WWF 17 Mar 09;
A UN water report issued today gives a useful overview of a world growing increasingly short of water but puts far too little emphasis on the need to protect the natural environmental assets that supply and purify water, global conservation organization WWF said today.
Water in a changing world, the third UN Water Development Report issued by UNESCO at the World Water Forum in Istanbul, said water demand would increase due to population growth, rising living standards and changed food consumption patterns and the demands of biofuel production while water supplies were already near their limits in many countries.
WWF welcomed the report’s call for better governance and management of water and its observation that while the water sector is often taking more responsible approach to management “the key decisions about water are taken outside the water sector”.
“The report is relatively sympathetic to solutions that involve pouring concrete, without giving due recognition to the problems caused by the concrete pouring of the past,” said Dr Lifeng Li, Director of Freshwater at WWF International.
“We would have liked to see more emphasis on the importance of providing enough water for natural systems to keep functioning in order to keep providing water.
“One key contribution to water supplies running short in many areas is that the natural environmental assets that protect and purify water and help us cope with floods and droughts have been degraded through over-use and pollution.
The report notes that climate change will worsen the water situation in many already short countries but offers few pointers for adapting to this challenge.
“The key lesson of WWF’s on the ground work is that what best protects and improves the functioning of freshwater systems now is what will best protect them from climate change impacts in the future,”
The report also raises the likelihood of conflict over water between countries, regions and urban and rural users.
“We also find it puzzling that a report predicting more water conflict between countries fails to mention for the ratification and implementation of an existing UN treaty that would provide a basis for countries to share and jointly manage waters on their borders.”
The UN Watercourses Convention, approved by an overwhelming majority of countries in 1997, still lacks enough signatories to come into effect. The 263 water basins shared between two or more countries drain half the world’s land surface, account for nearly two thirds of global freshwater flows and are vital to the water supplies of 40 percent of the world’s population.
“Indeed, the convention fails to even gain a specific mention in UN Water’s brochure for World Water Day this coming Sunday, which is on the theme of transboundary waters,” Dr Li said.
New UN report warns of increasing pressures on water
UNEP 16 Mar 09;
Istanbul, 16 March 2009 - Population growth, climate change, widespread mismanagement and increasing demand for energy could lead to a major global water crisis, according to the UN World Water Development Report.
The report was released on 16 March in Istanbul (Turkey) as part of the World Water Forum, which goes on until 22 March. On the theme of 'Bridging divides for water', this year's Forum seeks to enable multi-stakeholder participation and dialogue to make water policy more sustainable at a global level.
Representing the UN Environment Programme in this key gathering is a specialized team headed by UNEP Deputy Executive Director Angela Cropper.
The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR), released every three years in conjunction with the World Water Forum, is the UN's flagship report on water and is a comprehensive review of the state of the world's freshwater resources.
The report is a joint effort of the 26 UN agencies and entities which make up UN-Water, working in partnership with governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders. It aims to provide decision-makers with the tools to implement sustainable use of our water.
UNEP contributed to 'Drivers of Change' section of the Third World Water Report and will also launch two publications on 18 March as part of the Forum: 'Water Security and ecosystem services: The critical connection', and 'Integrated Water Resources Management in Action'
The main issues UNEP is promoting at the Forum are water and ecosystem services, adaptation to climate change and freshwater and coastal interlinkages.
The World Water Development Report provides a mechanism for monitoring changes in water resources and their management and for tracking progress towards achieving targets, particularly those of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
The Report also offers best practices and in-depth theoretical analyses to help stimulate ideas and actions for better stewardship in the water sector.
Urgent action is needed, as illustrated by the 2009 UNEP Year Book. The expected shifts in precipitation patterns and water availability due to our changing climate are complex and have been documented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In many regions of the world, water is already scarce and likely to become more so as global climate change advances.
Areas expected to be affected by persistent drought and water scarcity in coming years include the southern and northern tiers of Africa, much of the Middle East, a broad band in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, southern and eastern Australia, northern Mexico, and the southwestern United States.
