| United Nations |
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E/CN.17/1994/4 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
22 April 1994
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Second session
16-27 May 1994
Item 6 (a) of the provisional agenda*
REVIEW OF SECTORAL CLUSTERS, FIRST PHASE: HEALTH, HUMAN
SETTLEMENTS AND FRESHWATER
Freshwater resources
Report of the Secretary-General
________________________
* E/CN.17/1994/1.
CONTENTS
Paragraphs
INTRODUCTION ................................................. 1 - 2
I. GENERAL OVERVIEW ....................................... 3 - 10
II. REVIEW OF PROGRESS ACHIEVED IN THE PROGRAMME AREAS OF
CHAPTER 18 OF AGENDA 21 AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION .. 11 - 75
A. Integrated water resources development and
management ......................................... 13 - 25
B. Water resources assessment and impacts of climate
change on water resources .......................... 26 - 38
C. Protection of water resources, water quality and
aquatic ecosystems ................................. 39 - 50
D. Drinking water supply and sanitation ............... 51 - 57
E. Water and sustainable urban development ............ 58 - 61
F. Water for sustainable food production and rural
development ........................................ 62 - 70
G. New initiatives .................................... 71 - 75
III. NATIONAL EXPERIENCE .................................... 76 - 96
A. Industrialized countries ........................... 76 - 87
B. Developing countries ............................... 88 - 95
C. Economies in transition ............................ 96
IV. CAPACITY-BUILDING, TECHNOLOGY AND FINANCE .............. 97 - 109
A. Capacity-building .................................. 97 - 98
B. Technology ......................................... 99 - 103
C. Finance ............................................ 104 - 109
V. CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR ACTION ................... 110 - 119
INTRODUCTION
1. In decision 1993/314, the Economic and Social Council
approved the provisional agenda for the second session of the
Commission on Sustainable Development which, in item 6 (a),
provided for a review of sectoral clusters, first phase: health,
human settlements and freshwater.
2. In thematic reports such as this, corresponding to the Agenda
21 sectoral clusters, the Commission requested the
Secretary-General to include information on the main activities
that countries were undertaking or planning (E/1993/25/Add.1,
chap. I, para. 28). In order to give the Secretariat sufficient
time to analyse the information received, the Commission urged
Governments to submit their reports not less than six months
prior to the Commission's sessions (E/1993/25/Add.1, chap. I,
para. 24). Unfortunately, the Secretariat had received only a few
national reports at the time of the preparation of the present
report, which is therefore based mostly on information available
within the United Nations system.
I. GENERAL OVERVIEW
3. The world population, which in 1990 totalled 5.3 billion
people, is expected to increase by approximately 1 billion by the
year 2000, with about 93 per cent of the increase taking place in
developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia. Twenty
countries with a total population of 131 million people were
already in a condition of scarcity in 1990 and another eight
countries, with a total population of 203 million were under
stress, based on a definition of water scarcity as a per capita
availability of freshwater resources of 1,000 cubic metres or
less, and of water-stressed as a per capita availability of
between 1,000 and 17,000 cubic metres. By the year 2010, 26
countries, with a total population of 416 million, will be under
scarcity conditions, and 12, with a total population of 407
million, will be under stress. By the year 2025, a full 35 per
cent of the world population will be living under conditions of
scarcity or stress, compared with about 6 per cent in 1990. 1/
Already, many countries suffer from water scarcity in some areas,
even though on the average they are deemed to have plentiful
water resources. In 1987, the World Commission on Environment
and Development concluded that some 80 countries, with 40 per
cent of the world population, were already suffering from serious
water shortages. 2/
4. The availability of freshwater is further affected as a
result of serious deterioration of its quality. Most of the
sources of pollution that have severely affected the
industrialized countries are also present in the developing world
and there are few parts of the world that are still exempt from
problems of degraded water quality and pollution of surface water
and groundwater sources. The waste-assimilative capacity of
freshwater bodies adjacent to towns in many developing countries
has often been outstripped. There is also increasing concern
about the entry of fertilizers and pesticides into surface and
ground waters.
5. The rapid growth of urban centres brings with it increased
demands for domestic, municipal and industrial uses. Increased
levels of population also generate a demand for more food
production, with its implications for intensified cropping and
increased competition and conflicts among various land and water
uses. An estimated 110 million hectares of land with
agricultural potential in all developing countries, excluding
China, will need to be claimed for human settlements and
agricultural use by the year 2010. 3/ While these requirements
appear to be small when compared with 1.8 million hectares of
land with agricultural potential not occupied by either of these
two uses, "land scarcities are very acute in some countries and
regions, namely South Asia and Near East/North Africa. Even the
small increases foreseen for them are a significant part of their
still unused land. 3/ It is further expected that problems
related to food production will be exacerbated by a degradation
of existing irrigation systems to the point that they have to go
out of use. Degradation of soils is estimated to affect some 1.2
billion hectares of land worldwide, of which 450 million are in
Asia, 320 million are in Africa, 227 million are on the American
continent and 158 million are in Europe. Deforestation and
overgrazing are each estimated to account for about one third of
the total area affected, while the bulk of the remaining affected
area has been caused by mismanagement of arable land. 3/
6. Constraints vis-a-vis the availability of water for
agriculture will be even more severe than land constraints.
Irrigated agriculture will increasingly have to compete with
higher-value uses and, at the same time, it will be expected to
produce much more with less water. An estimated 80 per cent of
the additional food supplies required to feed the world in the
next 30 years will depend on irrigation. 4/
7. Over-extraction of groundwater, while most acute in the Near
East, is a growing problem in other areas, including large areas
of South Asia, where food is heavily dependent on irrigation.
"Overpumping in these areas is causing water levels to fall
beyond the reach of shallow tubewells, with the risk that
irrigation may eventually become too expensive or physically
impractical." 4/
8. Floods continue to exact an increasing toll in life and
damages, particularly in the many developing countries that lack
forecasting and warning systems. At the other extreme, droughts
plague large parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, killing
many people and disrupting development.
9. While in the past there was a tendency to regard water
problems as being local or regional in nature, there is a growing
recognition that their increasingly widespread occurrence is
quickly adding up to a crisis of global magnitude. Water
scarcity relative to demand is no longer a problem in arid or
semi-arid areas alone, but is now a common occurrence in both
developed and developing countries.
10. For a large part of the world, the issue of sustainable land
and water resources development is intimately related to the
issue of poverty. To the very poor, who may barely eke out a
living in rural or peri-urban areas, concerns about degradation
of the environment will take a back seat to concerns of
day-to-day survival. The modern sector and mass poverty coexist
in the vast majority of developing countries. Both bring with
them obstacles to the sustainable development of land and water
resources. In poorer countries, the temptation exists to
mortgage the future by engaging in development projects that may
bring short-term economic benefits but are not sustainable in the
long run. While in some cases damage done to the environment
might be reversible, it may only be remedied at exceedingly high
social and economic costs, or not at all. Without a concerted
effort to deal with economic growth, poverty and a more equitable
distribution of income, developing countries will not be able to
cope with issues related to the long-term sustainability of land
and water development.
II. REVIEW OF PROGRESS ACHIEVED IN THE PROGRAMME AREAS OF
CHAPTER 18 OF AGENDA 21 AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
11. In chapter 18 of Agenda 21 (Protection of the quality and
supply of freshwater resources: application of integrated
approaches to the development, management and use of water
resources), 5/ the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) emphasized the importance of water resources
in all aspects of life, and that the general objective was to
make certain that adequate supplies of water of good quality were
maintained for the entire population of the planet, while
preserving the hydrological, biological and chemical functions of
ecosystems, adapting human activities within the capacity limits
of nature and combating vectors of water-related diseases.
Chapter 18 stresses the multisectoral nature of water resources
development in the context of socio-economic development, as well
as the multi-interest utilization of water resources for water
supply and sanitation, agriculture, industry, urban development,
hydropower generation, inland fisheries, transportation,
recreation, low and flat lands management and other activities.
12. In chapter 18 of Agenda 21, the Conference approved seven
programme areas for action at the national and international
levels: (a) integrated water resources development and
management; (b) water resources assessment; (c) protection of
water resources, water quality and aquatic ecosystems; (d)
drinking-water supply and sanitation; (e) water and sustainable
urban development; (f) water for sustainable food production and
rural development; and (g) impacts of climate change on water
resources. The present section provides information on progress
and issues concerning the implementation of recommendations
contained in these seven programme areas; the programme areas on
water resources assessment and impacts of climate change are
discussed together. Unfortunately, only a small number of
reports have been submitted by Governments on the implementation
of the programmes in chapter 18. These have been used together
with information available to the organizations of the United
Nations system. The present section also describes the
activities of the organizations of the system in the
implementation of the programmes, based on a task manager report
prepared through the Subcommittee on Water Resources of the
Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC).
A. Integrated water resources development and management
13. Modern water legislation has considerably broadened the type
and scope of issues to be considered in the regulation of water
resources. In particular, there is a clear trend to link water
legislation to economic and environmental issues, with a strong
focus on quality aspects and pollution control, and concern with
integrated and efficient water resources planning, with emphasis
on river basin and regional planning. Water planning is being
coordinated with planning for other natural resources and
economic and social objectives. More concern is being shown with
the development of appropriate information and guidance for
policy makers, administrators, users, purveyors of water services
and the public at large, and with the inclusion of provisions for
public participation. 6/
14. Nevertheless, the management of water resources in developing
countries remains generally fragmented. In the light of the
serious economic and political problems being faced in Africa,
little if any significant success is evident in this regard, and
the fragmentation of institutional responsibilities hinders the
formulation of holistic approaches for the integrated development
of water resources.
15. The most recent survey conducted by the Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific concerning the implementation
of the Mar del Plata Action Plan 7/ was completed in May 1991.
The countries responding to the survey indicated that
considerable progress had been made by countries in the region
towards the formulation of national water policies and
comprehensive master plans. Nevertheless, the majority of the
respondents felt that their existing regulations were not
sufficient or were incompatible with existing development plans.
Although floods are a major concern to the majority of the
countries in the region, most of them have no adequate structural
or non- structural measures.
16. Water management in Latin America remains far from optimum,
despite the progress made in the application of scientific
management techniques. This is especially the case in regions
where the use of the resource of water is most intensive and
conflictive. Many issues inherent to water system operation are
being poorly handled and even ignored. This is the case, almost
without exception, with respect to the maintenance of
infrastructure. There is some evidence, however, that the
establishment of a clear distinction between responsibility for
the management of the resource and responsibility for the
management of its use can be beneficial. Private sector or user
participation in management can be a valuable tool towards
achieving that distinction.
17. Water legislation in Western Asia is deemed to be generally
complex and outdated with regard to modern management practices
and techniques, and has resulted in the fragmentation of
administrative responsibilities. Provisions which regulate water
resources development and management are often contained in
different laws and regulations, or have originated from
traditional and customary uses which relate to the prevailing
social structure of some member countries. A number of
countries, including Jordan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Iraq and
the Gulf States, have recently carried out critical examinations
of their legislative structures. 8/
18. As far as Europe is concerned, the Convention on the
Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes has been signed by 25 countries and the
European Community, and ratified so far by Albania, Norway, the
Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation and Sweden. Issues
regarding the prevention of, preparedness for, and response to
industrial accidents, in particular those with accidental
pollution of transboundary waters, are covered in the 1992
Convention on Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents.
19. With regard to the organizations of the United Nations
system, through the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources, they are
engaged in the process of formulating strategies for accelerating
progress in the area of integrated water resources development
and management. Work in this regard has been initiated with the
Department for Development Support and Management Services of the
United Nations Secretariat, the World Bank, the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) as lead agencies.
20. A capacity-building approach defined by UNDP in 1991 was
further refined at the International Conference on Water and the
Environment (Dublin, January 1992) and at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, June
1992), a series of water sector assessments in developing
countries were carried out by the Department for Development
Support and Management Services in cooperation with the World
Bank. The latter engaged in a revision of its policies and
published a policy paper in 1993. 9/ In view of the fact that
the largest proportion of freshwater is used for agricultural
production, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
formulated water policy guidelines related to agriculture, and
included a chapter on water policies and agriculture in its
recent publication, The State of Food and Agriculture, 1993.
21. The Department for Development Support and Management
Services, together with UNDP, has carried out a number of pilot
sector assessments or diagnostic studies in such countries as
Bolivia, India, Morocco, Nepal, Peru and Yemen. Further work is
envisaged in China, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea and the
countries of the Southern African Development Community. The
approach has been found to be most useful in formulating UNDP
country programmes in the context of national development plans
and priorities, particularly in the context of capacity-building.
22. Another initiative in this area concerns the collaboration of
the Department for Development Support and Management Services
and UNEP, with the close support of UNDP and the World Bank, in
launching the Freshwater Consultative Forum. One of the
important conclusions of the first meeting of the Forum, which
was convened from 13 to 16 December 1993, was that UNEP and UNDP
should choose an existing river or lake basin organization with a
critical need, where the various recommendations for improving
water resources management could be applied.
23. UNEP is continuing to refine and apply its comprehensive,
multi-disciplinary approach to integrated management of
freshwater resources. It also works to assist Governments to
integrate fully the environmentally sound management of natural
resources into national plans for social and economic
development. To date, UNEP activities in this area have been
completed for the international drainage basins of the Zambezi
River, Lake Chad, the Aral Sea and Lake Titicaca. Activities are
in the planning or consultative stage for the Nile, Mekong,
Orinoco, Catatumbo and San Juan rivers, the Caspian Sea and
selected island States.
24. One of the three key areas of concentration of the Institute
on Natural Resources in Africa of the United Nations University
(UNU/INRA, Accra, Ghana) relates to soil and water conservation
for environmental management in Africa. Even though it is clear
that women have an important role to play in the management of
water resources, this important dimension has mostly been
neglected in the past. In this regard, the International
Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
(INSTRAW) has been instrumental in bringing to the fore the need
for the greater involvement of women in the development and
management process.
25. The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in collaboration
with the Organization of African Unity, finalized a Protocol in
Natural Resources including Water Resources Development in
Africa. In 1993, the ECA prepared a comprehensive study on
problems, prospects and strategies for cooperation among riparian
countries for the integrated water resources development of the
Nile River basin, and published a detailed study on the
conservation and rational use of water resources in six North
African countries. The Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) was
instrumental in the development and adoption of the Convention on
the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes. ECE has also prepared a review of national
strategies and policies for the protection and use of
transboundary waters, and has drawn up a consolidated list of
bilateral and multilateral agreements and other arrangements in
Europe and North America on these issues. Work is also being
pursued on the development of instruments to promote sustainable
water management. The Economic Commission for Latin America and
the Caribbean (ECLAC) has prepared a number of reports on the
subject of integrated water resources management, and acts as the
secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Network for
Integrated Water Management, which consists of institutions
dealing with this question. It also organizes courses on water
resources management in various countries of the region. ECLAC,
jointly with UNEP, has organized a workshop to discuss the
follow-up in the regions of the recommendations of chapter 18 of
Agenda 21 with regard to water management policies in Latin
America and the Caribbean. In 1991, ESCAP organized a regional
Workshop on Sustainable Development and Environmentally Sound
Development of Water Resources, and prepared papers on an
integrated approach to the efficient development, management and
use of water resources. The Economic and Social Commission for
Western Asia (ESCWA) convened a Symposium on Water Use and
Conservation in November 1993.
B. Water resources assessment and impacts of climate
change on water resources
26. Regional assessments carried out in 1990 by the World
Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with
regard to the implementation of the Mar del Plata Action Plan
during the 1980s indicated that in the late 1970s there was
evidence that countries were developing and strengthening their
water resources assessment programmes. However, the trend
suffered a reversal in the mid-1980s under pressure of economic
stringency. The survey gave cause for concern that, at a time
when greater demands were being made for more precise information
about the availability, variability and reliability and quality
of water resources data, data collection and analysis had fallen
behind water development and management needs. 10/
27. The modest increases that were achieved in Africa during the
early 1980s later gave way to a deterioration in equipment and
its operation owing to a lack of funds and trained staff. The
situation in the ESCWA region and in countries north of the
Sahara was found to be similar to that of Sub-Sahara Africa. A
general deterioration of operation and maintenance and database
management procedures were found to be problems in these regions.
The survey found that good progress had been made in the ESCAP
region with regard to the collection of project-oriented water
data, in establishing computerized databanks and in preparing
generalized water resources information. Problems of
coordination among a diversity of agencies dealing with water
resources assessment were found to exist, and the operation and
maintenance of the diversity of equipment used was a cause for
concern. Overall coverage of hydrometeorological and surface
networks in the ECLAC region was deemed to be fairly well matched
to development needs. However, few attempts were made towards
the integration of data into a resource management system.
Within the ECE region networks were found to be comparatively
well established, with the exception of large parts of northern
Canada, northern Scandinavia and the former USSR, which had only
rudimentary services in place. Many different assessment and
interpretative techniques, as well as modern hydrometric
technology and database management techniques, are routinely
applied.
28. Since the completion of the survey, there has been little
evidence to indicate that major positive changes have taken place
or that progress has been achieved. The situation in Africa
continues to be critical. The World Bank project aimed at
evaluating the status of existing water resources assessment
capabilities of the sub-Saharan countries concluded that, "few
countries now have services which can be compared favourably with
those existing 10 and 20 years ago. No country has a service
which is adequate as a basis for sustaining the many water
developments which can be expected in the region in the coming
decades". 11/ The study goes on to conclude that, "manpower is
rarely sufficient to allow data collection agencies to meet their
obligations, with establishments being too small and manpower
skills insufficient for the workload". 11/ Latin America and the
Caribbean, as well as Asia and the Pacific, continue to face
considerable problems. In addition, conditions in Eastern Europe
and the successor States of the former USSR have recently
worsened to the extent that many countries in Eastern Europe and
Central Asia have suffered serious reductions in their
hydrological services.
29. In order to coordinate their programmes better, UNESCO,
together with WMO and the International Council of Scientific
Unions (ICSU), convened an International Conference on Hydrology
(Paris, 22-26 March 1993). The Conference agreed on the Paris
Statement with five recommendations, including one to achieve
even closer partnership between the two agency programmes at the
national and international levels. One expression of the
partnership between UNESCO and WMO is the publication, in 1988,
of the first edition of the UNESCO/WMO Water Resource Assessment
Activities: Handbook for National Evaluation, which allows
national bodies to assess their capabilities in water resources
assessment. The second edition will place greater emphasis on
water quality, groundwater and other aspects of water resources
assessment not dealt with adequately in the first edition.
Within its International Hydrological Programme (IHP), UNESCO is
developing a hydrological research programme aimed at the
appropriate assessment of the available water resources of the
world in order to meet the needs for water supply, agriculture
and industry.
30. Transfer of hydrological technology through the ongoing WMO
technology transfer system, known as the Hydrological Operational
Multipurpose System (HOMS), has continued. Many of the
components deal with water resources assessment, but some, such
as those for the design of flood forecasting systems, are
relevant to disaster mitigation and the International Decade for
Natural Disaster Reduction. Since HOMS commenced in 1981, nearly
3,000 transfers of technology have been undertaken, the majority
from North to South, but some North-North and some South-South.
31. The Department for Development Support and Management
Services and WMO have participated in the activities of the
Steering Committee of the World Bank/UNDP project on Sub-Saharan
Hydrological Assessment in Africa, jointly financed by UNDP, the
World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Community
and French bilateral contributions. The aim of the project is to
diagnose the gaps in the hydrological and hydrogeological
monitoring networks and to assess the institutional capabilities
of hydrological and similar agencies in the region.
32. WMO continues its efforts in disaster mitigation relating to
floods, avalanches, landslides and droughts. Efforts are also
being made to promote the use of weather radar for hydrological
forecasting and warning, particularly within Europe. WMO has
established two drought monitoring centres in Africa, one at
Nairobi and the other at Harare. Its involvement in the planning
for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction has
led to several projects being undertaken especially for the
Decade.
33. Water-related natural disaster reduction activities have been
carried out by ESCAP with the aim of strengthening the disaster
preparedness and mitigation capabilities of member countries. In
1993, ESCAP conducted roving seminars on comprehensive flood loss
prevention and management in Myanmar, Pakistan, the Islamic
Republic of Iran and Solomon Islands. ECLAC, with the
cooperation of the Government of Italy, has prepared a manual on
disaster preparedness to assist countries in the region to deal
with water-related natural disasters.
34. While uncertainty remains about the future climate on a
global, regional or smaller scale, there is no uncertainty that
water resources will change more drastically as a result of
climate change than any other sector, and that these effects will
in turn have an impact on other sectors. Higher temperatures
worldwide and the higher evaporation rates they will bring, if
coupled with lower precipitation, would lead to a reduction in
world water resources. However, in some regions precipitation
may increase, and higher atmospheric carbon dioxide
concentrations may increase the water-use efficiency of many
plants, especially in drier regions.
35. These changes are likely to be exacerbated where sealevel
rise poses a threat to low-lying areas, particularly in the case
of small islands. In this regard, it is expected that sealevel
rise would endanger coastal groundwater resources through saline
intrusion, especially in small islands where the recharge area
would be reduced. Changes in rainfall amount, duration and
seasonal distribution may adversely affect groundwater recharge
and rainwater harvesting for small islands. Increases in the
frequency and severity of tropical cyclones, hurricanes and
typhoons may result from higher sea surface temperatures, with a
consequent increase in storm damage and flooding reinforced by
sealevel rise.
36. The proposed World Hydrological Cycle Observing System
(WHYCOS) (see para. 72 below) will offer the opportunity to
overcome some of these problems, particularly on a global scale.
However, a more detailed project, which concentrates on the
hydrological regime of several sets of small islands situated in
different climatic regimes is needed. WMO has been involved in
initial proposals for such a project and, together with UNEP, WHO
and UNESCO, it also convened a Workshop in Trinidad and Tobago
from 5 to 9 July 1993, which dealt with water quality issues in
small islands.
37. Through the World Climate Programme-Water (WCP-Water), WMO,
UNESCO, UNEP and FAO, with the participation of non-governmental
organizations, national institutes and bodies, address the
problem of climate change and water resources. In a related
initiative, FAO, ICSU, UNEP, UNESCO and WMO are cooperating in
the planning phase for a Global Terrestrial Observing System
(GTOS) on longer-term changes in natural and agro-ecosystems,
including hydrological features.
38. ECLAC, in November 1993, convened a regional expert meeting
on the possible effects of climate change on water resources in
Latin America and the Caribbean. ESCAP formulated a project on
potential effects of climate change on water resources and
related economic activities.
C. Protection of water resources, water quality and
aquatic ecosystems
39. The 1990 WHO/UNEP assessment of progress in the
implementation of the Mar del Plata Action Plan with regard to
water quality concluded that most of the sources of pollution
that have severely affected the industrialized countries are also
present in the developing world, whereas measures for preventing
or at least limiting the degradation of water quality, and even
for the assessment of its scale and trends, are not generally
applied. Furthermore, the ever-increasing population pressure
and, more worrying, the rapid growth of urbanization are causing
a dangerous concentration and acceleration of pollution and the
deterioration of water quality in surface and groundwaters.
12/
40. Bacteriological pollution, organic wastes, suspended solids,
organic micro-pollutants, nitrates, eutrophication and
salinization were ranked as the major pollution issues in
developing countries, in decreasing order of severity.
41. In the Latin America region, one of the main causes of water
pollution is the direct discharge of domestic sewage and
industrial effluent into watercourses. There is a lack of
wastewater treatment plants for any but the most toxic industrial
wastes. Virtually all municipal sewage and industrial effluent
is discharged into the nearest rivers and streams without any
treatment. Agriculture through irrigation has given rise to high
salinity affecting soils, surface waters and groundwater, and
through the use of fertilizers and pesticides has caused the
eutrophication of water bodies and levels of chemical residues
dangerous to human life and aquatic biota.
42. The reports on both East and West Africa express very similar
concerns, with emphasis on bacteriological content, organic waste
loading, suspended solids and nitrates as major pollutants, and
with the threat of increased problems from intensified
agriculture and the associated expansion of fertilizer and
pesticide use. Many of the shallow groundwater resources appear
to be becoming contaminated by pathogenic agents, largely from
domestic sources, but there is little systematic water quality
monitoring to assess such trends in most of the countries
studied.
43. The major aspect of water quality in the Western Asia region
is that of salinity, associated closely with the large proportion
of water used for irrigated agriculture, and thus the heavy
demands mainly on groundwater sources. The lack of detailed
information on water quality in this region appears to lie in a
general absence of monitoring, which may be obscuring the
presence of problems or trends towards their development.
44. The Asia and Pacific region presents problems similar to
those of the other regions but, with its large and highly
concentrated populations in the major countries, their scale is
magnified accordingly. Sedimentation is proving damaging and
costly to control in many river basins, arising from improper
land management practices in upper catchments, where the pressure
of growing populations exceeds the capacity of available,
suitable agricultural land.
45. With regard to the activities of the organizations of the
United Nations system, UNEP is co-sponsoring a number of
programmes which relate directly to water quality protection.
One is the Global Freshwater Quality Monitoring Programme
(GEMS/WATER), the other is the International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), which deals
with ecological aspects of water resources. Linkage with health
protection objectives is maintained by WHO through the GEMS/WATER
programme of UNEP, and also through its work on water pollution
control. FAO is linking up through its recently established
interdepartmental working group on pollution of natural
resources. The disease control and eradication programmes of
WHO, notably diarrhoeal diseases, guinea worm, schistosomiasis
and river blindness, as well as the Joint WHO/FAO/UNEP/United
Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) Panel of Experts
on Environmental Management for Vector Control (PEEM), have a
crucial impact on the way in which water resources are being
managed. The hydrological aspects are dealt with by two
programmes, IHP of UNESCO and the Operational Hydrology Programme
(OHP) of WMO.
46. In addition to its work on the Convention on the Protection
and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes,
ECE has adopted policy recommendations to Governments on water
quality criteria and objectives for surface waters and their high
ecological state, as well as policy guidelines on the ecosystem
approach in water management. ESCAP is organizing an expert
group meeting on the protection of water resources, water quality
and aquatic ecosystems, to be held from 17 to 21 October 1994,
with a view to formulating recommendations on ways to strengthen
national capabilities for the protection of surface and ground
waters.
47. The UNEP regional offices play an important political role in
bringing countries together on water resource and pollution
issues. Water quality monitoring services have been supported in
a number of countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia through
training of laboratory staff, provision of computer equipment and
quality control services. Twinning arrangements between
collaborating centres in developed countries and national and
regional laboratories in developing countries were established
for this purpose. Water pollution assessment and pollution
control advisory services have been provided in several
international river basins, for example the equatorial lakes and
upper Nile, the Zambezi, the Mekong and the Rio de la Plata. In
addition, national hydrological institutions were assisted in
their efforts to deal with water quality problems. To this end,
water authorities in the Caribbean were brought together to
propose regional activities and to provide an input to the United
Nations initiative on small island States. The assessment of
water quality as a prerequisite for management has been launched
in the Asia and Pacific region and throughout the territory of
the former Soviet Union.
48. Advances in the protection of human health from contamination
of water sources have been made through the revision of the WHO
Guidelines for Drinking- Water Quality, which will provide the
basis for regulatory action on pollution control, and the
prevalence of water-associated diseases has been further reduced
by intensive campaigns for guinea worm eradication in the
affected countries. The protection of groundwater receives
growing attention, and collaborating centres have been nominated
by WHO for this purpose. Training is given to national water
resource managers in Latin America, and region-wide studies were
launched in the Pacific region. Pilot studies on aquifers
underlying urban areas were completed in several regions.
49. In 1994, the Council of the United Nations University
established an International Network on Water, Environment and
Health (UNU/INWEH) as a joint international programme of the
University and a Foundation in Ontario, Canada, established by
the government of Ontario. The themes to be addressed by
UNU/INWEH include general environmental impact assessment;
protection and recovery of water supplies; toxicology; water
supply and sanitation; wastewater treatment, remediation and
reuse; and human health.
50. Considerable efforts have been made to improve cooperation
since the preparatory process of UNCED, particularly with a view
to bringing hydrology and water quality sciences close together.
Annual meetings of the GEMS/WATER Steering Committee are used to
streamline the activities of UNEP, WHO, UNESCO, WMO and FAO. The
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, at its second
meeting (Rabat, September 1993), established a Council-mandated
working group on water pollution control, designed to bring
together United Nations organizations, other international
organizations, non-governmental organizations, bilateral donors
and developing country representatives of the water sector in a
joint effort to curb pollution of water resources.
D. Drinking-water supply and sanitation
51. Improved information concerning water supply and sanitation
coverage at the country level is being obtained through the
WHO/United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring
Programme. Based on the information received from countries in
the African region, the percentage of the urban population with
safe water supply and adequate sanitation in 1990 is
significantly lower than had been previously estimated. More
than 25 per cent of the people in Africa have no access to safe
water supply, and more than 40 per cent do not have adequate
sanitation. Under such conditions, the lack of coverage expected
by the year 2000 becomes alarming. The newly reported figures
for rural water supply also indicate a lower coverage than had
been initially reported. By contrast, the percentage of rural
inhabitants with adequate sanitation appears to be higher.
52. In the case of the Asia and Pacific region, the new data
indicate that, in urban and rural areas, there is a higher
proportion of people with safe water supply, but there is a lower
proportion of people with adequate sanitation services. The
decreasing trend in relative urban sanitation coverage by the
year 2000 remains a cause for serious concern. The number of
countries providing information in the Latin America and
Caribbean region and in Western Asia do not provide a
sufficiently representative sample of the regions' total
population to allow a revision of the previous data.
53. With regard to funding, the preliminary data obtained through
the Joint Monitoring Programme leads to the conclusion that,
"priority investment in water supply and sanitation has continued
in the urban sector. Moreover, the bulk of this funding has been
directed towards the better-off population". 12/
54. Since the United Nations Water Conference in 1977, and the
International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade which
followed, there has been much greater emphasis on the importance
of international cooperation and on dealing with problems
concerning drinking water supply and sanitation. In this
context, following UNCED, the Government of France convened a
Round Table on Water and Health in Under-privileged Urban Areas
at Sofia Antipolis, from 21 to 23 February 1994. In addition,
the Government of the Netherlands convened a Ministerial
Conference on Drinking-Water and Environmental Sanitation at
Noordwijk on 22 and 23 March 1994 (see E/CN.17/1994/12), which
was preceded by a preparatory meeting of senior civil servants,
held from 19 to 21 March.
55. Increasingly, United Nations organizations are developing
cooperative programmes and activities with each other. A good
example of meeting the needs of appropriate technologies and
innovative developmental approaches is the UNDP/World Bank Water
and Sanitation Programme. Another example of cooperation is the
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, whose goal is to
strengthen or establish national capabilities for monitoring
water supply and sanitation activities.
56. Other important inter-agency programmes having water supply
and sanitation components include the Joint WHO/FAO/UNEP/United
Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) Panel of Experts
on Environmental Management for Vector Control (PEEM); the joint
strategy for hygiene education in water supply and sanitation in
the 1990s, which UNICEF and WHO have begun to develop; the
collaboration between the UNDP/World Bank Water and Sanitation
Programme and WHO on hygiene education activities in Africa and
Asia; the UNDP/World Bank/UNEP Urban Management Programme; and
the Task Force on Women, in which the Department for Development
Support and Management Services, INSTRAW, UNICEF and the
UNDP/World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme have been
cooperating. In order to foster the greater involvement of women
in the development and management process, INSTRAW, in
cooperation with the Department for Development Support and
Management Services and the International Labour Organization
(ILO), developed multi-media training packages on women and water
supply and sanitation. Funded by the Department, regional
seminars for testing the revised modules were carried out in
Africa (the Gambia, September 1991) and in Asia (Bangladesh,
September 1992). In the case of Latin America and the Caribbean,
ECLAC plans to prepare a study on the experiences of the
countries of the region concerning the restructuring of the
operation of water supply and sanitation companies, including
their privatization, with emphasis on the role of tariffs in
achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness in the provision
of services.
57. The Inter-Agency Steering Committee for Water Supply and
Sanitation has long played a central role among United Nations
organizations. In November 1993, it became a working group of
the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources, with the responsibility
for coordinating the implementation of joint drinking water
supply and sanitation activities of the United Nations system.
The Steering Committee is intended to perform a catalytic role
with regard to the development of joint activities, and to
establish a network of collaboration among relevant
organizations. In a broader context, the Water Supply and
Sanitation Collaborative Council is the main mechanism for the
coordination of the overall policies and programmes of United
Nations organizations with non-governmental organizations,
bilateral organizations and other external support agencies. The
Council established a working group on urbanization at its
meeting in Oslo, in 1991. The Working Group was entrusted with
the task of developing a strategy for the improved provision of
services to urban areas. The activities of the Working Group are
currently being continued by the Council's mandated activity on
services for the urban poor.
E. Water and sustainable urban development
58. The availability of safe water in urban centres is fast
becoming one of the most important factors limiting
socio-economic development. In 1980, 19 of the 30 largest urban
agglomerations were located in developing countries. By the year
2000, the total is expected to increase to 22, each with an
estimated population ranging between 6.7 to 22.6 million people.
Two cities in Asia (including Japan) had, in 1980, a population
exceeding 10 million. By 1990 there were seven such cities, and
it is estimated that their number will grow to 13 by the end of
the century. By the year 2000, some 24 million people in Africa
will be living in two cities with populations exceeding 10
million, and the population in cities with 1 to 5 million people
will have grown by more than 350 per cent since 1980. In Latin
America and the Caribbean, the population living in cities with 1
to 5 million people and over 10 million people will more than
double over this 20-year period.
59. As a response to the rapid pace of urbanization in developing
countries, and the escalating demands for the improved management
of water resources, water supply, sanitation and drainage in
urban areas, most organizations of the United Nations system are
giving increasing attention to the execution of activities
related to water and sustainable urban development. Some
examples of this trend include the UNESCO/WMO initiatives on
urban hydrology; the urban water supply and sanitation components
of the UNDP/World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme; the
growing activities of UNICEF in peri-urban areas; the inclusion
of a special subprogramme to attend urban problems in the new WHO
Enhanced Programme for the Promotion of Environmental Health; and
the activities on water resources and urban infrastructure
management being implemented by the United Nations Centre for
Human Settlements (Habitat) Settlements Infrastructure and
Environment Programme, the Sustainable Cities Programme and the
Urban Management Programme.
60. Specific activities in response to Agenda 21 include the
introduction of environmental impact assessment for major water
resources development projects related to urban areas; the
implementation of resource allocation decisions; the development
of legal and institutional frameworks and planning mechanisms for
the integrated management of urban development and water
resources within a watershed; the protection of watershed from
depletion and degradation of their forest cover and from harmful
upstream activities; the promotion of public participation for
the collection, recycling and elimination of wastes; efforts to
mobilize and facilitate the active involvement of women in water
management teams; the introduction of water tariffs, where
affordable, which reflect the marginal and opportunity cost of
water, especially for productive activities; promotion of the
allocation of resources according to economic, social and
environmental criteria; and the implementation of urban storm
water runoff and drainage programmes.
61. The activities of the United Nations regional commissions,
WHO and the UNDP/World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme have
strong regional components. ESCAP, in close cooperation with the
regional offices of WHO and the UNDP/World Bank Water and
Sanitation Programme, held a regional seminar on water resources
management in urban areas from 22 to 26 March 1993. ECLAC has
been engaged in a project to provide medium-sized cities with
improved planning and management capacity of water supply
utilities. National activities in support of sector monitoring
and assessment are also executed by the World Bank, UNICEF and
WHO.
F. Water for sustainable food production and rural development
62. During the past four decades, irrigated agriculture provided
a major part of the increase in production to meet population
demands. By the mid-1990s, 35 per cent of total crop production
came from less than 16 per cent of the arable land which was
irrigated. On a global basis, the average rate of expansion was
about 1 per cent per year in the early 1960s, reaching a maximum
of 2.3 per cent per year from 1972 to 1975. The rate of
expansion began to decrease in the mid-1970s, and is currently
about 1 per cent per year. Construction costs have risen
steadily and world prices for major cereals have fallen sharply,
and progressively less favourable and therefore more expensive
areas are left for further expansion.
63. The FAO projection (World Agriculture Toward 2000) 13/ of
expansion of irrigated land to the year 2000 was 2.25 per cent
per year from 1982/84 to 2000. About two thirds of the increase
in arable lands would be accounted for by expansion of
irrigation. 14/ The World Bank estimates that although it will
take an average annual growth rate of 2 per cent in agriculture
as a whole to feed a world population estimated to reach 6
billion by the year 2000 and 8 billion by the year 2025, the
growth rate for irrigated agriculture will need to be 3 per cent
per year. Recent indications show that it will be difficult to
sustain a 2.4 per cent annual growth in irrigation expansion in
developing countries as predicted earlier. 15/
64. FAO estimates that, if major starvation is to be avoided, a
minimum of 15.2 million hectares, at an estimated cost of US$
45.52 billion, need to be brought into irrigated agriculture by
the year 2000, over and above the 172.1 million hectares under
irrigation by 1990. In addition, out of the 172 million hectares
under cultivation by 1990, an estimated 17.21 million need to be
upgraded by the end of the century, at an estimated cost of US$
13.4 billion. An estimated 20 to 30 million hectares, globally,
are severely affected by salinity and an additional 60 to 80
million are affected to some extent. The estimated cost for the
provision of such drainage facilities at a rate of 1 million
hectares per year for the remainder of the decade would amount to
US$ 7 billion over the seven-year period, ending with the year
2000.
65. Agricultural requirements in the years to come will also
necessitate the intensification of production in high-potential
rain-fed lands where intensification will not result in
overexploitation of the natural resource base or in environmental
degradation. The improvement of a total area of about 10 million
hectares within the period 1993-2000, constituting 2.5 per cent
of the total high-potential rain-fed lands, would cost an
estimated US$ 7 billion. In addition, approximately US$ 14
billion will be required over the same period for investments in
aquaculture development.
66. An integrated approach to rural water management necessitates
inter-disciplinary and inter-agency efforts for implementing the
programmes at local, national, regional and global levels. With
this in mind, a Technical Consultation on this subject was
convened by FAO in March 1993, in close collaboration with
UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank and WHO, which produced broad
guidelines for programme implementation and a number of specific
recommendations for action. The Consultation underscored the
importance of national water sector assessments, which have
already been initiated under the programme area of integrated
water resources management as a starting point for the
identification of capacity-building needs and priorities.
67. An informal consultation on land/water linkages and river
basin management was held in Rome from 31 January to 2 February
1994, sponsored jointly by FAO and the Natural Resources
Management Institute of the University of Stockholm. The
consultation aimed at developing a conceptual framework to
predict land/water/environment interactions; establish a
landscape and river-basin approach to integrated land and water
resources management; and draft a programme of action, including
strategies and models for integrated water/land management on a
landscape-ecological and catchment area basis.
68. The International Action Programme on Water and Sustainable
Agricultural Development (IAP-WASAD), which was initiated in
1991, concentrates on action at the national, subregional and
regional levels. Its goal is to assist member countries in
meeting their freshwater needs for sustainable agriculture and
rural development through formulation and implementation of
action programmes in partnership with relevant United Nations
organizations and multilateral and bilateral donor agencies. To
date, national and subregional action programmes have been
formulated in Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, the Syrian Arab Republic,
Turkey, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe and in the
Lake Chad basin. Activities are being initiated in Egypt,
Indonesia and Turkey for the implementation of their respective
programmes.
69. Comprehensive rural water supply programmes, based on
village-level management and maintenance, are being carried out
in many Sahelian countries by the Department for Development
Support and Management Services with funding from UNDP and the
United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). The Department
and UNICEF have cooperated in the Niger and in Guinea-Bissau with
the World Bank/UNDP joint programme for the Promotion of the Role
of Women in Water and Environmental Sanitation Services
(PROWWES).
70. A lack of adequate water for drinking and livestock
sanitation in many arid and semi-arid regions of developing
countries can seriously affect economic and social viability of
pastoralism. FAO is focusing attention on the provision of
drinking-water points, including water troughs in the semi- arid
and arid pastoral lands of Africa. Joint activities with the
UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme on the impact of
human activities and land use practices in grazing lands are
being implemented. With regard to fisheries and aquaculture, FAO
activities in support of these areas include a regional technical
assistance project on Environmental Assessment and Aquaculture
Development, covering 14 countries in the Asia and Pacific
region.
G. New initiatives
71. As part of the activities within the ACC Subcommittee on
Water Resources concerning the development of strategies for
integrated water resources development and management, efforts
are being made to assist developing countries in carrying out
diagnostic studies of their institutional capacity, with a view
to formulating water resources development strategies and
policies. These efforts will seek to bring about a more
multidisciplinary and inter-agency approach in order to ensure an
integrated assessment of country situations and needs. Efforts
are being carried out for the establishment of an integrated
information network. The initial efforts of this incipient
programme have been directed towards identifying available
information and data gaps.
72. In response to the needs expressed by the International
Conference on Water and the Environment and the recommendations
contained in chapter 18 of Agenda 21, UNESCO and WMO, with the
support of the World Bank, are promoting a major long-term
initiative to improve knowledge of the hydrological cycle through
the development of a World Hydrological Cycle Observing System
(WHYCOS). The initiative aims at alleviating the deficiencies
that exist at the national, regional and global levels with
respect to data required for effective water resources management
and sustainable development. The proposal envisages the creation
of a world-wide network of key stations linked by satellite with
an associated quality-controlled database. The WHYCOS network
would measure river flow and water quality variables, as well as
on-bank temperature, humidity, radiation, wind speed, barometric
pressure, precipitation and several related variables. It would
employ the existing WMO World Weather Watch system, where
applicable, and would in turn contribute data to it, as well as
to the Global Climate Observing System and to the Global
Terrestrial Observing System. In view of the seriousness of the
situation in Africa, the initial focus of attention of the WHYCOS
programme would be in that region, and the programme would extend
over a period of 20 years. The estimated funding for the initial
six-year period has been estimated at US$ 14 million. Similar
approaches are being developed for Latin America and the
Caribbean, for countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and for
the basin area of the Aral Sea.
73. A step towards regional cooperation was taken in 1993 when
both the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Steering
Committee for Water Supply and Sanitation recognized that the
deteriorating water and sanitation situation in Africa required a
special inter-agency effort to develop innovative and cooperative
water resources development and management programmes to meet the
most pressing needs of the region. WHO has been assigned
responsibility to coordinate this effort on behalf of the
Subcommittee, in consultation with UNDP, UNEP, FAO, ECA and other
relevant organizations.
74. Within FAO, a number of Special Action Programmes are being
established. One such Programme is on Rural Use of Water
Resources for Sustainable Agricultural Development (SAP-WASAD),
which is complementary to the ongoing Inter-agency Programme on
Water and Sustainable Agricultural Development. The objective of
SAP-WASAD is to promote a stronger inter-disciplinary approach to
water management within agriculture, forestry and the fisheries
subsectors under the FAO International Cooperative Programme
Framework for Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development
(related to chap. 14 of Agenda 21).
75. Attention is drawn to the recommendations made by the
Committee on Natural Resources, at its second session, addressed
to the Commission on Sustainable Development. In particular, the
Committee called for the formulation of an implementation plan to
avert the pending water crisis, incorporating principles for the
effective management of land and water resources, and guidelines
and schedules based on Agenda 21 (E/C.7/1994/L.7, para. 5 (b)).
The Committee further recommended that the Commission, "approve
the formulation of the plan by the Working Group on Water of the
Committee on Natural Resources jointly with the Administrative
Committee on Coordination Subcommittee on Water Resources,
drawing upon the results of the regional meetings of the United
Nations Environment Programme already scheduled to address the
issue and other relevant activities of the organizations and
specialized agencies of the United Nations (E/C.7/1994/L.7, para.
5 (d) (ii)).
III. NATIONAL EXPERIENCE
A. Industrialized countries
76. As part of Canada's efforts to ensure that economic
development takes place on a sustainable basis, provincial
governments are moving towards an ecosystem approach to analysing
environmental issues and to strike the necessary balance between
competing demands. This has impacts on water management.
Governments and major groups have worked together on a series of
integrated assessment and environmental management plans for some
of Canada's major river basins and the Great Lakes. Laws and
regulations in more jurisdictions have been strengthened to
expand protection of waterways and aquatic ecosystems.
Regulations under federal and provincial legislation have been
revised to set stricter limits on effluent discharges from pulp
and paper mills. Fines and other penalties have been
substantially increased for federal fishery offences, such as
illegal dumping or the damaging of fish habitat. A new Canadian
Environmental Assessment Act was proclaimed in 1993 and
associated regulations are being developed.
77. Partnerships have become fundamental to addressing freshwater
issues. One is the work of the Canadian Council of the Ministers
of the Environment in developing a water strategy. This includes
water conservation initiatives, water quality guidelines and
development of a work plan for aquatic ecosystem health.
Non-governmental organizations have recently organized a national
water caucus under the auspices of the Canadian Environmental
Network, in order to help the many environmental organizations
working on local and regional water issues to share information,
develop joint strategies and provide advice to governments.
Several Canadian non- governmental organizations jointly
organized the International Secretariat for Water, an
international non-governmental organization headquartered in
Montreal. Its aim is to foster cooperation among
non-governmental organizations of all countries that are involved
in drinking water and sanitation improvement for people in the
southern hemisphere.
78. In a new national Action Plan for Fish Habitat, governments,
groups representing indigenous people, industry and
non-governmental partners in fisheries management are launching a
programme to streamline the division of management
responsibilities and to provide techniques and policies for local
fish habitat management. It will address partnership
arrangements, inventory and monitoring of resources,
environmental analysis, regulations and guidelines, and planning
and evaluation.
79. In Finland, an Environment Impact Assessment Act will shortly
be laid before the Parliament. Impact assessment procedures are
applied to projects which may have major environmental
consequences. Assessment under other legislation will be part of
environmental impact assessment under the envisaged Act in order
to integrate different environmental sectors. An administrative
overhaul is being undertaken. Issues regarding water protection
and management, air protection, waste management, nature
conservation and land use planning are assembled under new
regional organizations and environmental district offices. The
Government has approved long-term objectives until 1995 for the
protection of waters, based on water use requirements and on
safeguarding the functioning of ecosystems. A proposal for a
conservation programme for waters was completed in 1992. The plan
covers 68 watercourses and parts of watercourses, which all have
international or national conservation value. The approval
process is presently under way.
80. The Finnish-Norwegian Commission on transboundary
watercourses has drawn up integrated water resources development
plans for the Tenojoki and Naatamonjoki river catchment areas.
Finland and the Russian Federation have agreed on an action plan
for water pollution control for their common transboundary
watercourses. The action plan contains a comprehensive system
for reporting on pollution loading in the area.
81. With regard to development assistance, the recommendations of
UNCED have been incorporated in the new development strategy.
The main targets in the development strategy are alleviation of
poverty, improvement of democratic rights and a sustainable
environment.
82. An Environmental Impact Assessment Act was adopted in Iceland
in the spring of 1993 and new laws are being prepared for the
protection of freshwater resources. Pollution control
regulations have been tightened to meet European water quality
standards. Action plans for the integration of environmental
considerations into all sectors of society have been formulated.
The feasibility of making comprehensive master plans for the
conservation and utilization of groundwater resources, lakes and
rivers and geothermal resources is being investigated. The
environmental impacts of hydropower developments are being fully
integrated in the master plan. A comprehensive cross-sectoral
administrative framework for the collection and dissemination of
environmental information and the development of environmental
statistics and indicators has been developed. A national
accounting system which includes the implications of economic
activity for the environment and natural resources has been
established. Public participation is being enhanced through the
implementation of recently passed legislation, by which the
public is to be provided with information on environmental
affairs through the publication of a state of the environment
report.
83. In the Netherlands, government policy on the protection of
freshwater is contained in the Third Policy Document on Water
Management. This is based on the principle of integrated water
management, which involves safeguarding both the quantity of
freshwater in the Netherlands, and the chemical and biological
quality of the water itself. In the first place, the policy
concentrates on effecting considerable reductions in industrial,
domestic and diffuse discharges. The Netherlands now has one of
the highest levels of sewerage and water treatment in the world.
The wastewater of more than 92 per cent of the population is
completely purified by the biological-oxidation method before it
is discharged. Almost all industrial wastewaters are also
purified. In addition to reducing emissions, measures are also
being implemented to improve the environmental quality of surface
water.
84. The Government is taking steps to curb increases in water
consumption by households by encouraging people to save water.
In households, this includes promoting the use of water-saving
toilets and washing machines. In industry, the emphasis is on
water used for cooling and other processes. Policy measures to
combat water depletion have been stepped up in recent years. A
target has been set to reduce the areas affected by water
depletion by the year 2000 by 25 per cent of the 1985 level.
85. The United States of America is working towards the goal of
achieving a holistic approach that treats water resources as an
integral part of an ecosystem, a natural resource and a social
and economic good. Partnerships between the national Government
and State and local governments are considered essential to
achieving progress on water resource issues, as is the
participation of non-governmental groups, industry and interested
parties from the general public. The creation of effective
partnerships with neighbouring countries is considered critical
to management of transboundary water resources. Stable
institutions, such as the United States/Mexico International
Boundary Water Commission and the United States/Canada
International Joint Commission, promote better management of
shared resources.
86. The management of non-point source pollution is the most
urgent water quality problem that needs to be addressed. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued guidance for
coastal states for achieving reductions, requiring that they
implement the management measures through the use of enforceable
mechanisms and policies.
87. EPA has worked with States and communities to develop
wellhead protection programmes to protect drinking-water
supplies. These programmes concentrate on protecting a
community's underground sources of drinking water by delineating
the groundwater resources around the community's well and by
identifying the potential sources of contamination that could
affect the groundwater.
B. Developing countries
1. Africa
88. In spite of the bleak assessment of the situation in the
region, there is evidence of an increasing recognition of the
importance of implementing the recommendations contained in
chapter 18 of Agenda 21. The East Water Resources Seminar held
in Entebe, Uganda from 24 to 27 May 1993, with the support of the
Government of Denmark, agreed that the development and management
of water resources in the East African region should be based on
the general principles and guidelines emerging from the
preparatory process of UNCED. It recommended that national water
resources policies should follow general decentralization
principles, and that guidelines should regulate the various
roles, functions and decision-making processes at different
levels. Participation at all levels, especially the private
sector, should be promoted.
2. Asia
89. In October 1993, the State Planning Commission of China,
together with the State Science and Technology Commission, issued
a document entitled "China's Agenda 21". The document contains a
chapter on freshwater resources, which includes a programme on
the protection and sustainable development of natural resources.
The objectives are to formulate long-term plans of water supply
and demand, and rationalize water resources based on an
assessment of water resources; amplify necessary rules and
regulations to develop rationally and protect water resources;
improve water quality and supply capacity, and control water
pollution; reform water resources management system and improve
efficiency of water utilization; control domestic and industrial
water consumption to alleviate water shortage and pollution;
protect the aquatic ecosystem based on the interrelation of
water, forest and land use; forecast climate change impacts on
water resources, and formulate and pursue related policies for
adoption.
3. Latin America and the Caribbean
90. In Bolivia, the environmental law of April 1992 established
political and ethical principles for the protection and
conservation of the environment and natural resources. The law
establishes that the State will promote the integrated planning,
development and use of water resources and will regulate the
integrated and rational use, protection and conservation of water
resources. The formulation of new water legislation is under
study.
91. In Chile, the reform of the Codigo de Aguas (the water law),
the creation of the Direccion General de Aguas (Head Office for
Water), the replacement of the Direccion de Obras Sanitarias
(Sanitation Works Administration) by the Superintendencia de
Servicios Sanitarios (Superintendency for Sanitation Services),
the creation of the Comision Nacional de Riego (National
Irrigation Commission) and the promulgation of the Ley de Fomento
de Riego (Irrigation Improvement Law) have been among the most
significant reforms. The result of these changes has been to
change the thrust of the action of the State from that of almost
complete responsibility for all aspects of water development and
management to that of one of responsibility for the resource and
of supporting and supervising user actions.
92. The reformed water law, although maintaining water as a
public good, establishes private ownership over the water right
once it has been granted by the State. The right can be freely
transferred on the open market. Among the most significant
innovations has been the establishment of one national body with
comprehensive responsibilities for water resources data in the
water directorate. From the water management viewpoint, equally
significant are the reforms in the authority and responsibilities
of the organizations of water users and in the role of public
authorities in the management and construction of irrigation
works.
93. Mexico, although a federal State, has, for a number of years,
enjoyed a highly centralized system of water administration.
This system has recently undergone a profound revision, which has
changed the basis on which the administration operates. The
Comision Nacional del Agua (CNA) was created in January 1989 to
replace the Secretaria de Recursos Hidraulicos and to concentrate
responsibility for water management in one institution. Other
government agencies, however, have responsibilities in respect of
various aspects of water management. CNA is responsible for
managing the supply of water and for the assignment of the right
to use water. CNA must determine the natural supply, the water
balance and the annual availability of water. Water rights are
granted for a period of not more than 50 years, and can be
revoked if the use of the water is changed. The management of
water use lies with a variety of institutions at the public,
federal and state levels and with the private sector.
4. Western Asia
94. In Yemen, a new water law designed to provide for the
licensing of new wells and for a more orderly set of arrangements
for water abstraction, is being considered by the Government. In
order to improve the institutional framework for water resources
development and management, a proposal to integrate various
water-related functions under one government institution is
receiving serious consideration. The Government has established
the High Council for Water, supported by a technical secretariat,
in order to improve the water sector planning. The technical
secretariat has been entrusted with the task of preparing a
National Water Master Plan for the country.
95. Similarly, Oman has established a Ministry of Water Resources
in order to institute a comprehensive management of its water
resources by a non-user institution.
C. Economies in transition
96. In Estonia, a goal of the Tallinn Environment Project
Feasibility Study is to improve administrative structures, as
well as legislation and standards for water management. The
project takes into account the economic value of water with a
view to increasing efficiency and the generation of financial
resources.
IV. CAPACITY-BUILDING, TECHNOLOGY AND FINANCE
A. Capacity-building
97. The decay in the ability of many countries to deal with the
assessment of water resources, both from a quantitative and
qualitative point of view, the fragmentation of water management
responsibilities among numerous government ministries and
departments, the inability of many government agencies in
developing countries to attract and retain trained personnel, the
lack of policy frameworks defining the nature of government
interventions and strategies for water resources development and
management, and the lack of suitable legislative frameworks,
suggest that institutional constraints constitute the major
obstacles to the implementation of the recommendations for the
sustainable development of water resources contained in chapter
18 of Agenda 21.
98. There is an increasing recognition by Governments of the
importance of capacity-building in this respect, and a number of
such Governments have carried out, or are in the process of
carrying out, water sector assessments with a view to producing a
diagnosis of their situation and formulating strategies for the
future.
B. Technology
99. Given the ever-increasing demands on a limited stock of
freshwater resources worldwide, the development and use of
technologies aimed at augmenting water supplies, limiting
pollution and conserving the resources is essential, particularly
in developing countries and economies in transition.
100. Technologies for augmenting the supplies of water
resources are commanding greater attention. By 1990, desalinated
water from sea and brackish waters and treated wastewaters in
Western Asia provided the equivalent of 6.5 per cent of the total
available freshwater resources in the region, and the proportion
is expected to increase to 7.4 per cent by the year 2000. The
installed desalination capacity of the Gulf countries amounts to
49.5 per cent of the total world capacity. 8/ While desalinated
water is still too expensive for agricultural uses, it can play
an important role in providing water for certain industrial
purposes and for the tourist industry, particularly in island
countries. The treatment of wastewaters is fast becoming
critical as a source of water mostly for agricultural uses, and
as a means of decreasing the amount of pollution discharges into
freshwater sources. The transfer of this type of technology and
the dissemination of health safety standards for their
application are essential for developing countries.
101. The use of water-saving technologies will have to become
far more widespread in the near future, especially in developing
countries. These technologies will be of particular importance
in the case of agricultural water uses, where, globally, around
70 per cent of water withdrawals are for agriculture. The
overall proportion of water used for agriculture will need to
drop to 62 per cent by the year 2000 because of increasing
demands for competing uses. 16/ Currently, withdrawals for
agricultural uses account for as much as 91 per cent of the total
in low-income countries. Similarly, the profligate use of water
by the urban rich in many countries will have to be curbed.
102. Equally important to developing countries and economies
in transition will be the increased use of clean technologies.
While there may be a temptation to settle for less
capital-intensive more-polluting technologies with a view to
maximizing short-term economic gains, such gains will, in most
cases, prove to be illusory in view of the environmental and
health costs incurred which will have to be faced in the future.
The proper use of the "polluter pays" principle will be
instrumental in promoting the use of cleaner technologies.
103. An important lesson that has been learned from the
International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, which
can also be applied to other sectors, particularly in the case of
small-scale irrigation, is the importance of adopting
technological solutions that are appropriate to the specific
needs of the community in question. The appropriateness of a
given technological solution, in addition to being a function of
cost, is also related to the suitability of designs to the needs
and aspirations of the community, the ability and willingness of
the consumer to pay, and the operation and maintenance
requirements of specific technologies relative to the capacity of
communities to carry out these functions. Close consultation
with users is an essential element in a successful choice of
technology.
C. Finance
104. The financial resources needed for the implementation of
chapter 18 of Agenda 21, if they are to be met, will require
increased efforts from Governments and the international
community, as well as increased contributions from users. So
far, indications are that financial allocations from various
sources are falling short of the mark.
105. As mentioned earlier, water resources assessment
activities have suffered from neglect in recent years as a result
of dwindling financial allocations. All too often, the economic
value of water resources data has not been recognized even though
such data are essential to development activities. Due to the
frequent fragmentation of responsibilities among governmental
ministries and departments, organizations dealing with water
resources assessment are not sufficiently linked to those dealing
with development and management and, hence, do not receive the
necessary support, nor do they necessarily produce the data
required for development when and where they are needed. The
current situation clearly suggests that greater attention to this
issue is also needed at the international level. The WHYCOS
programme (see para. 72 above) has not as yet found financial
backing.
106. In view of the increasing scarcity of water resources of
a sufficiently good quality, and the rising costs of securing
adequate supplies, there is a need to stress the economic aspects
related to development and allocation of water resources.
Increasing attention needs to be given to user fees and to the
issue of subsidies. In the case of water supply and sanitation,
case studies have shown that a number of peri-urban poor
communities are in fact paying very high fees for water from
local vendors and that they would be able and willing to pay for
services from local utilities providing better services at a
lower cost, particularly when the design of the services provided
complies with their requirements. Where subsidies to the poor
are deemed to be essential and where such subsidies are not
financed through cross subsidies from higher-income communities,
the incidence of the subsidy should not fall on the public or
private utility providing the services, as this would impair the
operation and maintenance capability of the utility as well as
the capability to generate investment capital. Unless there are
clearly demonstrable social reasons for it, subsidies should not
be given to higher income groups. In this regard, the WHO/UNICEF
Joint Monitoring Programme has found that "Governments are
subsidizing water systems and sanitation services to the
better-off populations by around 70 per cent of recurrent costs,
as compared to approximately 50 per cent towards the lower levels
of service provided to the urban low-income and marginal areas,
and less than 40 per cent of the much lower operation and
maintenance costs (O&M) in the rural areas". 17/
107. Irrigation projects are some of the most heavily
subsidized economic activities in the world. In some cases,
subsidies to irrigation covered 90 per cent of the total
operating and maintenance costs. 18/ The magnitude of such
subsidies not only limits dramatically the generation of funds
for operation and maintenance and for capital investment, but
also introduces serious dislocations in the allocation of water
resources among competing uses that will not be sustainable in
the future in view of increasing demands. The question of user
fees for irrigation is closely associated with the
appropriateness of scale and design in terms of affordability and
capacity for operation and maintenance.
108. The "polluter pays" principle needs to be given the
closest possible attention in order to generate the financial
resources for treatment and to induce the use of cleaner
technologies. The concept of trading permits is gaining in
acceptance both in the United States and in the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in the case of air and water
pollution. Under this concept, polluters are able to trade
pollution allowances within an overall limit. This approach may
motivate companies to invest in more efficient pollution
abatement technologies, enabling them to reduce discharges below
the permissible limits and to sell the balance to other companies
for a profit. Other companies may in turn find it more
economical to purchase pollution allowances as the lowest-cost
alternative to compliance with pollution standards.
109. The private sector is playing an increasingly important
role as a source of investment capital and in the operation and
management of water resources utilities. This is the case not
only in industrialized countries, such as the United Kingdom and
France, but in many developing countries as well. The potential
benefits of intervention by the private sector in developing
countries are evident, not only in terms of the flow of financial
resources, but also in terms of bringing technical and managerial
know-how and providing financial and managerial autonomy to
utilities.
V. CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR ACTION
110. Early feedback from the follow-up to the International
Conference on Water and the Environment and to UNCED indicates
that there is greater acceptance of the importance of a suitable
enabling environment and for the concept of integrated water
resources planning. Similarly, the concept of water as a scarce
resource and as an economic good also seems to be gaining
acceptance.
111. There is a trend towards decentralization of authority
and a separation of functions between organizations responsible
for policy formulation, and those in charge of implementing
projects and managing utilities. There has also been an
increasing awareness of the importance of the role of women in
the management, development and utilization of water resources.
Unfortunately, however, data on the extent and impact of women's
participation are lacking. The lack of information for planning
and decision-making and an inadequacy of monitoring capabilities
are still pervasive problems in developing countries. This
refers not only to the assessment of surface and ground waters,
both in terms of quantity and quality, but to water use and to
the interrelationship between land and water as well.
112. Very serious problems persist, and in some cases these
problems are becoming alarming. While considerable progress has
been made with regard to the eradication of some water-borne
diseases, notably guinea worm, the outbreak of cholera in recent
years illustrates the possible magnitude of an impending health
crisis, particularly around urban concentrations. More and more
rivers, recipients of untreated urban waste discharges, are
becoming open sewers, and pollution from the indiscriminate use
of agro-chemical products is often rampant. Equally alarming are
the increasing levels of pollution from the disposal of toxic
chemicals. Water resources of suitable quality are becoming
scarce and increasingly expensive.
113. Recent international forums dealing with water resources
issues have all brought about an increasing awareness of the
global magnitude of an impending water crisis. There is a
growing consensus among experts in the water resources field
about the seriousness of the situation. However, the spectre of
a global water crisis has been overshadowed by concerns about
other issues of manifest global proportions, such as the ozone
layer, tropical forests and climate change. Internationally the
seriousness of water problems has not as yet received the
recognition warranted by the situation. At the national level,
particularly in developing countries, whatever measures have been
taken, albeit in the right direction, have generally not been
commensurate with the scope of the problems. Water resources
will not receive greater priority unless a strong case is made to
this effect, and international attention is focused on the need
to assess the real magnitude of the problem and bring about
effective solutions.
114. Information concerning the availability and quality of
surface and ground waters is often insufficient, and in many
cases the capacity to collect data has been waning. The
situation is even less satisfactory with regard to water
resources uses, waste-water disposal, the interrelationships
between population, land and water, and the impact of the
application of economic and legal instruments to water resources
use and pollution control. Due to a lack of integration between
water resources policy and planning and economic policy at the
national and regional levels, whatever information might be
available fails to find its due place in the national
policy-making and planning process.
115. There is clearly a need for Governments to embark on a
major effort to monitor key socio-economic, physical and
environmental variables related to the assessment, development,
utilization and management of water resources as an essential
condition to progress. As a matter of urgency, Governments need
to develop and implement monitoring strategies for the
collection, analysis and dissemination of data of demonstrable
value, including the formulation of methodologies for evaluation
of environmental variables. Equally, at the international level,
there is an urgent need for the systematic gathering of
information on the availability of the resource, including water
quality data, and on the demand for water for various uses, with
a view to providing reliable assessments of the state of the
water resources of the world.
116. The formulation of policies and the implementation of
holistic strategies presupposes the existence of institutional
structures which achieve a high degree of horizontal integration
within the various sectors of water resources, including
management structures at the lowest appropriate levels and
vertical integration with the national socio-economic planning
process. If significant long-term progress is to be achieved in
the implementation of chapter 18 of Agenda 21, priority attention
needs to be given to the establishment of "a dynamic,
interactive, iterative and multisectoral approach to water
resources management, including the identification and protection
of potential sources of freshwater supply". 19/ To this effect,
Governments should consider the need to carry out a diagnostic
assessment of the current situation vis-a-vis their current
institutional arrangements and human resources capacity, with a
view to formulating a strategy and an action plan for the years
to come. Priority attention needs to be given by the
international community to capacity- building programmes in
support of efforts by developing countries and economies in
transition.
117. Financial support for the implementation of the
recommendations contained in chapter 18 of Agenda 21 has
significantly fallen short of requirements. At the national
level, while there is a need for Governments to increase the
share of development funding allocated to water resources, such
as in the case of water resources assessment, urgent attention
needs to be given to the implementation of pricing policies that
take fully into account the user's ability to pay. Governments
need to ensure that subsidies, when given, do respond to the
social and economic needs of the needy rather than being granted
to middle- and high-income strata of society. Serious
consideration needs to be given to the role of the private sector
in generating financial resources and as a provider of services.
Funding by the international community has also fallen short of
the mark.
118. In terms of the activities of the organizations of the
United Nations system, major efforts will have to be made in
order to assist Governments in a concerted manner with their
capacity-building efforts and in the development of strategies
for the implementation of chapter 18 of Agenda 21. The
development of a global implementation plan incorporating
guidelines and schedules for the implementation of the chapter
and the establishment of an information network for the
assessment of the freshwater resources of the world, if approved
by the Commission, will require high levels of cooperation among
the organizations above and beyond the levels of their current
programmes, and will also require close cooperation and support
from interested Governments and intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations.
119. As is the case for ACC and its other subsidiary
machinery, the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources remains a
forum open only to the organizations of the United Nations
system. Nevertheless, contacts with other external support
agencies, non-governmental organizations and professional and
scientific organizations take place through the Subcommittee's
working groups and through seminars, symposia and technical
consultations convened by the various organizations. The most
permanent and systematic forum for a wide dialogue among all the
organizations concerned is to be found in the form of the
Collaborative Council for Water Supply and Sanitation, which
meets every two years and has a small secretariat based at WHO
headquarters. Regarding the formulation of concerted approaches
to integrated management of freshwater resources, the need for
further dialogue remains.
Notes
1/ Robert Engelman and Pamela Roy, Sustaining Water
Population and the Future of Renewable Water Supplies, Population
and Environment Program, Population Action International
(Washington, D.C., 1993).
2/ See World Commission on Environment and Development, Our
Common Future (Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press,
1987).
3/ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,
Agriculture: Towards 2010, document C93/24 (Rome, November
1993), p. 15.
4/ Ibid., p. 232.
5/ Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions
Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No.
E.93.I.8 and corrigendum), resolution 1, annex II.
6/ See the report of the Secretary-General on Institutional
and legal issues in integrated water-resources management
(E/C.7/1994/6).
7/ Report of the United Nations Water Conference, Mar del
Plata, 14-25 March 1977 (United Nations publication, Sales No.
E.77.II.A.12), chap. I.
8/ Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Water
Resources Planning, Management, Use and Conservation in the ESCWA
Region (E/ESCWA/NR/1993/21), 28 December 1993.
9/ World Bank, Water Resources Management: A World Bank
Policy Paper (Washington, D.C., 1993).
10/ WMO/UNESCO, Report on Water Resources Assessment:
Progress in the Implementation of the Mar del Plata Action Plan
and Strategy for the 1990s (1991).
11/ World Bank/UNDP, Sub-Saharan Africa Hydrological
Assessment: Southern African Development Coordination Conference
(SADCC) Countries, regional report (December 1990).
12/ WHO/UNEP, Report on Water Quality: Progress in the
Implementation of the Mar del Plata Action Plan and Strategy for
the 1990s (1991).
13/ N. Alexandratos, ed. (London, Pinter Publishers
(Belhaven Press)).
14/ International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI),
"Developing environmentally sound and lasting improvements in
irrigation management", paper submitted to the International
Conference on Water and the Environment, Dublin, Ireland, January
1992.
15/ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, An International Action Programme on Water and
Sustainable Agricultural Development: A Strategy for the
Implementation of the Mar del Plata Action Plan for the 1990s
(Rome, 1990).
16/ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, The State of Food and Agriculture, 1993 (Rome, 1993).
17/ WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, Water Supply
and Sanitation Monitoring Report, 1993: Sector Status as of
December 1991, p. 19.
18/ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, The State of Food and Agriculture, 1993 (Rome, 1993), p.
232.
19/ Report of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992,
chap. 18, para. 18 (a), vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the
Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and
corrigendum), resolution 1, annex II, para. 18.9 (a).
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