Fri, May 4, 2012 - Pre-publication
results: UN Survey of 130 Countries Provides
In-Depth Status Report on Global Efforts
to Improve Water Management
New York / Nairobi, 4 May 2012 - Over 80
per cent of countries have reformed their
water laws in the past twenty years as a
response to growing pressures on water resources
from expanding populations, urbanization
and climate change.
In many cases, such
water reforms have produced significant
impacts on development, including improvements
to drinking water access, human health and
water efficiency in agriculture.
At the same time, global
progress has been slower where irrigation,
rainwater harvesting and investment in freshwater
ecosystem services are concerned.
These are among the
findings of a United Nations survey of over
130 national governments on efforts to improve
the sustainable management of water resources.
The survey focuses on
progress towards the implementation of internationally-agreed
approaches to the management and use of
water, known as Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM).
Backed by UN Member
States at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit as part
of an overall action plan on sustainable
development (known as Agenda 21), IWRM is
a way forward for efficient, equitable and
sustainable development and management of
the world's limited water resources.
Amid increasing and
conflicting demands on the world's water
supply, IWRM integrates domestic, agricultural,
industrial and environmental needs into
water planning, rather than considering
each demand in isolation.
The latest survey is
intended to inform decision-making at the
Rio+20 Conference in June 2012. Twenty years
after the Earth Summit, world governments
will once again convene in Rio de Janeiro
to take decisions on how to ensure sustainable
development for the 21st century.
The survey, which was
co-ordinated by the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) on behalf of UN-Water (the UN inter-agency
co-ordination mechanism for freshwater issues),
asked governments for their feedback on
governance, infrastructure, financing, and
other areas relating to water management,
to gauge how successful countries have been
in moving towards IWRM.
Overall, 90 per cent
of countries surveyed reported a range of
positive impacts from integrated approaches
to water management, following national
reforms.
Other key findings include:
Water-related risks and the competition
for water resources are perceived by a majority
of countries to have increased over the
past 20 years;
Domestic water supply
is ranked by most countries as the highest
priority for water resources management;
The majority of countries
reported an increasing trend in financing
for water resources development, although
obstacles to implementing reforms remain;
Progress on water efficiency
is lagging behind other water management
reforms, with less than 50 per cent of national
reforms addressing water efficiency.
"The sustainable
management and use of water - due to its
vital role in food security, energy or supporting
valuable ecosystem services - underpins
the transition to a low-carbon, resource
efficient green economy," said UN Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
"As well as highlighting
challenges, this new survey also shows important
successes regarding integrated water resources
management, where a more sustainable approach
to water has resulted in tangible benefits
for communities and the environment. At
Rio+20, governments will have the opportunity
to build on these innovations and chart
the way forward for sustainable development,
where the water needs of a global population
set to rise to 9 billion by 2050, can be
met in an equitable way," added Mr.
Steiner.
The UN survey shows
the major environmental changes that have
taken place between 1992, when IWRM was
firstly widely backed by governments, and
today - and how water resources are managed
in the face of such challenges.
The world population,
for example, increased from 5.3 billion
in 1992 to just over 7 billion today, with
impacts being felt most strongly in developing
countries. This has been accompanied by
increased rural-to-urban migration and high
refugee movements due to climatic and socio-political
disasters.
Successes and Challenges
The survey shows that
the introduction of IWRM on a national level
varies greatly across the globe - from early
planning stages to concrete implementation
of new laws and policies.
When responding to the
survey, some governments reported significant
development impacts as a result of pursuing
IWRM strategies since 1992, such as:
Estonia: Introducing
water charges and pollution taxes contributed
to improved water efficiency and a reduction
of pollution load into the Baltic Sea.
Costa Rica: 50 percent
of revenues gained from water charges are
now re-invested in water resource management.
Guatemala: Hydropower
generation capacity almost doubled between
1982 and 2011.
Ghana: 40 percent of
irrigation schemes for more effective water
use and productivity have been rehabilitated.
Chad: Access to water
supply increased from 15 percent in 11000
to 50 per cent in 2011.
Tunisia: 110 wastewater
treatment plants have been built.
Yet many countries -
particularly those in developing regions
- signaled a need for increased capacity-building,
investment and infrastructure development
in order to fully implement integrated water
resources management.
Country Perception of
Key Issues
The water-related issues
cited most often as 'high' or 'highest priority'
by governments are infrastructure development
and financing (79 per cent of all countries)
and financing for water resources management
(78 per cent).
Climate change is cited
as a high priority for action in a majority
of countries (70 per cent overall) and 76
per cent of countries considered that the
threat to water resources from climate change
has increased since 1992.
But the survey also
highlights important differences between
developed and developing countries in terms
of water-related priorities. Using the Human
Development Index, the survey categorized
countries in four groups: low HDI, medium
HDI, high HDI and very high HDI.
Ensuring adequate water
supply for agriculture is a high priority
for many low HDI countries, while the preservation
of freshwater ecosystems ('water for environment')
is a priority mainly for very high HDI countries.
Survey Recommendations
The survey includes
a number of suggested targets and recommendations,
which are designed to inform decision-makers
at Rio+20. These are based on an assessment
of the findings from the survey and include:
By 2015, each country
should develop specific targets and timeframes
for preparing and implementing a programme
of action and financing strategy for IWRM.
By 2015, a global reporting
mechanism on national water resources management
should be established. This is to ensure
a more rigorous reporting system on progress
with IWRM, and improve the availability
of information.
More effort is needed
to increase levels of financing and to improve
the institutional framework for water resources
management - especially focusing on low
HDI countries.
Notes to Editors
The UN-Water Status Report on the Application
of Integrated Approaches to Water Resource
Management will be launched at the Rio+20
Conference on 19 June 2012 during the 'Water
Day' coordinated by UN-Water. An embargoed
copy of the full report can be obtained
upon request (see contact information below).
The UN-Water assessment
was based on two surveys: a questionnaire-based
survey among all UN Member States (Level
1 survey) and an interview-based survey
in 30 representative countries (Level 2
survey).
134 countries responded to the Level 1 survey,
representing 70 per cent of UN Member States
and fairly even distribution among geographical
regions and HDI groups.
A list of all questions and the countries
that participated in the survey is provided
in an annex to the report.
+ More
All G8 Countries Back
Action on Black Carbon, Methane and Other
Short Lived Climate Pollutants
Tue, May 22, 2012 -
Germany, Italy, France, Russia and the United
Kingdom Agree to Join the Climate and Clean
Air Coalition
Email1 5 27 4
22 May 2012 - All Members
of the G8, during a meeting at Camp David
in the United States, have thrown their
collective support behind a new international
effort to phase-down so-called short lived
climate pollutants.
Research indicates that
pollutants such as black carbon, methane
and some fluorinated gases know as HFCs
are not only aggravating climate change
but several are responsible for over 2.5
million premature deaths annually and millions
of tonnes of crop losses.
Further Resources
UNEP and Climate ChangeSteiner Calls for
Action to Reduce Short Lived Climate Forces
at Mexico Ministerial MeetingThe Climate
and Clean Air Coalition was launched in
February by six countries-Bangladesh, Canada,
Ghana, Mexico, Sweden and the United States-with
the UN Environment Programme as a partner
and host of its secretariat.
In April the membership
expanded to 13 with the enrollment of Colombia,
Japan, Nigeria, Norway and the European
Commission along with the World Bank.
Over the weekend, the
remaining members of the G8 who are not
yet part of the Coalition-Germany, France,
Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom - agreed
to join on and expressed their support for
its aims and initiatives via the Camp David
Declaration.
The Declaration states:
"We, the Leaders of the Group of Eight,
met at Camp David on May 18 and 19, 2012
to address major global economic and political
challenges.... Recognizing the impact of
short-lived climate pollutants on near-term
climate change, agricultural productivity,
and human health, we support, as a means
of promoting increased ambition and complementary
to other CO2 and GHG emission reduction
efforts, comprehensive actions to reduce
these pollutants, which, according to UNEP
and others, account for over thirty percent
of near-term global warming as well as 2
million premature deaths a year. Therefore,
we agree to join the Climate and Clean Air
Coalition to Reduce Short-lived Climate
Pollutants".
Background
Fast action to reduce
short lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) can
have a direct impact on climate change with
the potential to reduce warming by up to
0.5 degrees Celsius by 2050 and help keep
global temperature increases below 2 degrees
Celsius.
Reductions of SLCPs
would also allow for addressing rapid melting
in the Arctic and in mountain regions with
glaciers, like the Himalayas.
By around 2030, fast
action can potentially prevent millions
of premature deaths from for example inhalation
of black carbon while avoiding an estimated
30 million tonnes of crop losses.
The Coalition emphasizes
that the climate benefits need to be backed
by cuts in other greenhouse gases including
C02 if temperature increases over the 21st
century are to be held below 2 degrees C.
However, addressing
near term warming from SLCPs may be crucial
to avoid the most serious impacts over the
coming decades
Assessment and Go-Ahead
for Scaled-up Initiatives
At the Coalition's first
Ministerial meeting in Stockholm, delegates
assessed around a dozen initiatives proposed
by developed and developing countries for
fast and federated action on short lived
climate pollutants including many happening
already at the national level.
Delegates took forward
five to be approved for rapid implementation
by Ministers on the final day. Those approved
included:
Fast action on diesel
emissions including from heavy duty vehicles
and engines
Studies show that reductions
are possible by addressing emissions from
the freight transportation supply chain,
through city action plans, and adoption
of a range of measures for reducing sulphur
in fuels and vehicle emissions
Upgrading old inefficient
brick kilns which are a significant source
of black carbon emissions
Mexico has for example
[20,000] small and medium-sized brick kilns
and the design of many of the [6,000] in
Bangladesh hark back to the 1900s.
Accelerating the reduction
of methane emissions from landfills
World-wide the waste
management sector contributes about 11%
of global methane emissions, and the coalition
will work with cities to reduce methane
emissions from landfills by improving strategic
municipal solid waste planning and providing
technical assistance.
Speeding up cuts in
methane and black carbon emissions from
the oil and gas industry
Natural gas venting
and leakage from the oil and gas industry
accounts for over one fifth of global man-made
emissions of methane. Flaring at oil installations
generate both methane and black carbon emissions.
An estimated one third of leaks and venting
can be cut using existing technologies at
low cost.
Accelerating alternatives
to HFCs
HFCs are being rapidly
introduced as replacements to chemicals
that can damage the ozone layer-the Earth's
protective shield that filters out hazardous
ultra violet light. But HFCs are also powerful
greenhouse gases.
The Coalition aims to
fast track more environmentally-friendly
and cost effective alternatives and technologies
to avoid HFC growth.
Additional initiatives
- including a proposal by Ghana on agricultural/forest
open burning and a proposal by Bangladesh
on cookstoves - would be further developed
over the coming weeks.
Trust Fund Established
To support the Coalition's
efforts, a new Trust Fund managed by a UNEP-hosted
secretariat was agreed in Stockholm.
Initial financing pledges
for the Coalition now amount to some $16.7
million with significantly more funds expected
over the coming 12 months.
Science Advisory Panel
Sound science has underpinned
the formation of the Coalition and will
guide its work into the future. In Stockholm,
Ministers asked three luminaries involved
in short lived climate pollutant research
to advise them on the formation of a dedicated
world-class Science Advisory Panel to provide
scientific advice to the Coalition.
The advice will be provided
by Drew Shindell of NASA's Goddard Institute
for Space Studies, Mario Molina, the distinguished
Mexican chemist and 1995 Nobel Prize co-winner
and Veerabhadran Ramanathan, chair of the
UNEP Atmospheric Brown Cloud project based
at the University of California San Diego,
For More Information please go to http://www.unep.org/ccac/
