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Today it is widely recognized that an
integrated approach to freshwater management offers the best means of
reconciling competing demands with supply and a framework where
effective operational actions can be taken. It is thus valuable for all
countries at all stages of development.
This is the focus of chapter 18 of Agenda
21.
Further recommendations to support implementation of chapter 18 were
taken by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its
second (1994)
and sixth (1998)
sessions; by the United Nations General Assembly at its
nineteenth Special Session to review the implementation of Agenda 21
(1997) and by the World
Summit on Sustainable Development (2002) through its Plan
of Implementation.
The Commission on
Sustainable Development, at its twelfth
session (2004) reviewed and assessed implementation of three
thematic issues, including water and sanitation. Most recently, in 2005, at its thirteenth
session, the Commission explored policy options for furthering
implementation on the issues of water and sanitation as well as on human
settlements as reflected in its decision.
It was also decided to monitor and follow up the implementation of CSD-13 decisions on water and sanitation, and their interlinkages in 2008 (CSD-16) and 2012 (CSD-20). A questionnaire on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and Water Efficiency Plans (word) | (pdf) was developed in partnership with the IWRM taskforce of UN-Water to facilitate national reporting for the review during CSD-16.
Water for Life Decade: The
“Water for Life” Decade
was launched on 22 March 2005, on World Water Day. The Decade aims
to promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water
and water-related issues by 2015, placing special emphasis on the
involvement and participation of women in these efforts. The year 2003
was earlier chosen by the General Assembly as the
International Year of Freshwater.
Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on
Water and Sanitation: United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
established an Advisory Board on Water
and Sanitation in 2004 to galvanize global action on these issues.
Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto of Japan agreed to serve as
Chair of the Board.
Millennium Development Goals: Millennium
Development Declaration (2000)
called for the world to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without
access to safe drinking water as well as the proportion of people who do
not have access to basic sanitation. It called upon the international
community to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought
and floods; to develop integrated water resources management and water
efficiency plans by 2005; and to support developing countries and
countries with economies in transition in their efforts to monitor and
assess the quantity and quality of water resources.
Other Initiatives: The emphasis on
action-oriented policies and implementation has led to two further
initiatives that complement the WSSD Plan of Implementation: these are
Partnership initiatives and the
WEHAB
Initiative.
Project execution and policy advisory
services: The Division for Sustainable Development, through its
Water, Natural Resources and SIDS Branch, provides
project execution and policy advisory services at
the request of interested countries to promote and support integrated
water resources management at the international, national, regional,
local and basin levels. These services are based on a contemporary
technical cooperation model that links current political discussions
with the realities in the field.
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