New Messages Series, based on the findings of the WWDR-3
The third edition of the World Water Development Report: "Water in a Changing World" provides decision makers with the tools to implement sustainable use of our water – offering best practices to help stimulate ideas and actions for better stewardship of this most essential resource. However, government, business, civil society and a host of other actors all make decisions which have implications on water use. In an effort to ensure this diverse group of actors understand how their decisions have an impact, WWAP has produced 10 four-page "Messages" based on the findings of the WWDR-3 targeted at different groups of influential decision makers. These short brochures illustrate how the findings of the WWDR relate to their particular areas of interest and their stakeholders, and suggest ways they could incorporate these findings into their own activities. WWAP will be releasing more of these targeted Messages soon. For more information on this series, please see our webpage on the Messages of the WWDR-3
G8 Water and Sanitation Experts meet at WWAP Headquarters in Perugia, Italy from 27-29 April 2009
The fourth meeting of water and sanitation experts from the Group of Eight (G8) countries was held at WWAP Headquarters in Perugia, Italy from 27 to 29 April 2009.
The event was co-hosted by WWAP, the Region of Umbria and the Perugia University for Foreigners. Mr. Lamberto Bottini, Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development of the Umbria Region and Prof. Roberto Chionne, Director of the University’s Water Resources Research and Documentation Centre (WARREDOC), welcomed the participants.
Mr. Olcay Unver, Coordinator of WWAP greeted the participants on behalf of the Chair of UN-Water, Mr. Pasquale Steduto, and the Director of UNESCO Water Division, Mr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy.
Mr. Unver presented a concept paper prepared by WWAP for the G8 delegate experts: “Water: the blue web that unites us”. Mr Unver outlined the main messages of the concept paper, which links the findings and recommendations of the World Water Development Report 3 to the subject matter of the meeting.
With the paper, WWAP aims to contribute to G8 efforts towards implementing the Evian Water Action Plan and achieving internationally agreed goals on water and sanitation. The 2009 G8 Summit will take place from 8 to 10 July in L’Aquila, Italy, selected to support reconstruction in the Abruzzo region, which was hit by the earthquake on 6 April.
17th Session of the UN CSD: WWAP session on ‘Water in a Changing World: Findings of the new World Water Development Report’
The seventeenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-17), located at the United Nations headquarters in New York, began Monday, May 4th and will last until Friday, May 15th, 2009. During the activities of the CSD, delegates will consider the CSD’s thematic cluster for 2008/2009 - agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.
On Wednesday May 13th, the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) will host a side event on “Water in a Changing World: Findings of the new World Water Development Report”, which will address the CSD’s current thematic cluster in the context of water, a topic also covered by the CSD in previous years. WWAP will describe the food and agriculture-related findings and messages of its new report. The President of the World Water Council has also been invited to convey the messages of the Fifth World Water Forum and the way forward. In addition, WWAP partner DHI/UNEP will report on a WWDR3 case study in Zambia, in particular the successes in terms of IWRM/water governance in national policy as well as the challenges of data and indicators. The session will take place from 1:15 – 2:45 pm in Conference Room 6 of the UN headquarters. We hope that the panel speeches and the subsequent Q&A session will provide mutually reinforcing messages from the water community to the participants of the CSD-17.
In addition to this event, WWAP will be a contributor to a side event organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey and the World Water Council (WWC) on Thursday, May 7th, titled “5th World Water Forum - Water Management Adaptation Strategies to the global changes”. (1:15-2:45 PM Conference Room 6) The political products of the 5th World Water Forum and the third edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR-3) focus on the impact of global changes such as population growth, land use changes, urbanization, economic expansion and climate change on water resources. They also make a call for accelerating coverage and investments for basic human water needs especially safe and clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, food, energy and mitigation of floods and droughts. During this event, attendees will hear presentations from the World Water Council on the political products and results of the 5th World Water Forum; from WWAP on the messages of the WWDR-3 in the context of the CSD’s major themes and on the way forward, regarding scenario development and second generation of indicators; and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey on possible responses to the global challenges.
For more information on these events or to collect related WWAP materials, come visit the UN-Water stand in the conference hall at the CSD. For more information on the CSD-17, including material and power point presentations from the events, please see the UN website on the CSD-17.
New Side Publications Series
WWAP is pleased to announce a new series of side publications to accompany the third edition of the UN World Water Development Report, "Water in a Changing World". Written by partner organizations, these publications will provide more focused, in-depth information and scientific background knowledge discussed in the WWDR-3, and take a closer look at some less conventional water sectors. The series is divided into three primary kinds of publications: Scientific Side Papers, Sector and Topic-Specific ‘Insight’ Reports and a ‘Dialogue Series’.
Launched during the March World Water Forum in Istanbul, the first of these publications, seventeen in total, are now available on-line. The series includes papers which focus on integrated water resources management, climate change, water policy and water management, among other topics. Please visit our page on Side Publications for more information and to download reports. Unfortunately, we are only able to offer these publications in English.
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World Water Development Report 3 "Water in a Changing World" to be Launched March 16th
After several years of sustained effort, WWAP is pleased to announce that the third edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR), “Water in a Changing World”, and its companion case study volume “Facing the Challenges” will be launched on March 16th at the Fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. On the opening day of the Forum, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, will present the new Report, which builds on the conclusions of the first and second reports, “Water for People, Water for Life” (2003) and “Water: A Shared Responsibility” (2006).
The WWDR, which aims to provide an authoritative assessment of the status of the world’s freshwater resources, is the only report of its kind. It is the result of collaboration and effort among the 26 members of UN-Water, country partners, non-governmental organizations, a technical advisory committee, expert groups, and hundreds of contributions from stakeholders through global public consultations.
As the launch date for the third Report draws nearer, continuously updated information on the Report, its contents and key messages, its participatory development process and related events will be available on our WWDR-3 webpage.
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