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

Issue n°37, March 2008

News

WWDR-3 Table of Contents public consultation

The WWAP Secretariat recently held a public comment period on a draft Table of Contents for the Third World Water Development Report (WWDR-3), “Water in a Changing World”, which closed on March 16^th. WWAP would like to thank all those who participated for their contributions and interest. The on-line public comment website received 167 comments from individuals in 24 countries. Hundreds more comments were received from scientists, policy and decision makers, stakeholders and representatives from member states, and others involved in freshwater issues through a parallel consultation process.

To learn more about the WWDR-3 and the results of the public consultation, please visit WWAP’s WWDR-3 website.

Olcay Ünver

WWDR-3 workplan approved

Mr Olcay Ünver, Coordinator of the WWAP Secretariat, presented a workplan for the third World Water Development Report during a January 2008 meeting of UN-Water, the group of 24 UN agencies and entities that have a significant role in addressing global water concerns. The workplan was approved unanimously, including the report’s title, “Water in a Changing World”, structure, as well as the main focuses of the report. For more information on the workplan and development of the WWDR-3, please visit our webpage on the WWDR-3.

Expert Groups

With a more holistic approach, the Third Edition of the WWDR is incorporating new side processes that will help make sure that the Report covers the most current trends and debates. As part of this process, WWAP has established seven Expert Groups which will report on specific complex freshwater issues. Groups are made up of 6–30 outside experts from around the world who will work together to form a consolidated assessment of a particular issue and its associated debates.

Some Groups will make concrete contributions to the WWDR-3, while others will produce side publications and reports. Groups will work on the basis of consensus. Expert Groups on ‘Indicators, Monitoring and Databases’, ‘Climate and Water’, ‘Scenarios’, ‘Storage’, ‘Business, Trade and the Private Sector’, ‘Legal Issues’, and ‘Policy relevance’ have been established. Other Expert Groups under consideration envisaged topics such as WSS-monitoring and water as a human right.

Members of the groups have been consulting and providing input to the WWDR-3. All seven of the groups participated in the public consultation on the Table of Contents for the WWDR-3 in March, and will be providing their inputs to the draft texts of the WWDR-3 in April. Also, the expert group on ‘Storage’ has been engaged in a process that will produce a text on storage options that will be included in the wWDR-3. The ‘Policy Relevance’ group has been looking at how best to maximize the user-friendliness and format of the recommendations of the report, and how to make them relevant to the needs and uses of policy makers on the ground.

Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)

Experience gained during previous WWDR cycles, consultation and assessments on past performance demonstrated that the involvement of a body of scientists, policy and decision makers, stakeholders and member state representatives would benefit the WWDR. In response, a Technical Advisory Committee was established to provide external input into the production of WWDR3.

As of October 10, 2007, invitations were issued to a list of names identified by the WWAP Coordinator in consultation with Chair of UN-Water, Mr Pasquale Steduto. TAC membership is composed of representatives from academia, research institutions, non-governmental organizations, public and professional organizations, and two ex-officio members (Chair of UN-Water and WWAP Coordinator). The TAC currently has 11 members, plus the two ex-officio members. Secretariat services to the TAC are provided by WWAP Secretariat.

For more information on the new process and/or contents of the WWDR-3, please visit our website at WWDR-3.

Integration Meeting in Perugia, April 19-25

An Integration Meeting, or second preparatory meeting for the development of the WWDR-3, will take place in Perugia, Italy at the new WWAP Headquarters in April 2008. At this meeting, members of the Technical Advisory Committee, members of WWAP’s Expert Groups, members of UN-Water, contributors, writers, the WWAP Secretariat and other participants will discuss the tables of contents, the chapters and their integration. Conclusions and recommendations of the WWDR-3 will also be addressed.

For more information on the development of the WWDR-3, please see WWAP’s WWDR-3 website.

WWAP Case Studies

WWAP has received several new case study contributions, including:

• A case study focusing on the effects of climate changes on Pacific Islands. This case study will be developed in cooperation with SOPAC (the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission) and support from the UNESCO Apea Office. The study will provide examples from Kiribati and Tonga.
• A case study focusing on the Cholistan Desert in Pakistan, from the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources, in the Ministry of Science and Technology.
• Additionally, case study partners have started to play an active role in Expert Groups on policy relevance- almost all country partners will play a role in this. For more information on the Expert Groups, please see WWAP News above.

WWAP Participates

Second Thematic and Regional Coordination Meeting on the Fifth World Water Forum, Istanbul, Turkey, February 7-8

Members of the WWAP Secretariat attended the second regional coordination meeting for the Forum in Istanbul on February 7-8. They took part in workshops on the Forum’s six themes and 22 topics in order to help identify a plan of action for further developing thematic and topic issues into Forum sessions, and to identify important synergies between the thematic material planned for the Forum and the content of the WWDR.

Mr. Olcay Ünver provided a presentation on the activities of WWAP and development of the WWDR-3 to participants, which included representatives from an extensive group of stakeholders, organizations and institutions gathered for the meeting. A brochure discussing WWAP and the WWDR was also received by over 400 participants in meeting packets distributed upon arrival in Istanbul.

International Regional Conference: "Aral Sea problems, its impact on gene fund, biodiversity and measures by mitigation their consequences", Tashkent, Uzbekistan, March 11

UNESCO’s Deputy Director General, Mr Marcio Barbosa, and WWAP Coordinator, Mr Olcay Ünver, WWAP Coordinator, attended the International Regional Conference on the Aral Sea, held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on March 11. Mr Ünver was invited to provide a presentation on “An Overview of Global Freshwater Related Problems” at the meeting. While there, he signed a Letter of Cooperation with the Uzbekistan Authorities which articulates the mutual desire of the Uzbekistan Government and WWAP to work closely together on future case study projects.

First African Water Week held in Tunis, Tunisia March 26-28

For the First African Water Week, WWAP was honored by an invitation to present a keynote speech on behalf of UNESCO, as well as provide presentations and papers to plenary sessions on “Meeting Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goals” and “Investing in Information, Knowledge and Monitoring.” Hosted by the African Development Bank, the African Water Week is to serve as a platform to prepare for a number of continental and global water events, including the 2008 International Year of Sanitation, the proposed 2008 African Summit of Heads of States and Governments on water and sanitation, and the 5^th World Water Forum in March 2009, which serves as a stepping-stone towards global collaboration on water problems.

For information on the presentations and outcomes of the week, as well as press releases, interviews and videos from the week, please visit the African Water Week.

International Water Events

22 March - World Water Day 2008: Sanitation

The UN General Assembly declared the year 2008 the International Year of Sanitation. Consequently, World Water Day 2008, which was celebrated this year on Thursday 20 March, highlighted issues on sanitation in accordance with the Year. People around the world were encouraged to celebrate the day to draw attention to the world’s sanitation challenge. For more information on those events, please see UN-Water’s World Water Day 2008 website.

Forthcoming Events

• International Expo Zaragoza 2008; Zaragoza, Spain; June 14^th - September 14^th, 2008. Theme: Water and Sustainable Development.
• World Water Week; Stockholm, Sweden; August 17-23, 2008. Theme: Progress and Prospects on Water: For a Clean and Healthy World, with a special focus on sanitation.

Did you know...? Facts and figures on water in Ethiopia

• Ethiopia’s terrain consists mostly of a huge central plateau and surrounding lowland plains, producing three climatic zones: tropical in the south and southwest, cold to temperate in the highlands and arid to semi-arid in the northeastern and southwestern lowlands. As a result, the amount of rainfall and surface runoff is highly variable and depends on location and altitude.
• Ethiopia has seven transboundary basins that carry over 95% of annual runoff. However, there is no comprehensive agreement binding riparian states. While basin countries are currently engaged in negotiations, it is hoped that the Nile Basin Initiative (1999) will provide the basis for a permanent legal and institutional framework.
• Ethiopia is largely dependent on the agricultural sector, which provides 86% of the country’s employment and 57% of GDP. Rain-fed crop cultivation is the principal activity, but frequent and severe droughts cause serious decreases in the incomes of rural inhabitants who tend to rely heavily on agriculture.
• The status of water and sanitation infrastructure is very poor in Ethiopia: only 10% of Ethiopians have access to proper sanitation facilities and 31% to safe water. Accordingly, the incidences of diseases related to unsafe water supply and inadequate sanitation are very high.
• The major causes of morbidity among patients seeking treatment in health facilities include respiratory infections, malaria, skin infections, diarrheal diseases and intestinal parasitic infections – all of which are directly related to water and sanitation.
• The Water Sector Development Programme prepared for 2002-2016 aims to improve the existing situation; however, the investment required for the implementation of this program cannot be financed by national funds alone. Attracting international donors will therefore likely remain a priority in order to alleviate the heavy burden of disease, poverty and hunger that the country currently faces.

Facts and figures are taken from the 2^nd United Nations World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility', WWDR2, 2006, pages 477-479.

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