Download Global Public Policy Network on Water Management

Global Public Policy Network on Water Management
Emerging Issues and Future Challenges for the International Water and Sanitation Agenda
The Global Public Policy Network on Water Management 1 was established by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and Stakeholder Forum for a
Sustainable Future at the World Water Week in 2006. It was conceived in consultation with a wide range of international water management stakeholders to
enable a successful review of water management at the 16th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, in May 2008.
At CSD-16, the water management commitments outlined in the CSD-13 decision will be reviewed. The review will take place on 12th-13th May (the first two
days of the second week). The GPPN aims to enhance the review process by providing a space ahead of CSD-16 where all water management stakeholders
– including governments, civil society and international agencies – can provide their inputs and exchange knowledge on how far CSD-13 commitments on
water management have been met. As a parallel process the GPPN is also seeking inputs from stakeholders on water management as a cross-cutting issue
in relation to Agriculture and Africa – two of the thematic issues under discussion at CSD-16 to which water management is most relevant.
The GPPN has already released the paper Obstacles, Constraints and Next Steps, which is a synthesis report of stakeholder input to the GPPN on the key
challenges for the water and sanitation agenda. The feedback from stakeholders outlines where the gaps to implementing CSD commitments lie, and
provides some recommendations which have been summarised into a Top 10.
Alongside this, the GPPN has gathered stakeholder input on Emerging Issues and Future Challenges for the water and sanitation agenda that have not been
covered in depth by CSD-13. The GPPN has dedicated a separate paper to these issues to highlight their importance, and catalyse further discussions on
how the CSD can incorporate these issues effectively into its policy commitments.
The GPPN secretariat has synthesised the input from stakeholders on Emerging Issues and Future Challenges into the document below.
1
Water Management in this context refers to the five themes covered by the CSD-13 decision: Access to basic water services; Integrated water resources management (IWRM); Access to
basic sanitation; Sanitation and hygiene education; Wastewater collection, treatment and reuse
Emerging Issue/
Future Challenge
Right to Water and Sanitation2
Obstacles and
Constraints
Implementation of Right to Water and Sanitation
The right to water has become a pressing issue as international attention to the widespread lack of access to water and sanitation
increases, and it becomes clear that in many parts of the world the Millennium Development Goals on water and sanitation are
unlikely to be met. The 2006 Human Development Report urges all governments to enshrine the human right to water in enabling
legislation.3
Environmental Rights
The right to safe drinking water is often infringed upon by the lack of recognition of environmental human rights. This includes the
right of the individual to a safe and healthy environment. Pollution and environmental degradation can have adverse affects on
water sources – this means that piped water is not always safe drinking water if the source has been polluted. The fact that access
to water is so fundamental to human life and development makes the pollution of water sources through environmental destruction
an infringement of the enjoyment of basic human rights.
Indicators for Right to Water and Sanitation
It is difficult to define what the Right to Water and Sanitation means in practice. The scope and meaning is not always clear,
including:
i.
Does the Right to Water mean the Right to free water?
ii.
How much water per person is required to have ‘access’?
iii.
What is a reasonable distance to travel to collect water?
iv.
Does the Right to Water also include the usage for agricultural and industrial purposes, which is integral to the right to
development?
v.
How many people should be using each toilet if it is to be defined as ‘safe’ sanitation
2
The right to water and sanitation was set out in general comment No. 15 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and, reaffirmed by the Human Rights Council (decision 2/104
on human rights and access to water) and by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in August 2007
3
Summary of Human Development Report, UNDP 2006, p 20
vi.
Next Steps for the
CSD
How are privacy issues taken into account in the term ‘safe sanitation’.
Implementation of Right to Water and Sanitation
Governments should incorporate the right to safe drinking water and sanitation into national law: this should cover access to
affordable water and sanitation supply, with available subsidies for poorest and most vulnerable groups.
Environmental Rights
CSD should call on governments to recognise the close link between the protection of the environment and the enjoyment of
human rights, incorporating into national law a guarantee to a safe and healthy environment as a human right. This complements
the right to safe drinking water as a safe, non-toxic environment is pre-requisite to the provision of safe water.
Indicators for Right to Water and Sanitation
Governments should refer to the recommendations outlined in the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights on the scope and content of the relevant human rights obligations related to equitable access to safe drinking water and
sanitation under international human rights instruments.4
The report concludes that “it is now time to consider access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right” and calls upon
States to prioritize personal and domestic water uses over other uses and to take steps to ensure that a sufficient amount of good
quality water for personal and domestic uses is affordable for all and can be collected within a reasonable distance from a person’s
home.’ Further elaboration on the meaning and scope of safe drinking water is provided in the main text, but it is significant that the
right is interpreted as access to ‘affordable’ rather than free water.
However, the report does not give sufficient emphasis to the right to water for agricultural and industrial purposes – whilst the report
rightly prioritises water provision for domestic usage, CSD should further call on governments to develop a rights-based approach
to water for agricultural and industrial use as integral for sustainable economic development. To complement this, indicators should
be developed that define sustainable and efficient water usage for agriculture and industry that does not compromise the use of
4
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G07/136/55/PDF/G0713655.pdf?OpenElement
water for domestic purposes.
Regarding sanitation the report also highlights that ‘Human rights instruments offer little guidance as to the scope and content of
the term “sanitation”. CSD should call upon the international community to develop more robust indicators and guidelines as to
what the right to access to sanitation could entail, including:
 Number of people per toilet
 Details of the collection, transport, treatment and disposal or reuse of human excreta or domestic waste water
 Further clarity on the respect to privacy of sanitation provision
Emerging
Issue/Future
Challenge
Obstacles and
Constraints
Water and Climate Change
Increasing climatic threats
Climate change poses a serious threat to achieving international commitments on water and sanitation, as melting glaciers,
changes in precipitation patterns and increased droughts will combine to have an impact on availability and sustainability of water
resources. Global temperature increase of 3-4°C could cause floods resulting in 330 million climate refugees and changed run-off
patterns and glacial melt will force an additional 1.8 billion people to live in a water scarce environment by 2008.
Climate Change and Water Strategies
Strategies for adapting to climate change that will inevitably happen need to be scaled up. As yet there is no wide-scale integration
of climate change risk assessment with water resource management – governments, especially in vulnerable and water-stressed
areas, need to address the issue of climate change in relation to access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Information, data and knowledge
i.
Access to reliable hydrological and meteorological data and climate risk information is insufficient in many parts of the
world
ii.
iii.
iv.
Water management practitioners have not had access to relevant information or training to plan for climate change
Appropriate modeling techniques for the effect of climate change on water resources are not in place in all countries
Climate change and its potential effect on water resources is not sufficiently addressed on a regional/local level, and is
rarely included in local/regional/city scenarios.
Financing
Financing for adaptation is insufficient: By mid-2007, actual multilateral financing delivered within the initiatives set up under the
UNFCCC reached US$26 million, less than 10% of total committed financing for adaptation through the multilateral funds (US$279
million).
Next Steps for CSD
Climate Change and Water Strategies
The following steps could be considered by governments to develop ambitious and coherent climate change strategies in relation
to water management:
i.
Development of National Adaptation Plans of Action to incorporate climate proofing and new infrastructure where
necessary
ii.
Incorporation of assessment of climate change impacts in National Water Policy Plans
iii.
Scaling up of investment in sustainable integrated water resource management, which contributes to building resilience to
climate variability.
Information, data and knowledge
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Governments should consider making concerted efforts to improve their relationships with metrological institutions to be
able to gain state-level data and statistics
Training on climate change risk assessment must be provided to all water management practitioners so that it can be taken
into account in their work. This will help to ‘climate-proof’ infrastructure development.
Funds should be earmarked by governments for the development of institutions for disaster risk management, with special
emphasis given to climate change. Integral to any risk assessment relating to climate change is analysis of the
sustainability of water resources and supplies.
Governments should commit funds to a global Water and Climate Change Impact Assessment Conference, where latest
research and knowledge can be shared and capacity for integrating climate change with sustainable water management
can be enhanced.
Financing
Governments must reassert their commitments to financing for climate change adaptation as agreed through the Kyoto Protocol
Emerging
Issue/Future
Challenge
Trans-boundary Water Systems
Obstacles and
Constraints
Widespread Trans-boundary Water Basins
The world’s 263 trans-boundary river basins are home to 40% of the world’s population, cover half the Earth’s surface, cross the
territories of 145 countries, and generate around 60% of global freshwater flow. To name just a few examples, Brazil alone shares
74 water basins; 54 international rivers run between India and Bangladesh. Many of these basins suffer from poor and
uncoordinated management in the absence of adequate water governance arrangements.
Interstate Co-operation
As pressure on water resources increases, the necessity for interstate cooperation regarding international watercourses becomes
crucial. The Convention on the Non-navigational Use of International Watercourses was adopted by the UN General Assembly in
1997 to deal with this issue, though many states have yet to become party to or implement the convention. Where the provisions of
the Convention have not been ratified and implemented, it is a challenge for some states to develop good national water
management plans if they do not have access to information on water extractions and climate variability upstream. The Convention
provides the framework through which to enhance good water management practices in cross-boundary water basins, focussing on
both sharing water and sharing benefits.
The CSD-13 makes no explicit mention of the UN Watercourse convention, and discussion with key stakeholders on a global
freshwater governance framework has been limited. The lack of cooperation among basin states represents not only a challenge to
freshwater conservation, but also an obstacle to the achievement of the development and water management goals established or
restated by CSD-13.
Conflict
Increasing water scarcity will make water resources far more valuable – where water basins lie between states, the absence of
effective governance frameworks and co-operation between those states can lead to the potential for conflict. Primarily the poor,
including women and children, will be most vulnerable to such conflicts.
Next Steps for CSD
Interstate Co-operation
To avoid a situation in which lack of interstate co-operation on water resources hinders the achievement of international
commitments on water and sanitation, the following steps could be highlighted at CSD-16 and taken up by the EcoSoc Annual
Ministerial Review in July 2008 or at the CSD in 2009:
i.
Governments could discuss at greater length the challenge of interstate co-operation in international watercourses.
ii.
Governments could recognise the UN Watercourse Convention as a legal instrument necessary to address such a
challenge, recognising that co-operatively managed trans-boundary watercourses can significantly contribute to peace,
stability and sustainable growth.
iii.
Governments should express their support and commitment to the entry into force and implementation of the UN
Convention, as well as to report on their progress towards ratification or accession, through interventions at CSD-16.
iv.
A recommendation urging states to sign the UN Watercourses Convention should be included in the outcome document of
CSD-16, calling for governments to ratify to ensure the treaty enters into force.
Conflict
In order to implement effectively the principles of the Convention and avert the potential for conflict, governments should:
i.
ii.
5
Pass national laws establishing the principles of cross-border dialogue on shared river-basins, using water as a catalyst for
peace, reconciliation and understanding rather than conflict
Learn from and follow the examples of successful regional cross-border dialogues on integrated water management of
shared water basins5
There are a number of examples of successful dialogues, such as in Brazil, Bolivia and Peru around the Acre Pando and Madre de Dios River Basin, located at Amazonian River Basin; in
Mozambique/Zimbabwe and in Uganda.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
Seek equity in trans-boundary water management negotiations, avoiding ‘hydro-hegemony’ where a more powerful/larger
riparian state retains a dominant position, receiving a more than equitable share of resources and benefits.
Set up national research projects and responsible bodies to establish how to deal with trans-boundary water sources –
such as a Joint River Commission.
Continue bi-lateral discussions on trans-boundary water management, but also seek to set up multi-lateral dialogues where
river-basins are shared by multiple countries.
Develop a general/harmonised tool for the sharing of benefits
Emphasise participatory processes of dialogue
Institutionalize regular dialogues at both policy and technical levels to ensure sustained progress
Develop financing schemes.
Emerging
Issue/Future
Challenge
Virtual Water and Water Footprints
Obstacles/Constraints
Knowledge and Communication
Though extensive research on virtual water has been conducted and peer-reviewed, in many cases this has yet to filter down and
influence policy on a country level. Online information and tools exist to help individuals, organisations, businesses and countries to
assess their water footprints, but these are not incorporated into overarching national water strategies.
Standardized Methodology and Indicators
As yet there is no single standard methodology for assessing water footprints and virtual water content. This is partly to do with the
complexity of assessing water footprints and virtual water, taking into account blue, green and grey water; the use of domestic
water resources; the use of water resources outside a country etc.
Global Framework for Water Trading
As yet there is no global framework for dealing with virtual water trading 6 – the logical extension of measuring the virtual water in
products. The Middle East and North Africa region has significantly expanded its imports of agricultural produce to cope with water
scarcity since the 1970s. However, this development exists independently of any macro global water trading system that could
assess the water needs and water capacity of different countries and recommend production and import/export accordingly.
Next steps for CSD
Standardized Methodology and Indicators
CSD could ask UN Water in association with UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, UN Statistics Division, Institute for Water
Education and other relevant stakeholders to co-ordinate an international working group to develop recommendations for a
standardized methodology for assessing water footprints and virtual water. This could include agreed definitions for and defined
methodologies for assessing:
i.
Blue, green and grey water
ii.
Production-site Measurements
iii.
Consumption-site measurements.
Knowledge and Communication
The same working group could be responsible for initiating the following activities:
i.
An online resource providing detailed information on agreed standards, available tools, information and research
ii.
Capacity-building workshops to provide information and training on standards for assessing water footprints and virtual
water, and the implications of this for virtual water trading
Global Framework
In order to develop the potential of virtual water trading to enhance water security, an international working group could be
established to make recommendations on what kind of body or process could be set up to deal with global trade in virtual water.
Academics specialising in the theory of virtual water trading are already suggesting that ultimately a Virtual Water Trading Council
6
The World Business Council on Sustainable Development Report of 2006 suggested that within twenty years we would be trading in Virtual Water in a similar way to that of carbon trading
should operate under the auspices of the WTO: this would serve as a scrutinising body for the international trade in water, ensuring
that flows of water between countries are sustainable and that water-importing countries allocate their precious internal water
resources effectively. The development of any such regulatory body requires further research, consultation and negotiation. CSD
could call governments to:
i.
Agree to set up a global working group to conduct further research and consultations into such a body/process around
virtual water trading, and report to the CSD in 2012
ii.
This might lead to recommendations for setting up an intergovernmental framework negotiating process which would be
informed by the latest research to make binding international agreements on virtual water trading, and allocate
responsibility for its administration and scrutiny accordingly.