MARCH IN FOCUS
 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report will be launched on 22 March
WWAP coordinator, Gordon Young, representatives of UN-Water and National Partners will officially present the Report on the morning of World Water Day, 22 March 2006. On this occasion, a short documentary on the WWAP Case Study in the State of Mexico will be projected. The Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will close the event and address guests on the occasion of the launch of WWDR2 and World Water Day 2006, guided by UNESCO under the theme 'Water and Culture'.
The official launch will take place at the Camino Real hotel, from 9 to 11:15 am.
The launch will be followed by a press conference. A live webcast of the event and press conference will be accessible online.
Advance copies of the WWDR2 are available to the media upon request. Please contact Ms. Sue Williams (s.williams@unesco.org) of the Press Relations Section.
:: Read more about WWDR2
:: Access the World Water Day 2006 website
WWDR2 Executive Summary available online
The Executive Summary of the 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility', is now available online in English, French and Spanish. The Executive Summary was presented during the WWDR2 press launch on 9 March 2006.
:: Access the WWDR2 Executive Summary [PDF format -2,62 MB]
Or ask for a hard copy by writing an email to wwap@unesco.org.
FORTHCOMING INTERNATIONAL DAYS
22 March: World Water Day
Theme: Water and Culture
Organizer: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
:: Website
23 March: World Meteorological Day
Theme: Preventing and mitigating natural disasters
Organizer: World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
:: Website
7 April: World Health Day
Theme: Working together for health
Organizer: World Health Organization (WHO)
:: Website
WWAP AT THE 4th WORLD WATER FORUM
17-22 March: WWAP at the 4th WWF Water Fair
Come to see us at the 4th World Water Forum Water Fair in Mexico City, Mexico! WWAP's stand is n°88, in the UN pavilion by room A, open from 9 am to 8:30 pm local time on 17-22 March 2006.
The stand provides an opportunity for visitors to meet with members of the WWAP Secretariat, access more information about IWRM and targeting and monitoring, and get a preview of the 2nd World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility'! Documentation about WWAP activities such as educational posters, brochures and the Executive Summary of the Report will be made available at the stand.
:: See the 4th WWF Water Fair map [XLS format - 1.3 MB]
18 March: Mega-session on 'Inclusion of IWRM in National Plans'
WWAP, the Global Water Partnership (GWP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are co-organizing a day-session on 'Inclusion of IWRM in National Plans' for the 4th World Water Forum (4th WWF).
The mega-session will take place on 18 March 2006, room Valparaiso 1, at the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico City, Mexico. It is organized in 3 sub-parts of 2 hours each throughout the whole day, from 11:15 am to 18:45 pm.
WWAP Coordinator, M. Gordon Young, who is also beacon for the 4th WWF cross-cutting perspective 'Targeting, Monitoring and Implementation Assessment', will introduce the mega-session and speak on inputs to the ministerial roundtable.
Speakers from various organizations and parts of the world will present overviews of global and regional surveys, as well as concrete examples of local actions towards the implementation of IWRM in National Plans. Representatives of the WWAP Case Studies in the Basque Country and Bolivia will also participate and discuss local actions.
:: See the 4th World Water Forum programme for 18 March 2006 [PDF format - 18.8 KB]
:: Read more about the cross-cutting theme 'Targeting, Monitoring and Implementation Assessment'
:: Read more about the WWAP Case Studies included in the 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility'
18 March: Session on 'Integrated management and governance: a framework for making empowerment a reality'
WWAP is also co-organizing a 2-hour session for the 4th World Water Forum (4th WWF) on 'Integrated management and governance: a framework for making empowerment a reality' with the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the Association of Water Boards of the Netherlands (UNIE). The session will take place on 18 March 2006 from 11:15 am to 1:15 pm in room Montejo 4.
The objectives of the session are to demonstrate effective mechanisms for stakeholder participation in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), illustrate the positive inter-relationships between stakeholders (national governments, local governments, basin organizations and local communities) and examine the success factors for implementing IWRM and success factors in vertical integration. Some of the local actions chosen to illustrate the session will be presented by representatives of WWAP Case Studies in the Lake Titicaca Basin, Sri Lanka and Uganda.
:: See the 4th World Water Forum programme for 18 March 2006 [PDF format - 18.8 KB]
:: Read more about the WWAP Case Studies included in the 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility'
22 March: Launch of the 2nd United Nations World Water Development Report
WWAP coordinator, Gordon Young, representatives of UN-Water and National Partners will present the Report officially on the morning of World Water Day, 22 March 2006. On this occasion, a short documentary on the WWAP Case Study in the State of Mexico will be projected. The Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will close the event and address the guests on the occasion of the launch of WWDR2 and World Water Day 2006, guided by UNESCO under the theme 'Water and Culture'.
The official launch will take place at the Camino Real hotel, from 9 to 11:15 am.
The launch will be followed by a press conference. Advance copies of the WWDR2 are available to the media upon request. Please contact Ms. Sue Williams (s.williams@unesco.org) of the Press Relations Section.
:: More information about WWDR2
:: More information about World Water Day 2006
WWAP CASE STUDIES
Excerpts from the 16 Case Studies included in the 2nd World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility' (WWDR2), are now available on the WWAP website. The full Case Studies will be added gradually over the coming months.
These 16 Case Studies from around the world examine typical water resource challenges and provide valuable on-the-ground insights into the facets of the water crisis and different management responses: The Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (Spain), Danube River Basin (Albania, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia,
Switzerland, Ukraine), Ethiopia, France, Japan, Kenya, Lake Peipsi (Estonia, Russian Federation), Lake Titicaca (Bolivia, Peru), Mali, the State of Mexico, Mongolia (Tuul Basin), La Plata Basin (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay), South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Uganda.
:: Access the WWDR2 Case Studies
WORLD WATER DAY 2006 EVENTS
Each year, a different United Nations agency is selected to coordinate events surrounding World Water Day (WWD) around the world, and a different theme is chosen to reflect the many facets of freshwater resources. World Water Day 2006 will be guided by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under the theme 'Water and Culture.'
The official World Water Day celebration will be held at the Hotel Camino Real in Mexico City, Mexico. During the ceremony the documentary film 'Water and Culture' will be projected, followed by the official presentation by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) coordinator, Mr. Gordon Young, of the United Nations World Water Development Report 2. An extract of the documentary 'Mexico, an unquenchable thirst?' on the WWAP Case Study in the State of Mexico will be projected. The Director General of UNESCO will close the event and address the gests on the occasion of the launch of WWDR2 and World Water Day 2006, guided by UNESCO.
UNESCO organized several side events to celebrate WWD2006 in Mexico City: two photo exhibitions, 'AQVA' by Massimiliano Lattanzi (16-31 March) at the Museo del Carmen and 'Feet in the Water' by Vivian Bibliowicz (16-31 March) at the Claustro Sor Juana, and the public screening of the laureates of the 'First International Water and Film Event'.
Visit the WWD2006 website for more information on WWD events worldwide. WWD2006 posters and multimedia resources will be made available on the UNESCO stand, stand #86 in the UN Pavilion at the World Water Fair in Mexico City on 17-22 March.
:: Go to the official WWD2006 website
FACTS AND FIGURES FROM THE 2nd UNITED NATIONS WORLD WATER DEVELOPMENT REPORT, 'WATER, A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY'
- In many places of the world, a staggering 30 to 40% of water or more goes unaccounted for due to water leakages in pipes and canals and illegal tapping.
- In 2000, more than 900 million urban dwellers (nearly a third of all urban dwellers worldwide) lived in slums. A slum dweller may only have 5 to 10 litres per day at his or her disposal. A middle- or high-income household in the same city, however, may use some 50 to 150 litres per day, if not more.
- Groundwater systems globally provide 25 to 40% of the world's drinking water.
- Human population growth and the expansion of economic activities are collectively placing huge demands on coastal and freshwater ecosystems. Water withdrawals, for instance, have increased sixfold since the 1900s, which is twice the rate of population growth.
- Sanitation coverage in developing countries (49%) is only half that of the developed world (98%).
- At present, about 13% of the world's population does not have access to enough food to live a healthy and productive life, yet the ability, technology and resources needed to produce enough food for every man, woman and child in the world do currently exist. Lack of health, financial or natural resources such as land and water, and lack of skills to link productive activities with remote markets and ensure employment, are all intimately related to poverty.
- Given proper incentives, it is generally found that industry can cut its water demand by 40 to 90%, even with existing techniques and practices. However, water conservation policies need to be fair, feasible and enforceable.
- If children are taught proper hygiene, primary schooling can transform them into health educators for their families, thereby passing on vital information and skills that can reduce household vulnerability to deadly diarrhoeal diseases by at least 40%.
- Women produce between 60 and 80% of the food in most developing countries. They are major stakeholders in all development issues related to water, yet they often remain on the periphery of management decisions and planning for water resources.
:: Facts and figures taken from the 2nd World Water Development Report (WWDR2), 'Water, a shared responsibility'.
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