Action on Critical Water Problems
The United nations has launched the International Year of Freshwater 2003.
The Year was declared by the UN General Assembly to galvanize action on the
critical water problems the world faces.
"Lack of access to water - for drinking, hygiene and food security
inflicts enormous hardship on more than a billion members of the human
family," said United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "Water is
likely to become a growing source of tension and fierce competition between
nations, if present trends continue, but it can also be a catalyst for
cooperation. The International Year of Freshwater can play a vital role in
generating the action needed - not only by governments but also by civil
society, communities, the business sector and individuals all over the
world."
Agreement on Targets
The International Year comes at an important time, just as world leaders
have agreed on key targets to tackle water and sanitation problems for the
. About1.2 billion people without currently have noaccess to safe drinking
water and thesome 2.4 billion people who lack proper sanitation. More than
3 million people die every year from diseases caused by unsafe water.
In September 2000, world leaders pledged at the United Nations Millennium
Summit to halve by 2015 the proportion of people unable to reach or to
affordlacking safe drinking clean water. And at the 2002 World Summit on
Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, a matching target was agreed to
halve the proportion of people lacking adequate sanitation, also by 2015.
To meet these targets requires coordinated action, not just from
governments but also from people who use water and those who invest in it.
Substantial resources are also needed. Currently it is estimated that
approximately $30 billion per year is being spent on meeting drinking water
supply and sanitation requirements worldwide. An estimated $14 to $30
billion additional per year would be needed to meet the agreed water and
sanitation targets.
Thanks to gains in the 1990s, 63 countries are on track to reach the target
on access to water. But in sub-Saharan Africa, only 58 per cent of the
population have access to improved water sources. In the poorest, least
developed countries, no improvement in the proportion of people with access to
water was made over the decade.
Water scarcity is also a critical issue for future development. Water use
has been growing at more than twice the rate of population during the 20th
century. A number of regions, such as the Middle East, North Africa and
South Asia, are chronically water-short. Already, four out of every ten
people worldwide live in areas experiencing water scarcity. By 2025, as
much as two thirds of the world's population - an estimated 5.5 billion
people - may be living in countries that face a serious shortage of water.
Plans for WaterYear2003
The United Nations, governments and many non-governmental and private
sector partners are planning a wide range of events and activities for the
International Year of Freshwater, which is being jointly coordinated by the
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the UN Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
In March 2003, United Nations will release the first edition of the World
Water Development Report, a joint project involving 23 UN agencies. The
report will provide a comprehensive view of today's water problems and
offer wide-ranging recommendations for meeting future water demand. It will be
launched on 22 March, to coincide with the annual observance of World Water Day
and the World Water Forum, an international conference being held in Kyoto,
Japan.
A special website for the Year, at www.wateryear2003.org,
will provide
extensive links to information materials, reports and planned activities
and events around the world, by United Nations agencies, governments, and
non-governmental and private sector partners - UN.
More Information:
On the web: www.wateryear2003.org
Useful links:
LINK Saharan fruit-growing, foggara style
LINK Water Wars: Are water
conflicts inevitable?
LINK Climate change: the
missing links
LINK Working for Water
LINK Wetlands could help combat
waterborne diseases
LINK Wetlands in water reclamation
LINK AFRICA: First-ever survey of underground
water resources
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