World Water Day 2011

International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

Why is Urbanization A Challenge?

Today, one in two people on the planet live in a city. The world’s cities are growing at an exceptional rate and urbanisation is a continuum.

The main reason they are growing is because of natural increase in urban population, but also due to rural-to-urban migration and reclassification of rural areas to urban areas.

What About the Water in Our Cities?

Investments in infrastructure have not kept up with the rate of urbanization, while water and waste services show significant underinvestment. The central problem is therefore the management of urban water and waste. Piped water coverage is declining in many settings, and the poor people get the worst services, yet paying the highest water prices.

Few urban authorities in developing countries have found a sustainable solution to urban sanitation, and utilities cannot afford to extend sewers to the slums, nor can they treat the volume of sewage already collected. Solid waste disposal is a growing threat to health and the environment.

What Are the Opportunities?

Cities are complicated to manage: different approaches are needed for different types of urban environments. But cities also provide the best opportunity to improve livelihoods and infrastructure development, including water and waste services.

The big opportunity is increased recycling and reuse of water and wastes, an integrated urban management. Adopting more efficient water treatment technologies and capturing water and wastes within the city will also minimize environmental and downstream pollution.

Is Urbanization A Global Issue?

93% of the urbanization occurs in poor or developing countries, and nearly 40% of the world’s urban expansion is growing slums. Between 1990-2001 the world’s slums increased at a rate of 18 million people a year, and is projected to increase to 27 million new slum citizens per year between 2005-2020.

50% of the world population live in cities of 10 million people or more. Africa and Asia have the highest rates of urbanization, further boosted by conflicts and disasters. Urbanization is not only centered in the rising megacities in the South, but also in the unstoppable growth in secondary cities and towns. In Latin America the majority of the population lives in smaller urban centers. Centers where we will see the biggest growth during the 20 coming years.

The Unitied Nations Response - Secretary General

As the world charts a more sustainable future, the crucial interplay among water, food and energy is one of the most formidable challenges we face. Without water there is no dignity and no escape from poverty. Yet the Millennium Development Goal target for water and sanitation is among those on which many countries lag the most.

In little over a generation, 60 per cent of the global population will be living in towns and cities, with much of the increase taking place in the inner city slums and squatter settlements of the developing world. The theme of this year’s observance of World Water Day -- “Water for Cities” -- highlights some of the main challenges of this increasingly urban future.

Urbanization brings opportunities for more efficient water management and improved access to drinking water and sanitation. At the same time, problems are often magnified in cities, and are currently outpacing our ability to devise solutions.

Over the past decade, the number of urban dwellers who lack access to a water tap in their home or immediate vicinity has risen by an estimated 114 million, and the number of those who lack access to the most basic sanitation facilities has risen by 134 million. This 20 per cent increase has had a hugely detrimental impact on human health and on economic productivity: people are sick and unable to work.

Water challenges go beyond questions of access. In many countries, girls are forced to drop out of school owing to a lack of sanitation facilities, and women are harassed or assaulted when carrying water or visiting a public toilet. Moreover, the poorest and most vulnerable members of society often have little choice but to buy water from informal vendors at prices estimated to be 20 to 100 per cent higher than that of their richer neighbours, who receive piped city water in their homes. This is not just unsustainable; it is unacceptable.

Water problems will figure prominently at the forthcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, in 2012 – Rio + 20. My High-level Panel on Global Sustainability and UN-Water are examining ways in which we can connect the dots among water, energy and food security, with the aim of reducing poverty and inequality, generating jobs, and minimizing the risks of climate change and environmental stress.

On World Water Day, I urge governments to recognize the urban water crisis for what it is – a crisis of governance, weak policies and poor management, rather than one of scarcity. Let us also pledge to reverse the alarming decline in pro poor investment in water and sanitation. And let us reaffirm our commitment to ending the plight of the more than 800 million people who, in a world of plenty, still do not have the safe drinking water or sanitation they need for a life in dignity and good health.

Water is essential for life.

Yet many millions of people around the world face water shortages and a daily struggle to secure safe water for their basic needs. Millions of children continue to die every year from preventable water-borne diseases. Water-related natural disasters such as floods, tropical storms and tsunamis exact a heavy toll in human life and suffering. And all too regularly, drought afflicts some of the world’s poorest countries, exacerbating hunger and malnutrition.

In the past decade, significant progress has been made in providing people with access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation. But a major effort is still required in the decade ahead to extend these essential services to those still unserved, the vast majority of whom are poor people.

Meeting the water and sanitation targets set by the international community for 2015 is a crucial step towards the ultimate goal of providing safe drinking water and adequate sanitation to all. Providing access to water and sanitation is also fundamental for achieving the other Millennium Development Goals, such as alleviating poverty, hunger and malnutrition; reducing child mortality; increasing gender equality; providing more opportunity for education; and ensuring environmental sustainability. Women and girls are overwhelmingly the water haulers of the world, a task that consumes valuable time and energy that girls could otherwise devote to schooling.

Beyond meeting basic human needs, water contributes to sustainable development in other important ways. It is a major source of energy in some parts of the world, while in others its potential as an energy source remains largely untapped.

Water is also necessary for agriculture and for many industrial processes. And in more than a few countries, it makes up an integral part of transport systems. With improved scientific understanding, the international community has also come to appreciate more fully the valuable services provided by water-related ecosystems, from flood control to storm protection and water purification. Though some analysts have predicted future conflicts over water, many countries successfully share river basins, inland seas and other water resources, showing that this challenge can also be a powerful catalyst for international cooperation.

The International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, provides an excellent opportunity for the international community to advance towards a truly integrated approach to the management of the world’s water that ensures its sustainable use for generations to come. I urge everyone to give the Decade their full support.

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