www.unesco.org/water/wwap

Water a shared responsibility

The United Nations

World Water Development Report 2

Executive Summary

UN-WATER/WWAP/2006/3

For some, the water crisis means having to walk long distances every day to fetch enough drinking water – clean or unclean – just to get by. For others, it means

suffering from avoidable malnutrition or disease caused by drought, flood or inadequate sanitation. Still others experience it as a lack of funds, institutions or knowledge to solve local problems of water use and allocation. Water,a shared responsibility The United Nations World Water Development Report 2 (WWDR 2)

www.unesco.org/water/wwap

Many countries are still not on track to reach the water-related targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – threatening their security, development and environmental sustainability – and millions of people die each year from treatable water-borne diseases. While water pollution and the destruction of ecosystems increase, we are witnessing the consequences that climate change, natural disasters, poverty, warfare, globalization, population growth, urbanization and disease – all of which impinge on the water sector – have on so many of the people of the world.

It is widely accepted that sustainable and equitable water management must be undertaken using an integrated approach, that assessment of the resource is the basis for rational decision-making, and that national capacities to undertake such assessments must be further supported and expanded at local through international levels. It is herefore paramount to provide the best possible understanding of the state of the world’s freshwater resources to the world at large.

The triennial World Water Development Report (WWDR) lays the foundation for a continuous, global monitoring system and shows the United Nations system at work, pooling the unique perspectives and expertise of the 24 UN agencies that comprise UN-Water, in partnership with governments and other entities concerned with

freshwater issues.

Water, a Shared Responsibility (March 2006) is the

main outcome of Phase 2 of the World Water

Assessment Programme (WWAP), founded in 2000

as a collective response of the UN system to assist

countries in reaching their commitments in key

water-related challenge areas. WWDR 2 offers a

comprehensive and holistic assessment of the

world’s water, while bringing the issues of water

governance, knowledge accessibility and the

specific challenges of managing water into the

mainstream of development thinking and practices,

across all the major intersections of water, human

well-being and development.

Bearing in mind users needs, the 2006 Report aims

to be practical in orientation, offers best practices

as well as in-depth theoretical and analytic

analyses to help stimulate ideas and actions for

better stewardship in the water sector. The use of

hundreds of maps, tables, figures, boxed examples,

indicators and case studies illustrate that only our

global cooperation will help to ensure an integrated,

equitable and sustainable management of the

world’s most precious resource – water.

www.unesco.org/water/wwap

Water a shared responsibility

The United Nations

World Water Development Report 2

Executive Summary

UN-WATER/WWAP/2006/3

For some, the water crisis means having to walk long distances every day to fetch

enough drinking water – clean or unclean – just to get by. For others, it means

suffering from avoidable malnutrition or disease caused by drought, flood or

inadequate sanitation. Still others experience it as a lack of funds, institutions or

knowledge to solve local problems of water use and allocation.

Water,a shared responsibility

The United Nations World Water Development Report 2 (WWDR 2)

www.unesco.org/water/wwap

Many countries are still not on track to reach the

water-related targets of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) – threatening their

security, development and environmental

sustainability – and millions of people die each year

from treatable water-borne diseases. While water

pollution and the destruction of ecosystems increase,

we are witnessing the consequences that climate

change, natural disasters, poverty, warfare,

globalization, population growth, urbanization and

disease – all of which impinge on the water sector

– have on so many of the people of the world.

It is widely accepted that sustainable and equitable

water management must be undertaken using an

integrated approach, that assessment of the

resource is the basis for rational decision-making,

and that national capacities to undertake such

assessments must be further supported and

expanded at local through international levels. It is

therefore paramount to provide the best possible

understanding of the state of the world’s freshwater

resources to the world at large.

The triennial World Water Development Report

(WWDR) lays the foundation for a continuous,

global monitoring system and shows the United

Nations system at work, pooling the unique

perspectives and expertise of the 24 UN

agencies that comprise UN-Water, in

partnership with governments and

other entities concerned with

freshwater issues.

Water, a Shared Responsibility (March 2006) is the

main outcome of Phase 2 of the World Water

Assessment Programme (WWAP), founded in 2000

as a collective response of the UN system to assist

countries in reaching their commitments in key

water-related challenge areas. WWDR 2 offers a

comprehensive and holistic assessment of the

world’s water, while bringing the issues of water

governance, knowledge accessibility and the

specific challenges of managing water into the

mainstream of development thinking and practices,

across all the major intersections of water, human

well-being and development.

Bearing in mind users needs, the 2006 Report aims

to be practical in orientation, offers best practices

as well as in-depth theoretical and analytic

analyses to help stimulate ideas and actions for

better stewardship in the water sector. The use of

hundreds of maps, tables, figures, boxed examples,

indicators and case studies illustrate that only our

global cooperation will help to ensure an integrated,

equitable and sustainable management of the

world’s most precious resource – water.

Table of Contents

Preface. . . . . . .1

SECTION 1 - CHANGING CONTEXTS

Chapter 1: Living in a Changing World. . . . . . .3

Chapter 2: The Challenges of Governance

(UNDP, with IFAD) . . . . . . .7

Chapter 3: Water and Human Settlements in an

Urbanizing World (UN-HABITAT). . . . . . .10

SECTION 2 - CHANGING NATURAL

SYSTEMS

Chapter 4: The State of the Resource

(UNESCO & WMO, with IAEA). . . . . . .12

Chapter 5: Coastal and Freshwater Ecosystems

(UNEP). . . . . . .15

SECTION 3 - CHALLENGES FOR WELL-BEING

AND DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 6: Protecting and Promoting Human

Health (WHO & UNICEF). . . . . . .18

Chapter 7: Water for Food, Agriculture and

Rural Livelihoods (FAO & IFAD). . . . . . .21

Chapter 8: Water and Industry (UNIDO). . . . . . .24

Chapter 9: Water and Energy (UNIDO). . . . . . .27

SECTION 4 - MANAGEMENT RESPONSES

AND STEWARDSHIP

Chapter 10: Managing Risks: Securing the Gains

of Development (WMO, ISDR & UNU). . . . . . .30

Chapter 11: Sharing Water (UNESCO). . . . . . .33

Chapter 12: Valuing and Charging for Water

(UNDESA). . . . . . .35

Chapter 13: Enhancing Knowledge and Capacity

(UNESCO). . . . . . .38

SECTION 5 - SHARING RESPONSIBILITIES

Chapter 14: Case Studies: Moving Towards an

Integrated Approach. . . . . . .41

Chapter 15: Conclusions and Recommendations

for Action. . . . . . .43

Photos credits. . . . . . .46

Order form. . . . . . .47

Survey. . . . . . .48

1

In the three years since the launch of the first World Water

Development Report (2003), the world has witnessed considerable

change. There have been many instances of major water-related

disasters: the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; the 2004 and 2005

hurricanes in the Caribbean, the west Pacific and the United States; the

2005 floods in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in many other

regions; and the extensive droughts in Niger, Mali, Spain and Portugal.

These are reminders of both the destructive power of water and the

misery deriving from lack of it in so many regions of the world.

These extreme events are only the most prominent illustrations of

fundamental changes that are affecting water resources worldwide. In

many cases, this evolution is most probably linked to slow but

persistent changes in global climates, a phenomenon that is supported

by a growing body of evidence: the combination of lower precipitation

and higher evaporation in many regions is diminishing water quantities

in rivers, lakes and groundwater storage; while increased pollution is

damaging ecosystems and the health, lives and livelihoods of those

without access to adequate safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

Major demographic changes are also seriously affecting the quality and

quantity of available freshwater on the planet. While the more

developed countries enjoy relatively stable populations, the lessdeveloped

regions of the world are generally experiencing rapid growth

and population shifts, particularly in towns, small cities and megacities.

In many rapidly growing urban areas, it is proving impossible to

build the infrastructure necessary to deliver water supply and

sanitation facilities to service the population, leading to poor health,

low quality of life and, in many cases, to social unrest. To the urban

demands for water must be added the increasing demands on water for

food production, energy creation and industrial uses.

Large shifts in the geographic distribution of populations occur in

various contexts, often adding to water supply problems and social

tension. In areas, such as Darfur, there are both internally displaced

persons and transboundary refugees. Legal and illegal economic

migrants are swelling populations in parts of the United States and

Western Europe, as elsewhere. Tourism to many holiday destinations of

the world often exerts a strain on the water supplies of these regions.

Whether it is the result of continued unrest and warfare, terrorist

activities or economic instability, population movement is a factor that

has a substantial impact on water availability in the world.

PREFACE

Water

a shared responsibility

The United Nations

World Water Development Report 2

2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

PREFACE

It is against these changes in the global situation - some rapid and very noticeable, others insidious and yet

persistent - that the governance of water resources must be assessed. This second Report, Water, A Shared

Responsibility, sets water issues against this evolving background and places greater emphasis on governance

issues.

It is proving extremely difficult for many governments to effectively confront the many and intertwined issues

concerning water. Not only is it difficult for departments within national governments to collaborate effectively,

but problems are compounded when many management decisions have to be taken at sub-national and

community levels, as the linkage and cooperation between different levels of government is often tenuous at

best. The challenges for government agencies to link to NGOs and the private sector for resolving water issues

further complicate management and decision-making. The task of managing water becomes even more complex

when rivers flow from one country to another. The building of cooperative upstream-downstream relationships is

becoming increasingly important with close to half of the world's people living in river basins or above aquifers

that cross international borders.

An important goal of the World Water Assessment Programme - founded in 2000 at the request of governments

within the Commission on Sustainable Development - is therefore to assist governments in developing and

implementing their national water management plans. Thus, a number of case studies have been developed and

included in the Report. In the first Report, 7 case studies involving 12 countries were included to illustrate the

variety of circumstance in different regions of the world. Since then, the number of case studies has grown to

17 involving 42 countries. In a single volume, it is not possible to describe all case studies in detail. Thus we have

chosen to summarize the case studies in the Report and publish the details of each study on our website. This

strategy also allows us to make necessary updates as new data and information become available.

As we move through the International Decade for Action, 'Water for Life', 2005-2015, the World Water

Development Reports will provide a series of assessments to facilitate the monitoring of change in the water

sector, both on a global basis and within a growing number of case-study countries and river basins. The purpose

of the Decade is to focus on the implementation of water-related programmes and projects, while striving to

ensure cooperation at all levels, including the participation and involvement of women, to achieve the

internationally-agreed water-related goals (Agenda 21, the UN Millennium Declaration and the JPOI as well as

those of the 12th and 13th sessions of the Commission on Sustainable Development). A number of issues

identified by UN-Water as priorities for the Decade include coping with water scarcity, access to drinking water,

sanitation and hygiene, and disaster risk reduction, particularly in Africa.

The triennial World Water Development Reports will provide substantive content for the Decade's agenda

(subsequent editions of the Report are scheduled for production in 2009, 2012 and 2015) and lay the foundation

for a continuous, global monitoring system, pooling the unique perspectives and expertise of the 24 UN agencies

that comprise UN-Water, in partnership with governments and other entities concerned with freshwater issues.

We trust that you will find this and future Reports both informative and stimulating.

The key challenges of contemporary water

management can only be understood within

the very broad context of the world's socioeconomic

systems. Changing demographics and

population movements; shifts in geopolitics, with new

country boundaries and alliances; fast developing

information and communication technologies; plus the

impacts of climate change and extreme weather

conditions are all making the world a more challenging

place for decision-makers. Poverty, warfare and

preventable disease still affect much of the world's

population, often in developing countries and in

increasingly crowded urban conditions. These are

elements of the broad and often fast changing contexts

within which we must place our discussions on water

resources management.

It is within this setting that the world's water managers

must administer what is becoming an increasingly

scarce and fluctuating resource. In an attempt to

maximize development opportunities in a sustainable

fashion, this must be done within the socio-economic

context of the water basin concerned. The pressures

that they face in this task are many and varied. It is

increasingly recognized that an Integrated Water

Resources Management (IWRM) approach is needed to

consider all such factors and issues simultaneously in

order to secure the equitable and sustainable

management of freshwater. This integrated approach to

water management is a central tenet of the Report and

underpins the perspective taken in all chapters across all

challenge areas.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are

providing important global targets. Setting

targets is vital for focusing attention and providing

incentives to mobilize action on key issues of

development. Recognizing the need to speed up poverty

alleviation and socio-economic development, 8 MDGs

with specific quantifiable targets

were set by the United Nations

(UN) General Assembly

Millennium Meeting in 2000

to be achieved by 2015 from a

1990 baseline. Additional goals

related to sanitation and the

inclusion of IWRM in national

plans were established during

the World Summit on

Sustainable Development in

2002 in Johannesburg.

By setting these goals,

the UN system has taken a lead role in finding

ways to share the world's resources more

equitably, while offering more protection from

natural hazards. Moves towards eradicating extreme

poverty, which affects 40 percent of the world's

population, are underway. Water has a crucial role to

play in this endeavour. This report examines these

issues, as well as the current developments in and

thinking behind more refined and better adapted

monitoring tools for the water sector.

Setting targets establishes concrete quantifiable

objectives, while focusing attention on the issues at

hand and providing incentives to take action and

mobilize the resources necessary for reaching the goals.

However, targets are needed not only at the global level,

but also at national, sub-national and community levels,

where action has to be taken, for which regular and

reliable monitoring is required. Setting up such a

monitoring system for water-related goals and targets

is also a central element of this Report.

CHAPTER | LIVING IN A CHANGING WORLD

There is a enough water for everyone. The problem we face today is largely one of

governance: equitably sharing this water while ensuring the sustainability of natural

ecosystems. At this point in time, we have not yet achieved this balance.

3

Above

A typical dug well in Bahai,

north eastern Chad, which was

also shared with refugees arriving

from Sudan in early 2004.

1 CHAPTER 1

Living in a

Changing World

4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

WATER AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

GOAL 1. ERADICATE EXTREME

POVERTY AND HUNGER1

Water is a factor of production in virtually all

enterprise, including agriculture, industry and

the services sector. Improved nutrition and food

security reduces susceptibility to diseases,

including HIV/AIDS, malaria among others.

Access to electricity is key to improving quality

of life in the modern age. Competition between

the various sectors must be balanced by policies

that recognize the ability and responsibility of

all sectors to address the issues of poverty and

hunger.

Targets:

􀁑 Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the

proportion of people whose income is less

than $1 a day

􀁑 Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the

proportion of people who suffer from

hunger

WWDR2 Water-related Indicators:

􀁑 Percentage of undernourished people

􀁑 Percentage of poor people living in rural

areas

􀁑 Relative importance of agriculture

􀁑 Irrigated land as percentage of cultivated

land

􀁑 Relative importance of agriculture water

withdrawals in water balance

􀁑 Extent of land salinized by irrigation

􀁑 Importance of groundwater in irrigation

􀁑 Dietary Energy Supply (DES)

see Water for Food, Agriculture and

Rural Livelihoods: Chapter 7

􀁑 Trends in industrial water use

􀁑 Water use by sector

􀁑 Organic pollution emissions by industrial

sector

􀁑 Industrial water productivity

􀁑 Trends in ISO 14001 certification, 1997-

2002

􀁑 Access to electricity and domestic use

􀁑 Electricity generation by fuel, 1971-2001

􀁑 Capability for hydropower generation, 2002

􀁑 Total primary energy supply by fuel

􀁑 Carbon intensity of electricity production,

2002

􀁑 Volume of desalinated water produced

see Water and Industry: Chapter 8

see Water and Energy: Chapter 9

GOAL 2. ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL

PRIMARY EDUCATION

Promotion of a healthy school environment is

an essential element of ensuring universal

access to education and school enrolment,

attendance, retention and performance are

improved; teacher placement is improved. In

this respect access to adequate drinking water

and sanitation is key.

Target:

􀁑 Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere,

boys and girls alike will be able to complete

a full course of primary schooling

WWDR2 Water-related Indicator:

􀁑 Knowledge Index

see Enhancing Knowledge and

Capacity: Chapter 13

GOAL 3. PROMOTE GENDER

EQUALITY AND EMPOWER

WOMEN

Educating women and girls will permit them to

fulfil their potential as full partners in the

development effort.

Target:

􀁑 Eliminate gender disparity in primary and

secondary education, preferably by 2015

and in all levels of education no later than

2015

WWDR2 Water-related Indicator:

􀁑 Access to information, participation and

justice in water decisions

see Challenges

of Governance: Chapter 2

GOAL 4. REDUCE CHILD

MORTALITY

Improvements in access to safe drinking water

and adequate sanitation will help prevent

diarrhoea, and lay a foundation for the control

of soil-transmitted helminths and

schistosomiasis among other pathogens.

Target:

􀁑 Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and

2015, the under-five mortality rate

WWDR2 Water-related Indicators:

􀁑 Mortality in children <5 yrs

􀁑 Prevalence of underweight children <5 yrs

􀁑 Prevalence of stunting among children <5 yrs

see Protecting and Promoting

Human Health: Chapter 6

GOAL 5. IMPROVE MATERNAL

HEALTH

Improved health and nutrition reduce

susceptibility to anaemia and other conditions

that affect maternal mortality. Sufficient

quantities of clean water for washing pre-andpost

birth cut down on life-threatening

infection.

Target:

􀁑 Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990

and 2015, the maternal mortality rate

WWDR2 Water-related Indicator:

􀁑 DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Year)

see Protecting and Promoting

Human Health: Chapter 6

1. Although industry and energy are not directly addressed by the Millennium Development Goals, they play an important role in providing employment, income and improved standard of living.

5

CHAPTER 1 | LIVING IN A CHANGING WORLD

SECTION 1

2. Only the most relevant targets have been listed for this goal.

GOAL 6. COMBAT HIV, AIDS,

MALARIA AND OTHER

DISEASES

Improved water supply and sanitation reduces

susceptibility to/severity of HIV/AIDS and other

major diseases.

Targets:

􀁑 Halt by 2015 and begin to reverse the

spread of HIV/AIDS

􀁑 Halt by 2015 and begin to reverse the

incidence of malaria and other major

diseases

WWDR2 Water-related Indicator:

􀁑 DALY (Disability Adjusted Life Year)

see Protecting and Promoting

Human Health: Chapter 6

GOAL 7. ENSURE

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Healthy ecosystems are essential for the

maintenance of biodiversity and human wellbeing.

We depend upon them for our drinking

water, food security and a wide range of

environmental goods and services.

Target:

􀁑 Integrate the principles of sustainable

development into country policies and

programmes and reverse the loss of

environmental resources

WWDR2 Water-related Indicators:

􀁑 Water Stress Index

􀁑 Groundwater development

􀁑 Precipitation annually

􀁑 TARWR volume (total annual renewable

water resources)

􀁑 TARWR per capita

􀁑 Surface water (SW) as a % TARWR

􀁑 Groundwater (GW) as a % of TARWR

􀁑 Overlap % TARWR

􀁑 Inflow % TARWR

􀁑 Outflow % TARWR

􀁑 Total Use as % TARWR

see the State of

the Resource: Chapter 4

􀁑 Fragmentation and flow regulation of rivers

􀁑 Dissolved nitrogen (NO3 + NO2)

􀁑 Trends in freshwater habitat protection

􀁑 Trends in freshwater species

􀁑 Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)

see Coastal and Freshwater

Ecosystems: Chapter 5

Targets:

􀁑 Halve by 2015 the proportion of people of

people without sustainable access to safe

drinking water and basic sanitation

􀁑 By 2020, to have achieved a significant

improvement in the lives of at least 100

million slum dwellers

WWDR2 Water-related Indicators:

􀁑 Urban Water and Sanitation Governance Index

􀁑 Index of Performance of Water Utilities

see Water and Human Settlements in

an Urbanizing World: Chapter 3

􀁑 Access to safe drinking water

􀁑 Access to basic sanitation

see Protecting and Promoting

Human Health: Chapter 6

GOAL 8. DEVELOP A GLOBAL

PARTNERSHIP FOR

DEVELOPMENT2

Water has a range of values that must be

recognized in selecting governance strategies.

Valuation techniques inform decision-making

for water allocation, which promote sustainable

social, environmental and economic

development as well as transparency and

accountability in governance. Development

agendas and partnerships should recognize the

fundamental role that safe drinking water and

basic sanitation play in economic and social

development.

Targets

􀁑 Develop further an open trading and

financial system that is rule-based,

predictable and non-discriminatory,

includes a commitment to good

governance, development and poverty

reduction — nationally and internationally

􀁑 Address the special needs of landlocked and

small island developing states

WWDR2 Water-related Indicators:

􀁑 Water sector share in total public spending

􀁑 Ratio of actual to desired level of public

investment in water supply

􀁑 Rate of cost recovery

􀁑 Water charges as a percent of household

income

see Valuing and Charging for

Water: Chapter 12

􀁑 Water interdependency indicator

􀁑 Cooperation indicator

􀁑 Vulnerability indicator

􀁑 Fragility indicator

􀁑 Development indicator

see Sharing Water: Chapter 11

􀁑 Disaster Risk Index

􀁑 Risk and Policy Assessment Index

􀁑 Climate Vulnerability Index

see Managing Risks: Chapter 10

􀁑 Progress toward implementing IWRM

see Challenges

of Governance: Chapter 2

WATER AND THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

SECTION 1

In order to monitor progress towards these

development goals, we need milestones. These

come in the form of indicators, which are well-defined

statistics that can be interpreted beyond their facevalue

to provide an indication of the condition and

direction of the system or process being measured.

These indicators must meet well-defined scientific

criteria and be selected through a carefully planned and

implemented process, including stakeholder involvement

and testing, making their development a lengthy and

reiterative process. They are invaluable tools for policymakers,

who need information to be able to make

informed decisions about the distribution of scarce

resources.

Indicator development for this report focuses on

utilizing and adapting existing knowledge, datasets and

indicators to develop robust and reliable indicators that

are easy to use and understand to promote

better water resource management. This is

done by providing a clear assessment of

the state of water resources, identifying

the emergence of critical water resources

issues and monitoring progress towards

achieving water policy objectives.

Water is a fluctuating resource,

making it difficult to measure in

time and in space. This means that

coordinating and harmonizing data

collection on both spatial and temporal

scales is critical. As information needs may differ at

local, regional and global levels, indicators developed for

one spatial scale may not be applicable to another.

WWAP's 17 case studies serve to provide a basis on

which to analyse change in the water sector by

highlighting a number of scenarios in different

geographic regions where conditions of water-related

stress and socio-economic circumstances are different.

Temporal scales also present challenges. For instance,

water availability depends strongly on the season. Thus

a mean annual value of water availability may conceal a

severe shortage of water in dry periods and an excess of

water during the wet season.

Water is an essential component of security,

and numerous key development issues

influence water resources and the natural

environment. In all of these issues, the situation is

never static, often changing in ways that are difficult to

predict. The main point, however, is the extent to which

all of these development problems affect the poor and

underprivileged. It is a challenge to the application of

IWRM to factor in the many variables insofar as possible

into the water management framework so as to reduce

vulnerability and to increase the resilience and

resourcefulness of individuals, communities and

governments, especially in lower-income countries.

Action to address poverty alleviation, equitable resource

allocation and risk management, while preserving

natural ecosystems, is a challenge and responsibility for

all levels of society. The UN, and the international

community in general, has an responsibility for action;

but that responsibility must be shared with national

governments, and sub-national and local communities.

In the end, each one of us has an individual responsibility

to act and succeed, not only for the sake of global

society, but also for that of generations to come.

Above

Kibera slum, Nairobi, Kenya.

Right

Young men washing in the

river, India.

CHAPTER 2 | THE CHALLENGES OF GOVERNANCE

Such decisions on water governance are made by the

minute across the world. The settings vary, as do the

people and groups involved: urban and rural

households, neighbourhoods, small businesses and

corporate boardrooms, the offices of local, state and

national governments, and the international arena. In

real life situations, the difference between having and

not having daily access to fair water provision is a

matter of survival. How and for whom water is

governed affects river flows, groundwater tables and

pollution levels. It also determines the

share of water between upstream and

downstream water users. The capacity

of countries to provide water supply

and sanitation for all and implement

both poverty reduction strategies and

Integrated Water Resource Management

(IWRM) plans to meet new water

demands as well as manage conflicts

and risks depends to a large extent on

their ability to establish sound and

effective governance systems.

The concept of governance has

evolved and gained ground over

the past decade. Within the

international political arena, the issue

of governance was once avoided in North-South

development dialogue. Today, it is increasingly accepted

as a vital issue to be addressed at all levels. The framing

of water challenges in terms of governance has allowed

a broadening of the water agenda. The scrutiny of

corruption, democratization processes and power

imbalances between both rich and poor countries and

rich and poor people is increasingly accepted. Indeed,

governance and politics are increasingly viewed as a

part of the problem and therefore as an essential part

of any solution to water crises.

Over the past decade, water issues have featured high

on the international political agenda. Hopes and

expectations have been raised by recent agreements on

time-bound water targets to improve the water

situation for billions of people established at the

Millennium Summit and the 2002 World Summit on

Sustainable Development (WSSD). Paradoxically, actual

funding for the water sector in developing countries is

currently stagnating. A positive sign, though, is that

some countries, such as South Africa, have stepped up

their commitments towards fulfilling national and

international water and development targets.

Water stress tends to occur where individual

rights and liberties are limited. A country-based

comparison of per capita water availability and

democratic governance would show that many

countries are facing a double challenge of water

scarcity and stress and limited political rights and civic

liberties. This is particularly the case for the Middle East

and North Africa. Reform of the water sector, therefore,

must go hand-in-hand with overall governance reform.

It is highly unlikely that more effective participation,

transparency, decentralization and IWRM will take firm

root in water sectors unless the country's overall

governance system allows it. As part of the broadening

7

2CHAPTER 2

The Challenges

of Governance

By

UNDP

(United Nations

Development

Programme)

with

IFAD

(International Fund

for Agriculture

Development)

Decisions on water management are a top priority. Who has the right to water and its

benefits? Who is making water allocation decisions on who is supplied with water -

and from where, when and how?

Above

Hydraulic drilling stations,

equipped with pumps that are

usually manual, are gradually

replacing the traditional

village wells, as seen here in

northern Côte d'Ivoire.

Right

Pipeline, outskirts of Gangtok,

Sikkim, India.

8

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

of the water agenda, there is an increasing need to

harmonize and coordinate international water targets

and principles with other international regimes, such as

global or regional trading alliances. Unless water

concerns are integrated within broader national and

international processes of trade, stability and more

equitable governance, the chances of achieving the

international water targets remain poor. There is thus a

need to collaborate with new partners outside the water

realm and form more inclusive water development

networks.

Development becomes more deeply rooted in

systems where governments, private firms and

civil society work together in collaborative

undertakings. Recent decades have seen a great deal

of emphasis placed on increasing the role of the private

sector in water management. Complete privatization of

water services in developing countries, however, has not

been able to meet expectations for improved and

extended water supply and sanitation services. There is,

thus, a need for improving dialogue on water between

governments, civil society and the private sector. Better

governance combined with an integrated management

approach, increased transparency, participation and

dialogue in a climate of trust-building could improve

negotiations and minimize the tensions within the

water sector. It is perhaps naïve to think that all

disputes and differences can be bridged, but a society

that claims to attack water problems must make serious

efforts to develop effective institutions and processes

that can mediate disputes (through the judiciary system,

informal conflict resolution mechanisms and elections), or

at least minimize their impacts (e.g. compensation to

vulnerable groups).

National water reform and implementation is

progressing, although sometimes at a

painstakingly slow pace. Although progress is being

made in some areas, such as the recognition of water

rights, other needed reforms - such as decentralization

- have been slow to come. Recent moves by

governments in lower-income countries to delegate

responsibility have had limited success. Governments

are not delegating the needed powers and resources

and have, in some cases, taken back the delegated

responsibility. However, the difficulty of implementing

specific reforms like this are often related to larger

organizational problems within the sector.

In many developing-country settings, the water sector

and its institutions are plagued by fragmentation,

marginalization and low capacity. Unfortunately,

the marginalization of water departments and ministries

in a country's overall political affairs is common. Many

countries did not meet the WSSD 2005 target of

developing IWRM plans. Ultimately, these plans and the

international water targets they strive to meet will

mean little unless they are supported by legislation and

properly implemented.

SECTION 1

Country readiness to meet the Johannesburg target on IWRM planning by 2005

Region Number of Countries Good Progress Some Steps Initial Stage

surveyed

Africa

Central Africa 7 3 4

Eastern Africa 5 1 2 2

Med (North Africa) 5 1 3 1

Southern Africa 12 2 5 5

West Africa 16 2 4 10

Total 45 6 17 22

Asia and Pacific

Central Asia 8 2 4 2

China 1 1

South Asia 6 4 2

Southeast Asia 8 4 4

Pacific 18 2 8 8

Total 41 5 20 16

Latin America and the Caribbean

Caribbean 6 6

Central America 7 2 3 2

South America 9 1 5 3

Total 22 3 14 5

Total 108 14 51 43

Source: GWP, 2003.

CHAPTER 2 | THE CHALLENGES OF GOVERNANCE

Many government reforms fail because they

never get past the implementation stage. How

can the prospects for effective implementation be

improved? It has been observed that a reform

programme has a much better chance of succeeding if

there is economic rationality in its design, political

sensitivity in its implementation, and close and constant

attention to political-economic interactions and socialinstitutional

factors. Countries must intensify actions

and political commitment towards the implementation

of existing water policies, plans and legislation. This

would go a long way towards achieving international

water targets.

The global battle against corruption requires

increased effort and action at all levels.

Corruption costs the water sector millions of dollars

every year. It siphons off scarce monetary resources and

diminishes a country's prospects for providing water

and sanitation for all. Although corruption takes place

in all countries, in some it occurs on a more systematic

basis. It is often viewed as a part of normal business

practice between public agencies, citizens and the

private sector - as well as within the public sector itself.

However, the fight against corruption is on the increase.

Many bilateral and multilateral organizations,

governments, civil-society organizations and private

businesses are currently developing internal and

external governance guidelines and codes of conduct,

and are sponsoring anti-corruption/improved

governance research and development programmes.

Nonetheless, if the movement to abate corruption is to

be truly effective, it must include efforts in the

following areas:

􀁑 public-sector reform

􀁑 increased salaries for public officials

􀁑 strict enforcement of existing rules and regulations

􀁑 improved accountability and transparency

􀁑 multilateral cooperation and coordination to track

financial flows and monitor international contracts.

Governance systems are intrinsically linked to

political processes and power.

The road to improved governance means engaging with

political power and learning how to manoeuvre in

highly politicized contexts. Improving water governance

is a challenge as it necessarily involves reform efforts

that reach beyond the water sector. Water stakeholders

at all levels can assist reform by working towards

integrated policies and outcomes that encourage multistakeholder

participation and decentralization.

Furthermore, making strategic inputs into policy-making

and other decision-making processes will require

stakeholders to manoeuvre to a much greater extent in

different social and political contexts. This means

understanding the political game and its rules.

There is no blueprint for improved governance

- each society must find its own route. It is

important to develop institutions and governance

systems that can respond effectively to situations

characterized by variability, risk, uncertainties and

change. Conventional water planning remains rigid and

the challenge remains to develop adaptive governance

frameworks and institutions. More attention needs to be

given to resilient institutions and approaches that can

govern or guide the complex, surprise-laden process of

water governance central to long-term management at

regional, basin, aquifer and local levels. This suggests

that the most appropriate solutions may be those that

emphasize, both the importance of enabling processes

and frameworks that can be applied to resolve issues in

situations of economic or other constraints and in

contexts of change.

9

Above

A woman leads the discussion

at the Bubel Village Reflect

group, Orissa, India. The group

examines local development

problems and agrees collective

action.

SECTION 1

10

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY 3CHAPTER 3

Water and

Human Settlements in an

Urbanizing World

By

UN-HABITAT

There have been significant trends worldwide

towards the growth of urbanization. In most

African and Asian countries, people are migrating from

rural to urban settlements. Most notable are reports of

burgeoning populations in

the peripheries of many of

the world's mega-cities. Not

so heavily reported, but

nonetheless significant, is

the growth of large numbers

of smaller cities and towns,

most of which are feeling

the strains of rapid

expansion. In the developing

world, with total

populations set to increase,

overall rural populations are expected to remain largely

unchanged in numbers, while urban populations are

expected to grow rapidly. However, differences will

remain: Latin America is significantly more urbanized

than Africa or Asia, although Asia lays claim to some of

the world's largest cities. By contrast, in some of the

more developed countries where the vast majority of

the population lives in cities, there are signs of counter

migration: people abandoning the cities for better living

standards in surrounding smaller communities.

Low-lying coastal situations are becoming

increasingly densely inhabited. Not only are many

of the cities and mega-cities of the world located in

coastal areas, but rural densities near coastlines are also

increasing. Many of these locations are below, or very

close to, sea level. As a result, the likelihood of flooding

is growing as sea levels rise and the intensity and

occurrence of storms increase. The vulnerability of

populations in such regions poses additional challenges

for the civil authorities responsible.

Challenges posed by expansion in many cities

and mega-cities are compounded by the

unsuitability of much of the land for human

settlement. This is the case for the developing world

in particular. The best and most suitable land for

settlement is already occupied, while the remaining

land, generally occupied by poor, recent migrants, is

often the most flood-prone in valley bottoms or the

most landslide-prone on surrounding hillsides. These are

also areas where the implementation of basic services

such as drinking water and sanitation are the most

difficult and expensive. The problem is exacerbated by

the rate of population increase, which far exceeds the

absorptive capacities of the communities. The

infrastructures needed to service the influx simply

cannot be built within such short time-scales.

As human settlements are the major polluters

of water resources, good water and wastewater

management is essential to limit pollution and

minimize health risks. The expansion of urban areas

and agricultural frontiers usually present new

opportunities for disease. This is likely to continue as

the global population keeps growing and pressure

increases to develop agriculture, roads and

transportation systems in previously unsettled areas.

Furthermore, as industries tend to be concentrated in or

Water resources management challenges differ enormously depending on the type of

human settlement. The spectrum of settlement types stretches from the very lowdensity

scattered single dwellings found in rural areas, through villages and small

towns, to the much more dense and crowded cities and mega-cities. Half of the world's

population and most of the world's economic output is located in urban areas. Today,

large cities present a particular challenge, with 400 cities worldwide housing over

1 million inhabitants.

Above

Jakarta slum on a river bank,

Indonesia.

around cities, and agricultural production

predominantly in the surrounding available areas,

measures to stem pollution and introduce and maintain

efficient and safe drinking water and wastewater

disposal mechanisms must be extended. This is essential

to ensure the health of populations and particularly the

inhabitants of large urban communities. Failure to meet

these challenges will have a disastrous effect on the

further expansion of cities.

Water resources management will always face

the challenge of balancing the needs of

different water users. This is the case both in large

urban or relatively small rural communities. The water

needs of the agricultural production, energy and

industrial sectors are often in competition. So, while the

overriding need to ensure adequate clean water for

drinking, hygiene and sanitation and wastewater

disposal, are of paramount importance, they

nonetheless need to be balanced with consideration of

these and other needs.

Human settlements provide the context for

action. The struggle to achieve the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation will

have to be achieved in cities, towns and villages. This is

where much of the industrial production and economic

activities are concentrated and where most critical

governance decisions are made. With the strong

physical and financial growth of cities in comparison to

more dispersed rural settlements, water challenges are

becoming increasingly urban in nature. City and

municipal governments play critical roles in water

management ensuring provision of water, sanitation

and wastewater removal. How tasks related to water

governance fit within broader

frameworks of environmental and

economic policy are of crucial

importance. It is at this level that

policy initiatives become reality and

need both political and administrative

support as conflicts have to be

resolved and consensus found among competing

interests and parties. Actions must be coordinated and

managed in these areas if there is to be significant

improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum

dwellers by 2020.

11

CHAPTER 3 | WATER AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS IN AN URBANIZING WORLD

SECTION 1

Above

Watercans in Santiago, Cape

Verde.

Slums in Curitiba, Brazil. Source: Derived from statistics in UN, 2004.

12

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY 4CHAPTER 4

The State of the

Resource

By

UNESCO

(United Nations

Educational, Scientific

and Cultural

Organization)

WMO

(World

Meteorological

Organization)

with

IAEA

(International

Atomic Energy

Agency)

Over the past decade, awareness has grown over the

need to develop sustainable practices for the protection,

management and efficient use of water resources.

Natural units, such as river basins and aquifer systems,

are becoming widely recognized and increasingly

adopted by national and regional programmes. However,

the combination of different economic, environmental

and social pressures often results in increased water

use, competition and pollution - in addition to highly

inefficient water supply practices. Responsibility for this

lies in the fact that decision-making, at almost all levels,

remains principally driven by short-term economic and

political considerations and lacks the long-term vision

needed to implement sustainable development

practices. If our water resources are to continue

providing valuable and beneficial services, there must be

a higher level of commitment and awareness towards

developing and maintaining long-term integrated

approaches and solutions.

Because the roles and interactions of the

hydrological cycle components are often not

fully appreciated, it is difficult to set up

adequate protection and prevention strategies.

Climate, particularly precipitation and temperature, is

the primary driver of water resources, interacting with

landmasses, oceans and topography. Yet, all components

of the hydrological cycle - precipitation, infiltration,

runoff, evaporation, and transpiration - must be taken

into account when developing water management

plans. It is important that the role played by each is

better understood: for example, how rain and snow

directly supply terrestrial ecosystems and soil moisture

with a water source for agricultural development and

terrestrial ecosystems, or how glacial melting influences

water availability in many nations.

More data are needed on groundwater and

aquifer systems, particularly for developing

countries where the lack of adequate surface

water resources is most extreme. Groundwater

can be of great value, particularly in arid regions where

surface water is often scarce. Although aquifers can be

tapped to supplement inadequate surface resources,

there are high potential risks if the aquifers are not

replenished naturally or by human intervention. It

becomes only a matter of time before these resources

run out or become economically inaccessible. High

levels of exploitation - more than 50 percent of

recharge - are currently occurring in many countries in

the Middle East, Southern and Northern Africa, Asia,

certain countries in Europe, and Cuba. Tracking and

comparing groundwater use to recharge volumes at

national and sub-national levels is therefore vital -

particularly for individual aquifers. This enables

There are many demands made on the world's water resources: drinking, hygiene, the

production of food, energy and industrial goods, and the maintenance of natural

ecosystems. Global water resources, however, are limited and unevenly distributed. This

complicates water management, particularly for decision-makers, who are faced with the

challenge of managing and developing water resources in a sustainable fashion in the

face of the pressures of economic growth, major population increases and climate change.

Above

Rainwater is collected in this

container and filtered to

provide drinking water in

Komati, Swaziland.

13

CHAPTER 4 | T H E S TATE OF THE RESOURCE

identification of areas where corrective action is needed

to maintain groundwater development sustainability.

Although, several large-scale efforts are underway to

upgrade monitoring and networks, for example in

Europe and India, groundwater assessment, monitoring

and data management activities are for the most part

minimal or ineffective in many developing countries and

are being downsized in many developed counties. This is

particularly true in both Asia and Africa where there has

been a dramatic reduction in water monitoring

programmes. Increased financial investment is needed

to increase understanding of groundwater resources

and aquifer systems. Meanwhile, regions that depend on

groundwater should develop more comprehensive water

level and quality monitoring programmes.

In many regions of the world, human influence

is becoming more important than natural

factors. River regimes are being very significantly

influenced in many regions through the construction of

dams and diversions. These range from the very large -

such as the Three Gorges Dam in China - to the

multitude of small dams such as the hillside terrace

systems common in Southeast Asia, which although

individually small, have a large cumulative effect on

river flows. Dams act as very effective sediment traps,

so effective in fact, that each dam is given a 'lifetime'

after which the lake will become completely filled and

the dam will cease to be effective.

Landscape change, or the removal, destruction or

impairment of natural ecosystems, has the greatest

critical impact on the sustainability of natural water

resources. Deforestation, urbanization and increase in

areas of farmland all significantly influence the quality

and quantities of water flows. Furthermore, landscape

changes complicate our ability to predict impacts on

water resources. This makes it much harder to advance

our understanding of future effects of climate change.

Poor quality water

and unsustainable

supplies limit

national economic

development and can

lead to adverse

health and livelihood

conditions. Today, we

are reasonably able to

recognize the impacts of

pollution and excessive

groundwater and surface

water withdrawals on

water quality and

quantity. Specific programmes should now be funded to

reduce these impacts in developing countries.

Meanwhile, at national and river-basin levels, there is an

SECTION 2

Above

Bus driving across flooded

plateau in the Andes, Bolivia.

14

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

emerging awareness of the need for good data on water

quality. This is essential to evaluate impacts and to

design improved water use and re-use strategies to

meet quality and quantity demands.

Coping with the ever-increasing demand for

water means locating solutions to particular

problems. How to compensate for the natural

variability of the hydrological cycle so as to provide a

continuously available resource? How to overcome the

reduced availability in water quantity or quality

resulting from human and development impacts?

Prevention strategies and new technologies that

augment existing natural water resources, reduce

demand, and achieve higher efficiency, are part of the

response to the increasing burden on our available

water resources. Past solutions have included storing

runoff in reservoirs, diverting flows from waterabundant

to water-scarce regions, and extracting

aquifer resources - methods that provided ample water

where and when it was needed. These methods are

likely to remain part of most water resources

development strategies. In order to meet current and

future water demands, greater attention should be

given to approaches such as innovative uses of natural

supplies and new technologies. Non-conventional water

resources, such as water re-use and desalination, are

being increasingly used and new technologies such as

artificial re-charge are also becoming more common.

Capturing rainwater at the source through harvesting is

yet another method used to increase the availability of

natural water sources.

Water demand reduction and efficiency

approaches should be an integral part of

modern water resources management. Most arid

climates suffering from water shortages have longstanding

water conservation traditions. These are being

maintained or supplemented with demandmanagement

practices that target efficiency - often

referred to as water demand management (WDM).

However, tropical and cold climates with abundant

rainfall are accustomed to water supply projects and

tend to adopt management practices that are

particularly adapted to those specific settings. Yet, the

economic benefits of extending the lifespan of water

supply and treatment plants and the operating

efficiency of sewage treatment systems can be

considerable. On the environmental front, conservation

allows for the diversion of unused water to sustain

ecosystems and also lowers the pollution levels in lakes,

rivers and groundwater. While WDM should be

promoted, it requires a distinct change in the

behavioural patterns of institutions, utilities and

individuals - a change that will need education,

awareness-raising and political commitment to achieve

effective implementation.

Water resources assessments (WRA), provide

scientists, engineers and managers as well as

policy makers and planners a foundation on

which many decisions can be made. WRA, the

process of monitoring (measuring, collecting and

analysing) the quantity and quality of water resources,

is the basis for the formulation of policies and

legislations striving for sustainability of water resources.

Consequently, there are economic, social and

environmental benefits from periodic water resources

assessments (WRAs) in all basins and aquifers, and in

individual nations as well as on a regional level,

especially where transboundary water resources exist.

SECTION 2

Above

Shanghai, China

Right

Food remains in the Mekong

River after the daily market

activities, Viet Nam.

CHAPTER 5 | COASTAL AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS

The implementation of Integrated Water Resource

Management (IWRM) schemes on regional and local

scales, the increasing use of ecosystem approaches

focusing on river basins, the decommissioning of several

controversial dams in North America, and many

different river and wetland restoration projects, suggest

that these commitments are at last being taken

seriously - albeit not in all parts of the world.

Healthy freshwater ecosystems are essential for

the maintenance of biodiversity and human

well-being. We depend upon freshwater ecosystems

for our food security and a wide range of environmental

goods and services. Freshwater biodiversity is extremely

rich, with high levels of endemic species, but also very

sensitive to environmental degradation and overexploitation.

Often also called inland waters, these

ecosystems comprise a range of highly productive

habitats containing a significant proportion of

freshwater. They include lakes and rivers, wetlands and

floodplains, small streams, ponds, springs and aquifers.

The term 'wetland' describes a particular group of

aquatic habitats representing a variety of shallow,

vegetated ecosystems - such as bogs, marshes, swamps,

floodplains and coastal lagoons - which are often

buffers against extreme weather events like hurricanes.

The degradation of these wetlands puts coastal areas at risk.

In many areas, freshwater ecosystems and

species are deteriorating rapidly. Often faster

than terrestrial and marine ecosystems. This is

having an immediate impact on the livelihoods of some

of the world's most vulnerable human communities.

Effects include reduction in food protein levels, clean

water and potential income generation; the

undermining of poverty reduction strategies; and

extinction rates unprecedented in human history.

Available data such as the Living Planet Index (LPI) tend

to support the hypothesis that freshwater species are

more threatened by human activities than species in

other realms. On average, populations fell by about

47 percent between 1970 and 2000. This represents a

much sharper decline than those measured in either

terrestrial or marine ecosystems, with the most serious

drop being seen in Southeast Asia.

Trends in the status of freshwater biodiversity and

pollution measurements - such as biochemical oxygen

demand (BOD) and nitrate concentrations in water -

indicate the continuing deterioration of many

If the Millennium Development Goals for freshwater, biodiversity and climate change,

among others, are to be achieved, management responses must take into account

ecosystem concerns. At the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD),

in addition to halving the proportion of people lacking access to safe drinking water

and basic sanitation by 2015, countries committed themselves to achieving a significant

reduction in the rate of biodiversity loss in aquatic ecosystems by 2010. Reconciling

these two targets constitutes a major challenge.

15

5CHAPTER 5

Coastal

and Freshwater

Ecosystems

By

UNEP

(United Nations

Environment

Programme)

Above

Global warming has caused

the Vatnajokull glacier

(Iceland) to retreat.

16

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

freshwater ecosystems. The first global study on river

flow status has demonstrated the increasing

fragmentation of river basins as a result of damming

and other flow impediments. Waterfalls, rapids, riparian

vegetation and wetlands can all disappear when river

flow is altered by damming. Major local and regional

threats to freshwater ecosystems include habitat

alteration, land-use change, especially deforestation and

agricultural intensification, river fragmentation and flow

regulation, water pollution, invasive species and climate

change. Failure to address these problems will have

immediate social and economic costs and long-term,

potentially irreversible effects on biodiversity.

Freshwater management is experiencing a

crisis. Biodiversity and the conservation of species,

habitats and ecosystem functions must become an

integral part of all sound water resource management

programmes. Practical approaches are urgently required

for the sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems. One

major impetus in this direction is the WSSD's Plan of

Implementation, through which participating

governments agreed to develop IWRM and water

efficiency plans by 2005.

There is now an urgent need to implement

IWRM approaches. Although now widely accepted, it

should be noted that IWRM approaches should be

tailored to local circumstances and needs. This will

require the development of a series of tools and

methodologies - in some cases adapting those used in

different habitats and situations. Some governments

and international development and conservation

organizations use the Integrated River Basin

Management (IRBM) approach. This concept is similar to

IWRM and considers the river or lake basin/aquifer as

the ecologically defined management unit. IRBM can

therefore be applied at a variety of scales depending

upon the size of the river basin. This can range from

small catchments of a few square kilometres to major

national basins, as well as transboundary basins where

allocation and pollution issues cross international

borders.

At the same time, partnerships between governments,

communities, non-governmental organizations, industry

interests and research groups must move beyond

general commitments to specific actions and flexible

and durable working arrangements. Effective

institutional management structures should allow for

public input, changing basin priorities, and the

SECTION 2

Above

Heavy rains falling in the

province of Misiones wash the

soil and carry off significant

quantities of ferruginous earth

into the Río Uruguay

(Argentina), turning the waters

a dark, reddish ochre.

incorporation of new information and monitoring

technologies. The adaptability of management

structures should also extend to non-signatory riparian

countries (i.e. those within the same hydrological

system) by incorporating provisions that address their

needs, rights and potential accession. In the past, some

attempts to resolve partnership issues have included the

establishment of freshwater and regional seas

agreements at local, basin or regional levels (e.g. in the

Mekong, the Black Sea and the Danube, the

Mediterranean and Lake Chad). While such initiatives

have met with some success, they often still lack the

policy tools necessary to promote long-term IWRM.

Considerable improvements in data quality are

urgently needed. This is required, in particular, to

evaluate progress towards the 2010 targets for reducing

rates of biodiversity loss set by WSSD and the

Convention of Biological Diversity. Although data on

biodiversity and water quality exists for some species

groups, habitats and regions, there are still large gaps in

the information available on many species, and very

little information is available on the extent and quality

of aquatic ecosystems. In the end, ecosystem indicators

are only as good as the data that support them.

17

CHAPTER 5 | COASTAL AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS

SECTION 2

Left

A scheme to irrigate the desert

has caused the Aral sea to

shrink. It is now too saline for

fish and too shallow for ships

to navigate.

Franz Joseph Glacier, in Te

Wahipounamu, New Zealand.

Source: Loh et al., 2004.

18

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY 6CHAPTER 6

Protecting and

Promoting Human

Health

By

WHO

(World

Health Organization)

UNICEF

(United Nations

Children's Fund)

Human health cuts across the major sectors in

water resources development and management.

A range of different water conditions and parameters

determine the health of communities. In the domestic

sphere, whether in urban or rural areas, the focus is on

lack of access to sufficient supplies of safe drinking

water, adequate sanitation and the promotion of

hygiene

practices. All

of these are

important in

arresting the

transmission

of diarrhoeal

diseases and

other gastrointestinal

infections.

Where water

is needed for

food and energy, the

focus is on the

impact of reservoir

construction for

hydropower and

irrigation development

and the ensuing risks

of diseases, such as malaria, schistosomiasis, filariasis

and Japanese encephalitis. Health can also be a key

factor in mobilizing communities to participate in

nature conservation and environmental management, in

particular, for communities that depend on ecosystems

for their livelihood or manage health risks related to

water-associated diseases. Community health status is,

therefore, the ultimate indicator of the success or failure of

integrated water resources development and management.

Infectious diseases, especially diarrhoea and

malaria, continue to dominate the global

burden of water-related disease. The burden of

water-related diseases is a good indicator of the state

of access to water and sanitation. Diseases associated

with lack of access are measured principally using

Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY). Data are organized

by age and include information on sex and geographical

region for diarrhoea, malaria, schistosomiasis, lymphatic

filariasis, onchocerciasis, dengue, Japanese encephalitis,

trachoma, intestinal nematode infections, proteinenergy

malnutrition and drowning. In 2002, diarrhoeal

diseases and malaria accounted for 1.8 and 1.3 million

deaths respectively. These were almost entirely children

under 5 years of age. Diarrhoea remains the leading

cause of death from water-related diseases in children.

In developing countries it accounts for 21 percent of all

deaths in children under 5. Although diarrhoea

mortality is decreasing, the proportion of deaths due to

persistent diarrhoea and dysentery is increasing. Malaria

causes illness in about 400 million people every year.

With its share of the global burden of disease

increasing, it is one of the most urgent global health

problems.

In Africa and Asia, water-related diseases

continue to impose a particularly large burden

on health. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia carry

the largest burden: it is estimated that each child under

5 years of age in a developing country suffers on

average three episodes of diarrhoea per year. While the

burden of diarrhoea is distributed over both Africa and

South Asia, malaria largely affects children under 5 in

Africa. Malaria is responsible for approximately

30 percent of out-patient clinic visits in African

countries where the disease is endemic. In many of the

The state of human health is inextricably linked to a range of water-related conditions:

safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, minimized burden of water-related disease and

healthy freshwater ecosystems. Urgent improvements in the ways in which water use

and sanitation are managed are needed to improve progress towards meeting the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to human health.

Above

This woman's hands bear the

marks of arsenic poisoning

through drinking water.

same regions, the population faces intense year-round

malaria transmission. This results in a high number of

cases, in particular among children and pregnant women.

Since the late 1990s, cholera has also posed a large

problem in Africa, where between 100,000 and 200,000

cases are officially reported each year.

Many water-related diseases could be

controlled by universal access to safe water

and adequate sanitation/hygiene/water

management practices. Improvements in water

supply and sanitation will prevent diarrhoea and help

reduce instances of intestinal helminths (parasitic

worms) and schistosomiasis. Current evidence shows

that 1.7 million deaths could also be avoided each year

by providing access to safe drinking water, sanitation

and hygiene. The single most effective intervention is

hand washing with soap, which could cut diarrhoea

deaths in half. Many infectious skin and eye diseases

are also related to poor hygiene and inadequate water

supplies. Soil-transmitted helminths also flourish

where poverty, inadequate sanitation and minimal

healthcare prevail.

There is evidence that water resources

development has an impact on the incidence

of malaria and other vector-borne diseases.

Malaria control is hampered by a number of constraints,

including the increasing resistance of mosquitoes and

malaria parasites to insecticides and inexpensive drugs,

climate and environmental change, population

movements and behavioural change. It is widely

recognized that water resource development projects,

especially irrigation systems, can also provide ecological

conditions conducive to the spread of malaria. The

relationship between malaria and

water resources development is,

however, highly situation specific.

It depends on the climate, people's

behaviour and the ecology, biology

and efficiency of vectors. Mosquito

breeding is often associated with

faulty irrigation design and

maintenance or water

management practices. At present,

environmental management

methods are prevented from

playing a more important role in

19

CHAPTER 6 | PROTECTING AND PROMOTING HUMAN HEALTH

SECTION 3

Below

A woman collecting a supply

of unsafe water, Indonesia.

Source: OMS, 2004.

Source: OMS, 2004.

20

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

malaria control due to lack of scientific evidence of

effectiveness as well as uncertainty regarding the

feasibility of implementation. Recent international

research initiatives have focused on possibilities of

reducing malaria as part of an ecosystem approach to

human health.

Chemical pollution of surface waters, mainly by

industry and agricultural runoff, also pose

major health hazards in some developing

countries. In Bangladesh, over the past twenty years,

more than 4 million tubewells have been installed to

provide safe drinking water to 95 percent of the

population. However, high concentrations of arsenic

have recently been

discovered in

tubewell water. The

scale of the problem

and the full impact

of arsenic poisoning

will only become

apparent at a later

stage as the effects

on health (e.g.

malignant tumors or

skin lesions) occur

only after extended

periods of exposure. Moreover, as some chemicals, such

as arsenic and fluoride, occur naturally in groundwater,

it can often be difficult to accurately attribute health

problems to specific factors in the environment. This

situation (also found in parts of China, India, and East

Africa) calls for a pragmatic combination of affordable

and sustainable water supply programmes aimed at

minimizing the combined health risks posed by

pathogens, arsenic and other natural and manufactured

chemicals possibly present in the environment.

Progress has been made in increasing safe

water and sanitation coverage, but

greater improvements are needed

to meet global water and

sanitation targets. This is particularly

the case in sub-Saharan Africa.

Worldwide, between 1990 and 2002,

about 1.1 billion people gained access to

improved water sources (Datasets and

information on water supply and

sanitation coverage are provided by the

Joint Monitoring Programme, JMP, a

programme maintained by the World

Health Organization, WHO, and United

Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF). Global

sanitation coverage rose from 49 percent

in 1990 to 58 percent in 2002. Although

the world is now globally on-track to

achieve the MDG drinking water target, the sanitation

target - to halve the proportion of people without

improved sanitation - will not be met by 2015 without

additional effort. Sanitation coverage in developing

countries (49 percent) is only half that of the developed

world (98 percent). Though major progress was made in

South Asia between 1990 and 2002, little more than

one-third of South Asians currently have access to

improved sanitation. Over half of those without

improved sanitation - nearly 1.5 billion people - live in

China and India. In sub-Saharan Africa, progress reports

indicate that neither the drinking water nor sanitation

targets will be met by 2015. Some 2.6 billion people -

half of the developing world - continue to live there

without improved sanitation. If the 1990-2002 trend

continues, the world will fall short of its sanitation

target by more than half a billion people.

Over the long term, many environmental

health interventions have proved to be more

cost-effective than medical interventions. As

such, global disease control priorities should clearly be

based not only on the global burden of disease but also

on the availability of cost-effective interventions. Based

on a study in Burkina Faso, the cost of implementing a

large-scale hygiene promotion programme was

estimated at US $26.9 per case of diarrhoea averted.

Cost-effectiveness of a latrine revision programme in

Kabul, Afghanistan ranged from US $1,800-4,100 per

death due to diarrhoea averted, depending on age and

payer perspective. Studies show that universal access to

piped water and sewerage can reduce the burden of

water-related disease to nearly zero at an estimated

cost of US $850-7,800 per DALY averted, but this is

clearly higher than typical income levels in developing

countries. Low-cost technologies, however, (standpipes

and latrines, as opposed to piped water and sewerage

connections to individual homes), would likely improve

the cost-effectiveness to US $280-2,600 per DALY

averted, if disinfection at the point of use is added.

SECTION 3

Above

A toilet block in Dar es Salaam,

Tanzania.

Source: WHO/UNICEF, 2004.

CHAPTER 7 | WATER FOR FOOD, AGRICULTURE AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS

In developing countries, this outcome was the result of

a targeted effort founded on the conceptual premise of

the 'green revolution': farming high-yield crop varieties

supported with adequate plant nutrition, water and

protection from pests. The productivity of agricultural

land has doubled, as has the productivity of water

usage in agriculture. As a result, food prices have

gradually decreased, leading to a progressive reduction

in the share of agriculture in the world's economy.

The demand for food is not negotiable. While

the global rate of demographic growth is declining, the

number of people added every year to the world's

population - about 75 million - is still large. As populations

grow, the available resources per capita shrink and higher

productivity is required to compensate. To satisfy the

estimated increase in demand for food between 2000

and 2030, production of food crops in developing

countries is projected to increase by 67 percent. At the

same time, a continuing rise in productivity should

make it possible to keep the projected increase in water

usage for agriculture down to about 14 percent.

On average, it takes about 3,000 litres of

water per person to produce our daily intake of

food. The water absorbed by plants is used to raise

nutrients from the soil, at which point the water is

released into the air through transpiration. By far, most

of the water used by crops is derived from rainfed soil

moisture. Irrigation provides only about 10 percent of

agricultural water but has a significantly strategic role:

it supplements rainfall where soil moisture is

insufficient to reliably satisfy the needs of the crops. It

is especially important in areas vulnerable to excessive

climatic variability or where multiple cropping requires

the provision of water outside the rainy season.

By ensuring water supply, irrigation guarantees crop

production and encourages farmers to invest in more

productive agriculture. However, although it represents

only a marginal part of the water used in agriculture,

irrigation is, by a substantial margin, the largest

consumptive user of the Earth's freshwater resources.

Large-scale, state-supported irrigation schemes

that contributed substantially to increases in

agricultural production are now struggling to

adapt. These schemes enhanced the livelihood of

farmers, while producing food at lower cost for the

benefit of urban and rural populations alike. However,

the rapidly changing economic environment has seen

relatively disappointing performances in recent years.

These schemes are now at the core of a protracted

debate involving technical, economic and, ultimately,

social questions. Many systems are too institutionally

and technically ill-equipped to respond to the

The world's agriculture has responded well to the challenges raised in the second half

of the twentieth century. Per capita food production increased by 25 percent as the

global population doubled, leading to a progressive improvement in global nutrition.

This response has steadily reduced the proportion of malnourished people.

21

7CHAPTER 7

Water for Food,

Agriculture and Rural

Livelihoods

By

FAO

(Food and Agriculture

Organization of the

United Nations)

IFAD

(International Fund

for Agriculture

Development)

Above

Workers harvest carp raised in

a stock pond, India.

22

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

challenges presented by increased water scarcity, the

need for agricultural diversification and the pressure of

rapid globalization. Modernization of irrigated

agriculture is therefore essential to ensure muchneeded

gains in water productivity. Irrigation

institutions must respond to the needs of farmers to

ensure flexible and reliable delivery of water, increased

transparency in management, and a balance between

efficiency and equity in access to water. This will not

only require a change in attitudes, but also welltargeted

investment in infrastructure modernization,

institutional restructuring, and upgrading of the

technical capacities of farmers and water managers.

SECTION 3

Source: FAO, 2003.

23

CHAPTER 7 | WATER FOR FOOD, AGRICULTURE AND RURAL LIVELIHOODS

Agriculture is now coming under increasing

scrutiny as water resources shrink and

competition between sectors intensifies.

Pursuing a narrow development goal of increased

agricultural productivity has led to the breakdown of

many once resilient ecosystems. The amount of water

available to agriculture is now being progressively

limited by degraded land and water systems,

competition from other economic sectors, and the need

to conserve the integrity of aquatic ecosystems.

Agriculture has come under pressure to reduce the level

of its negative impacts, particularly those associated

with the use of fertilizers and pesticides, as well as

wasteful use of water. As competition increases,

irrigation needs to be carefully examined to discern

where society can benefit most effectively from its

application. Access to natural resources needs to be

negotiated with other users in a transparent fashion in

order to achieve optimal uses under conditions of

growing scarcity.

It is now widely acknowledged that

agricultural water management can have

positive impacts far beyond the economics of

crop production. This multi-functionality of

agriculture has been recognized and is today promoted

in many countries. Farmers need to be encouraged and

guided, through appropriate policies and incentives, to

conserve natural ecosystems and their biodiversity and

to minimize agriculture's negative impact. This goal will

only be achieved if the appropriate policies are in place.

Historically, governments have tended to neglect

agricultural development in favour of industrial and

urban-centred activities. National policies and

international economic factors often have devastating

consequences on rural people in developing countries,

preventing them from actively contributing to their

country's economy. However, it is now more generally

acknowledged that agriculture is the main engine of

growth in most developing economies. As the globe is

progressively achieving food security, 13 percent of its

population (850 million people, living mostly in rural

areas) do not have access to sufficient food to lead

healthy and productive lives. In particular, a group of

thirty countries, most of them in Africa, experiences

difficulty both in producing enough food for their own

population and in generating sufficient resources for

importing necessary goods unavailable within their

borders. These countries are highly dependent on

agriculture. Progress in improving their food security

capacity depends on, more than any other factor, the

development of local food production. In most cases,

they need a substantial increase in investment in rural

areas, where water management plays a central role in

raising the productivity of agriculture and related rural

activities.

The agriculture sector today faces a series of

complex challenges.

􀁑 More food of better quality needs to be produced

using less water per unit of output.

􀁑 Rural people need to be given the resources and

opportunities to live healthy and productive lives.

􀁑 Clean technologies that ensure environmental

sustainability must be applied.

􀁑 Agriculture must contribute in a productive way to

local and national economies.

Ultimately, a 'business as usual' attitude in the food and

rural livelihoods sector will seriously hinder the

attainment of the Millennium Development Goals of

freeing humanity from extreme poverty and hunger and

ensuring environmental sustainability.

SECTION 3

Left

Sprinkler irrigation on an

experimental field of

asparagus, Brazil.

Middle

Cattle drinking from a river

bank, Ethiopia.

Belove

Women harvesting cereal in

Rajastan, India.

24

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY 8CHAPTER 8

Water

and Industry

By

UNIDO

(United Nations

Industrial Development

Organization)

In the fast-growing East Asia and Pacific region,

industry now provides 48 percent of total GDP. This

proportion is still increasing. In heavily indebted poor

countries, the proportion of GDP provided by industry

grew quickly from 22 percent to 26 percent between

1998 and 2002. In rich countries, by contrast, the

proportion of GDP coming from the production of

manufactured goods is declining slowly. It currently

provides 29 percent of GDP, with services making up the

bulk of the economy.

Industrial pollution and waste is endangering

water resources by damaging and destroying

ecosystems worldwide. This undermines water

security for both individual and water-consuming

industries. Municipalities are finding that the quality of

water they supply is compromised by industrial waste.

Meanwhile, pollution also has a direct economic impact

on fisheries. Industries in developed and developing

countries that require clean water are in turn finding

that their water security is increasingly affected by

water shortages and deteriorating water quality.

Limiting industrial pollution means increasing

good environmental governance. It is possible to

decouple industrial development from environmental

degradation, radically reduce natural resource and

energy consumption, and at the same time, have clean

and profitable industries. It is important that the

necessary legal and institutional arrangements be in

place to enable this growth to take place in a

sustainable fashion. Many such governance initiatives

now exist at international and national levels, as well as

at the level of industrial sectors and individual

companies. Some of the more recent key international

agreements and multilateral environmental agreements

affecting industrial water use and pollution impacts

include:

􀁑 The Basel Convention on the Control of

Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes

and their Disposal. This provides an international

mechanism for addressing issues of waste

generation, movement, management and disposal.

􀁑 The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic

Pollutants (POPs). This governs the production,

handling, transport and use of certain highly toxic

organic chemicals that remain intact in the

environment for long periods, and become widely

distributed geographically.

􀁑 The EU Water Framework Directive on Integrated

River Basin Management for Europe. This

Industry is a large promoter of economic growth, particularly in developing countries.

The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg proposed a

Plan of Implementation that makes strong links between the related goals of industrial

development, poverty eradication and sustainable management of natural resources.

Industrial growth is highly desirable for countries adopting poverty-reduction policies.

It is necessary to diversify economies, create jobs, and add value to the products and

raw materials being produced.

Above

Industrial site in

Grangemouth, Scotland.

25

CHAPTER 8 | WATER AND INDUSTRY

coordinates the objectives of European water policy

in order to protect all waters, including surface

water and groundwater. It uses a river basin

management approach, and incorporates the

Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC)

Directive that addresses industrial installations with

a high pollution potential.

Agreements to curb industrial water pollution

must be translated into national policies if

they are to become truly effective. Regulatory

and economic measures are needed for local, regional

and national water management. This is essential to

further improve industrial water productivity and reduce

industrial water pollution. Measures can take the form

of policy instruments and economic incentives.

Examples of these include stepped water tariffs for

industry, subsidies for industries implementing

innovative environmental technologies, and financial

and advisory support for industries funding new

research.

Efforts to control industrial pollution are

emerging from within the sector. Many industries

are also improving their strategies for water use,

influenced by changing consumer attitudes, the

pressure for better corporate governance, and costcutting

measures. There has been an exponential

increase over the past decade in the numbers of

worldwide industrial companies seeking certification

with ISO 14001, the international environmental

standard. Companies adhering to the

standard implement environmental

management systems, conduct

environmental audits, and evaluate

their environmental performance.

Their products adhere to

environmental labelling standards,

and waste streams are managed

through life cycle assessments.

Increasingly, companies recognize

that such actions demonstrate

commitment to being

environmentally responsible as well

as profitable, enhancing both their

corporate image and their

competitiveness.

Where water quantity is concerned, it is

important to consider the productivity of the

water used. The industrial value added (or units of

product produced) per unit of water used varies

enormously by country and industrial sector, depending

on the value of the product and the value placed upon

the water used in the process. However, it is a useful

benchmarking tool whereby companies can track

successful process modifications that lead to better

environmental management. There are various

strategies available to the management of industries to

improve water productivity. These include water

auditing, matching water quality to use requirements,

on-site water recycling and reuse, and using reclaimed

water rather than freshwater where feasible.

SECTION 3

Above

Plastic bottles thrown into Rio

Pinheiros, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Source: World Bank, 2002.

26

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

Where water quality is concerned, Zero Effluent

Discharge should be the ultimate goal of

companies and municipalities. Zero Effluent

Discharge entails water recycling and recovery of all

wastes. It also avoids the release of contaminants into

the aquatic environment. However, if avoiding

discharges altogether is not economically or technically

feasible, there are many valuable intermediate strategies

that can be taken at factory level to reduce industry's

impact on water quality. These include:

􀁑 cleaner production assessments

􀁑 Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies (the

TEST strategy promoted by UNIDO)

􀁑 stream separation (avoiding the mixing of

contaminants)

􀁑 raw material and energy recovery from waste

􀁑 selecting optimal wastewater treatment

technologies.

Voluntary measures and self-regulation allow

industries to monitor performance and

demonstrate commitment to improving the

environment. Adopting Environmental Impact

Assessments (EIAs) and Environmental Management

Systems (EMS) are two primary ways of achieving this.

EIAs investigate the environmental impact of new

projects and significant extensions of existing projects,

using scientific evaluation and consultation with public

and environmental authorities. An EMS (such as ISO

14001) helps a company achieve its stated environmental

policy by setting responsibilities, defining environmental

objectives and the operational procedures, training needs,

monitoring and communication systems to be used. For

companies, registration with the environmental standard

ISO 14001 provides an internationally recognized

framework with which to demonstrate their environmental

commitment while enhancing profitability and

competitiveness. Other Best Environmental Practices (BEPs),

which promote the sustainable use of water include:

􀁑 Environmental audits. These assess the effectiveness

of the management system in place, its conformity

with the organization's environmental policy and

programme, and the organization's compliance with

relevant environmental regulatory requirements.

Environmental audits often include water and

energy audits.

􀁑 Best Available Technology (BAT). This is a useful

standard-setting tool for emissions reduction in

many industrial sectors.

Virtually all manufacturing processes require water to a

greater or lesser degree. The water demands of industry

are legitimate. At issue is how water used by industry is

returned to the system and the manner in which the

industry sector's demands will be balanced against the

demands of other sectors.

SECTION 3

Above

Water treated on site at a

rubber factory, Malaysia.

Source: EC, 2004.

CHAPTER | WATER AND ENERGY

Economic development needs an adequate and steady

supply of energy to be sustainable. Water is a key

resource for energy generation, primarily through the

use of hydroelectric power, but also in nuclear-based

energy generation, coal slurry technology and smallscale

hydroelectric schemes, among others. Energy is

equally essential for freshwater supplies, for example, in

groundwater pumping, desalination technology and

delivery and distribution systems. Reducing the

inefficiencies that occur in energy production (during

electricity generation, transmissions, distribution and

usage) will reduce electric power requirements leading

to greater water savings. Equally, diminishing the

inefficiencies and leaks that occur in water distribution

systems (for agriculture and municipalities in particular,

as well as other human activities) makes efficiency

gains possible in the electricity sector and offers big

potential water savings in electricity production.

Many opportunities to promote greater socioeconomic

development are being lost. Over

2 billion people in developing countries do not have

access to reliable forms of energy. In Africa alone, an

estimated 526 million people lack access to electricity.

In many developing countries, access to electricity lags

far behind access to improved water supplies. Improving

access to electricity, although not one of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs), was one of the targets

adopted at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable

Development.

Hydropower can be made even more sustainable.

Hydropower contributes 19 percent of global electric

power generation, although its importance varies from

country to country. Twenty-four countries generate

more than 90 percent of their electricity through

hydropower, whereas others generate none at all.

Europe makes use of 75 percent of its hydropower

potential, while Africa has developed only 7 percent.

This is viewed as a possible cornerstone of Africa's

future development, with significant export potential

and plans to establish a continent-wide electricity grid.

Hydropower brings flexibility to a national network grid,

due to its ability to meet sudden

demand. Run-of-river hydropower

stations - from large to small -

are clean, affordable and

sustainable renewable energy

providers. However, hydropower

projects involving large reservoir

construction fall into a different

category. There remains considerable

difference of opinion worldwide

as to whether they should be

classified as renewable energy and if they should be

prioritized by developing countries for investment.

The connection between water and energy is often overlooked. Experience has shown

that the simultaneous analysis of water and energy use at policy level can enable a

significant increase in productivity and sustainability in the use of both resources. Yet

the strong links between water and electrical power usage (termed the water/energy

nexus) are, at present, not fully taken into account in policy-making, management and

the operation of both water and electricity generation systems.

27

9 CHAPTER 9

Water

and Energy

By

UNIDO

(United Nations

Industrial Development

Organization)

Above

The Ataturk Dam (Turkey) is

the largest in a series of 22

dams and 19 hydroelectric

stations built on the Euphrates

and Tigris rivers.

Below

Solar photovoltaic panel for

pumping water, Kabekel

village, Gambia.

The construction of new dams needs greater

transparency, accountability, stakeholder

involvement and oversight of the contractual

process. All of these are essential to promote social

equity and good governance. In many places, large dams

are built as much for the purposes of water storage,

irrigation, and flow regulation as for the hydropower

benefits that they may provide. Large hydropower

investments can be made more sustainable by:

􀁑 prioritizing run-of-river projects for new investment

􀁑 piggybacking alternative energy sources to

hydropower, for instance through the coupling of

wind and hydropower

􀁑 adding hydropower capacity to existing

infrastructure such as water storage dams and

barrages

􀁑 extending the life and improving the efficiency of

existing hydropower schemes.

Small hydropower projects (SHP) can provide a

viable alternative to their larger counterparts.

SHP is especially appropriate for providing off-grid

electrification for isolated rural areas with a sparse

population. This is providing there are adequate water

resources available and seasonal variations in power

output are taken into account. These smaller-scale

projects lack the level of controversy associated with

large hydro, because their impact on the local

environment is limited. The use of SHP can contribute to

poverty alleviation through sustainable socio-economic

development,

increasing

employment

opportunities for

local people,

improving rural living standards,

and promoting environment

friendly development. Investment in SHP plants by

private firms and individuals can be encouraged

through preferential policies. Examples include tax

reductions, soft loans/grants from government, and

promoting indigenous manufacturing capability for

small hydropower equipment.

The impact of an energy-intensive water

delivery system can be dire in areas with scarce

water and energy resources. Energy intensity

measures the amount of energy used per unit of water

delivered. Some sources of water supply are more

energy intensive than others. Thermal desalination, for

example, requires more energy than wastewater

recycling, while water pumping consumes significant

energy resources worldwide. Implementing energy

efficiency in the water and wastewater industries

reduces operations and maintenance costs. It decreases

both emissions and the capital costs of new supply. It

also improves water quality, service coverage, the

solvency and operations capacity of water utilities and a

host of other related benefits. Reductions in energy use

in water and wastewater systems can be encouraged

through delegation of larger-scale energy and water

management to local levels. Involvement of water and

wastewater decision-makers, however, is vital for

success, with the first step being energy and water

audits of utilities. Furthermore, their involvement

provides the support needed to implement energy

efficiency measures, ensuring that energy and

wastewater reduction efforts are sustainable.

Recent environmental concerns demand that a

greater investment be made in renewable

energies. Environmental concerns, particularly over

climate change, nuclear waste disposal and safety and

security of energy supply, have prompted governments

to introduce policies aimed at accelerating the use of

renewable energy and Combined Heat and Power (CHP).

Total worldwide investment in renewable energy rose

from $6 billion in 1995 to approximately $22 billion in

2003, and is increasing rapidly. However, the economies

of scale associated with large-scale thermal and

hydropower electricity generation, and the existence of

transmission and distribution grids, continue to give

them a significant cost advantage over renewable

alternatives. Subsidies of all

types have previously been

used in many countries to

establish a 'top down'

energy supply system,

favouring thermal and

large hydropower

generating plants of ever

increasing capacity - a

trend that now needs to be

reversed.

28

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

SECTION 3

Above

Coal-fired power station in

Bergheim, Germany.

Right

Kut Al Amara dam, Iraq.

29

CHAPTER 9 | WATER AND ENERGY

National strategies to increase the use of

renewable energies can go further. Governments

joining the Kyoto Protocol are bound to reduce

greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean energy

investments. These targets can be achieved through the

implementation of a number of national policy reforms

that would stimulate the use of renewable energy. These

include the provision of subsidies for the development

and deployment of renewable energy-based mini-grids,

the introduction of measures to promote distributed

power generation, the provision of capital resources for

small-scale rural energy investments (including the

support of micro finance schemes), and the provision of

stable subsidies such as investment tax credits and

accelerated depreciation in addition to other economic

incentives.

New approaches are needed to encourage enduse

energy efficiency. Much of the world's future

energy demand will have to be met by efficiency

improvements. Whereas manufacturers of energyconsuming

equipment have successfully improved the

performance of individual components such as pumps,

compressors, fans and steam boilers, these components

only provide a service to the user when operating as

part of a system. There is scope to improve energy

efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across

the entire industrial sector by improving the design and

operation of the systems that deliver energy. Energy

efficiency can be stimulated by policy measures such as:

􀁑 introducing requirements to incorporate life-cycle

energy costs into bidding procedures for capital

projects

􀁑 encouraging improvements in the design and

operation of pumping systems, for instance through

innovation awards for energy efficiency

􀁑 requiring energy efficiency standards and labels for

appliances and equipment

􀁑 increasing the implementation of energy efficiency

measures in the industrial sector by incorporating

commitments to energy efficiency into the ISO

certification process (ISO 9001/14001), the

international environmental standard.

SECTION 3

Source: International Energy Association, 2004.

Source: International Energy Agency, 2005.

30

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY 10 CHAPTER 10

Managing Risks:

Securing the Gains of

Development

By

WMO

(World

Meteorological

Organization)

ISDR

(International

Strategy for Disaster

Reduction)

UNU

(United Nations

University)

Developing countries are disproportionately

affected by disasters. Communities in developing

countries tend to be hit the hardest, with losses rising

to about five times higher per unit of Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) than for their more developed

counterparts. Such

losses set back economic

development and social

growth, sometimes by

decades. Better risk

management is one of

the key areas that needs

to be addressed in order

to break the vicious

cycle of poverty.

The Johannesburg Plan

of Implementation and

the Millennium

Development Goals have stressed the interaction

between disaster risk reduction and sustainable

development. Both have shown how hunger and disease

significantly reduce people's ability to cope with natural

disasters. They also emphasize the link between poverty

and access to safer land areas or adequate means of

transportation in emergency situations. Thus, disaster

risk reduction efforts need to encompass a component

enabling communities not only to recover from

disasters, but also to rise above the poverty line. This

unquestionably makes risk management a matter of

social policy, aligned with ongoing global processes

related to sustainable development.

There are two main challenge areas in risk

assessment: scientific measurement and

methods and social and political issues. These

areas were identified in a recent 2004 WMO study

focussing on risk management approaches and

practices. The study was based on a survey involving

61 case studies across 5 continents. Scientific

measurement and methods involve the need for:

􀁑 data to map hazards and assess impacts

􀁑 easy-to-use Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

􀁑 improvement in the accuracy of weather and flood

forecasting

􀁑 improved knowledge on effects of climate change

􀁑 improved vulnerability assessment methods

􀁑 development of environmental strategies and, with

the utmost urgency, the relevant data and

information to improve early warning and

forecasting services.

Social and political issues include the need for:

􀁑 an integrated approach to risk management

including stronger integration of risk-related public

policies and improved cooperation of decisionmakers,

risk managers and water managers

In the last decade, 90 percent of natural disasters have been water-related events.

Tsunamis, floods, droughts, pollution and storm surges are just a few examples of

hazards that can constitute a risk for societies and communities. These are likely to

increase in the changing environmental context. Hazards like these become disasters

when risks are not managed with the objective of reducing human vulnerability. Floods

and droughts are the most deadly freshwater disasters, disrupting socio-economic

development in particular in developing countries. Efforts to reduce disaster risks must

be systematically integrated into policies, plans and programmes for sustainable

development and poverty reduction.

Above

Refuges at Korem camp,

Ethiopia.

31

CHAPTER 10 | MANAGING RISKS: SECURING THE GAINS OF DEVELOPMENT

􀁑 the development of transboundary agreements

􀁑 participation of the public in risk management

programmes

􀁑 promotion of national disaster prevention forums to

help strengthen risk management frameworks and

institutional coordination and management

mechanisms.

Risk management is increasingly being considered

in terms of prevention. Risk management has

progressively undergone a shift from relief and emergencyoriented

responses to risk assessment, prevention and

mitigation strategies. A critical element is the development

of new multi-hazard approaches to early warning,

forecasting, preparedness and response. These approaches

are the ideal method for saving lives and protecting

infrastructure - notably through the use of existing

observational and telecommunication systems. However, in

order to be effective, integrated risk management requires

strong links with the water resource management

community. It needs to address the related issues from the

perspectives of all affected sectors. New risk prevention

strategies thus need to be considered as an integral part of

wider socio-economic development and planning.

Understanding of water-related disaster risks

has improved, but more flexible and adaptive

risk management strategies are needed. Risk

management analysis has evolved thanks to modelling

and forecasting advances. Whereas, risk management

previously focussed on technical control of hazards,

assessments increasingly incorporate environmental and

social factors, for example, the impact of climate

variability and change on extreme weather events. Other

critical components of risk management include public

awareness, the coping capacity of communities,

effective linkage between national and local authorities

and issues related to risk perception. Disaster risk

management policies must also anticipate present and

future social patterns of exposure and vulnerability to

water-related hazards. But more flexibility in the

decision-making process is needed to adapt quickly to

changing environments. Examples of adaptive strategies

include the ability to devise new legislation when risk

changes, better access to and circulation of information

upon need, and development of a more comprehensive

system of indicators.

Indicators are needed to assess the efficiency

of current risk management practices and

design strategies for disaster risk reduction.

Indicators are essential for the identification and

monitoring of underlying trends in disasters, hazards,

vulnerability and risk. Risk factors include environmental

degradation, population growth, the increasing value of

assets in flood-prone areas and risk perception. Since

the development of indicators is a relatively new field,

water-related risk-based indicators remain scarce. They

also suffer from limitations in terms of conceptual

design and lack of data. Quantifiable indicators in

particular are important when decisions involve tradeoffs

between development options with varying degrees

of risk. Additional resources and research are also

needed to develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of

risk indicators in line with other water-related indices.

The poor availability of water and risk-related

data represents a serious hurdle to improving

risk management strategies. Water- and riskrelated

data are essential for designing multi-hazard

approaches and risk-related indicators, operating

efficient warning systems, developing awareness-raising

programmes, and enabling institutions to adapt to

environmental and social changes. Availability of and

access to data are therefore essential for hazard

analysis and vulnerability assessment. However, riskrelated

knowledge and information is often unavailable

or missing. Difficulties include a loss of institutional

memory and limited access to data or information. Risk

knowledge and experience can be lost over time for

various reasons: lack of funding for database

maintenance, lack of information-sharing among

administrations, and loss of institutional memory when

staff leaves. Knowledge and experience frequently lost

include: overviews of natural processes in river basins,

the location of stored

data, station maintenance,

the operation of models,

and checking forecasts

for consistency. Thus, poor

management of knowledge

prevents the development

of sound risk monitoring

policies and efficient

implementation of

preventative or protective

strategies.

SECTION 4

Left

Coastal destruction in wake of

the 26 December 2004

tsunami in Indonesia.

Below

The Piazzetta under water,

Venice, Italy.

32

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

Six core priority objectives have been identified

for disaster risk reduction over the next ten

years. Reviewing progress made in implementing the

Yokohama Strategy for a Safer World, UN/ISDR (United

Nations / International Strategy for Disaster Reduction)

identified the following objectives:

1. Ensure that disaster risk reduction is established as a

national policy with a strong organizational basis

2. Identify and monitor risks

3. Use information and education to build a culture of

prevention

4. Reduce underlying risk factors

5. Strengthen disaster preparedness and contingency

planning

6. Sustain international support for disaster reduction

efforts at national and local levels. Several gaps and

challenges are analysed in the Report on the World

Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Kobe,

Hyogo, Japan in January 2005.

SECTION 4

Source: UNDP, 2004.

Source: UNDP, 2004.

CHAPTER 11 | SHARING WAT E R

Access to adequate supplies of freshwater is a

highly contested issue in interstate water

relations. However, cooperation rather than conflict is

becoming the norm. Conflicts occur, in particular,

between users sharing the same resource - a situation

often exacerbated by traditional values, customs and

practices, historical factors and geographical vagaries.

However, in an increasing number of cases, treaties,

agreements and the principles of international water law

are helping to crystallize mechanisms for resolving disputes.

As decision-making processes in water governance and

management become more complicated, legislative and

institutional developments and guidelines for capacity

building have become increasingly critical for ensuring

equitable and efficient water sharing.

The strengthening of institutional mechanisms and legal

frameworks for Integrated Water Resources Management

(IWRM) is of central importance both for facilitating this

process, and ensuring that the burden of associated

transaction costs is equitably shared. IWRM must take

place within institutional environments conducive to its

development. This means capacity-building structures,

regulatory principles and organizational mechanisms for

promoting cooperation and conflict management. Treaties,

conventions, agreements, as well as international

conferences that mobilize politicians, administrators,

NGOs and knowledge communities are also critical

elements in the creation of such a nurturing environment.

Despite considerable progress, basic problems

still remain. These include:

􀁑 how to get parties to the table to cooperate on joint

water management issues where no agreement

exists.

􀁑 how to hold countries that have agreements,

treaties or other coordinating mechanisms

accountable for implementing those agreements.

􀁑 the types of enforcement mechanisms that can be

used to promote compliance.

Involving disadvantaged or disenfranchised groups early

on in the process, especially at local levels, may prevent

grievances from becoming hostilities.

Measuring performance in water sharing is

difficult due to the generally poor availability

of good data and information. Appropriate

data and information are required for balanced,

informed decision-making. The development of

measurable indicators could help to track water

sharing trends. Indicators can concentrate the

debate on concrete points of contention.

The focus of the emerging water culture is water sharing: Integrated Water Resources

Management (IWRM) looks for more effective and equitable management of water through

increased cooperation. Bringing together institutions dealing with surface water and

aquifer resources, calling for new legislative agreements worldwide, raising public participation,

and exploring alternative solutions to resolving disputes, are all part of the process.

33

11CHAPTER 11

Sharing Water

By

UNESCO

(United Nations

Educational, Scientific

and Cultural

Organization)

Above

Feluccas on the Nile River near

Philae, Egypt. 14 states share

its basin.

Below

The Danube basin is shared

between the highest number

of nations, with 18 riparian

states.

34

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

Proposed indicators emphasize relevance, validity,

reliability and comparability over time and space:

􀁑 a water interdependency indicator, exemplified by

the amount of water inflow from other river basins

􀁑 a cooperation indicator, measured on the basis of

the number of significant joint projects, treaties or

other formal agreements

􀁑 a vulnerability indicator, resulting from the ratio of

water demand and supply

􀁑 a fragility indicator, measured in terms of environmental

deterioration and social unrest (especially poverty

and rivalries), within and between countries

􀁑 a development indicator, summarized by

competence/commitment for dealing with and

managing water-related conflicts.

IWRM favours long-term

and contingency planning,

building resilience into

vulnerable systems, and

increasing diversity and

flexibility. New management

approaches will be based on

regional cooperation principles,

focusing on river basins and aquifer

systems, with an emphasis on

social needs and environmental sustainability. They will

focus on interrelated natural resources problems, reduce

potential points of friction and stress, and eliminate

conflicting demands through risk management and

vulnerability assessment. Classical legal tools and more

informal approaches both have important roles to play in

defusing conflict and developing cooperation. This point is

made repeatedly in security studies, management schemes,

administrative guidelines, conventions and bilateral agreements.

Techniques or approaches for calculating

equitable water sharing force us to consider

and coordinate water demands and needs

across all sectors. The transition to IWRM will,

further, require institutional structures for cooperation

and integration, as well as for knowledge sharing,

experience and responsibility. Above all, political will and

commitment are important preconditions for successful

cooperation in all aspects of water sharing.

In the future, particularly contentious issues

may involve aspects of transboundary water

sharing and environmental security. Sharing,

which can imply increased interdependency, may be

perceived by some as a threat to sovereignty. However,

in a world that is progressively more globalized and

linked ever more closely (by both information and

communications technology and trade and political

collaboration), new policies and programmes that

promote increasing interdependence and global

approaches to meeting environmental challenges (such

as virtual water trade) may become more and more

common.

New water-sharing models should not imply

that only optimal solutions are acceptable.

Reasonable approximations would be part of necessary

trade-offs, balancing the 'ideal', or desired, future and

the 'real', or pragmatic and practical, solution. Thus,

shared water management will become a realistic and

thoughtful instrument for a balanced approach and a

useful tool for managing long-standing confrontations

- if not outright conflict - over water resources. In

conclusion, in examining shared water experiences at

local, national and international levels, there have been

successes as well as failures. Water increasingly appears

to be the catalyst for cooperation and, thus, not only

divides, but also unites peoples and societies.

SECTION 4

Above

Itaipu dam and hydro-electric

power station, on the river

Parana, Brazil / Paraguay.

Source: Chapagain and Hoekstra, 2004.

CHAPTER 12 | VALUING AND CHARGING FOR WATER

The distinction between 'valuing' and 'valuation'

of water is revealed in how society perceives

the 'worth' of water in all its different uses.

Valuing water means recognizing the cultural, aesthetic,

social and environmental values of water and water

services. With increasing appreciation of the nonmarket

values associated with water, society is

demanding water policy reforms that reflect these

considerations. In attempting to estimate in financial

terms the benefits that society derives from water, the

technique of economic valuation aids our understanding

of the larger concept of the value of water.

Economic valuation allows a rational and

systematic means of assessing practices related

to the allocation and management of water

resources. Economic valuation is a process by which a

monetary value is attached to the benefits and costs

associated with a real or projected improvement in

water services. This can assist stakeholders, planners and

policymakers both to understand the trade-offs

associated with different governance options, and to

select among these so as to optimize social,

environmental and economic outcomes in line with

goals such as the MDGs.

Economists have devised alternative techniques

for valuing and comparing the projected

outcomes associated with different governance

strategies. The broad spectrum of social, cultural and

environmental values associated with water are not

always recognized in market transactions. These

techniques, though still imperfect in reflecting the true

extent to which society values water and water services,

aid our understanding of the trade-offs between

different development options and contribute to

increasing accountability and transparency in water

governance and management. The objective of

employing benefit-cost analysis is to improve the

efficiency of water use - for instance, in agriculture the

amount of 'crop per drop' produced - so that all the

diverse demands for water resources may be better

served. Improving water use efficiency becomes

increasingly significant in a world where competition

for resources has intensified. Economic evaluation is a

The availability and affordability of water is of growing political and economic concern.

Growing populations and rising incomes stimulate the demand for improved water

supply and sanitation services, both directly and indirectly through demand for food,

manufactured products, energy and environmental services. Given its unique lifesustaining

properties and innumerable roles, water incorporates many values - social,

cultural and environmental, as well as economic. All of these must be considered in

designing water-related policies and programmes if equitable, efficient and

environmentally sustainable management of water resources is to be achieved.

35

12CHAPTER 12

Valuing and

Charging for Water

By

UNDESA

(United Nations

Department of

Economic and

Social Affairs)

Left

Water shop in Aboemey City,

Benin.

36

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

tool to aid in assessing benefits and costs of alternative

governance strategies.

Benefit-cost analysis can assess both the potential

net benefits of proposed public-policy initiatives

and the realized benefits of previous policies.

Research in Asia, over the past three decades,

demonstrates that economic returns on public

investments in irrigation have been modest compared

with those from alternative investments (research, rural

roads and education) - or even with the cost of capital.

Additional research has revealed very high benefit-cost

ratios for investments in water supply and sanitation in

areas where facilities are lacking. Such findings would

indicate that a reallocation of resources towards

investment in domestic water supply and sanitation

would result in a net improvement in social welfare.

Charging for water services (household,

commercial, industrial and agriculture) requires

consensus on the underlying principles and

objectives. These include full-cost recovery and

protection of the needs of the poor and the

marginalized. Moreover, it requires a thorough,

systematic analysis of all costs and perceived benefits.

Finally, tariff structures must attempt to

balance society's multiple, often competing,

objectives. Worldwide, the 'user pays'

principle is becoming an increasingly

important guide to tariff-setting.

Water charges are too low in many areas of

the municipal and agricultural sectors. Current

levels of charges often fail to recover costs. As a result,

subsidies and under-investment (inadequate

maintenance, rehabilitation and expansion of water

services) are rife. Historically, charges have been set

below costs. One central reason is the general

perception of water and sanitation as public goods.

Social outcry and political pressures have mitigated

against raising rates. Full-cost charging puts clean

water and adequate sanitation facilities beyond the

means of the majority of the underprivileged. As a

result, subsidies from other water users, governments

and donor agencies continue to be needed to achieve

water supply and sanitation goals.

Reform of charging policies is critical to

improving the performance of water services

and the productivity of water in all sectors.

Updated charging structures need to be more widely

implemented to improve cost recovery, to facilitate

adequate maintenance and expansion of water supply

systems, and to provide incentives for conservation and

reuse. Reform is also necessary to ensure that water

supply and sanitation services remain available and

affordable to low-income populations. The political

unpopularity of increased charges will eventually have

to be overcome. This can be accomplished through both

phased-in reforms and educational programmes

designed to help customers understand the full cost and

value of reliable clean water and sanitation services. It is

important to recognize that users' willingness to pay -

and even the success of economic valuation - depends

in large part on the quality and availability of relevant

data and information.

Despite its usefulness, economic valuation may

not always provide the guidance for

determining best governance policy or the

most appropriate level of tariff. Over the years

many different techniques have been proposed for

assessing the socio-cultural and environmental

concerns related to water resources supply and

management. Still none has yet been found to reflect

fully all public concerns and values associated with

water. As a consequence, decision-making regarding the

management and allocation of water resources among

competing uses is often accomplished through political

SECTION 4

Left

Public water pump in

Amboseli Reserve, Kenya.

Right

Slums by the Mekong River,

Viet Nam.

37

CHAPTER 12 | VALUING AND CHARGING FOR WATER

processes, or third party assisted negotiations with the

participation of multiple stakeholders (water users,

various levels of government and the scientific

community, among others).

Governments must be open to innovative

initiatives for augmenting water supplies and

services. These include small-scale private suppliers,

public-private partnerships at different scales,

community participation, markets for tradable access

rights, transfer payments for environmental services,

and trade and development policies attuned to 'virtual

water' flows. Given the unique characteristics and role

of water with regards to public health, environmental

security and development at large, the regulatory role of

government will remain an important element in water

governance. Private sector participation, though not

suitable in all cases, can nevertheless play a significant

role in assisting in the development of cost efficient

water supply and service systems in many areas, thus

helping to realize the objectives of sustainable and

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

'Virtual water', a concept recognizing 'embedded' water

in various goods and services, focuses on optimizing

returns to water as a factor of production - and thus,

more efficient use of water. Similarly, payment for

environmental services (PES) acknowledges the link

between land and water resources and therefore the

value of managing terrestrial resources to preserve

ecosystem functions. Benefits capture analysis focuses

on the 'who' as well as the 'how much' in the economic

evaluation of alternative paths for water resources

development, selected to bring us further towards

meeting MDG targets.

It is critical to reach a better understanding of

both the multi-faceted nature of the value of

water and of the related economic tools.

Planners and policy-makers need to understand the

strengths and limitations of valuation techniques and

the potential role they play in informing discussions and

decisions regarding water resources management and

allocation. There is also a need for technicians who can

clearly express these economic concepts, utilize

available tools, and assist stakeholders in expressing

their values and preferences. This would enable these

techniques to contribute fully to information sharing

and transparency in water governance. The real

challenge in valuing water, however, lies not in

mastering the econometric techniques needed to

conduct such tasks as economic valuation. Instead, it

rests in reflecting in governance and management

decisions the diverse values of water recognized by its

many users.

SECTION 4

Below

Men and women bathing in

the Ganges, India.

The worldwide situation with regards to the hydro

meteorological information exchange is unbalanced and

deteriorating. There is increasing uncertainty and

complexity regarding the monitoring of effects of

increasing climate variability and population growth. It

is now urgent that measures be undertaken to improve

the state of water-related knowledge through

strengthening and making more effective the global

hydrological network.

Local knowledge must be the starting point for

all development projects. Local or indigenous

knowledge is internationally recognized as vital to

sustainable development and environmental

management. Many of the activities affecting, and

affected by, water management and use are performed

by local people who may have little formal education

but maintain a strong understanding of the water

systems on which they rely.

Education is a key tool which helps to better

prepare people to address local water issues.

Education plays an important role in equipping people

to solve problems of direct concern to them, whether in

the areas of poverty, health, environment or water. With

a basic education, people can not only access a broader

range of knowledge on good water practice, efficient

water use and safe hygiene, but are empowered with

the necessary skills to consider alternatives, make

choices, and enjoy a better life. Widespread education

also helps empower the voices of vulnerable groups in

water resource

management. Women,

for example, are central

to providing, managing

and safeguarding water,

yet they often remain

on the periphery of

management decisions

and planning for water

resources. Increased

education can provide

38

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY 13 CHAPTER 13

Enhancing Knowledge

and Capacity

By

UNESCO

(United Nations

Educational, Scientific

and Cultural

Organization)

The information and communication technologies (ICTs) revolution helped to bring

about many improvements in how data and information are globally collected, stored

and shared. These advances have helped to improve both our understanding of global

hydrological systems and measurement of river hydraulic data from space. However,

uncertainty regarding global and regional water balance estimates remains due to

considerable deficiencies in the land-based hydrological station networks over large

parts of the globe.

Above

Literacy programme in

Buterere, Burundi.

Right

On-going research at a waterquality

research centre in

Delft, Netherlands.

women and other groups

with tools and the

confidence to articulate

their needs and participate

in planning and decisionmaking

processes

regarding water resources

development.

Water resource managers need to assess their

capacity needs. Self-assessments are urgently needed

to set priorities, identify capacity gaps, and improve the

effectiveness with which a nation can respond to

external uncertainties. Many efforts to develop

capacities at all levels are often being performed

without the necessary assessments to formulate clear

understanding of the issues. Nations should be encouraged

to perform self-assessments of their knowledge base,

existing capacity and capacity needs. These can strengthen

a nation's abilities to prioritize organizational goals and

improve self-evaluation methods. This increases

awareness and develops a culture of performance

monitoring. The evaluation thereby becomes a capacity

development process in itself. The data and information

gained from the self-assessments process should then be

shared with the international community to allow for

further indicator development in this field.

39

CHAPTER 13 | ENHANCING KNOWLEDGE AND CAPACITY

SECTION 4

Left

Analysis of water samples for

trace elements in Athens,

Greece.

Capacity development: Levels, activities, outputs and goals

Source: van Hofwegen, 2004.

INDIVIDUAL LEVEL

INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL

ENABLING

ENVIRONMENT

Education

Formal – informal

Basic, vocational, professional

experience

Development of policies, legislation, organizations,

regulations and procedures

Defining mission, responsibilities and

external accountability mechanisms

Defining structure, tasks and internal

accountability mechanisms

Human resource development

Skills

Attitude

Incentive structure

Coaching

BEHAVIOUR

SERVICE DELIVERY

PERFORMANCE

SECTOR PERFORMANCE

Training

Competency – task oriented

Vocational, on the job, seminars, workshop,

short courses, exposure, coaching

Knowledge

Greater investment in hydrological data

networks is required. There has been a severe

decrease in the data collected, especially in developing

countries, owing to political and institutional instability,

economic problems, budget constraints, emphasis on

new infrastructure, and lack of professional education.

Like insurance, knowledge is a commodity that should be

acquired for protection against an uncertain, long-term

future. Increased investment in the basic hydrological

data collection network is needed to provide information

to prevent gross errors in water resources decisionmaking

in an unanticipated future. Investments in

ground-based monitoring networks are particularly

needed to complement recent advances made in remote

sensing and geographic information

systems. Additionally, popularizing

information by translating it into a variety

of media products adapted to the needs of

specific stakeholders at different levels, can

be effective in generating broad awareness

of and commitment to IWRM objectives.

At the institutional level, there are three

important capacity development needs.

Institutional capacity should be increased to ensure that

institutions have:

􀁑 clear and strong mandates to promote and

enhance the institutionalization of good water

management and water use throughout all levels of

society

􀁑 an organizational system conducive to effective and

efficient management decisions

􀁑 improved decision support mechanisms established

through research on lessons learned and indigenous

knowledge.

The statistics community must work with

water experts and regional stakeholders to

adapt existing sustainable

development/environmental monitoring

surveys. This is important to take into account more

water-sector specific information at a global level.

Sector-based capacity assessments can contribute

much-needed information to statistical databases on

existing capacity and associated initiatives. In addition,

these assessments can promote awareness of capacity

gaps and be themselves a capacity-enhancing process

to those involved. The increased data can then be used

to identify generic indicators that would allow a global

assessment of nations' capacities to address their

water-related problems.

Indicators must be informative for local

stakeholders as well as national policymakers.

The development of robust and reliable indicators can

be of great help to decision-makers at all levels,

providing information on progress toward goalattainment

while locating the gaps in knowledge. They

can also assist in identifying and focusing development

resources in the neediest of areas. In this context,

capacity development can be a powerful tool for

improving effective governance in nations. While

capacity development is dependent on the existing

government's political will to implement reforms, it is

also required to introduce new governance systems and

familiarize decision-makers and implementers with

different ways of managing water.

Research is an important tool for developing

knowledge on global water issues. But to be

effective, it must reach a wider audience. While there

has been an increase in the number of water research

centres set up in developed countries, such institutes

remain rare in developing countries. There is thus a

need for greater research on water issues specific to the

social and environmental contexts of developing

countries. Enhanced horizontal cooperation (Northsouth

and South-south) can help increase the amount

of applied research geared at solving practical, regionspecific

water resource problems. The development of

country-specific indexes on water-related knowledge

and capacity would greatly facilitate this exchange.

Lastly, multilingual translation tools, which would

permit information to be more easily transmitted from

country to country, would also help to promote the

exchange of valuable knowledge and best practices.

40

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

SECTION 4

Above

Mid-career professionals

receive on-the-job training by

local experts in Indonesia.

Right

Madhukari Ganokendra

(People's Centre), in Rajapur

village, western Bangladesh,

holds monthly meetings to

discuss primary school

attendance and other

important issues for the

community to take action on.

14CHAPTER 14

Case Studies: Moving Towards

an Integrated Approach

CHAPTER 14 | CASE STUDIES: MOVING TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH

1. The Autonomous Community of the

Basque Country: The Basque Community faces

the challenges of ensuring the sustainability of

ecosystems in a densely populated and highly

developed setting.

2. The Danube River Basin: The second largest

water basin in Europe extends through the

territories of 18 countries, each with varying social,

economic and topographic features. Consequently,

implementing the EU-Water Framework Directive

uniformly throughout the basin is a major challenge.

3. Ethiopia: Ethiopia ranks as one of the poorest

countries in the world. Limited funds restrict the

ability to use water resources to alleviate the heavy

burdens of disease, extreme poverty and hunger.

Therefore, external financial aid is crucial to meet

even very basic water and sanitation needs.

4. France: As a developed country, France's main

national challenge is meeting the water needs of

different sectors while implementing the EU Water

Framework Directive.

5. Japan: Unfavorable topographic conditions

combined with variability in rainfall patterns render

a great portion of the population of Japan

susceptible to water-related disasters. Updated

legislation sets forth the necessary precautions to

mitigate this risk. Advanced technology and

stringent regulations also ensure the sustainability

of ecosystems and precious water resources.

6. Kenya: Severe droughts aggravate the precarious

economic circumstances of rising poverty in Kenya,

affecting the food security of millions of people in

a country where chronic undernourishment is

already a problem. Unfortunately inadequate

funding prevents development efforts in all sectors.

7. The Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe-Pskovskoe Basin:

Socio-economic improvement in the region is

bringing positive change. Estonia, an EU member

bound by the Water Framework Directive, and the

Russian Federation are working together towards

developing a joint management of the programme

for the lake's resources. Institutional changes

taking place in both countries are likely to improve

the water sector's response to current challenges.

8. The Lake Titicaca Basin: Poverty remains the

underlying cause of many social problems in this

region. While the battle against poverty is ongoing

in Peru and Bolivia, efforts to break this vicious

circle have not yet managed to create significant

change.

9. Mali: Access to abundant water resources remains

a problem which hampers national economic

development and the livelihoods of Malians. Poor

water and sanitation infrastructure and poverty

leave a significant percentage of the population

suffering from malnutrition and water-borne

diseases. Lack of data and the limited technical

capacity of institutions are major issues impeding

the planning and development of programmes and

strategies for the better utilization of water

resources and controlling increasing levels of

pollution.

10. State of Mexico: The wise management of

water resources is crucial for a country

characterized by industrial centres, a wide range of

economic activities, and densely populated urban

settlements. In order to meet the water needs of its

various sectors, schemes for transporting water

from basins throughout Mexico have been put in

place. Curbing the unsustainable uses of

groundwater resources and pollution is high on the

agenda of decision-makers.

The first edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR1) illustrated various

water-related issues in 7 case studies involving 12 countries. In the second edition (WWDR2),

the number of pilot case studies has grown to 17 comprising 41 countries. As in WWDR1,

these case studies highlight a number of scenarios in different geographic regions where

conditions of water-related stress and socio-economic circumstances are different.

41

42

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

11. Mongolia (with special reference to the

Tuul River Basin): As a country in transition

trying to adapt to a new economic and political

order, Mongolia faces many challenges, such as

poverty, limited access to safe water and

sanitation, diseases and decaying environmental

quality. Both the implementation of reforms and

the enforcement of existing laws and regulations

are necessary to improve the current situation.

However, limited funds and scarcity of water and

land resources remain the main obstacles.

12. The La Plata River Basin: Although, development

efforts aim to improve the livelihoods of over

100 million inhabitants living in the fifth-largest basin

in the world, increasing poverty and social inequality

continue to be the main problems facing the five basin

countries. The common vision of sustainable utilization

of water resources brings all riparian countries together

under the framework of the Intergovernmental

Coordinating Committee and provides the basis for

bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

13. The Senegal River Basin: The Senegal River

Basin is mainly characterized by water scarcity and

subsistence economies. Thanks to the construction

of two main dams providing energy, irrigated

agriculture and year-round navigation - and to a

management approach promoting optimal distribution

of water resources - the area is gradually developing.

14. South Africa: As a country that has recently

emerged from a system of racial segregation, South

Africa is trying to alleviate poverty through social

programmes aimed at the poor and marginalized

and promote economic development, while ensuring

the sustainability of water resources and ecosystems.

Capacity-building is considered as a main goal for

the successful implementation of programmes and

strategies.

15. Sri Lanka: Recently struck by the tsunami

disaster, Sri Lanka suffered great social and

economic losses that have laid a heavy burden on

the fragile island economy. Although on track to

achieve hunger-related MDGs, hundreds of

thousands of children are still suffering from

malnutrition. The multiplicity of institutions with

both unclear responsibilities and legislation hinders

better management and protection of the Island’s

water resources and ecosystems.

16. Thailand: The tsunami disaster in December 2004

caused heavy socio-economic damages and particularly

affected the tourism sector - a major contributor

to the economy. While recovery efforts are still

underway, the country faces other challenges such

as overexploitation of forests and heavy pollution

by industry and urban settlements. In addition,

reforms in the management of natural resources

have not been effectively implemented due to a lack

of synergy and coordination between ministries.

17. Uganda: Rapid population growth coupled with

uncontrolled environmental degradation stemming

from increased urbanization and industrialization

puts considerable stress on the sustainability of

natural resources. Debt relief under the IMF Heavily

Indebted Poor Countries Initiative removed a large

portion of external debts and enabled the country

to allocate its financial resources to fight against

poverty. However, the water sector in Uganda is still

heavily dependant on external donors for its

development.

SECTION 5

Source: AFDEC, 2006.

Approximately 1 billion people worldwide,

one-sixth of the total world population, live

in extreme poverty, sickness, hunger, thirst,

destitution and marginalization. The lifestyle

of the extreme poor is based on subsistence

living. Many poor families occupy land over

which they have no formal legal rights - in

a squatter community or slum, or farming

on marginal lands owned by others with

limited access to reliable water. Women and

girls in particular often have the least

entitlement to household or family assets.

Very poor households are rarely connected

to infrastructure, such as piped water,

sanitation and electricity supply. The

payment structure for many utility services

(water, electricity), with their up-front

connection and monthly consumption

charges, are often too expensive for the

poor.

All of this creates an ideal environment for disease

transmission, vulnerability to loss of housing and

possessions and, overall, a low quality of life. Poor

families face difficulties accumulating surpluses - food

and financial - and find it difficult to maintain

consumption when their incomes are interrupted or

their crops fail. In addition, limited or non- enforcement

of laws, regulations and procedures concerning legal

and political rights, environmental health and

protection, occupational health and safety, crime

prevention and safeguarding from exploitation and

discrimination, are common. Unbridled competition

from richer farmers and industrial concerns for water,

productive land and fisheries, often put the poor at a

serious disadvantage. It is also often very difficult for

the poor to assert their rights and needs so as to receive

a fair entitlement to public goods and services.

Water is central to alleviating poverty. Some

13 percent of the world's population - over 800 million

people - do not have enough food and water to live

healthy and productive lives. Providing the water

needed to feed a growing population and balancing this

with all the other demands on water, is one of the great

challenges of this century. Providing water for

environmental flows and industry will tax water

resources even more. Extending water services to the

1.1 billion un-served with improved water supply and

the 2.6 billion lacking improved sanitation will enlarge

the challenge even further. Confronting water-related

disease --including malaria, which causes 300 to

500 million episodes of sickness and 1.6 to 2.5 million

deaths each year - must be done. In many parts of the

world, available water quantity is decreasing and quality

is worsening.

CHAPTER | CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION

43

Above

Stream in the Andes, Peru.

15 CHAPTER 15

Conclusions and

Recommendations for

Action

44

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

Water insufficiency is primarily caused by

inefficient supply rather than by water

shortages. Water insufficiency is often due to

mismanagement, corruption, lack of appropriate

institutions, bureaucratic inertia and a shortage of

investment in both human capacity and physical

infrastructure. Water shortages and increasing pollution

are socially and politically induced challenges. These can

be addressed by modifying water demand and usage

through increased awareness, education and water

policy reforms. The water crisis is thus increasingly

about how we govern access to and control over water

resources and their benefits.

Many of the solutions to water problems lie in

better governance. Water is central to promoting

socio-economic development, protecting the

environment, and achieving the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs). Yet, few lower-income

countries include water as a key feature of their

national planning and budgets. Mismanagement of

water is widespread, characterized by lack of

integration, sectoral approaches, and institutional

resistance to change by large public agencies in a

context of increasing competition. Only a minority of

local authorities and water associations have the

resources needed to carry out the responsibilities

delegated from central governments.

Social and economic resilience is the key to

sustaining development and meeting societal

goals. The UN Millennium Project has stated that longterm

success in meeting the MDGs depends on

environmental sustainability. Without it, any gains will

be short-lived and inequitable. Part of the problem is

the very modest political effort devoted to sustainable

development, compared with global economic growth.

Water problems and challenges are connected

and should be addressed in a holistic manner.

The various water issues are interdependent and greater

wisdom is required in the allocation and management

of water resources. A flexible approach is essential at

both strategic and local levels. The answer to this,

including meeting the MDGs, lies in a holistic,

ecosystem-based approach known as Integrated Water

Resources Management (IWRM). IWRM has to be

tailored to prevailing socio-economic conditions. Local

circumstances, however, can put obstacles in its way:

􀁑 lack of proper coordination of management

activities

􀁑 lack of appropriate management tools

􀁑 inability to integrate water resources policies

􀁑 institutional fragmentation

􀁑 insufficiently trained or qualified manpower

􀁑 shortfalls in funding

􀁑 inadequate public awareness

􀁑 limited involvement by communities, NGOs and the

private sector.

Because of these obstacles and other difficulties, very

few countries have met the Johannesburg Plan of

Implementation (JPOI) target stating that IWRM should

be incorporated into national water resources plans by

the end of 2005.

Reliable data is essential for IWRM. A holistic

approach to water management requires knowledge of

the different systems involved: not just hydrological,

but socio-economic, political, institutional and financial.

However, data on almost every subject relevant to water

issues is often lacking and may be inconsistent,

unreliable or incomplete. Collection of data in itself is

insufficient. It must be synthesized, analysed and

compared to other sources.

Strong indicators are needed to monitor

progress. To facilitate understanding, advocacy and

access to needed resources, trends must be discerned

and progress monitored. We therefore need to develop

indicators. However, the development of indicators is

proving difficult for a variety of reasons, including the

general lack of reliable and consistent data.

The water sector needs greater investment. Lack

of reliable information and indicators has contributed to

serious under-investment and inadequate donor aid to

the sector. Private investors are discouraged because

they perceive the sector as presenting higher risks, and

SECTION 5

Above

Women’s group for microfinance,

Andra Pradesh, India.

45

CHAPTER 15 | CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION

longer and lower returns on investment than other

sectors. Both public and private sector investors are also

deterred by inadequate governance. Recent information,

however, shows that investments in the water sector

have become increasingly cost-effective. Rapidly

deployable interventions targeted at the poor including

improved household water treatment and storage are

one example. For the irrigation sector, drip irrigation

and treadle pumps, are two cost-effective ways in

which access to small-scale water technology can be

provided to poor farmers.

Greater transparency, accountability and

stakeholder involvement is needed.

One of the biggest roadblocks to achieving the MDGs is

lack of investment by external donors. However, lack of

good governance is often a constraint to such

financing. This can be addressed by encouraging

transparency and accountability. This necessitates

greater stakeholder involvement at all levels of

government and the involvement of major groups and

the private sector.

International and national cooperation is

required to meet the MDGs related to poverty

alleviation and water. While it is imperative that as

much action as possible to meet the MDGs must be

initiated within countries themselves, there is also a

moral obligation that the richer countries be prepared

to share their wealth to meet the goals. The lowerincome

countries are tasked with delivering promised

policy changes and improvements to governance; the

industrialized countries must follow through with their

long-standing commitments to increase ODA and

technical assistance. It should be noted, however, that

even if the MDGs are achieved there will still be a

significant segment of society remaining unserved - and

these will probably be the poorest of the poor.

There are many instances of improvement. The

first step to better governance is awareness, followed by

commitment and stakeholder involvement. Indicator

development and case study work both show that

progress is being made. Economic development can and

does work in many parts of the world. The scale of

extreme poverty is lessening, both in terms of the total

numbers affected and as a proportion of the total world

population. The rapidly growing lower-income countries

- Brazil, China and India - have set up a wide range of

initiatives for improved water governance and water

service delivery challenges, which could be adapted by

other countries. The growth in microfinance has the

potential to provide essential capital for the extension

of water service provision, through a much-enhanced

availability of funds to the very poor, and to contribute

also to lessening their insecurity. However,

funding for microfinance houses must go

beyond its traditional sources such as

governments, aid agencies and charities. The cost

of operations must also be decreased, because

microfinance as presently organized is very

labour-intensive.

Without access to secure water supplies,

development will stall and the MDG

targets will fall short. The Millennium

Project has made clear that the world today has

the wealth and tools to do what is needed. With

determination and political will, the levels of

international cooperation agreed in the Millennium

Declaration, and re-confirmed at the 2005 UN World

Summit, water sector reform and the MDGs can be

achieved.

RECOMMENDATIONS

􀁑 To appreciate the context within which water issues

must be approached.

􀁑 To recognize that the various issues of water are

interrelated - and with growing demand and, in

general, decreasing supply, competition between

uses and users is increasing, requiring greater

wisdom in allocation of the resource.

􀁑 To appreciate the variety of circumstance - solutions

have to be tailored to situation.

􀁑 To understand that water moves within natural

limits - but that these do not usually correspond to

the administrative units within which societies

organize themselves.

􀁑 To improve basic data through research. Greater

knowledge and understanding are prerequisites for

better management of all the systems involved.

􀁑 To focus on governance.

􀁑 To anticipate and adapt to changing circumstance.

􀁑 To all assume responsibility for action: There is a

need for responsible action and involvement at all

levels of society. Individuals at community level

should be encouraged and given the means to take

responsibility for their own problems. Likewise, at

local and national levels, governments must take

their share of responsibility. At international levels,

responsibility must be taken to set goals and targets

towards which the world should strive, and to

assess the global situations with a view to sharing

knowledge.

SECTION 5

Above

Flooded slum on the edge of

Pasig River, Manila, Philippines.

46

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY | WATER: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

CRÉDITS PHOTOS

COVER

© SAOPID Mexico

© UNESCO - Andes / CZAP / ASA

© UNESCO - I. Forbes

© Sven Torfinn / Panos

© UNESCO - J. W. Thorsell

© Yann Arthus-Bertrand/La Terre

vue du Ciel

© Surapol Pattanee

© Chris Stowers / Panos

© Australian Water Partnership

CHAPTER 1

p. 3

© UNHCR/D. Shrestha

p.6

© UN-HABITAT

© Thomas Cluzel

CHAPTER 2

p. 7

© Yann Arthus-Bertrand/La Terre

vue du Ciel

© Richard Franceys

p. 9

© UNESCO / O. Brendan

CHAPTER 3

p. 10

© UN-HABITAT

p. 11

© UNESCO - Dominique Roger

© UN-HABITAT

CHAPTER 4

p. 12

© Ron Giling / Still Pictures

p. 13

© Mitchell Rogers/UNEP / Still

Pictures

p. 14

© UNESCO - Roni Amelan

© Thomas Cluzel

CHAPTER 5

p. 13

© Christopher Uglow / UNEP /

Still Pictures

p. 16

© Yann Arthus-Bertrand/La Terre

vue du Ciel

p. 17

© UNESCO - I Forbes

© F. Ardito/UNEP / Still Pictures

CHAPTER 6

p. 18

© Jorgen Schytte / Still Pictures

© Andras Szöllösi-Nagy

p. 19

© UNESCO - Dominique Roger

p. 20

© UN-HABITAT

CHAPTER 7

p. 21

© FAO/13504/I. de Borhegyi

p. 22

© FAO/15157/ A. Conti

© FAO/17086/M. Marzot

p. 23

© Yann Arthus-Bertrand/La Terre

vue du Ciel

CHAPTER 8

p. 24

© UNESCO - I. Forbes

p. 25

© Marcia Zoet / UNEP / Still

Pictures

p. 26

© Mark Edwards / Still Pictures

CHAPTER 9

p. 27

© GAP-BKI

© Sean Sprague / Still Pictures

p. 28

© Hartmut Schwarzbach / Still

Pictures

© UNESCO

CHAPTER 10

p. 30

© UNESCO - B. Bisson

p. 31

© UNESCO - E. Schneider

© UNESCO - Alexis N. Vorontzoff

CHAPTER 11

p. 33

© UNESCO - Dominique Roger

© UNESCO - Bruno Cottacorda

p.34

© Julio Etchart / Still Pictures

CHAPTER 12

p. 35

© Jorgen Schytte / Still Pictures

p.36

© Deanna Donovan

© Thomas Cluzel

p. 37

© Thomas Cluzel

CHAPTER 13

p. 38

© UNESCO - Michel Ravassard

© UNESCO - Niamh Burke

p. 39

© UNESCO - Niamh Burke

p. 40

© UNESCO-IHE

© UNESCO - O. Brendan

CHAPTER 15

p. 43

© Thomas Cluzel

p. 44

© Sean Sprague / Still Pictures

p. 45

© A. Appelbe/UNEP / Still

Pictures

BACK

© UNESCO-IHE

© AFSAD / Doganay Sevindik

© Christopher Uglow / UNEP /

Still Pictures

© AFSAD / Selim Aytac

The World Water Assessment Programme would like to thank the Ankara Fotograf

Sanatcilari Dernegi, Yann Artus-Bertrand, the Australian Water Partnership, Thomas

Cluzel, Deanna Donovan, FAO, Richard Franceys, the GAP Bolge Kalkinma Idaresi

Baskanligi Arsivi, Surapol Pattanee, the Secretariat of Water, Public Works and

Infrastructure for Development of the Government of the State of Mexico, Andras

Szöllösi-Nagy, UNESCO, UNESCO-IHE, UN-HABITAT, and UNHCR for generously

providing photographs.

Yann Artus-Bertrand's photographs of the Earth from Above are meant to show that, now

more than ever, levels and modes of consumption and exploitation of natural resources are

not sustainable in the long term. Whereas world production of goods and services has

multiplied by 7 since 1950, 20% of the world population has no access to drinking water,

25% has no electricity, and 40% has no sanitary installation. In other words, a fifth of the

world's population lives in industrialized countries, consuming and producing in excess and

generating massive pollution. The remaining four-fifths live in developing countries and, for

the most part, in poverty. To provide for their needs, they make heavy demands upon the

Earth's natural resources, causing a constant degradation of our planet's ecosystem and

limited supplies of fresh water, ocean water, forests, air, arable land, and open spaces.

At this critical stage, the alternative offered by a sustainable development policy should help

in bringing about the necessary changes in order to 'meet the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.'* Inseparable from

the accompanying text commentaries, Earth from Above images invite each one of us to

reflect upon the planet's evolution and the future of its inhabitants.

We can and must act individually on a daily basis for the future of our children.

Earth from Above team

* Quoted from the Brundtland report, The World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common

Future, Oxford University Press 1987.

Cover

CENTRE-PIVOT IRRIGATION, Ma'an, Jordan (N 29°43' E 35°33'). This self-propelled, centre-pivot irrigation machine,

invented by the American Frank Zybach in 1948 and patented in 1952, drills for water in the deep strata 30 to 400 m below

the surface. A pivoting pipeline with sprinklers, extending about 500 m is mounted on tractor wheels, and irrigates

78 hectares of land. The countries of the Middle East and North Africa experienced the world's most rapid increase in grain

imports in the 1990s. Production of 1 ton of grain requires about 1,000 tons of water, and these countries prefer to import

grain to meet their growing needs rather than produce it domestically because of the scarcity of water. In fact, at the

current rate of use in Jordan, subterranean water reserves could dry up before 2010. Underground water is already

overexploited in the United States, India, and China. Watering technologies, however, waste less and respond better to plant

needs, saving 20 to 50% of the water used in agriculture.

Chapter 2

HYDRAULIC DRILLING STATION IN A VILLAGE NEAR DOROPO, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (9°47' N, 3°19' W).

Throughout Africa the task of collecting water is assigned to women, as seen here near the regions of Doropo and Bouna, in

northern Côte d'Ivoire. Hydraulic drilling stations, equipped with pumps that are usually manual, are gradually replacing the

traditional village wells, and containers of plastic, enamelled metal, or aluminium are supplanting canaris (large terra-cotta

jugs) and gourds for transporting the precious resource. The water of these pits is more sanitary than that of traditional

wells, 70% of which is unfit for drinking. Today 20% of the world population is without drinkable water. In Africa this is true

for two out of five people, but more than half of the population in rural areas has no access to clean water. Illnesses from

unhealthy water are the major cause of infant mortality in developing nations: diarrhoea kills 2.2 million children below the

age of 5. In Africa and Asia improved access to clean drinking water will be one of the major challenges of the coming

decades, as their populations grow.

Chapter 5

CONFLUENCE OF THE RIO URUGUAY AND A TRIBUTARY, Misiones, Argentina (S 27°15' W 54°03'). Drastically cleared

to make way for farming, the Argentine tropical forest is today a less effective defence against erosion than it was in the

past. Heavy rains falling in the province of Misiones (2,000 mm per year) wash the soil and carry off significant quantities of

ferruginous earth into the Río Uruguay, turning the waters a dark, reddish ochre. Swollen by tributaries bearing vegetal

debris, the Río Uruguay (1,612 km long) empties into the Atlantic Ocean in the area of the Río de la Plata-forming the

earth's largest estuary (200 km wide)-where the river dumps the sediment it has carried. The sediment accumulates in the

access channels to the port of Buenos Aires, which must be dredged regularly to remain navigable. Deposits built up at the

mouths of rivers can change landscapes by forming deltas or extending land into the sea.

Chapter 7

WORKING THE FIELDS NORTH OF JODHPUR, Rajasthan, India (N 26°22' E 73°02'). Rajasthan, the second-largest state

in India in terms of area (342,240 km2), lies in the northwest region of the country. Sixty-five percent of the state is covered

by sandy desert formations, and the scarcity of surface water is largely responsible for the low productivity of its soil.

However, the construction of irrigation systems, which benefit 27 percent of arable lands in India, has aided in the

development of agriculture. Millet, sorghum, wheat, and barley are cultivated here. The harvesting of these grains at the end

of the dry season is a task that normally falls to women, who, even while working in the fields, wear the traditional orhni, a

long, brightly coloured shawl that is typical of the region. More than half of India's territory is devoted to farming, which

produces one-fourth of the domestic national product. Each year the country harvests about 220 million tons of grains,

more than one-tenth of world production, and it ranks second in the world in wheat and rice. But the old conflict between

production increase and demographic growth is now also affected by declining subterranean water reserves; a severe

drought in April 2000 affected 20 million people in Rajasthan.

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48

SECTION 3: CHALLENGES FOR HUMAN

WELL-BEING AND DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 6: Protecting and Promoting Human

Health – WHO & UNICEF

The state of human health is inextricably linked to a range

of water-related conditions: safe drinking water, adequate

sanitation, minimized burden of water-related disease and

healthy freshwater ecosystems. Urgent improvements in the

way in which water use and sanitation are managed are

necessary for improving progress towards meeting the

MDGs related to human health.

CHAPTER 7: Water for Food, Agriculture and Rural

Livelihoods – FAO & IFAD

The daily demand for food is not negotiable. As the largest

consumer of freshwater, the agriculture sector faces a

critical challenge: producing more food of better quality

while using less water per unit of output, in order to help

protect the complex aquatic ecosystems on which our

survival depends. This chapter examines the challenges of

feeding a growing population and balancing its water needs

with other uses in a sustainable way. Water opens the

pathways and empowers the livelihoods approach to

poverty reduction.

CHAPTER 8: Water and Industry – UNIDO

Despite industry’s need for clean water, industrial pollution

is damaging and destroying freshwater ecosystems in many

areas, compromising water security for both individual

consumers and industries. This chapter focuses on industry’s

impact on the water environment through its routine water

withdrawal and wastewater discharge, analysing a broad

range of regulatory instruments and voluntary initiatives

that could improve water productivity, industrial

profitability and environmental protection.

CHAPTER 9: Water and Energy – UNIDO

To be sustainable, economic development needs an

adequate and steady supply of energy. Today’s changing

contexts require the consideration of a range of strategies

to incorporate hydropower generation and other renewable

forms of energy production to improve energy security

while minimizing climate-changing emissions. This chapter

stresses the need for the cooperative management of the

energy and water sectors to ensure sustainable and

sufficient supply of both energy and water.

SECTION 4: MANAGEMENT RESPONSES

AND STEWARDSHIP

CHAPTER 10: Managing Risks: Securing the Gains

of Development – WMO, ISDR & UNU

The climate is changing, thus increasing the occurrence

and intensity of water-related natural disasters and

creating greater burdens on human and environmental

development. Employing an integrated approach, this

chapter explores some of the ways of better reducing

human vulnerabilities and examines the recent

developments in risk reduction strategies.

CHAPTER 11: Sharing Water – UNESCO

Increasing competition for water resources can have

potentially divisive effects. Mechanisms for cooperation and

shared governance among users must be further developed

in order to ensure that the resource become a catalyst for

cooperation and a medium for deterring political tensions,

while encouraging equitable and sustainable development.

CHAPTER 12: Valuing and Charging for Water

UN-DESA

Water has a range of values that must be recognized in

selecting governance strategies. Valuation techniques

inform decision-making for water allocation, which

promote not only sustainable social, environmental and

economic development but also transparency and

accountability in governance. This chapter reviews

techniques of economic valuation and the use of these

tools in water policy development and charging for water

services.

CHAPTER 13: Enhancing Knowledge and Capacity

UNESCO

The collection, dissemination and exchange of waterrelated

data, information and know-how are imbalanced

and, in many cases, deteriorating. It is now more urgent

than ever to improve the state of knowledge concerning

water-related issues through an effective global network of

research, training and data collection and by implementing

more adaptive, informed, and participatory approaches at

all levels.

SECTION 5: SHARING RESPONSIBILITIES

CHAPTER 14: Case Studies: Moving Towards an

Integrated Approach

These 17 Case Studies from around the world examine

typical water resource challenges and provide valuable onthe-

ground insights into the facets of the water crisis and

different management responses: The Autonomous

Community of the Basque Country (Spain), China (Heihe

Basin), Danube River Basin (Albania, Austria, Bosnia-

Herzogovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic,

Germany, Hungary, 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, Uganda.

CHAPTER 15: Conclusions and Recommendations

for Action

Drawing on the essential points and key messages

presented throughout the Report, this chapter weaves

together a set of conclusions and recommendations to

guide future action and enhance the sustainable use,

productivity and management of the world's increasingly

scarce freshwater resources.

CD-ROM – The accompanying interactive, searchable and hyperlinked CD-ROM includes all of the WWDR2 data tables, graphs, charts and

maps, as well as detailed sections on indicator and case study developments, among other valuable materials, all of which are available as

of 22 March 2006 (World Water Day) at www.unesco.org/water/wwap

WATER, A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

Foreword: Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General

Prologue: Koïchiro Matsuura, UNESCO Director General

Preface: Gordon Young, WWAP Coordinator

SECTION 1: CHANGING CONTEXTS

CHAPTER 1: Living in a Changing World

Emphasizing the central role of water use and allocation in

poverty alleviation and socio-economic development, this

chapter discusses some of the many ways in which

demographic and technological change, globalization and

trade, climate variability, HIV/AIDS, warfare, etc., affect and

are impacted by water. Key concepts of water management,

sustainability and equity are introduced, as is the pivotal role of

the many activities of the UN system in the water sector.

CHAPTER 2: The Challenges of Governance

UNDP, with IFAD

Recognizing that the water crisis is largely a crisis of

governance, this chapter outlines many of the leading

obstacles to sound and sustainable water management:

sector fragmentation, poverty, corruption, stagnated

budgets, declining levels of development assistance and

investment in the water sector, inadequate institutions and

limited stakeholder participation. While the progress

towards reforming water governance remains slow, this

chapter provides recommendations for balancing the social,

economic, political and environmental dimensions of water.

CHAPTER 3: Water and Human Settlements in an

Urbanizing World – UN-HABITAT

Increasing population growth is creating major problems

worldwide. Growing urban water supply and sanitation needs,

particularly in lower- and middle-income countries, face

increasing competition with other sectors. Rising incomes

in other portions of the world population fuel demand for

manufactured goods and environmental services and

amenities, all of which require water. This chapter emphasizes

the scale of the growing urban water challenges, pointing out

that nearly one-third of urban dwellers worldwide live in slums.

SECTION 2: CHANGING NATURAL SYSTEMS

CHAPTER 4: The State of the Resource

UNESCO & WMO, with IAEA

This chapter reviews the main components of the water cycle

and provides an overview of the geographical distribution of

the world’s total water resources, their variability, the impacts

of climate change and the challenges associated with assessing

the resource.

CHAPTER 5: Coastal and Freshwater

Ecosystems – UNEP

Natural ecosystems, rich in biodiversity, play a critical role

in the water cycle and must be preserved. In many areas, a

variety of pressures on freshwater ecosystems are leading

to their rapid deterioration, affecting livelihoods, human

well-being and development. To reverse this trend,

protecting ecosystems and biodiversity must become a

fundamental component of Integrated Water Resources

Management (IWRM).

Water

a shared responsibility

March 2006, ca 600 pages, ills., bibliog, index

Paperback (incl. CD-ROM) ISBN 92-3-104006-5 €56.00, CD-ROM (only) ISBN 92-3-104007-3 €36.00

A joint undertaking of the 24 UN agencies comprising UN-Water, and in partnership with governments

and other entities concerned with freshwater issues, this volume, covering all regions and most countries of

the world, provides an up-to-date global overview of the state and uses of freshwater, critical water-related

problems and societies’ coping mechanisms. Drawing on an extensive database, expert analysis, case studies, and

hundreds of graphic elements, it is the most comprehensive undertaking to date of freshwater assessment, providing

a mechanism for monitoring changes in the resource and its management and progress towards achieving development

targets, particularly the Millennium Development Goals.

Building on the conclusions of the first World Water Development Report, Water for People, Water for Life (2003), the

2006 Report confirms the ongoing, serious and growing water crisis – to a large extent a crisis of governance – and

points to a prevalent lack of capacity and knowledge base as today’s primary obstacles to achieving the necessary

levels of water governance. This volume proposes a more integrated vision of water resources management to

respond to changing environmental and socio-economic conditions.

The accompanying interactive, searchable and hyperlinked CD-ROM includes all of the WWDR2 data tables,

graphs, charts and maps, as well as detailed sections on indicator and case study developments, among

other valuable materials, all of which are available on the WWAP website as of 22 March 2006 at

www.unesco.org/water/wwap.

WWDR2 is aimed at a wide audience, including all those interested or directly involved in

the formulation and implementation of water-related policies, as well as managers,

researchers, teachers, students and, of course, water users themselves.

UN HABITAT

UNITED NATIONS

WMO

WHO

WORLD BANK

IAEA

Including UNDESA, UNECE, UNESCAP, UNECA, UNECLAC, UNESCWA

BERGHAHN BOOKS

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