Call for Action is currently being prepared, with the aim of summarizing the most outstanding outcomes of the D4WCC and pushing for the continuation of the priority issues identified.
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UNESCO’s PCCP collaborates with Oregon State University on online certificate programme and summer graduate course
UNESCO's PCCP collaborates with Oregon State University (OSU) and other partners on two educational endeavors in the upcoming year: an online graduate certificate in Water Conflict Management and a summer graduate course in Water Governance and Conflict Management.
The Water Conflict Management Online course provides education in how to adequately address the challenges of water resource and conflict management and is comprised of 18 credits taken at the graduate level at Oregon State University. The course takes place four times each year and lasts approximately 11 weeks.
From 13-17 June 2011, OSU, with PCCP, offers a five-day summer graduate course in Water Governance and Conflict Management that takes place at Oregon State University's campus in Corvallis, Oregon. The focus of the course is to offer an opportunity for water resources professionals and graduate students to learn about current and leading-edge ways to work effectively in contentious water situations.
More information on the online certificate programme
More information on the summer graduate course
SIWI opens up Stockholm Junior Water Prize
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The international Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition brings together the world’s brightest young scientists to encourage their continued interest in water and the environment. Each year, thousands of participants in over 30 countries join national competitions for the chance to represent their nation at the international final held during the World Water Week in Stockholm. During their time in Stockholm, winners of the national competitions receive an opportunity to meet and learn from the present leaders of the global water community and make life-long friendships with international compatriots who share a passion for water and science.
The national and international competitions are open to young people between the age of 15 and 20 who have conducted water-related projects focusing on local, regional, national or global topics of environmental, scientific, social or technological importance. The international winner receives a USD 5,000 award and a prize sculpture.
In all participating countries, the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) co-operates with a national organization that arranges a national Stockholm Junior Water Prize contest. In each participating country the national organizer is responsible for arranging a national contest and nominating a candidate to the international final. If you are interested in taking part in a national competition, please contact your national organizer.
Stockholm Junior Water Prize website
Events
UNESCO Water Family (*)
National Water Law: Managing Global Water Resources
20-24 June 2011: Dundee, United Kingdom
International Conference on Integrated Water Resources Management - Management of Water in a Changing World: Lessons Learnt and Innovative Perspectives
12-13 October 2011: Dresden, Germany
Featured International Events
University of East Anglia Short Course 2011: Water Security for Policy Makers and Practitioners
23-27 May 2011: University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
University of East Anglia Short Course 2011: Climate Change and Development
31 August – 13 September 2011: University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
Access a complete list of water events around the world
Did you know...? Facts and figures about water and cities (part 1) in honor of the upcoming World Water Day
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- Half of humanity now lives in cities and, within two decades, nearly 60% of the world’s population -5 billion people- will be urban dwellers.
- Urban growth is most rapid in the developing world, where cities gain an average of 5 million residents every month.
- The exploding urban population growth creates unprecedented challenges, among which provision for water and sanitation have been the most pressing and painfully felt when lacking.
- The relationship between water and cities is crucial. Cities require a very large input of freshwater and in turn have a huge impact on freshwater systems.
- Cities cannot be sustainable without ensuring reliable access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.
The section "Did You Know…?" is taken from the UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) publication "Water and Cities: Facts and Figures".
UNESCO's Water Family consists of the following:
- 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
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