UNEP - World Water Day 2010 Highlights Solutions and Calls for Action to Improve Water Quality Worldwide

03 – 22 - 10

NAIROBI, Kenya. - Investment in safe water will have high returns in ensuring a healthy ecosystem and human society, says a new report released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) during the global World Water Day celebrations in Nairobi.

An investment of US$20 million in low-cost water technologies, such as drip irrigation and treadle pumps, could lift 100 million poor farming families out of extreme poverty, according to the report, ‘Clearing the Waters: A Focus on Water Quality Solutions’.

It adds that repairing leaky water and sewage networks can also secure not only supplies but reduce pollution and generate employment. In some developing countries, 50-60 per cent of treated water is lost to leaks and globally an average of 35 per cent is lost. By some estimates, saving just half of this amount would supply water to 90 million people without further investment.

But while there are solutions, much more needs to be done, notes the UNEP report. The facts are:

• Globally, 2 million tons of sewage and industrial and agricultural waste are poured into the world’s waters every day;

• At least 1.8 million children under five years-old die every year from water-related diseases, or one every 20 seconds;

• Every day, millions of tons of inadequately treated sewage and industrial agricultural wastes are poured into the world’s waters;

• More people die as a result of polluted water than are killed by all forms of violence, including wars;

• Over half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied with people suffering from illnesses linked with contaminated water.

Adeel Zafar, Chair of UN-Water said: “Water quality impacts the lives of millions of people worldwide every year – a majority of them under the age of 5. We are happy that this year’s World Water Day puts great emphasis on this delicate issue which is so much reflected in the Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs stress clearly the importance of safe water and sanitation. UN-Water, as the coordination mechanism the United Nations community, puts great emphasis to support worldwide efforts for improving water quality and restoring degraded water ecosystems.”

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNEP, said: “Human activity over the past 50 years is responsible for unprecedented pollution, and the quality of the world’s water resources is increasingly challenged. World Water Day highlights how the work of improving and sustaining the world’s water quality is everyone’s responsibility. It may seem like an overwhelming challenge but there are enough solutions where human ingenuity allied to technology and investments in nature's purification systems such as wetlands, forests and mangroves can deliver clean water for a healthy world.”

The Chair of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, His Royal Highness Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said in his key note speech that "Each year, World Water Day gains more momentum and spurs thousands of local initiatives around the world—in schools, in churches, in communities. Its emphasis on local action is what gives World Water its power and beauty. We know that no single global instrument can ensure our most important common good is saved. Water must be protected locally."

Under the theme ‘Clean Water for a Healthy World’, World Water Day 2010 will see a series of initiatives organized around the globe to raise awareness and emphasize the key importance of good water quality in improving human well-being.

The global event aims to bring attention to the state of water quality around the world, and is a call for action on pollution prevention, clean-up, and restoration of waterways in order to sustain healthy ecosystems and human well-being.

At the three-day flagship event in Nairobi on World Water from 20 to 22 March, policy makers, scientists and eminent personalities will discuss how to address the challenges of degrading water quality around the world, release new research and visit sites in Kenya to understand the critical importance of water quality for ecosystem functioning, human well-being and livelihoods.

Central to World Water Day 2010 is the launch of the UN-Water Statement, a consensus document of 26 UN agencies and other partners, scientists, and practitioners, pointing out the state of the world’s water and defining the will and the way forward. In the morning a panel of international scientists will present and release a scientific communiqué on global water quality and a high-level panel will convene in the afternoon to respond to the UN-Water Statement on Water Quality as part of the World Water Day proceedings in Nairobi.

The outcomes of the event will be presented into key global political processes and meetings such as the UN General Assembly; the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD); the Convention on Biological Diversity; and Stockholm World Water Week.

More specifically, UNEP’s report ‘Clearing the Waters’ report also feeds into the discussion by detailing how water quality is as important as water quantity for satisfying human and environmental needs, yet has received far less investment, scientific support, and public attention.

Prepared in collaboration with the Pacific Institute, one of the world’s leading non-profit research organizations on freshwater issues, the UNEP report is part of the World Water Day 2010 effort to bring global attention to the need for clean, safe water––and action and policy to address water pollution.

The report calls for worldwide action to:

• Increase awareness to change individual behavior around what we put into our water;

• Promote policies that improve water quality with education and advocacy;

• Increase enforcement of the regulations put in place to protect water quality;

• Put investor and consumer pressure on corporations that pollute waterways.

‘Clearing the Waters’ emphasizes the urgent need to act to improve and safeguard water quality:

• Human health, the planet’s ecosystems, our livelihoods, and our future all depend on clean, safe water – yet every year, the world’s lakes, rivers, and deltas take in the equivalent of the entire human population – the weight of 6.8 billion people – in the form of pollution.

• In the last three decades of the 20th century, populations of freshwater species fell 50 per cent on average, a rate two-thirds greater than that of terrestrial and marine species. In recent years, the biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems has been degraded more than any other ecosystem, including tropical rainforests.

• One of the most significant sources of water pollution is lack of adequate sanitation. Worldwide, the World Health Organization and UNICEF estimate that 2.6 billion people––280 million of them children under five––live without improved sanitation, and each year more than 1.5 million children die from diarrhea caused by infectious waterborne diseases. It is a crisis of local challenges with global repercussions.

• Worldwide, it is estimated that industry is responsible for dumping 300-400 million tons of heavy metals, solvents, toxic sludge, and other waste into waters each year. New contaminants, such as discarded pharmaceuticals, also threaten water quality and human and ecosystem health.

• The planet’s most widespread water-quality problem is nutrient enrichment. Largely caused by nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural runoff and human and industrial waste, nutrient enrichment results in excessive plant (principally algae) growth and decay that robs the water of oxygen needed for many aquatic organisms to survive.

The report notes that it is almost always cheaper to prevent pollution than clean it up––and poor water quality has significant economic costs, from ecosystem and human-health costs and impacts on economic activities to increased water treatment costs and reduced property values.

For example, economic losses as a result of health impacts from the lack of water and sanitation in Africa are estimated at US$28.4 billion, or about 5 percent of GDP. And sanitation and drinking water investments have high rates of return: for every US$ 1 invested, there is a projected US$3-US$34 economic development return.

Freshwater ecosystems sustain a large number of identified species, including a quarter of known vertebrates. Such systems provide more than US$75 billion in goods and ecosystem services for people, but are increasingly threatened by a host of water quality problems.

Also on World Water Day, UNEP and UN-Habitat launched the report ‘Sick Water? The Central Role of Wastewater Management in Sustainable Development’, which shows that an estimated 90 percent of all wastewater in developing countries is currently discharged untreated directly into rivers, lakes or the oceans. Currently, an estimated 245,000 kilometers of marine ecosystems are affected with a clear impact on fisheries, livelihoods and the overall food chain.

World Water Day supports the United Nations’ declaration of 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, working to reduce the constant loss of biological diversity worldwide. UNEP is the coordinating agency for World Water Day 2010 on behalf of UN-Water, collaborating with 26 members from the UN System and external partners representing various organizations and civil society.

Notes to Editors:

About World Water Day:

The UN General Assembly designated the first World Water Day in 1993, and each subsequent year the March 22 event has highlighted a specific aspect of freshwater sustainability. Over the years, World Water Days have focused on transboundary waters, sanitation, coping with water scarcity, and water and culture. The annual World Water Day is coordinated by UN-Water, a coordination mechanism of 26 UN agencies working on water. UNEP with its strong environmental focus was designated the lead for World Water Day 2010.

For 2010, ‘Clean Water for a Healthy World’ initiatives around the world focus on water quality challenges and solutions, with the central event organized by UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya on 20-22 March.

The World Water Day 2010 theme of “Clean Water for a Healthy World” calls attention to Millennium Development Goal No.7, to ensure environmental sustainability, particularly in:

-integrating principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and reversing the loss of environmental resources (Target 1);

-significantly reducing biodiversity loss and rate of loss (Target 2);

-halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2015 (Target 3); and

-achieving significant improvements in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 (Target 4).

Worldwide, events are planned to mark World Water Day 2010 and activities on water quality to further “Clean Water for a Healthy World” will be ongoing throughout the year.

For a list of international events, to add an event and to access outreach materials and further information, visit www.unwater.org/worldwaterday.

For more information on how individuals can participate in World Water Day 2010 and address challenges to the world’s water quality, visit: www.worldwaterday2010.info.

About the Nairobi World Water Day event:

The flagship celebration of World Water Day at the UNEP/UN-Habitat headquarters in Nairobi on 20-22 March is jointly hosted by UNEP, UN-Habitat, the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB), and the Government of Kenya.

The event will bring together scientists from around the world for a panel on ‘Water Quality Challenges and Responses’ and will also include site visits to Lake Victoria, Kibera/Nairobi River and the Kenyan Coast in order to illustrate the critical importance of water quality for ecosystem functioning, human well-being and livelihoods.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will deliver a message for World Water Day 2010, and the afternoon’s keynote address will be delivered by His Royal Highness Prince Willem Alexander of Orange, Netherlands, who serves as the Chair of UNSGAB.

For more information please contact:

Nick Nuttall at mobile: + 254 733 632755 / +41 79 596 57 37 or e-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org

Anne-France White at mobile: +254 728 600494 or e-mail: anne-france.white@unep.org

UNEP - Time to Cure Global Tide of Sick Water

03 – 22- 10

Turning Two Millions Tons of Waste – Equal to Over Two Billion Tons of Wastewater – into Economic Resource Could Benefit Human Health, Agriculture and the Environment

NAIROBI, Kenya and RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil. -Transforming wastewater from a major health and environmental hazard into a clean, safe and economically-attractive resource is emerging as a key challenge in the 21st century.

It is a challenge that will continue to intensify as the world undergoes rapid urbanization, industrialization and increasing demand for meat and other foods unless decisive action is taken says a new United Nations report released today.

Urban populations are projected to nearly double in 40 years, from current 3.4 billion to over six billion people – but already most cities lack adequate wastewater management due to aging, absent or inadequate sewage infrastructure.

The new report, called Sick Water?, says some two million tons of waste, estimated to equal two or more billion tons of wastewater (see notes to editors) is being discharged daily into rivers and seas spreading disease to humans and damaging key ecosystems such as coral reefs and fisheries.

Wastewater is a cocktail of fertilizer run-off and sewage disposal alongside animal, industrial, agricultural and other wastes.

The report says that the sheer scale of dirty water means more people now die from contaminated and polluted water than from all forms of violence including wars. Dirty water is also a key factor in the rise of de-oxygenated dead zones that have been emerging in seas and oceans across the globe.

Yet many of the substances that make wastewater a pollutant—for example nitrogen and phosphorus-- can also be useful as fertilizers for agriculture. Wastewater can also generate gases to fuel small power stations or be used for cooking.

The report notes that already some 10 per cent of the world’s population is being supplied with food grown using wastewater for irrigation and fertilizer and with better management and training of farmers this could be increased substantially.

The report, launched to coincide with World Water Day, goes so far as to say that the concentration of nutrients in wastewater “could supply much of the nitrogen and much of the phosphorous and potassium normally required for crop production. Other valuable micro-nutrients and organic matter contained in the effluent would also provide benefits”.

Some Solutions

The report underlines that reducing the volume and concentrations of wastewater will require multiple actions ranging from reducing run-off from livestock and croplands to better treatment of human wastes.

Some solutions may involve water recycling systems and multi-million or multi-billion dollar water sewage treatment works: the report cites the success of those installed in the Bali coastal resort of Nusa Dua in Indonesia.

Others may involve investing and re-investing in nature’s natural purification systems which include wetlands, mangroves and salt marshes.

Studies in the Mississippi valley of the United States indicate that the value of a restored wetland may be as high as over $1,000 a hectare if its full range of services, from water filtration to recreational use, is factored in.

Establishing markets and economic instruments for such services could offer the kind of financial incentives that favour conservation and restoration over draining wetlands for farmland.

Other solutions can be small-scale: The report cites the coral coast of Fiji where it was estimated that up to 40 per cent of harmful nutrients being discharged into the marine environment were from pigs, which produce three times more concentrated nitrogen waste than humans.

Sawdust beds which soak up the liquid run-off from pig pens have now been introduced, and soiled sawdust is shipped to nearby farms as fertilizer. Emissions to coastal waters have been cut and the farmers are pleased too.

This is because the more comfortable sawdust beds seem to make the pigs happier and thus bigger, so farmers have more meat to sell.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said: “If the world is to thrive, let alone to survive on a planet of six billion people heading to over nine billion by 2050, we need to get collectively smarter and more intelligent about how we manage waste including wastewaters”.

“The facts and figures are stark—pollution from wastewater is quite literally killing people, indeed two million children die annually as a result of contaminated water. The impacts on the wider environment and in particular the marine environment are also sobering,” he added.

“But the report also points to the abundant Green Economy opportunities for turning a mounting challenge into an opportunity with multiple benefits. These include the savings from reduced fertilizer costs for farmers and, incentives for conserving ecological infrastructure such as wetlands alongside new business and employment opportunities in engineering and natural resource management,” Mr Steiner said.

Mrs Anna Tibajuka, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said: “Urban and industrial wastewater composed of sediment, nutrients, organic matter, trace metals and pesticides, among others, adversely affects the entire food chain and thus human health”.

“Many water and sanitation utilities, especially in developing countries, are forced to spend more financial resources in water treatment due to increased pollution. Excess nutrients and wastewater can also lead to uncontrolled growth of algae and aquatic plants such as water hyacinth which cause practical problems for marine transportation, fishing and at intakes for water, hydro power and irrigation schemes,” she added.

“It is my hope that activities taking place globally today will raise public awareness of the water quality challenges facing humanity, and the need to commit to concrete remedial actions at all levels,” said Mrs Tibajuka.

Christian Nellemann, a lead author on the report, added: “Some estimates suggest that around 2 million tons of waste are spilled into sewage systems every day: this may be producing well over two billion tons of polluted water every single day, 365 days a year, right into our freshwaters and oceans”.

The Rapid Response Assessment entitled “Sick water? The central role of wastewater management in sustainable development”, has been compiled by a special taskforce consisting of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), and the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB).

It has also involved experts from UN Water and UNEP’s GRID Arendal in Norway and was launched today at UNEP headquarters and at the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro in support of this year’s World Water Day with the theme Clean Water for a Healthy World.

The report shows that the impact of poor wastewater management and degrading sewage systems is not only costing billions of dollars and degrading ecosystems, it is also challenging the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, sustainable development, jobs, labour productivity and the health of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

Conversely, a recent report by the UNEP Green Economy Initiative underlined the economic benefits of investing in this resource. It argues that every dollar invested in safe water and sanitation has a pay back of $3 to $34 depending on the region and the technology deployed.

Some Facts and Figures from the Report

• At least 1.8 million children under five years-old die every year from water related disease, which is one child every 20 seconds.

• It is estimated that close to 90 per cent of diarrhoea cases, killing some 2.2 million people every year, is caused by unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene.

• Over 50 per cent of malnutrition cases globally are associated with diarrhoea or intestinal worm infections. Diarrhoeal diseases come second after respiratory infections in terms of labour productivity lost due to illness.

• Over half the world’s hospitals beds are occupied with people suffering from illnesses linked with contaminated water.

• Almost 900 million people currently lack access to safe drinking water, and an estimated 2.6 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have the highest proportion, with around 221 million and 330 million respectively living without basic sanitation.

• 90 per cent of the wastewater in developing countries discharged daily is untreated. 80% of all marine pollution is land based – most of it wastewater, damaging coral reefs and fishing grounds

• Each day each one of us uses – and discards – some 150-600 litres of water – 60-150 litres per person per day in developing countries to 500-800 litre per person per day in the industrialized world

• People in the industrialized world generate 5 times more wastewater per person than in developing countries – but treat over 90% of the wastewater compared to only a few percent in developing countries

• Improved wastewater management has resulted in significant environmental improvements in many European rivers, but dead zones in the oceans are still spreading worldwide

• Agriculture accounts for some 70-90% of all water consumed, mainly for irrigation. But large amounts also return to rivers in terms of run-off – near half of all organic matter in wastewater comes from agriculture

• Industrial wastes, pesticides from agriculture and tailings from mining also create serious health risks and threats to water resources, costing billions of dollars to monitor, much more to clean.

• Use of bottled water is increasing, but it takes 3 litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water – and in the USA alone an additional 17 million barrels of oil.

• Worldwide 200 000 million litres of water are produced every year, creating also an enormous waste problem from spent plastic bottles.

•

• 20 million tons of phosphate is mined to fertilize crops, and there are concerns that natural phosphate may become scarcer over the coming decades.

• Nearly half of the agricultural phosphate applied is washed away and ends up rivers and oceans where it plays a part in triggering algae blooms that in turn damage ecosystems and fish stocks

• The area of dead zones - locations of reduced or absent oxygen levels - has now grown to cover 245,000 km2 of the marine environment including in North America; the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.

• Wastewater also generates methane, a climate gas 21 times more powerful than C02. It is also generating nitrous oxide which is 310 times more powerful than C02.

• It is estimated that wastewater-linked emissions of methane and nitrous oxide will rise by 25 per cent and 50 per cent respectively in just a decade.

• Climate change may aggravate the problem with droughts concentrating wastewater pollution in rivers and lakes and increased flooding overwhelming ageing sewage infrastructure in cities and towns.

The report provides six major recommendations:

1) Countries should adopt a multisectoral approach, including ecosystem management, to cope with rising wastewater production

2) Countries must establish national plans from water source to ocean and create national to local strategies. Over 70% of the water is consumed by agriculture for irrigation.

3) Financing and investment are urgently needed and must address design, ecosystem restoration, construction, operation and maintenance of waste water infrastructure. Public management of the water supply and wastewater management have provided best results for broad public benefit, with private sector mainly beneficial in improving operation and maintenance

4) Communities and nations should plan for increasing incidents of extreme weather and rising urbanization in the future.

5) For effective waste water management, social, cultural, environmental and economical aspects must be carefully considered

6) Education has a crucial role to play in water and wastewater management, helping to ensure water, nutrients and future opportunities for employment and development are not wasted.

Notes to Editors

The report “Sick water – the central role of wastewater management for sustainable development” can be accessed at www.unep.org or at www.grida.no including high and low resolution graphics for free use in publications. Credits and sources for the photographs can be found at the back of the report.

2 billion tons of wastewater versus two million tons of waste: The two million tons relates to the dry weight of the solids and other materials entering rivers and the marine environment. Two billion tons or more estimates the weight of both the solids and the contaminated water itself.

The calculation is:-2 million tons of waste and 1,500 km3 of wastewater per year which is 4.1 km3 per day - which is 2 billion tons or more daily depending on the definition of wastewater.

For more information, please contact

Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson/Head of Media, on Tel +254 20 7623084, Mobile +254 733 632755 E-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org

Anne-France White, Associate Information Officer, on Tel: +254 20 762 3088, Mobile: +254 (0)728 600 494, or e-mail: anne-france.white@unep.org

Global - Debaten en ONU sobre la defensa del agua

22 – 03 – 10

NACIONES UNIDAS (PL).- Con el tema central "Agua para la vida", Naciones Unidas inicia hoy un diálogo interactivo de dos días en busca de acciones para enfrentar la creciente escasez del líquido vital.

El intercambio fue convocado por la Asamblea General para analizar el impacto de la falta de ese recurso en la salud, la seguridad alimentaria y el desarrollo sostenible.

También constituye la antesala de la conferencia internacional sobre el agua a efectuarse en junio próximo en Tajikistán y de la cumbre sobre los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio (ODM) en septiembre en la sede de la ONU en Nueva York.

El intercambio contará con tres paneles que debatirán sobre el agua y su vinculación con el cambio climático, los desastres, la paz y la seguridad.

La exposición de los temas estarán a cargo del ex canciller sueco Jan Eliasson, el ministro de la presidencia de Ecuador, Jorge Jurado, y el ex titular de la cartera de Agua, Recursos e Irrigación de Egipto Mahmoud Abu-Zeid.

Según datos de la ONU, en la actualidad casi 885 millones de personas padecen de falta de agua potable y más de dos mil 600 millones (39 por ciento de la población mundial) no cuentan con servicios adecuados desde el punto de vista sanitario.

En una declaración con vistas al diálogo interactivo, el secretario general de la ONU, Ban Ki-Moon, destacó que, a través del agua, el cambio climático influye en el ecosistema de la tierra, los medios de vida y el bienestar de los seres humanos.

El aumento de la temperatura y los cambios extremos afectan la disponibilidad y la distribución de las precipitaciones, la fusión de las nieves, el curso de los ríos y el agua subterránea y deterioran aún más la calidad del agua, indicó el dirigente.

Frente a esa situación, el dirigente de Naciones Unidas llamó a acometer la adaptación al cambio climático, asumir nuevas tecnológicas y aplicar estrategias para esa adecuación y la reducción de las emisiones de gases contaminantes a la atmósfera.

Esos asuntos y el reconocimiento de la función fundamental del agua aún no han penetrado en el mundo político ni se reflejan en los planes nacionales o internacionales de inversión, subrayó.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172554&Itemid=1

 

Global - El agua contaminada causa miles de muertos al año, según los expertos reunidos en Nairobi

22 – 03 – 10

NAIROBI, Kenia (EFE).- Cada año se arrojan a los lagos, ríos y deltas el equivalente al peso de la población mundial -cerca de 7.000 millones de personas- en forma de contaminación, por lo que es necesario que la comunidad mundial tome medidas para proteger y mejorar la calidad del agua en el planeta.

Así se afirma en la declaración de ONU Agua presentada hoy en Nairobi por el responsable de dicho sistema, Zafar Adeel, durante una conferencia con motivo del Día del Agua, en la que participan expertos de diversas agencias y programas de Naciones Unidas, científicos, miembros del Gobierno de Kenia y el príncipe Guillermo de Holanda como presidente de la Junta Asesora del Secretario General de la ONU para el Agua.

"Cada año mueren más personas a consecuencia del agua contaminada que por todas las formas de violencia, incluida la guerra", afirma la declaración de ONU Agua presentada por Adeel.

Las pérdidas económicas ocasionadas por la falta de agua e infraestructuras sanitarias en África ascienden a unos 28.400 millones de dólares, el equivalente al 5 por ciento del Producto Interior Bruto (PIB).

"La calidad del agua del mundo está cada vez más amenazada con el aumento de la población, la expansión de las actividades industrial y agrícola, mientras que el cambio climático amenaza con alterar el ciclo hidrológico global", destaca la declaración.

"Es hora de que haya un enfoque global" del problema, cuyas soluciones fundamentales se encuentran en la prevención de la contaminación, el tratamiento de las aguas y la restauración de los ecosistemas, añade.

La declaración señala cinco puntos de actuación: mejorar el conocimiento de la calidad del agua, expandir la comunicación y educación sobre el problema, un mejor enfoque financiero y económico, una mayor utilización de tecnología eficaz y el uso apropiado de herramientas legales, institucionales y reguladoras.

"Ya tenemos el conocimiento y la habilidad para proteger la calidad del agua, tengamos voluntad de hacerlo. La vida humana y la prosperidad depende de nuestra acciones de hoy", concluye la declaración.

http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/9/20100322/tsc-el-agua-contaminada-causa-miles-de-m-23e7ce8.html

 

Global - La amenazada calidad del agua reúne en Kenia a expertos de ONU y científicos

22 – 03 – 10

NAIROBI, Kenia (EFE).- La ONU celebra este lunes en Nairobi el Día Mundial del Agua, dedicado este año a la amenazada calidad del agua en el mundo, con una conferencia en la que participarán expertos de las Naciones Unidas, científicos, miembros del Gobierno de Kenia y el príncipe Guillermo de Holanda.

La conferencia, que se celebra en paralelo con la reunión de la Asamblea General de la ONU en Nueva York con motivo también del Día del Agua, tiene como objetivos diseñar una plataforma para discutir opciones y acciones para mejorar la calidad del agua en el mundo, crear un foro de discusión científica y concienciar al público y los medios de comunicación sobre la importancia de esta problemática.

Científicos y expertos de las Naciones Unidas en hidrología -desde potabilización a infraestructuras sanitarias, tratamiento del agua, medio ambiente e incidencia del cambio climático- e instituciones asociadas a la ONU han preparado una declaración para mejorar y preservar la calidad del agua, que será sometida a la Asamblea General.

En la declaración se advierte de la creciente amenaza de la calidad del agua y se subraya la importancia vital de la misma para la vida en este planeta, así como para el funcionamiento del ecosistema, las comunidades y la economía.

Asimismo, la declaración aboga por un compromiso global para prevenir la contaminación y aumentar el tratamiento de las aguas de desecho.

Organizada por el sistema de la ONU para el Agua, el Programa de la ONU para el Medio Ambiente (UNEP, en sus siglas en inglés), el programa ONU-Habitat (sobre urbanismo y vivienda) y el Consejo Asesor del Secretario General de la ONU sobre Agua y Sanidad (UNSGAB) y otras agencias de la ONU, el encuentro en Nairobi comenzó el sábado y finaliza el lunes.

El programa de la conferencia, que se celebra en la sede de la UNEP y ONU Habitat en Nairobi, contará entre los oradores con el responsable del sistema ONU Agua, Zafar Adeel; con el príncipe Guillermo de Holanda, como presidente del UNSGAB, así como los directores de las agencias de la ONU implicadas y el primer ministro de Kenia, Raila Odinga, y varios ministros del país.

De la parte científica intervendrán Blanca Jiménez de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM); Mike Bushell, de Sygenta Global R&D; Anders Berntell, director ejecutivo del Instituto Internacional de Agua de Estocolmo; y Maurice Bernard, de la Agencia Francesa de Desarrollo, entre otros.

El evento en Nairobi comenzó el sábado con conferencias a periodistas de varios países ofrecidas por expertos de la ONU y científicos de diversas regiones del mundo sobre materias relacionadas con la calidad del agua.

http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/9/20100322/tsc-la-amenazada-calidad-del-agua-reune-23e7ce8.html

 

Bolivia - Bolivia propone a ONU declaración sobre agua como derecho humano

22 – 03 – 10

LA PAZ, Bolivia (PL).- El presidente boliviano, Evo Morales, anunció hoy que su gobierno propondrá a la Organización de Naciones Unidas una Declaración que establezca el acceso al agua potable y al saneamiento básico como un derecho humano.

En conferencia de prensa desde Palacio Quemado, el estadista insistió en que en el Día Mundial del Agua, el Ejecutivo aprecia con preocupación que más de mil millones de personas en el mundo no gozan del vital líquido.

No puede haber vida sin esa principal fuente que es el agua, por lo tanto también se afectan los derechos de la Madre Tierra, aclaró.

Morales recordó que otras demandas en el organismo internacional por parte de Bolivia, entre ellas la proclamación del 22 de abril como Día Mundial de los Derechos de la Madre Tierra (Pachamama), han sido respaldadas por naciones miembros de ONU y de las organizaciones sociales del planeta.

El dignatario precisó que el embajador de Bolivia en ONU, Pablo Solón, tiene la tarea ante el 65 período de sesiones de Naciones Unidas de presentar la nueva iniciativa.

A preguntas de Prensa Latina, Morales también señaló que ante representantes de cientos de movimientos sociales y gobiernos insistirán en esta idea durante la Primera Conferencia Mundial sobre Cambios Climático, a efectuarse en la ciudad de Cochabamba (centro) del 20 al 22 de abril próximo.

Opinó que varias agrupaciones ciudadanas en el mundo se pronuncian a favor de transformar sistemas económicos, la ilimitada e irracional industrialización y políticas consumistas, en alusión al capitalismo, que causan daños irreparables al medio ambiente y la vida en el planeta.

El jefe de Estado se refirió también a unos siete temas que serán evaluados en la cumbre climática, que personalmente impulsó tras el fracaso de la Conferencia de de Copenhague (Dinamarca) en diciembre pasado.

Entre esos asuntos sobresalen las propuestas de un referendo mundial de los pueblos sobre las emisiones de gas con efecto invernadero y la creación de un Tribunal Internacional que sancione a los responsables de esos daños, sean empresas o gobiernos.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172627&Itemid=2

 

Bolivia - Llaman en Bolivia a uso racional del agua en Día Mundial

22 – 03 – 10

LA PAZ, Bolivia (PL).- Con un llamado al uso racional del agua, se inician hoy aquí las actividades por el Día Mundial del vital líquido, instaurado por Naciones Unidas hace 17 años.

De acuerdo con la ministra de Medio Ambiente y Agua, María Esher Udaeta, la Feria del Agua, en una céntrica plaza de la ciudad de La Paz, espera atraer la atención sobre todo de las nuevas generaciones.

La ONU estableció este año el lema de "Agua Limpia para un Mundo Sano", que resume la importancia de que los Estados suministren agua de calidad para mejorar las condiciones de salud y vida de los pueblos.

Para Udaeta, el sistema capitalista es responsable de la escasez del agua a nivel mundial, debido a los efectos catastróficos del cambio climático del planeta.

Desde el 2006, agregó, el gobierno de Evo Morales efectuó un cambio a favor del acceso del recursos hacia la población por lo que está prohibido su privatización, y ha invertido más de mil millones de bolivianos (poco más de 20 millones de dólares) en ampliar la cobertura de agua potable y alcantarillado en las ciudades y zonas rurales.

El presidente Morales defiende la política de que el acceso al agua potable es un derecho humano, no una mercancía para lucrar, remarcó.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172583&Itemid=2

 

Haití - CEPAL estima millonarias cifras para reconstrucción de Haití

22 – 03 – 10

PUERTO PRÍNCIPE, Haití (PL).- La Comisión Económica para América Latina (CEPAL) estimó que los daños del terremoto del 12 de enero en Haití y las necesidades para su reconstrucción superan los 11 mil 400 millones de dólares.

Expertos en evaluación de desastres naturales de esa institución consideraron que incluso retornar al estado de deterioro que tenía ese país caribeño antes del sismo, demandaría más de siete mil 800 millones de dólares.

El especialista de la CEPAL Ricardo Zapata afirmó, tras un mes de evaluación en Haití, que la cifra global para los próximos siete a 10 meses es de más de 11 mil 400 millones de dólares, en momentos que los flujos de recursos están casi paralizados.

Zapata dio a conocer tales apreciaciones previo a la conferencia de donantes que se celebrará el 31 de marzo próximo en Nueva York.

Precisó que ahora lo importante es decidir con quién y cómo trabajar para lograr esos montos, pues aún es necesaria ayuda humanitaria para recuperar Haití de los estragos del sismo que ocasionó 1,5 millones de damnificados, casi el 15 por ciento de la población.

Apuntó que también urge garantizar entre cuatro mil y cinco mil millones de dólares para financiar, en los próximos 18 meses, programas de empleo en la agricultura, la industria y los servicios.

Para la CEPAL también es importante asegurar que las 760 mil personas que huyeron de Puerto Príncipe tras el terremoto, puedan radicarse fuera de la capital y no se vean obligadas a regresar.

De igual forma indicó priorizar mecanismos de fiscalización y auditoria para lograr un adecuado gasto de los fondos, y que exista una buena comunicación entre los distintos sectores del país.

Según la CEPAL el peor efecto del terremoto fue el empobrecimiento de miles de personas y alejar a Haití aún más de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio.

Por el fuerte temblor del pasado 12 de enero más de 222 mil personas murieron, otras 311 mil resultaron heridas y 869 están desaparecidas, además de ser destruidas más de 100 mil viviendas.

El próximo 31 de marzo habrá una conferencia de donantes sobre Haití, donde los países tendrán que concretar cuánto dinero van a aportar en cualquier modalidad, condonación de deuda, entrega de recursos frescos u otras.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=172601&Itemid=2

 

St. Lucia - Drought forces return to abandoned water intakes

03 – 19 – 10

CASTRIES, St Lucia. – Already in a water emergency prompted by the prolonged drought, St Lucia is now going back to water intakes it had abandoned over the years in hopes of getting more of the resource to supply residents.

Minister of Communications, Works, Transport and Public Utilities, Guy Joseph, says quality tests have already been undertaken at some of the intakes, while others will be tested to ensure that the water supply is adequate for public consumption.

“We are re-commissioning the Varnard and Ravine Poisson water intakes where we are hoping to extract a fair amount of water. We estimate that these intakes which were abandoned several years ago – because the focus was on the John Compton Dam – can pump about two million gallons,” he said.

“What we have done so far is put in place the pumps and desilt the reservoir in the Ravine Poisson area. We have done most of the work in the Varnard intake,” Joseph added, noting that officials are addressing some concerns to prepare for the use of Varnard, including relocating some pig farms in the area.

The minister said authorities are also exploring pumping water from various sites in the Le Paradis area on the east coast and in the La Guerre community.

“There is a well that the parliamentary representative for this area has brought to my attention, but we have to get WASCO (St Lucia Water and Sewerage Company) to go in and do the necessary tests in the area to be sure that the water is suitable and what level of treatment would be required,” Joseph revealed.

“We have also been in discussions pertaining to the Le Paradis area. In that regard, we have secured from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) a tank for the storage of water…So we are pursuing all these options and I must say that I am pleased with the approach from WASCO and the ministry of public utilities in addressing the drought situation and managing our supplies to the extent that we have at this point in time.”

Minister Joseph says several other proposals are being considered to deal with the drought situation and to ensure that citizens have a reliable potable water supply.

A water emergency went into effect in St Lucia on February 24th, amidst the harsh dry season that has created problems for several Caribbean countries.

http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/drought_forces_return_to_abandone_water_intakes.html

 

Trinidad & Tobago - T&T authorities scrap fee for use of river water

03 – 19 – 10

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad– The authorities in Trinidad and Tobago have scrapped a plan to ask drought-affected farmers to pay for taking water from the country’s rivers.

Earlier this week, it was announced that farmers would have to pay 10 cents per 220 gallons for river water and a fee for the licence, required by law, to extract the water from any surface water or ground water source in the twin-island nation.

But the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources subsequently announced that there would be no cost for the water and although the farmers would still require the licence, the fee been waived.

The only condition being imposed on the farmers is that they access the water only from specified areas.

“In terms of farmers accessing water from some rivers, an understanding was reached for farmers to win water downstream from Water Treatment Plants as well as from rivers not designated for feeding Water Treatment Plants. Additionally, accessing water by farmers may be allowed for rivers that do not feed in the Water and Sewage Authority’s (WASA) Reservoirs and Water Treatment Plants,” a statement from the Ministry said.

It added that the aim of regulating water abstraction is to ensure that farmers are not disadvantaged by each other’s operations.

“By way of example, rice farmers require substantially more water than vegetable farmers. Rice farmers who may use more water upstream can disadvantage vegetable farmers operating downstream of some watercourses, thereby compromising the operations of vegetable farming lower downstream. This can lead to less or lower yielding vegetable production, with its consequential negative impact upon the supply of vegetables to the national population and price fluctuations,” the ministry said.

The drought situation has been affecting several Caribbean countries.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Chief Meteorological Officer Emmanuel Mulchan said this week that although some rainfall is expected next month, there would most likely not be any significant rains until the month of May.

He added that global meteorological organisations do not expect the effects of El Nino to desist until June.

http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/tandt_authorities_scrap_fee_for_use_of_river_water.html