Over 80% 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 percent 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 percent 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% 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% of irrigation schemes for more effective water use
and productivity have been rehabilitated; Chad: Access to water supply
increased from 15% in 1990 to 50 percent 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% of all countries) and
financing for water resources management (78%). Climate change is cited
as a high priority for action in a majority of countries (70% overall)
and 76% 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.
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 during the 'Water Day' coordinated by UN-Water.
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 percent
of UN Member States and fairly even distribution among geographical
regions and HDI groups.
UN-Water / UNEP – 04-05-2012