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

Issue n°26, June 2006

JUNE IN FOCUS

Vacancy notice: coordinator of the UN World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), Perugia, Italy

Mr. Gordon Young, who has been WWAP coordinator since the programme was created in 2000, will retire at the end of July 2006. Mr. Young has been responsible for the implementation of the first two phases of the Programme and oversaw two UN World Water Development Reports (WWDR1, published in 2003 and WWDR2, published in 2006) during his time as WWAP coordinator.

The post of WWAP coordinator is now open for recruitment. The coordinator of the UN World Water Assessment Programme will be in charge of the management of the activities of the United Nations system-wide Programme, particularly the production of the WWDR. The Coordinator will manage the development of overall strategies and work plans for WWAP, including the coordination of all activities of UN partner organizations and external partners, through appropriate and effective channels, leading to the timely production of the periodic WWDRs. Applications should reach UNESCO before 1 August 2006.

:: Read more [PDF format - 30.1 KB]
:: Apply online

FORTHCOMING INTERNATIONAL DAYS

11 July: World Population Day

Theme: Youth and the Millennium Development Goals
Organizer: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
:: Website

9 August: International Day of the World's Indigenous People

Organizer: the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA)
:: Website

UPCOMING EVENTS

20-26 August: World Water Week, Stockholm, Sweden

The World Water Week in Stockholm is the leading annual global meeting place for experts from businesses, governments, the water management and science sectors, inter-governmental organizations, NGOs, research and training institutions and United Nations agencies.
:: Read more

11-13 September: IASTED International Conference on Environmentally Sound Technology in Water Resources Management (ESTW 2006), Gaborone, Botswana

Theme: Science and Technology for Development in the 21^st Century
Organizer: International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED)

:: Read more

WWAP NEWS

Now online: Basque version of the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report Executive Summary

The Executive Summary of the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility' (WWDR2, 2006), is now available online in Basque! This Basque version of the Executive Summary was coordinated by the UNESCO Centre of the Basque Country (UNESCO Etxea), Spain. The executive summary was first released in Basque, English, French and Spanish, during the 4^th World Water Forum in March 2006, and will soon be available in Catalan.

The Water Department of the Basque Government collaborated closely with WWAP throughout the 2^nd phase of the programme and developed the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country case study, an extract of which was included in WWDR2.

:: Access the WWDR2 Executive Summary in Basque [PDF format - 2.62 MB]
:: Read more about the Basque Country case study
:: Read more about WWDR2

12 June: Launch of the WWDR2 executive summary in Catalan, Barcelona, Spain

The UNESCO Centre of Catalonia (Unescocat), Spain, and the Agbar Foundation launched the executive summary of the 2^nd World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility', in Catalan during a roundtable on 'Water in the cities of the 21^st century' in Barcelona, Spain, on 12 June 2006.

The executive summary was presented by WWAP deputy coordinator Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui. The head of the Department for the Environment and Housing of Catalonia, Francesc Baltasar, highlighted the importance of WWAP and the Reports. Unescocat also produced a series of 8 WWDR educational posters based on the contents of the 1^st World Water Development Report and aimed at a large audience. Furthermore, the data contained in WWDR2 and its executive summary will be used by universities and the general public in Catalonia.

The Catalan version of the executive summary will be available online soon.

:: Access the educational posters in Spanish and Catalan

WWAP CASE STUDIES

Full Basque Country case study report available online!

The full Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (ACB, Spain) case study report prepared for the 2^nd World Water Development Report is now available online in Spanish. This report examines water-related challenges in terms of the 11 WWAP challenge areas.

The ACB is 1 of 17 autonomous bodies of Spain. The region's rugged surface conditions and high rainfall have, in the past, prompted serious flooding and a number of droughts. As a response to these extreme events, in 1992, ACB implemented an Integral Plan of Flood Prevention and the region has also established an extremely dense hydrometeorological monitoring network, with over 330 control stations currently in operation. Furthermore, a network with 360 sampling points has been set up in order to survey the environmental status of all aquatic ecosystems and regional water bodies.

:: Read more about the WWAP case studies
:: Read more about the Basque Country case study
:: Read the full Basque Country case study report prepared for WWDR2 [PDF format - 5.26 MB, in Spanish]

Implementing the European Water Framework Directive: An example from the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country

In parallel to industrial and urban development, the quality of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country's (ACB, Spain) water resources and aquatic ecosystems has constantly degraded. In response to this situation, a network with 360 operational sampling points has been set up in order to survey the environmental status of all aquatic ecosystems and regional water bodies (rivers, lakes, reservoirs, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater). The data collected from these points are used to assess the current condition of all water bodies in accordance with the European Union's Water Framework Directive (WFD) which entered into force in 2000. In order to comply with the WFD, the Basque Government carried out a detailed study exclusively on its internal basins, comprising 122 rivers, 4 lakes, 14 transitional water bodies, 44 aquifers and 4 coastal waters, in an effort to characterize the freshwater resources and their associated ecosystems from an environmental and socio-economic perspective.

The results of these studies have indicated that improving water quality and curbing the destruction of ecosystems remain challenges for the region. While the reclamation and restoration of rivers and estuary banks are, to a degree, feasible and currently underway in the ACB, the likelihood of their success will depend upon the degree of damage that has previously occurred. Though such projects may not be able to completely restore water resources to their prior conditions, they can nevertheless help to improve their current state. These projects, combined with an increase in the level of public awareness, new laws and directives concerning the region's water resources, have been key in initiating a trend towards the restoration and better preservation of fragile ecosystems.

This is an excerpt from the ACB Case Study Report, an extract of which was included in the case study chapter of the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a Shared Responsibility' (WWDR2, 2006).

:: Read more about the ACB case study
:: Read more about the WWDR2 Case Studies

WWAP PARTICIPATES

21-23 June: Climate Change and Water in the Prairies Conference, Saskatoon, Canada

The Climate Change and Water in the Prairies Project means to assess the current sensitivity of regional socio-economic systems to changes in water supply and the future vulnerability of these systems under projected changes to the environment, economy and society of the South Saskatchewan River Basin.

The project's conference is co-hosted by the Partners for the Saskatchewan River Basin, the National Water Research Institute and the University of Saskatchewan and took place on 21-23 June 2006 in Saskatoon, Canada.

WWAP coordinator, Mr. Gordon Young, was one of the conference's keynote speakers. He presented the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development, 'Water, a shared responsibility' (WWDR2, 2006), and spoke on 'World Water Assessment, Canadian and Global Stakeholders'.

:: Read more about the conference

23-24 June: preparation of the thematic plaza 'Water a shared responsibility' for the Expo Zaragoza 2008

The Expo Zaragoza 2008 Experts Committee selected the creative team for the Plaza which will be organized around the theme 'Water, a shared responsibility' in collaboration with WWAP.

The designers met with WWAP's deputy coordinator Carlos Fernández-Jáuregui and Pilar González Meyaui, WWAP communications projects coordinator, to discuss the project on 23-24 June 2006 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. The thematic Plaza and the 'Water, a unique resource' Pavilion for the Expo will be designed following WWAP's conceptual script.

28 June: Day-session on 'Water and cooperation in Latin America', Brussels, Belgium

Latin American ministers of the environment and the European Union signed a declaration on the implementation of a strategic partnership on water and sanitation during the 4^th World Water Forum in March 2006. Within this framework, the European Union Water Initiative (EUWI) organized this day-session on 'Water and cooperation in Latin America' in Brussels, Belgium, under the auspices of the Government of Spain and WWAP.

The main objectives of this event were to identify the existing cooperation tools and propose new ones to develop EUWI policy and contribute to the achievements of the water-related Millennium Development Goals in the region. Improvements are necessary in matters of water availability, sanitation, water policies and risk management.

Mr. Fernández-Jáuregui, WWAP deputy coordinator, presented the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility' (WWDR2, 2006), during the opening session of the event and participated in the day session.

:: Read more about the day-session

WWAP PARTNERS

Adoption of the Tunis Declaration to help curb desertification

The importance of dryland development becomes clear when considering that desertification threatens over one third of the Earth's land surface, and that it affects directly the lives of more than 250 million people and threatens another 1.2 billion in 110 countries. An estimated 60 million of those affected in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to move towards northern Africa and Europe by 2020.

Scientists, experts and decision-makers from the world's dryland regions adopted the Tunis Declaration on research priorities to promote sustainable development in arid zones and combat desertification. The Declaration was adopted at the close of the Future of Drylands conference, a landmark event in the United Nations International Year of Deserts and Desertification, which was co-organized by UNESCO.

Notable areas of research singled out by the Declaration as priorities include: the interdependence and conservation of cultural and biological diversity, integrated management of water resources, the identification of sustainable livelihoods for the inhabitants of drylands, renewable energy suitable for dryland development, coping with and management of natural and man-made disasters.

:: More information about the Future of Drylands conference
:: Access the Tunis Declaration [PDF format - 58.8 KB]

20 June: World Refugee Day: 'Keeping the flame of hope alive'

The United Nations General Assembly decided on 4 December 2000 that 20 June would be celebrated as World Refugee Day, under the guidance of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Day was first celebrated in 2001.

It is estimated that there are presently some 30 million environmental refugees and a further 17 million other refugees and displaced persons from wars, persecution and other causes. The former have fled from resource scarcity, from deforestation and environmental degradation, climate change impacts, overpopulation, displacement by development projects, etc.

Large displacements of population can cause instability or conflicts; they entail depletion of scarce resources, overcrowding, shortage of potable water and unsanitary conditions that can lead to disease epidemics. By hanging on to their hopes for basic survival, sustenance and protection, and for the chance to one day rebuild their lives, refugees defy all odds. They still face enormous challenges just trying to obtain things most of us take for granted - schooling, a job, decent housing, drinking water or health-care.

It has been suggested that the number of environmental refugees could rise to 150 million by 2050 as one of the results of climate change.

:: Go to the Day's official website
:: Read the UN Secretary General's message for the Day [PDF format - 27.4 KB]

UN Environment Report Global Deserts Outlook Launched

The Global Deserts Outlook is the first thematic report in the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) series of environmental assessments by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This GEO report, prepared by experts from across the globe, traces the history and astonishing biology of the deserts and assesses likely future changes.

Almost one-quarter of the earth's land surface - some 33.7 million km² - has been defined as 'desert' in some sense. These deserts are inhabited by over 500 million people, significantly more than previously thought. The world's deserts are facing dramatic changes as a result of global climate change, high water demands, tourism and salt contamination of irrigated soils.

Better management of water supplies will be the key challenge for the future of deserts but could, if successful, be a beacon of hope and good practice for other water-short parts of the globe. These are among the findings of UNEP's Global Deserts Outlook launched to mark World Environment Day on 5 June.

:: Read the full report online

FACTS AND FIGURES ON WATER AND REFUGEES, IN COMMEMORATION OF WORLD REFUGEE DAY (20 JUNE)

• It is estimated that there are presently some 30 million environmental refuges and a further 17 million other refugees and displaced persons from wars, persecution and other causes. The former have fled from resource scarcity, from deforestation and environmental degradation, climate change impacts, overpopulation, displacement by development projects, etc.
• It has been suggested that the number of environmental refugees could rise to 150 million by 2050 as one of the results of climate change.
• It was estimated that in 2001, some 12 million refugees and 5 million 'internally displaced persons' were forced to settle in resource-scarce areas, putting further pressure on people, water and the environment.
• Large displacements of population can cause instability or conflict in the host country, country of origin, or within a region. They entail depletion of scarce resources, overcrowding, shortage of potable water and unsanitary conditions that can lead to disease epidemics. If sustainable systems are not put in place, water sources may be depleted and/or contaminated, which eventually could be a source of serious friction with local host communities.
• Studies show that between one-third and half of all illnesses in refugee camps are caused by poor water supply, inadequate sanitation services and deficient hygiene practices.
• In 1994, when one million Rwandans fled the country after the genocide to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, as many as 60,000 children died from a vicious cycle of water shortage and water-borne diseases, including cholera.
• In some refugee schools, because of an inadequate water supply, over 40% of refugee school children regularly skip classes to help collect water. In some cases refugees have to wait six hours on average every day to collect water. As a result, they collect unsafe water at unguarded locations in an effort to save time, exposing themselves to assaults and multiplying the prevalence of diarrhoeal diseases.
• The principles of water supply in refugee and internally displaced persons (IDPs) situations are based on core values that help protect their safety, rights and dignity. These include the following:
     - an equitable distribution of at least 20 litres per person per day of safe water, so that it does not become a source of power that can be abused for various forms of exploitation
     - secure access to water points so that the potential for sexual and gender-based violence is mitigated
     - an adequate number of water distribution points in close proximity to the dwellings, so that physical burden (time and energy) on women and children is lessened
     - participatory planning in place with the refugee community, so that development and operation management of the water supply system and sanitation and hygiene promotion activities are in accordance with their particular needs and cultural practices.

:: Facts and figures taken from the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility' (WWDR2, 2006).

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Don't forget to keep visiting the WWAP website.

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