CURRENTS - newsletter from the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)

Issue n°20, October 2005

OCTOBER IN FOCUS

2^nd World Water Development Report: key issues and table of contents now available online

WWAP has just released a brochure to present the upcoming 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR2) entitled 'Water, a Shared Responsibility'.

WWDR2, covering as it does all regions and most countries of the world, provides an up-to-date global overview of the state and uses of freshwater, critical water-related problems and societies' coping mechanisms. Drawing on an extensive database, expert analysis, case studies, and hundreds of graphic elements, it is the most comprehensive undertaking to date of freshwater assessment. Published every 3 years, the Report provides a mechanism for monitoring changes in the resource and its management and progress towards achieving development targets, particularly the Millennium Development Goals. The brochure includes a description of key issues and a general presentation of the report and its contents.

WWDR2 will be launched on World Water Day, 22 March 2006, at the 4^th World Water Forum in Mexico City, Mexico.

The English version of the brochure is already available online, and a French and Spanish version will be released soon.

:: Read the brochure [PDF format - 638 KB]

17 October: International day for poverty eradication

The United Nations General Assembly declared 17 October as International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, to be observed every year beginning in 1993. It invited all States, intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations to devote the Day to presenting and promoting, as appropriate in the national context, concrete activities on the eradication of poverty and destitution.

This year, the Day's theme is: 'Achieving the Millennium Development Goals - empowering the poorest of the poor'. One of the Millennium Development Goals is to reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day by 2015. More than one billion people still subsist on less than $1 a day, with many regions of the world still falling short of achieving the target.

Problems of poverty are inextricably linked with those of water - its availability, its proximity, its quantity and its quality. Improving the access of water to poor people has the potential to make a major contribution towards poverty eradication.

:: Access the Day's official website
:: Access the WWAP website's section on the Millennium Development Goals and Water

FORTHCOMING INTERNATIONAL DAYS

6 November: International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict

Organizer: United Nations Department of Public Information

20 November: Africa Industrialization Day

Organizer: United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
:: Access UNIDO's website

20 November: Universal Children's Day (16^th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child)

Organizer: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
:: Access UNICEF's website

UPCOMING EVENTS

26 October: Water Concert for the benefit of the UNESCO-IHE Fellowship Trust Fund Delft, Holland

Organizer: UNESCO-IHE
:: Read more

26-27 October: Water: individual and social responsibility

Barcelona, Spain
Organizers: Ramon Llull University with the collaboration of the Water Agency of Catalonia and the Agbar Foundation
:: Access the official website

27-28 October: ENCORE 'Integrated river-basin management seminar'

Zaragoza, Spain
Organizer: Environmental Conference of the Europeans Regions (ENCORE); with the collaboration of WWAP
:: Access the official website

23-25 November: La Plata Basin Dialogues

Iguassu Falls, Brazil
Organizers: Green Cross Brazil International; the Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee of La Plata Basin countries (CIC); Argentina; Brazil; Paraguay; Uruguay; Itaipu Bi-national; under the auspices of WWAP and several United Nations organizations.
:: Read more (in Portuguese)

24-25 November: 1st International Dialogue on the Worldwide Water Crisis

Sevilla, Spain
Organizer: Green Cross Spain, with the collaboration of WWAP
:: Read more

29 November - 2 December: 4th International workshop on regional approaches for the development and management of reservoirs in La Plata River Basin: 'Best practices in the planning and management of reservoirs. Decision-making participative processes'

Salto Grande, Argentina/Uruguay
Organizers: Argentine Water Resources Institute (IARH); Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee of the La Plata Basin (CIC); Environmental Research and Management Network of the River Plate Basin (RIGA); co-organised internationally by WWAP
:: Read more

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT WWAP?

UNESCOCAT and WWAP meet to discuss future collaboration

Mr. Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui, WWAP Deputy Coordinator, met with Mr. Sergi Rovira and Mrs. Sara Batet of the UNESCO Centre in Catalonia (UNESCOCAT) on 11 October 2005 to discuss ways in which UNESCOCAT could contribute to WWAP.
UNESCOCAT would like to participate in the production of WWAP posters, of a United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) for high school students in Spanish and Catalan and of the WWDR Executive Summary in Catalan, and to contribute to the Spanish version of the WWDR online living version.

Latin American Network of Water Resources Research Centres to collaborate with WWAP

The Latin American Network of Water Resources Centres was created in 2004 with the support of WWAP. During the XVII Chilean Hydraulic Engineering Congress, which took place in Chile on 5-7 October 2005, it was agreed that the Network would help to monitor the water governance indicators in the Latin American and the Caribbean region.

Preparations towards the 4^th World Water Forum

A meeting between Beacons, Regional Committees and the Forum Secretariat will be held in Monterrey (Mexico) from 31 October to 2 November to select the sessions that will be organized during the 4^th Word Water Forum (4^th WWF).
The 4^th WWF Secretariat received roughly 540 session proposals from over 50 countries. These are now being reviewed and analysed to prepare for the selection process during which 150 sessions covering all of the main 4^th WWF themes will be chosen to take place during the forum.
Mr. Gordon Young, who is WWAP Coordinator and Beacon for the 4th WWF cross-cutting perspective 'Targeting, Monitoring and Implementation Assessment', is contributing to the selection process and will participate in the selection meeting.
The 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a Shared Responsibility', will be launched during the 4^th WWF in Mexico City (Mexico) on World Water Day, 22 March, 2006.

:: Read more about the selection process
:: Read more about the cross-cutting perspective 'Targeting, Monitoring and Implementation Assessment'
:: Read more about the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report [PDF format - 638 KB]

29 November-2 December: 4^th International workshop on regional approaches for the development and management of reservoirs in La Plata River Basin, Salto Grande, Argentina/Uruguay

WWAP is co-organizing this event at the international level. The workshop will take place on 29 November - 2 December 2005 in Salto Grande, Argentina/Uruguay.

This workshop aims to widen the channels of discussion that will motivate and enrich deliberations and facilitate a consensus on policies, strategies and concrete actions that can improve regional cooperative dam planning and management in a way that will support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The main purposes of the workshop are to:
    - search for a consensus in order to improve decision-making processes, such as the participation of stakeholders involved in the development and the sustainable management of reservoirs in La Plata Basin;
    - deal with central aspects and problems corresponding to the management of reservoirs identified in the previous workshops, giving continuity to this successful series of events;
    - improve the decision-making processes for the development and management of reservoirs and participation of all the social actors involved in the sustainable management of reservoirs in La Plata Basin;
    - strengthen and support the activities of the Environmental Research and Management Network of the River Plate Basin (RIGA) with the purpose of consolidating its presence in the basin.

:: Read more

Mediterranean, Water and Drought Forum

WWAP is co-organizing this event at the international level. The workshop will take place on 29 November - 2 December 2005 in Salto Grande, Argentina/Uruguay.

The Spanish Ministry of the Environment and WWAP are pleased to announce the forum on drought management in the Mediterranean context which will take place in Saragossa (Spain) on 14-16 February 2006.
The availability of water is a controversial issue in the region given the fact that the existing demand cannot always be met with the available resources. This situation compels us to reconsider the current management models designed to prevent and minimise the impacts caused by drought and flood.
The main goal of the forum is to contribute to the development of policies and strategies to improve water resources management in the face of drought while taking into account social and environmental issues.

WWAP CASE STUDIES

The Water Sector Development Programme in Ethiopia: linking water policy and poverty

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. The existing water and land resources cannot be put into use because of extreme poverty. The national funds are extremely limited and the investments made are not sufficient to break the vicious circle of poverty. With the exception of Addis Ababa and a few other urban centres, sanitation services are almost non-existent. A water sector development programme prepared for 2002-2016 aims to improve the existing situation.

This 15-year Water Sector Development Programme (WSDP) was put into effect in 2002, and the Water Resources Management Proclamation was issued the same year to provide legal ground for the implementation of the Water Policy. WSDP is composed of five programmes and sets the targets on Water Supply and Sewerage, Irrigation and Drainage, Hydropower Development, General Water Resources Programme and Institutions/Capacity-Building. Furthermore, vocational and technical training centres have been established to train technicians on irrigation development schemes and water supply and sanitation services. These centres have been operational since 2003. In addition, the government has taken the initiative to establish Basin Institutions with the financial and technical aid of international donors.

This is an excerpt from the Executive Summary of the Ethiopia National Water Development Report, one of the case studies that will be included in the case study chapter of the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a Shared Responsibility' (WWDR2). WWDR2 will be launched on World Water Day 2006 at the 4^th World Water Forum in Mexico City, Mexico.

:: Find out more about WWAP case studies
:: Read more about the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report [PDF format - 638 KB]

WWAP PARTICIPATES

5-7 October: XVII Chilean Hydraulic Engineering Congress

Mr. Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui, who is WWAP Deputy Coordinator, gave a conference on the world water crisis and presented WWAP's activities during this congress.
Mr. Fernández-Jáuregui also participated in a parallel water institutions and local water associations meeting to prepare for the 4^th World Water Forum and explain ways in which these organizations can contribute to WWAP.

:: Go to the Congress' official website

9-14 October: 5^th Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management

The 5^th Inter-American Dialogue on Water Management took place on 9-14 October 2005 in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Mr. Víctor Pochat represented WWAP during this event and co-chaired the 2nd plenary session on Integrated Water Resources Management and Governance.

:: Read the event's official programme [PDF format - 217 KB]

17-20 October: Frankfurt Book Fair

WWAP was invited to present the forthcoming World Water Development Report at the UN Inter-Agency Publications Officers Meeting at the Frankfurt Book Fair, Germany. The goal was to kick off promotion of the Report, enlist UN partner collaboration for distribution, sales and marketing of the Report and negotiate language editions.

:: Read more about the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report [PDF format - 638 KB]

26-27 October: Water: individual and social responsibility

The Ramon Llull University is organizing these two days of courses and conferences on water and individual and social responsibility with the collaboration of the Water Agency of Catalonia and the Agbar Foundation. WWAP deputy co-ordinator Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui will participate in the event and give a conference on the Global management of water resources.

:: Read the programme (in Catalan)

27-28 October: ENCORE 'Integrated river-basin management seminar'

This Environmental Conference of the Regions of Europe (ENCORE) seminar is organised under the auspices of the Government of the Autonomous Community of Aragon, the Aragon Water Institute and with the collaboration of WWAP.
The seminar will take place on 27-28 October 2005 in Zaragoza (Spain) and will focus on 5 key issues in 5 lead regions:
    - water quality aspects in low-density populated areas - lead region, Aragon, Spain
    - analysis of the ecological status at regional level - lead region: Catalonia, Spain
    - water conservation and demand management - lead region: Emilia-Romagna, Italy
    - economic tools for water management - lead region: Toscana, Italy
    - treatment technologies for water: supply and waste - lead region: North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

:: Read more

24-25 November: 1^st International Dialogue on the Worldwide Water Crisis

Water management, whether it is public or private, should take into consideration the principles of good governance, particularly with respect to transparency in decision-making and fostering public participation.
This seminar will look at four very different concrete cases of how sustainable water resources management be achieved with intelligence, sensitivity and technology.
This dialogue will be organized in two modules: Module A: Global Framework
    - the United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP)
    - water management and armed conflicts
    - water as a fundamental human right
    - administering water. Module B: Experiences
    - the Incomati River (South Africa; Mozambique; Swaziland)
    - efficient water use (Saragossa, Spain)
    - the Chao Phraya (Thailand)
    - Lake Titicaca (Bolivia; Peru).

:: Read more

WWAP UN PARTNERS' WATER NEWS

13 October: UNESCO-IHE press conference launching an anti-arsenic water filter

A filter to remove arsenic from water has been developed by a research team from the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education http://www.unesco-ihe.org (Delft, The Netherlands). The filter requires neither a power supply nor technical expertise and it uses iron-coated sand.
This technology, which has already been tested in several countries, was presented during a press conference at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, on 13 October 2005.
The high concentration of arsenic in water causes serious health problems in the populations of many countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The situation is particularly alarming in China, India, the United States and Bangladesh, where, according to WHO, some 30 million people drink contaminated water.

:: Read more

15^th International Children's Painting Competition on the Environment

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) invites children from around the world to express their hopes and fears about the future of the world's deserts and the issue of desertification in general in this year's International Children's Painting Competition on the Environment.
The competition is organized by the UNEP, the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment (FGPE), Bayer AG and the Nikon Corporation. It has been held annually since 1990.
The theme of this year's competition is Deserts and Desertification, mirroring the fact that 2006 has been designated the International Year of Deserts and Desertification and it is also the theme for World Environment Day 2006. The issue of desertification concerns the entire planet. Around one-third of the world's population live in drylands. Their degradation and desertification is a very real threat to people's lives and livelihoods, as well as to the health of the planet as a whole.
Children from all regions of the world who will be between the ages of 6 and 14 years on World Environment Day 2006 (5 June 2006) are invited to submit their paintings on the theme to Regional UNEP Offices by 20 January 2006.

:: Go to the competition's official website

FACTS AND FIGURES ON WATER AND POVERTY

• It is estimated that more than 1.3 billion people in the developing world survive on less than a dollar a day and almost 3 billion survive on less than two dollars per day. In order to free people from the burden of disease and malnutrition, the need for secure access to water for the poor has been more strongly recognized.
• Inadequate access to water forms a central part of people's poverty, affecting their basic needs, health, food security and basic livelihoods. Improving the access of poor people to water has the potential to make a major contribution towards poverty eradication.
• Undernourishment is a characteristic feature of poverty. Poverty includes deprivation of health, education, nutrition, safety, and legal and political rights. Lack of access to water to provide for basic health services and support reliable food production is often a primary cause of undernourishment.
• The availability of water allows individuals and communities to boost food production, both in quantity and diversity, to satisfy their own needs and also to generate income from surpluses. Community-managed small-scale irrigation systems, by improving yields and cropping intensities, have proved effective in alleviating rural poverty and eradicating food insecurity.
• Vulnerability is now seen as one of the main characteristics of poverty: This includes both shocks (sudden changes such as natural disasters, war or collapsing market prices) and trends (for example, gradual environmental degradation, oppressive political systems or deteriorating terms of trade). Many vulnerabilities are water-related (for example, health threats, droughts or floods, cyclones and pollution).
• The poor are the most vulnerable to disasters, being exposed to resulting health hazards but without the capacity to prepare for them or re-establish life-supporting conditions after catastrophes. Another tragic consequence is that flood and drought are also the main causes of poverty and the displacement and the migration of poor populations. In 2001, 61% of food emergencies were induced by natural disasters, compared to 39% human-induced. Clearly, there is a close relationship between poverty eradication and the establishment of Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management strategies.
• As conditions of water stress develop, water becomes more expensive for those who are less privileged. A disturbing fact is that poor people with the most limited access to water supply have to pay significantly more for water. Water from informal vendors is more than 100 times more expensive than water supplied by house connection. In Vientiane (Lao PDR) the cost of water through a house connection is $0.11 /m³ (USD) and the price charged by an informal vendor is $14.68 /m³, which means that there is a difference of 135.92%. In Delhi (India) the price of the water through a house connection is $0.01 /m³ and the price charged by an informal vendor can be as much as $4.89 /m³ - 489% more.
• Problems of poverty are thus inextricably linked with those of water - its availability, its proximity, its quantity and its quality. For this reason, it is a composite part of the wider goal of attaining water security in the twenty-first century.

:: Facts and figures taken from the first World Water Development Report (WWDR), 'Water for People, Water for Life'
:: Read more facts and figures from the WWDR.

Updated facts and figures will appear in WWDR2, to be launched on World Water Day 2006 at the 4^th World Water Forum in Mexico City, Mexico.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Don't forget to keep visiting the WWAP website.

-----------------------------------------------------------