Around 700 million people in 43 countries suffer from water scarcity, and by 2025 this figure could increase to more than 3 billion, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a message on 22 March 2007, World Water Day.
"The state of the world's waters remains fragile and the need for an integrated and sustainable approach to water resource management is as pressing as ever", said Mr. Ban, adding that available supplies are under great duress as a result of high population growth, unsustainable consumption patterns, poor management practices, pollution, inadequate investment in infrastructure and low efficiency in water-use. He also called on the UN system and all stakeholders to forge stronger partnerships and take more concerted action throughout the International Decade for Action "Water for Life"(2005-2015), endorsed by the General Assembly in 2005.

With this year's theme entitled "Coping with Water Scarcity", as part of the observance of World Water Day, a panel discussion on transboundary water was held at UN Headquarters in New York on 22 March. One panelist, Mr. Aaron Salzberg, senior advisor on water in the Department of State, said, "the United States has disbursed more than $1.7 billion to support 100 activities throughout the world" since the "Water for the Poor Initiative", launched by the United States Government at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. He added that more than 24 million people have received improved access to safe drinking water and 26 million people to water sanitation services.

UN photo/Tim McKulka

"Water is a source of tension among countries," Mr. Salzberg said, noting that nearly 40 per cent of the world's population lives in river basins that are shared by two or more countries, and that cooperative management of river water is critical in ensuring sustainable access to people throughout the world. He added that transboundary water provides an important opportunity to advance regional collaboration, with which countries can resolve environmental issues cooperatively. He suggested that countries need to understand how much water is there in a shared basin and how the water can be best used for individual and joint needs. Transboundary water issues involve complex technical, political and cultural challenges, said Mr. Salzberg, and to negotiate, develop and sustain regional cooperation, well functioning institutions and strong frameworks for dialogue are needed.

"Many African countries, such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa have truly forward-looking water laws, and recognize the importance of the ecology of the river base", said Christopher Williams of the World Wildlife Fund's living water programme. The East African Community, which is made up of Kenya, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda and will soon include Burundi and Rwanda, also has an innovative water protocol, Mr. Williams said. The Protocol on Sustainable Development of the Lake Victoria Basin seeks to harmonize and develop a framework for the operations in the Lake Basin, signed in 2003, as part of the government mechanism.

"As climate change is becoming prevalent, rainfall patterns would change the distribution of the world's water", Mr. Williams told the UN Chronicle. While the international community is more aware of the threat of climate change, the dramatic impact on water resources has not yet been well recognized, he said. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, melting glaciers, one of the consequences of climate change, have tremendous impact on water resources, Mr. Williams pointed out, adding that this would affect the great rivers in Asia, such as the Yangtze and Ganga, which are fed by glaciers and provide water to China and India, respectively.