A collective United Nations input

The United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) is a periodic, comprehensive review giving an authoritative picture of the state of the world's freshwater resources, and aiming to provide decision-makers with the tools for sustainable use of our water.

Coordinated by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), the 1^st Report (WWDR1) was the result of the collaboration of twenty-three UN agencies and convention secretariats and laid the foundations for regular, system-wide monitoring and reporting by the UN, together with development of standardized methodologies and data.

The 1^st edition of this report, Water for People, Water for Life, was launched on World Water Day (22 March) at the 3^rd World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan.

The targeted audience

WWDR1 is targeted to all those involved in the formulation and implementation of water-related policies and investment strategies, as well as to professionals at all levels. Although it offers a broad global picture, it focuses particularly on the situation in developing countries, where the need for better infrastructure and governance is highest. With this report, WWAP is aiming to show where systems are failing, and to provide the information needed for efficient and effective capacity-building throughout the world.

This 1^st edition of the WWDR laid the foundation for subsequent editions, concentrating essentially on evaluating what progress has been made, and not made, since the Rio Summit and on developing effective assessment methodologies.

The Report encompasses a broad range of components, focusing on human stewardship of freshwater, that complex aggregation of policies, legislation, social programmes, economic approaches and management strategies through which we seek to achieve water sustainability.

Contents of the 1^st Report

Generously illustrated with more than 25 full-colour global maps, numerous figures (diagrams, pie-charts), tables (including country tables) and photos, the Report opens with a chapter describing the water crisis. It then:

• Reviews progress and trends.

• Proposes methodologies and indicators for measuring sustainability.

• Assesses progress in 11 challenge areas, including: health, food, environment, shared water resources, cities, industry, energy, risk management, knowledge, valuing water and governance.

• Presents seven pilot case studies of river basins representing various social, economic and environmental settings.

Each chapter ends with a comprehensive list of related references, as well as useful web sites. The book is completely indexed, and includes in the annexes a list of the main global assessment publications.

:: Access the table of contents

Executive Summary

On 22 March 2003, the English version of WWDR1 was officially launched. The Executive Summary of the Report has been produced in all the UN languages, as well as in Bahasa Malay, German and Japanese.

For hard copies of the Executive Summary in the different languages, readers should address enquiries to the appropriate publishers below:

• Arabic: MERIC, Cairo

• Bahasa Malay: MDC, Kuala Lumpur

• Chinese: Peking University Press, Beijing

• French: UNESCO Publishing, Paris

• German: UNO-Verlag GmbH, Bonn

• Japanese: Hara Shobou, Tokyo

• Russian: VES MIR, Moscow

• Spanish: Mundi-Prensa, Madrid

WWDR1 credit

Short extracts of WWDR1 may be used freely but the source must be credited as follow:

UN/WWAP (United Nations/World Water Assessment Programme). 2003. 1^st UN World Water Development Report: Water for People, Water for Life. Paris, New York and Oxford. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and Berghahn Books.

If you wish to reproduce longer extracts or any of the graphic elements from the Report, please contact wwap@unesco.org