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

Issue n°22, January 2006

JANUARY IN FOCUS

2^nd World Water Development Report: key issues and table of contents now available online in English, Spanish and French

The table of contents of the upcoming 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR2) entitled 'Water, a Shared Responsibility' is now also available online in Spanish and French.

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.

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

:: Access the WWDR2 table of contents

2006: International Year of Deserts and Desertification

Desertification, land degradation caused by human-induced factors and climate change, affects one third of the earth's surface and over 1 billion people. At its 58^th session, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2006 to be the International Year of Deserts and Desertification (IYDD).

The dedication of the Year is meant to strengthen the visibility and importance of drylands, which constitute about 41% of the Earth's land surface, support more than 2 billion people and are home to some of the most magnificent ecosystems of the world: the deserts. It will also celebrate the fragile beauty and unique heritage of the world's deserts, while emphasizing that desertification is a global problem.

All countries and civil society organizations are encouraged to undertake special initiatives to mark the Year and to raise awareness on desertification.

:: More information at the IYDD official website
:: Read some facts and figures on desertification and drought

FORTHCOMING INTERNATIONAL DAYS

2 February: World Wetlands Day 2006

Organizer: The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
Theme: Wetlands as a tool in poverty alleviation
:: Access the official World Wetlands Day 2006 website

UPCOMING EVENTS

13 February - 3 March: Short Course on Water Quality Assessment

Organizers: UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education
:: More information

14-16 and 23-24 February: Mediterranean Forum on Drought

Organizers: Spanish Ministry of the Environment; Water Institute of Aragón, Spain; Zaragoza City Council, Spain; Ebro Hydrographical Confederation, Spain; World Wildlife Fund/Adena (WWF/Adena), Spain; The World Conservation Union Mediterranean Programme; World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP); Expo Zaragoza 2008, Spain, among others
:: More information (in Spanish)

25-28 February: 8^th International Conference on Drylands Development

Organizers: International Drylands Development Commission (IDDC); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA); United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); United Nations University (UNU), among others
:: More information

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT UN-WWAP?

The Government of Denmark and UN-WWAP sign an agreement for collaboration

UN-WWAP is proud to welcome Denmark amongst its National Partners. The Government of Denmark has agreed to provide financial help to the programme and to participate in its activities.

State of Mexico and UN-WWAP meet to discuss collaboration

Ms. Mónica Salazar, International Relations Co-ordinator of the State of Mexico, Mexico, met with Mr. Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui, UN-WWAP deputy co-ordinator, Miss Pilar Gonzalez, communication projects co-ordinator, and Mr. Engin Koncagül, case studies project officer, at the UN-WWAP Secretariat in Paris on 12 January 2006 to discuss main guidelines to follow throughout the Mexico case study and about contributing to produce a documentary about water management in the State of Mexico.

UN-WWAP invited to take part in the Expert Committee of the International Exhibition Zaragoza 2008 (Expo Zaragoza 2008)

UN-WWAP Deputy Co-ordinator, Mr. Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui, has been invited to be part of the Experts Committee of the Expo Zaragoza 2008, which will be held from 14^th June to 14^th September 2008.

The Experts Committee will be in charge of monitoring and giving advice about the Exhibition contents as well as facilitating the participation and involvement in the Exhibition of water experts and institutions with an international impact.

The members of this committee are not only experts with professional scientific careers, but also include people working in any aspect of water resources management.

UN-WWAP will collaborate closely with Expo Zaragoza 2008 in the preparations for this major water event.

:: More information about Expo Zaragoza 2008

Meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, United States, to discuss the launch of the 2^nd World Water Development Report

Ms. Sue Williams, Media Relations Section Chief of UNESCO's Bureau of Public Information, and Ms. Suzanne Bilello, Acting Director for the UNESCO Office in New York, United States, organized a meeting on 24 January at UN Headquarters in New York, with representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Department of Public Information (UN/DPI) and the UN-WWAP. During the meeting, Mr. Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui, UN-WWAP deputy co-ordinator, presented the 2^nd World Water Development Report 'Water, a Shared Responsibility' (WWDR2). The communication strategy and the launch of the Report were also discussed during this meeting. WWDR2 will be launched on World Water Day 2006 at the 4^th World Water Forum in Mexico City, Mexico.

27 February - 1 March: 1^st 2006 UN-Water Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland

Mr. Gordon Young, UN-WWAP Co-ordinator, will participate in the 1^st UN-Water meeting of this year taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from 27 February to 1 March 2006. UN-Water members will discuss this year's working agenda at the meeting.

UN-Water is the interagency mechanism that promotes coherence and co-ordination of UN system actions towards reaching the water-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

UN-WWAP CASE STUDIES

Coping with water demand in mega-cities: an example from the State of Mexico Case Study

Mexico comprises 31 States and the capital city's Federal District. The State of Mexico, located in the centre of the nation of Mexico, suffers from severe water shortage due to very dense population coupled with accelerated growth, especially in the Metropolitan Zone of the Valley of Mexico (which comprises the entire Federal District area and 18 municipalities). The State is home to approximately 20 million inhabitants. Currently, water is transferred from both surface and groundwater resources to meet the demands of the Metropolitan Zone. Increasing water demand has led to overexploitation of groundwater resources. The effects are striking: the ground has been sinking up to 40 cm/year, aquifers have lost their hydrostatic pressure and some springs have dried up. Water and sewer infrastructure has been either disconnected or become unusable due to sinking ground.

The state government is constantly pursuing new mechanisms to slow down urban growth and to promote efficient water use. A recent initiative is the National Development Plan for 2001-2006, which can help deal with the challenges of scarce water management, as it puts forward a common policy of integrated management for sustainable utilization of water resources, under which laws, standards and regulations have been issued at federal, state and municipal levels. Enforcement of such regulations is, however, critical to the overall success of the plan.

This is an excerpt from 'Sustainable Urban Water Management in the State of Mexico,' one of the case studies that will be included in the case study chapter of the 2^nd World Water Development Report 'Water, a Shared Responsibility' (WWDR2). WWDR2 will be launched on World Water Day 2006 at the 4^thWorld Water Forum in Mexico City, Mexico.

:: Find out more about WWAP case studies
:: Find out more about the 4^thWorld Water Forum

UN-WWAP PARTICIPATES

Conclusions and recommendations of the 4^th International workshop on Regional Approaches for the Development and Management of Reservoirs in La Plata River Basin

The participants of the 4^th International workshop on Regional Approaches for the Development and Management of Reservoirs in La Plata River Basin, which took place in Salto Grande, Argentina/Uruguay, from 29 November to 2 December 2005, submitted their conclusions and drafted recommendations for the consideration of the governments of the member states and the Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee of La Plata River Basin.

These highlighted the need to take into consideration the effects of climate change in the joint planning of water and energy resources, consolidate the process of integrated water resources management of reservoirs and their basins, and generalize public participation in decision-making concerning reservoir development and management. It was decided that 2 working groups would be created to prepare the development of an environmental reservoir monitoring database and to work on standardisation of water quality data; and the creation of a regional initiative to consolidate information concerning the economic valuation of the effects of eutrophication and cianotoxines was recommended.

:: Read the conclusions and recommendations

Session Conveners' Workshop for the 4^th World Water Forum

A workshop for session conveners was held in Mexico City, Mexico, on 26-27 January, to discuss the topic-sessions and responsibilities of session conveners.

Mr. Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui, UN-WWAP deputy co-ordinator and co-convenor with International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) of the Integrated Management and Governance session, participated in this workshop.

:: Read more about the 4^th World Water Forum

UN-WWAP invited to take part in the International Programme Committee of the International Conference on Environmentally Sound Technology in Water Resources Management

Mr. Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui, UN-WWAP deputy co-ordinator, has been invited to take part in the International Programme Committee of the International Conference on Environmentally Sound Technology in Water Resources Management that will take place in Gabarone, Botswana, from 11 to 13 September 2006.

Organized by the International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED) and hosted by the University of Botswana, this conference intends to act as an interdisciplinary forum for decision-makers, academics, and professionals interested in the development and application of technology in ensuring the sustainable use and management of our water resources.

:: More information about the Conference

14-16 and 23-24 February: Mediterranean Forum on Drought, Madrid and Zaragoza, Spain

This forum, made up of different events and organized by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and WWAP, along with other institutions, will take place in Madrid on 14-16 February and in Zaragoza, Spain on 23-24 February. Everyone is invited to attend the Open Door Days on 14-16 February in the Spanish Ministry of the Environment. The European Union-Water Scarcity Group's Internal Meeting will take place at the same time. On 23-24 February, the Mediterranean Forum on Drought will hold three round tables: 'Drought and climatic change', 'Drought Management: Institutional tools' and 'Communication, droughts and society'.

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.

Mr. Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui, WWAP Deputy Coordinator, will preside over the round table on 'Drought Management: Institutional tools' and will also give a lecture on this subject.

:: More information (in Spanish)

WWAP UN-PARTNERS' WATER NEWS

Access to water and energy defined as fundamental workers' rights during the 1^st World Assembly on Labour and the Environment, Nairobi, Kenya

Leaders from more than 150 trade unions representing millions of workers around the globe agreed to include environmental rights - such as access to water and energy - into the definition of traditional workers' rights during the 1^st World Assembly on Labour and the Environment, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya from 15 to 17 January.

Union leaders also agreed to strengthen cooperation between unions and organizations such as UNEP, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), as well as government ministries - with the goal of reinforcing health and safety standards on the job while achieving broad environmental goals.

In addition, union leaders pledged to work towards government reforms that recognize environmental rights and to monitor programmes that deliver safe and environmentally friendly industrial, manufacturing and production processes. Known as 'The Workers' Initiative for a Lasting Legacy', or WILL2006, the pact that emerged from the session also included action on climate change and the promotion of sustainable production and consumption patterns.

:: Access the official Assembly website
:: Read UNEP' press release

18-20 January: Round Table Discussion on Landslides: 'Strengthening Research and Learning on Earth System Risk Analysis and Sustainable Disaster Management within UN-ISDR', Tokyo, Japan

Among natural disasters, landslides rank as the seventh biggest killer around the world, after droughts, windstorms, floods, earthquakes, volcano and extreme temperature. Each landslide occurring in the past 20 years claimed 800 to 1,000 lives on average.

Landslides and mudslides can occur under conditions of heavy rain or when snow or ice melts rapidly. They can also be instigated when an overflowing crater lake sends large amounts of earth, rock, sand or mud down mountain slopes, especially in areas where there are few trees or little vegetation to slow the movement of the slide. They can reach speeds of over 50 km/h and can bury, crush or carry away people, objects and buildings.

Considering this situation, this round table was organized to follow up on the Letter of Intent concerning cooperation for strengthening research and learning on earth system risk analysis and sustainable disaster management within the UN International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (ISDR) that was proposed by the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) at the 2005 UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction. 5 UN-WWAP UN-partners signed the Letter - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (ISDR), the United Nations University (UNU) - as did the International Council for Science (ICSU), and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO).

This round table aimed to plan clearly defined activities between the seven stakeholders, ICL and other relevant organizations and to provide the necessary framework of action for the implementation of activities related to landslide disaster reduction while focusing on the 5 priorities for action that are included in the Hyogo Framework of Action 2005-2015.

:: Read the press release [PDF format - 1 MB]
:: Read the Hyogo Framework of Action 2005-2015 [PDF format - 411 KB]

26 January - 1 February: 4^th Project Workshop on Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands, Islamabad, Pakistan

Drylands occupy 41% of the earth's land surface and are inhabited by over 2 billion people worldwide. These ecosystems are particularly vulnerable due to climatic and human pressures, yet they constitute some of the world's largest land reserves in terms of space and natural resources. Now-a-days, 70% of the world's drylands (excluding hyper-arid deserts), or some 3,600 million hectares, are degraded.

The Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands (SUMAMAD) project, jointly managed by the United Nations University - International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), fosters the rehabilitation of degraded drylands using community-based approaches. Training, capacity building and interaction with landowners and farmers, with a focus on sustainable and indigenous dryland management practices, are the key elements of the project.

This workshop will bring together all designated national project coordinators from the SUMAMAD project partner research institutions and the members of the project core management group. The workshop will serve to: review the implementation of the SUMAMAD Project in 2005, discuss major objectives and workplans for implementing the SUMAMAD Project in 2006, and provide practical training for data analysis.

:: Access SUMAMAD's official website

27 February - 2 March 2006: International Conference on 'Water Security and Hydrological Extremes: Towards Sustainable Development in Africa' and 1^st African Regional Consultative Meeting of the IHP National Committees, Abuja, Nigeria

The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in partnership with UNESCO's International Hydrological Programme (IHP) and the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Water Resources, is organizing these two events in Abuja, Nigeria, from 27 February to 2 March 2006, in order to strengthen Africa's regional capabilities as well as the cohesive implementation of IHP programmes.

These events will provide a platform for the African countries to prepare activities within the 7^th Phase of IHP (IHP-VII; 2008-2013), to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the region and to undertake specific actions in the framework of the UN International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' (2005-2015) and the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014).

The Conference will also serve as a forum to attract attention on a worldwide scale on water-related issues in Africa. Recommendations from these two events as well as a report will be presented at the 4^th World Water Forum in Mexico in March 2006.

:: More information [PDF format - 218 KB]
:: For registration and further information, contact Ms Krystel Lepresle at the IHP Secretariat: k.lepresle@unesco.org

The next International Biodiversity Day will focus on 'Protecting Biodiversity in Drylands'

Reflecting that 2006 has been declared the United Nations International Year for Deserts and Desertification, the Convention on Biological Diversity announced that this year's theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity, celebrated each year on 22 May, will be 'Protecting Biodiversity in Drylands.' The theme was selected in order to draw attention to the need to reduce the rate of loss of biological diversity in drylands as a result of human activities and therefore prevent further land degradation.

'Almost half of the land surface of the earth is drylands if we include grasslands and all arid regions,' said Mr. Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and '1 in 6 people depends on these fragile ecosystems for their survival. These are the poorest of the poor and any further degradation of the biodiversity of drylands will lead to increased poverty.'

'If implemented, the Convention's programme of work on the biological diversity of dry and sub-humid lands can encourage conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in drylands,' he urged. 'It is within our power to substantially reduce the rate of loss of biological diversity in drylands by the year 2010 and make a substantial contribution to poverty reduction, for the sake of all life on Earth.'

:: Read the official CBD press release [DOC format - 95 KB]

FACTS AND FIGURES ON WATER AND NATURAL DISASTERS

• The world is experiencing a dramatic increase of suffering from the effects of disasters, ranging from extreme droughts to huge floods, caused by the poor management of water and land and possibly by climate change.
• The burden of loss is greatest in poor countries, where 13 times more people die from natural disasters than in rich ones.
• More than 2,200 major and minor water-related disasters occurred in the world during the period 1990-2001. Of these, floods accounted for half of the total disasters, water-borne and vector disease outbreaks accounted for 28% and drought accounted for 11% of the total disasters. 35% of these disasters occurred in Asia, 29% in Africa, 20% in the Americas, 13% in Europe and 3% in Oceania.
• The impacts from just one single disaster have, in some cases, lowered the Gross National Product (GNP) in poor economies by as much as 10%.
• An estimated 97% of deaths related to natural disasters occur each year in developing countries.
• More people were affected by disasters over the last decade - up from an average of 147 million per year (1981-1990) to 211 million per year (1991-2000).
• During the past decade, over 90% of those killed by natural disasters lost their lives in hydrometeorological events such as droughts, windstorms and floods.
• Between 1973 and 1997 an average of 66 million people a year suffered from flood damage, making flooding the most damaging of all natural disasters.
• About 44% of the flood disasters that occurred in the world during the period 1987-1996 affected Asia. These disasters claimed some 228,000 lives - corresponding to 93% of the total number of flood-caused deaths in the world - and resulted in damage of US$ 136 billion to the Asian economy.
• Droughts are undoubtedly the most far-reaching of all natural disasters. From 1991 to 2000 alone, drought has been responsible for over 280,000 deaths and has cost tens of millions of US dollars in damage.
• Sub-Saharan Africa suffered its worst dry spell of the century in 1991/92 when drought covered a region of 6.7 million km2 and affected about 110 million people.
• By the year 2025, the population projected to be living in water-scarce countries will rise to between 1 and 2.4 billion, representing roughly 13% to 20% of the projected global population. Africa and parts of western Asia appear to be particularly vulnerable.

:: Facts and figures taken from the 1^st World Water Development Report (WWDR), 'Water for People, Water for Life'
:: Read more facts and figures from the 1^st 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.

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Don't forget to keep visiting the WWAP website.

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