Call for more efficient water management
"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.
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," says United Nations Secretary General Ban-ki-Moon in
his message to mark World Water Day which falls on March 22 every year.
The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that
grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) in Rio De Janeiro.
The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international
attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth,
industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts
and natural disasters on urban water systems.
This is the first time in human history that most of the world's
population live in cities: 3.3 billion people and the urban landscape
continues to grow. 38 percent of the growth is represented by expanding
slums, while the city populations are increasing faster than city
infrastructure can adapt.
The UN Secretary General's full message reads:
"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 percent 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 percent 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 percent 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." |