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2006 CTAUN Conference The Global Challenge of Water Friday, February 3, 2006

Morning Panel—The Water for Life Decade: U.N. Perspectives

Marcia Brewster, Senior Economics Affairs Officer, U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Moderator/Speaker. Marcia Brewster opened her remarks by stating that teachers and students are the ones who can translate the U.N. messages into action. We are now going into the second year of the water for life decade, and she called on all U.N. agencies to make the coordinated effort needed to avert a severe water crisis. Water shortages are the equivalent of a “silent tsunami.” The monthly death toll due to water-related diseases is equal to those killed by the tsunami. The World Health Organization definition of attainable water is approximately five gallons a day within a distance of one kilometer. A sanitary means of human waste disposal could be as simple as composting. Gender, water, and human rights are all related. Attacks by both men and animals are made against women while they are out looking for water. Women are also liable to attack when going out to relieve themselves, especially at night. One important issue is women’s access to water for agriculture. In some countries, land and water rights are reserved for male members of families. Women tend to be under represented in the planning of projects even though they have so much practical experience with water and sanitation. Water security is one of the most fundamental issues in developing countries. For additional information, go to www.un.org/waterforlifedecade. Vanessa Tobin, Chief, Water, Environment and Sanitation Section, U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Vanessa Tobin spoke of the necessity to understand the problem of water in light of the culture at the application site. The urban poor, or those who are rural and isolated, may look on the provision of water, and who or what are the greatest needs, somewhat differently than we do. She gave as an example a sparsely populated village in Chad. Although a beautiful well had been put in place, no one was using it except for a few cattle. The villagers were still going 250 meters to draw water from a contaminated well. The villagers said, however, that the new well was only to be used for the needs of the extremely valuable cattle. Only about half of the households in the world have household access to water. There is a great need for water and sanitation at schools and health clinics. Most schools in developing countries do not have adequate water or sanitation facilities. And even when systems are put in place, they are not always maintained. Spare parts and good management are important. New water projects need to be designed in cooperation with local people, taking into account the local way of life, and they must be designed to be sustainable. Ms. Tobin concluded by saying that UNICEF has three current initiatives: to support rural water supplies and basic sanitation, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where the need is desperate; to provide hygiene training, outreach and support in the more than 50 percent of the world with no clean water or adequate sanitation; and to plan for response to emergencies such as those following the tsunami in a sustainable way to transition to the future. Carlos Linares, Senior Water Policy Adviser, U.N. Development Programme (UNDP). The work of the UNDP staff on the ground to address water development needs by working with other agencies and local residents was outlined by Mr. Linares. Working in Latin American, Caribbean, Asian and Middle Eastern countries, the focus of his section has been on development and environment issues. He stressed, however, that funding is falling short of the real needs of the Millennium Development Goals. Only $14 million is available for water projects. Mr. Linares then listed ten examples of water projects currently being undertaken. Among these are approaches to ecological sanitation in Mexico, the protection of natural springs in Kenya, and regional dialogues among communities in working to protect the Mekong River. He stressed the need for communities on rivers to support, manage and develop a shared-use policy addressing the needs of all participants for water and sanitation. This referred back to his initial statement that local knowledge, control, management and sustainability are crucial. Questions from the Floor In response to questions from the floor, different speakers stated that they did not see the impact of the bottled-water industries as a good trend, that desalinization of salt water should only be considered as a last resort as it is very expensive, and shipping water is also very expensive. A number of political issues were also discussed, such as the selling of water rights to companies from foreign countries. Many experts are in favor of local private-sector control of the delivery of water, but that ownership of the water supply is a different issue—a water supply should be seen as a public good. The speakers emphasized the fact that water is a political issue.

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