2nd term 2006
December 2006
 WWDR2 launched in Spanish
The 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility' (WWDR2, 2006), provides an up-to-date global overview of the state and uses of freshwater, critical water-related problems and societies' coping mechanisms. WWDR2 was first launched officially in English on World Water Day, 22 March 2006. The report was translated and published in Spanish by Expo Zaragoza 2008, in close collaboration with WWAP, and launched on 12 December 2006 in Zaragoza, Spain.
Expo Zaragoza 2008 organized a 2 day event for the occasion, to present the report and discuss the water situation in the Latin America and the Caribbean region and Spain, with a focus on governance related issues, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the value of water. Experts from about 20 countries participated in the presentation and debate sessions, including the Under Secretary of the United Nations for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr. José Antonio Ocampo; the Minister for the Environment of the Spanish Government, Mrs. Cristina Narbona; the Deputy Coordinator of the WWAP Programme, Mr. Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui; and the President of Expo Zaragoza 2008, Mr. Roque Gistau.
The Spanish version of WWDR2 will be available on line soon.
 Full Kenya National World Water Development Report Online
The full Kenya National Water Development Report (NWDR) is now available online. The NWDR is a comprehensive report that gives a broad overview of the status of the water sector in Kenya and the progress made by its government to address the challenges related to sustainable water resources management and efficient provision and delivery of water for different uses, and examines water-related challenges in terms of the 11 WWAP challenge areas.
The NWDRs prepared by each case study country provided some useful practical experience and lessons which were captured in the preparation of the 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report: 'Water, a shared responsibility' (WWDR2, 2006). In addition, summaries of the case study reports were published in the case study section of the WWDR2.
:: Full Kenya NWDR [PDF format, 7 MB]
:: Read more about the Kenya case study
:: Read more about the WWAP case studies
November 2006
 UNDP-Publicis Water Alert Campaign
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Publicis Italy launched a campaign to make a lot more people in the world aware of the water crisis. The international advertising drive aspires to garner support for universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation.Newspapers and magazines in the developed world are invited to join the water challenge by publishing free of charge the campaign’s 4 print ads.
Many of the 1.1 billion people deprived of sufficient safe drinking water must make do with as little as 5 litres a day for all their drinking, washing and cooking needs — one-tenth of the average quantity that rich countries’ inhabitants flush daily down their toilets. According to the latest Human Development Report (HDR 2006), the US$10 billion investment required to meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015 would generate US$38 billion a year in economic benefits.
Unlike wars and natural disasters, the global crisis in water does not make media headlines. Nor does it galvanize concerted international action. By joining the Water Alert campaign and raising awareness on water issues you can help to solve a crisis that is affecting countless millions in the developing world.
:: Water Alert Campaign
 UN Convention on Biological Diversity lays groundwork for South-South cooperation
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) organized a brainstorming meeting in Montreal, Canada, from 6 to 8 November 2006 on South-South cooperation in the field of biodiversity. The 24 experts who attended paved the way for a plan of action to enhance the capacity of developing countries to ensure sustainable management of biodiversity resources.
The plan of action, which focuses on strategies and frameworks for South-South solidarity, will include the following elements: conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; the fair and equitable sharing of benefits; achievement of the 2010 target, aiming to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss and calling on the international community for financial help to developing nations; and the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 1 and 7 – eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, and safeguarding of environmental sustainability.
The meeting included presentations of South-South experiences, activities, partnerships and initiatives, and discussion centred around the need for further cooperation between countries. The resultant plan of action is expected to be adopted at the 9th meeting of the Parties to the CBD in Bonn, Germany, in 2008.
:: Full press release [PDF format – 180 KB]
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Children in a Rio de Janeiro slum, Brazil.
© UNESCO - Robinson |
15-16 November: International Forum on the Eradication of Poverty
Those affected most by the water crisis are the world’s poor. It is they who suffer most immediately from unsafe water, lack of sanitation, food insecurity and from the effects of pollution and a degraded environment.
To mark the end of the first United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty, the United Nations Division for Social Policy and Development, in collaboration with UN agencies and civil society, is organizing the International Forum on the Eradication of Poverty at UN Headquarters in New York, United States, on 15-16 November 2006.
The Forum aims to achieve two major objectives. First, it is intended to send a strong message on the importance of a continued and enhanced commitment to poverty eradication in the run-up to 2015. Second, the Forum will provide an opportunity for forward-looking dialogue among stakeholders on the next steps over the next decade towards the realization of the universal goal of poverty eradication.
:: Forum’s official website
 Full Sri Lanka National World Water Development Report Online
The full Sri Lanka National Water Development Report (NWDR) is now available online. The NWDR is a comprehensive report that gives a broad overview of the status of the water sector in Sri Lanka and the progress made by its government to address the challenges related to sustainable water resources management and efficient provision and delivery of water for different uses, and examines water-related challenges in terms of the 11 WWAP challenge areas.
The NWDRs prepared by each case study country provided some useful practical experience and lessons which were captured in the preparation of WWDR2. In addition, summaries of the case study reports were published in the case study section of the WWDR2.
:: Full Sri Lanka NWDR [PDF format, 21.8 MB]
:: Read more about the Sri Lanka case study
:: Read more about the WWAP case studies
October 2006
 25-27 October: 2nd International Symposium on Desertification and Migration, Almería, Spain
A third of the Earth's land surface, or over 4 billion hectares, is threatened by desertification. This natural disaster affects over 250 million people directly and threatens the lives of some 1.2 billion people in 110 countries who are among the world's poorest and who depend on land for most of their needs. It is estimated that over 135 million people may be at risk of being displaced as a consequence of severe desertification.
Within the framework of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification (2006) the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Spanish Government, the Andalusian Authorities of Spain and the University of Almería, Spain are organizing this symposium to tackle the important existing links between land degradation, poverty and one of the most evident and important consequence of the desertification: migration. This symposium is conceived as a sequel and a revision of the 1st International Symposium on Desertification and Migration (February 1994, Almeria, Spain), while incorporating new approaches, such as the interaction between physical planning and desertification and the environmental problems deriving from migration dynamics, both at their source and in terms of habitat.
:: Read more
 17 October: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty ‘Working Together out of Poverty’
The United Nations General Assembly declared 17 October as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, to be observed beginning in 1993.
This year’s Day centres on the theme of ‘Working Together out of Poverty’. The Day seeks to promote increased awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and serves to remind all people that sustained and concerted effort is vital to achieve the millennium development goal (MDG) of halving the number of people living in poverty by 2015.
Poverty affects approximately 1 billion people worldwide, representing one-sixth of the total world population who, through sickness, hunger, thirst, destitution and marginalization, find it nearly impossible to climb out of the pit of extreme poverty. Problems of poverty are inextricably linked with those of water - its availability, its proximity, its quantity and its quality. Access to a reliable nearby source of water provides relief from the burden of carrying water from distant springs and wells, freeing up time for livelihood activities and, in the case of girls, for school attendance. Having enough water to cover drinking and domestic hygiene needs promotes better health and well-being. Improving the access of water to poor people has the potential to make a major contribution towards poverty eradication.
:: Official website
:: Millennium Campaign
 Full Mali case study report now available online
The full Mali National Water Development Report (NWDR) is now available online in French. The NWDR is a comprehensive report that gives a broad overview of the status of the water sector in Mali and the progress made by its government to address the challenges related to sustainable water resources management and efficient provision and delivery of water for different uses, and examines water-related challenges in terms of the 11 WWAP challenge areas.
The NWDRs prepared by each case study country provided some useful practical experience and lessons which were captured in the preparation of the 2nd UN World Water Development Report, ‘Water, a shared responsibility’ (WWDR2, 2006). In addition, summaries of the case study reports were published in the case study section of the WWDR2.
:: Full Mali NWDR [PDF format, 4,19 MB, in French]
:: Read more about the Mali case study
:: Read more about the WWAP case studies
August 2006
 Full Uganda case study report now available online!
The full Uganda National Water Development Report (NWDR) is now available online. The NWDR is a comprehensive report that gives a broad overview of the status of the water sector in Uganda and the progress made by its government to address the challenges related to sustainable water resources management and efficient provision and delivery of water for different uses, and examines water-related challenges in terms of the 11 WWAP challenge areas.
The NWDRs prepared by each case study country provided some useful practical experience and lessons which were captured in the preparation of the 2nd UN World Water Development Report, ‘Water, a shared responsibility’ (WWDR2, 2006). In addition, summaries of the case study reports were published in the case study section of the WWDR2. Uganda embraced it as a very unique opportunity to share its experience in the water sector with the international community.
:: Read more about the Uganda case study
:: Read more about the WWAP case studies
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Istanbul, Turkey
© UNESCO - Dominique Roger |
Preparations for the 5th World Water Forum (5th WWF)
Mr. Andras Szöllösi-Nagy, Director of the UNESCO Division of Water Sciences, and Mr. Engin Koncagül, WWAP case studies programme officer, met with high representatives of the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works of Turkey (DSI), of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of the Istanbul Metropolitan Water and Sewage Works (ISKI) on 10 and 11 August 2006 in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey.
During these meetings, Turkish and UNESCO officials investigated future means of cooperation and discussed the input UNESCO could provide to the preparation stage of the 5th WWF which will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in March 2009.
The possibility of initiating a WWAP Case Study in Istanbul, which would highlight water-related challenges in a large metropolitan centre, was also discussed. This case study would be highlighted in the 3rd UN World Water Development Report, which will be launched during the 5th WWF in Istanbul.
:: Find out more about water in Istanbul
:: Read more about WWAP case studies
:: Read more about the World Water Forums
July 2006
 Now online: Catalan version of the 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report Executive Summary
The Executive Summary of the 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility' (WWDR2, 2006), is now available online in Catalan. This Catalan version of the Executive Summary was coordinated by the UNESCO Centre of Catalonia (UNESCOCAT), Spain.
The executive summary is also available in English, French, Spanish and Basque.
:: Access the WWDR2 Executive Summary in Catalan [PDF format - 1,66 MB]
:: Access the WWDR2 Executive Summary in English [PDF format - 2,62 MB]
:: Read more about WWDR2
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