United Nations Global Issues

Water

“UN Water” — an inter-agency mechanism to coordinate UN system actions to achieve the water-related goals of the Millennium Declaration and the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development.
Coordinating Humanitarian Relief efforts, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene cluster — led by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
UNESCO Institute for Water Education
The International Decade for Action, “Water for Life” (2015-2015, from 22 March 2005).
World Water Day (22 March)

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and …
- Environment for Development: Freshwater
- UNEP Collaborating Centre on Water and the Environment
- UNEP Regional Seas Programme
- UNEP Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities – Adopted in 1995 under UNEP auspices, it is considered a milestone in international efforts to protect oceans, estuaries and coastal waters from pollution caused by human activities on land.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability —
Target 3: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
- Almost half of the world’s population faces a scarcity of water
- More people are using improved sanitation facilities, but meeting the target will require a redoubling of efforts
- In developing regions, nearly one in four uses no form of sanitation
- Though access to improved drinking water has expanded, nearly one billion people do without
- Women shoulder the largest burden in collecting water

The UN Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (1994) — Focuses on rehabilitation of land, improving productivity, and the conservation and management of land and water resources.