| United Nations | E/1997/70 |
Economic and Social Council
Distr. GENERAL
9 June 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
Substantive session of 1997
Geneva, 30 June-25 July 1997
Item 4 (b) of the provisional agenda*
* E/1997/100.
COORDINATION OF THE POLICIES AND ACTIVITIES OF THE SPECIALIZED
AGENCIES AND OTHER BODIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
Freshwater, including clean and safe
water supply and sanitation
Report of the Secretary-General
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
INTRODUCTION ................................................ 1 2
I. EMERGING ISSUES IN WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND
MANAGEMENT ............................................ 2 - 7 2
II. REVIEW OF RECENT ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS
SYSTEM ................................................ 8 - 39 4
A. Intergovernmental policy discussions on water-
related programmes and activities of the United
Nations system .................................... 9 - 13 4
B. Cooperative arrangements among organizations and
bodies of the United Nations system ............... 14 - 36 5
C. Cooperative arrangements among organizations within
and outside of the United Nations system .......... 37 - 39 13
III. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROPOSALS TO STRENGTHEN
COORDINATION .......................................... 40 - 49 14
INTRODUCTION
1. The present report has been prepared pursuant to Economic and
Social Council decision 1996/310, by which the Council agreed that the
sectoral theme for the coordination segment of its substantive session
of 1997 would be "Freshwater, including clean and safe water supply
and sanitation", and requested the Secretary-General to prepare a
report on system-wide coordination in that area for its consideration.
The report is divided into three parts: section I identifies emerging
issues in water resources management, including in the area of water
supply and sanitation; section II provides a broad assessment of
activities of the United Nations system in addressing major water
issues; and section III contains proposals for strengthening
coordination in the future. A more detailed description of activities
of organizations of the United Nations system in the field of water
resources and in the area of water supply and sanitation will be
before the Council in a background document.
I. EMERGING ISSUES IN WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT
2. Concern over freshwater problems has been on the global agenda
since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was
convened at Stockholm in 1972. That concern was reinforced in
subsequent United Nations conferences, notably the United Nations
Water Conference, held at Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1977, the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held at Rio
de Janeiro in 1992, and the United Nations Conference on Human
Settlements (Habitat II), held at Istanbul in 1996. Following the
United Nations Water Conference in 1977, the General Assembly sought
to focus attention on the importance of universal coverage of safe
water and adequate sanitation by proclaiming the period 1981-1990 as
the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade.
3. The Commission on Sustainable Development, at its second session,
in 1994, expressed great concern over current patterns of development,
utilization and management of water resources, and requested a
comprehensive assessment of the world's freshwater resources. The
resulting comprehensive assessment of the freshwater resources of the
world (see E/CN.17/1997/9), which was considered by the Commission at
its fifth session, shows that current patterns of water use in
developing countries, countries with economies in transition and
industrialized countries alike are often not sustainable. There is
mounting evidence that the world faces a worsening series of local and
regional water quantity and quality problems, largely as a result of
poor resource management, including ill-adapted allocative mechanisms,
wasteful use of the resource, unregulated effluent disposal and weak
institutional frameworks. The assessment also emphasizes the close
interaction between land and water issues, including issues related to
biodiversity, desertification and the protection of the marine
environment.
4. The management of water resources for an efficient and equitable
water allocation among competing uses has become an issue of paramount
importance. Some estimates point to the possibility that by 2025,
virtually all the economically accessible water in the world might be
required in order to meet the needs of agriculture, industry,
households and to maintain adequate lake levels and river flows. The
increasing degradation of water quality is rapidly becoming a cause of
major concern. Water pollution will continue to increase unless more
effort is put into prevention, including increased sewage and effluent
treatment, and cleaner methods of industrial and agricultural
production. There is also increasing concern about the entry of
fertilizers and pesticides into surface water and groundwater,
including persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and insecticides such as
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). The comprehensive assessment
also demonstrates that the capability to provide accurate water
quantity and quality data is seriously lacking in many countries, and
that in organizations within and outside the United Nations system,
international efforts concerning information management remain
fragmented and incomplete. The assessment recommended the
establishment, especially within existing institutions of the United
Nations system, of a global information network, with particular
emphasis on water quantity, quality and use.
5. As stated in the report of the Secretary-General on progress made
in providing water supply and sanitation for all during the first half
of the 1990s (A/50/213-E/1995/87), in spite of a significant expansion
in the provision of drinking water and sanitation during the first
half of the 1990s - during which an additional 800 million people were
provided with clean water - over 1 billion people were estimated to be
without access to safe water in 1994, and almost 3 billion were
without adequate sanitation in developing countries. The challenge of
providing full water supply and sanitation coverage to the urban areas
of developing countries will be particularly daunting. In fact, the
number of urban dwellers without access to adequate sanitation is
expected to almost double during the current decade. 1/ Special
attention must be directed to rapid urbanization and the need to
improve the incomes of the urban, peri-urban and rural poor, as well
as to provide improved water supply and sanitation services.
6. It is widely recognized that the sustainable improvement of water
supply and sanitation coverage is not only interdependent with the
amelioration of other major water resources problems but also requires
the implementation of broader socio-economic policies. As stated at
the Ministerial Conference on Drinking Water and Environmental
Sanitation (Noordwijk, the Netherlands, 22 and 23 March 1994), given
the increasing scarcity of water resources relative to its demand for
various uses, it is essential to deal with drinking water supply and
sanitation within the context of a holistic management of freshwater
(see E/CN.17/1994/12, annex), taking into account the links between
water, sanitation, human health and environmental protection, and
guided by the broader consideration of the economic, social and
environmental sustainability of human settlements at large.
7. Increasing efforts are needed to promote partnerships between the
public and private sectors and between institutions at the national
and local levels so as to improve the allocative efficiency of
investments in water and sanitation and to increase operational
efficiency. Such efforts need to be coupled with effective government
regulation and policies to ensure community participation and the
involvement of women in the decision-making process. The scope for
positive impact through hygiene education and behavioural change is
particularly strong in both poor urban areas and rural areas.
II. REVIEW OF RECENT ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM
8. The Mar del Plata Action Plan of the United Nations Water
Conference, together with chapter 18 and other elements of Agenda 21,
provide the basic framework for the programmes and activities of the
organizations and bodies of the United Nations system. That framework
is supplemented by relevant recommendations stemming from other
conferences, such as the Global Conference on the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States, held in Barbados in
1994; the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II),
held at Istanbul in June 1996; and the World Food Summit held in Rome
in November 1996.
A. Intergovernmental policy discussions on water-related
programmes and activities of the United Nations system
9. The main intergovernmental bodies providing policy and guidance in
the field of water resources are the General Assembly and the Economic
and Social Council and two of its subsidiary bodies - the Commission
on Sustainable Development and the Committee on Natural Resources - as
well as the regional commissions.
10. The Commission on Sustainable Development provides a forum for
high-level discussions on issues related to sustainable development,
including water resources in the context of chapter 18 of Agenda 21.
Following a review of the comprehensive assessment of the freshwater
resources of the world at its fifth session, the Commission
recommended that the General Assembly, at its nineteenth special
session to be held in New York in June 1997, call for the highest
priority to be given to the serious freshwater problems facing many
regions, especially in the developing world, and that it call for a
dialogue under the aegis of the Commission, beginning at its sixth
session, to build a consensus on the necessary actions, in particular
on the means of implementation and tangible results in order to
consider initiating a strategic approach for the implementation of all
aspects of the sustainable use of freshwater for social and economic
purposes, including safe drinking water and sanitation, water for
irrigation, recycling, wastewater management and the important role
that water plays in natural ecosystems. The Commission also wished to
emphasize that such an intergovernmental process would only be fully
fruitful if there were a proven commitment by the international
community to provide new and additional financial resources for the
goals of such an initiative.
11. The Committee on Natural Resources has conducted periodic reviews
of problems and issues in the field of water resources development and
management in the context of the Mar del Plata Action Plan, and more
recently in the context of chapter 18 of Agenda 21. As part of its
agenda, the Committee reviews activities of the organizations of the
system in the field of water resources with a view to promoting
coordination and cooperation. At its fifth session, the Commission on
Sustainable Development recommended that the work of the Committee be
more compatible and supportive of the work programme of the
Commission, and that the Economic and Social Council, in carrying out
its functions related to the implementation of General Assembly
resolution 50/227, consider, at its 1997 substantive session, the most
effective means to implement that recommendation.
12. Policy discussions concerning water resources also take place in
the regional commissions, all of which have specific branches and/or
committees dealing with water resources. For example, a committee on
water resources for the western Asian region has recently been
established in response to resolution 295 (XVIII) of the Economic and
Social Commission for Western Asia, which was adopted on 25 May 1995.
Similarly, water resources matters are discussed in the Committee on
Environment and Sustainable Development of the Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the Committee on
Environmental Policy of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) also
deals with water issues.
13. Other intergovernmental bodies in which general discussions on
water resources take place include the governing bodies of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Atomic
Energy Agency, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World
Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO). World Bank activities are based on objectives approved by the
Bank's Board of Executive Directors, in line with the Bank's recently
defined Water Resources Policy. 2/ The Global Environment Facility
approach to international waters is part of its operational strategy.
Every four to six years, UNESCO and WMO convene a joint international
conference on hydrology with a view to reviewing the programme of work
of both organizations.
B. Cooperative arrangements among organizations
of the United Nations system
14. The impending merger of the three United Nations departments in
the economic and social fields provides a good opportunity to bring
together the analytical, normative and technical capacities of the
United Nations Secretariat. The resulting synergies will enrich both
the policy and the technical cooperation dimensions of United Nations
activities in the economic and social fields.
1. The Subcommittee on Water Resources of the
Administrative Committee on Coordination
15. The Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) Subcommittee on
Water Resources is composed of all organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system involved in the field of freshwater resources. 3/
The United Nations Secretariat also serves as the secretariat for the
Subcommittee and provides substantive servicing of its annual
sessions. The Subcommittee reports to ACC through the Inter-Agency
Committee on Sustainable Development (IACSD). The main functions of
the Subcommittee, as approved by the fourth meeting of IACSD (Geneva,
14-16 June 1994), are to: (a) monitor and review progress in the
implementation of the Mar del Plata Action Plan and chapter 18 of
Agenda 21; (b) prepare proposals for submission to IACSD and other
relevant bodies to enhance the effectiveness of cooperation and
coordination among the organizations of the United Nations system in
the field of water resources; (c) assist in the preparation of reports
on issues related to water resources for submission to the Commission
on Sustainable Development, the Committee on Natural Resources, the
Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and other
intergovernmental bodies of the United Nations system active in the
field; (d) analyse issues confronting the organizations and bodies of
the United Nations system in the implementation of the water-related
provisions of Agenda 21 and other relevant mandates from
intergovernmental bodies with a view to formulating guidelines for
concerted action; (e) formulate common strategies and joint programmes
and activities among the organizations and bodies of the United
Nations system, including the consideration of issues related to
capacity-building, institutional and human resources development and
the role of women in the management of water resources for sustainable
development; (f) provide a forum for the exchange of information on
the work programmes of the organizations and bodies of the United
Nations system in the field of water resources; (g) enhance the
coordination of country-level activities by the organizations and
bodies of the United Nations system concerning the application of
integrated approaches to the development, management and use of water
resources; (h) provide a mechanism for a dialogue with international,
regional and bilateral organizations, as well as with non-governmental
scientific and professional organizations active in the field of water
resources; and (i) raise public awareness of the importance of water
resources and their appropriate uses.
16. The Subcommittee is the task manager for monitoring and reviewing
of progress in implementation of chapter 18 of Agenda 21. With regard
to the modalities for the preparation of the reviews of chapter 18,
the ACC Subcommittee at its fourteenth session agreed that the United
Nations Secretariat would act as focal point for the area of
integrated water resources development and management; UNESCO and WMO
for water resources assessment; WHO for protection of water resources,
water quality and aquatic ecosystems, and for drinking-water supply
and sanitation; the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements
(Habitat) for water and sustainable urban development; FAO for water
for sustainable food production and rural development; and WMO for the
impact of climate change on water resources. With regard to
cross-cutting issues, it was agreed that the International Research
and Training Centre for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), UNICEF and
UNESCO would act as focal points for issues concerning women's
communication, education and research, respectively. The Secretariat
of the Subcommittee, provided by the United Nations, is responsible
for consolidation of inputs provided by other organizations and for
the preparation of final reports of the Secretary-General. Other
major recent outputs of the Subcommittee include the publication of
various regional water resources assessments in 1991, in connection
with the implementation of the Mar del Plata Action Plan, the
organization of the International Conference on Water and the
Environment in 1992, 4/ and the above-mentioned Comprehensive Assessment
of the Freshwater Resources of the World.
17. The Subcommittee also provides an overall mechanism for the
formulation and/or review of the initiatives described below.
2. Inter-agency Steering Committee for Water Supply and Sanitation
18. Following the launching in 1980 of the International Drinking
Water Supply and Sanitation Decade, the Steering Committee for
Cooperative Action for the Decade was established for the purpose of
enhancing cooperation among the organizations of the system in the
field of drinking water supply and sanitation. At the end of the
Decade, coordination continued through the evolution of that Committee
into the Steering Committee for Water Supply and Sanitation with a
view to continuing the momentum gathered during the Decade. In view
of the inextricable relationship between issues related to drinking
water supply and sanitation and other competing uses in the context of
a holistic approach to water resources development and management, the
Steering Committee for Water Supply and Sanitation has become a
working group of the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources. The
meetings of the Steering Committee are held in conjunction with those
of the Subcommittee, to which its main conclusions are reported.
Major tasks of the Steering Committee are the monitoring of needs and
progress towards achieving universal coverage and fostering a common
approach among organizations of the system. The Steering Committee
recently finalized a consensus document setting out key issues to be
addressed and actions to be taken by the organizations of the system.
In addition, UNICEF and WHO are reinforcing their collaboration and
the coordination of their water supply and sanitation activities
through a joint strategy that was approved at the meeting of the Joint
Committee on Health Promotion in May 1997.
3. Other cooperative arrangements
(a) Water resources assessment
19. Recent studies carried out by various United Nations organizations
all indicate that national hydrological services and agencies,
particularly but not only in developing countries, have become less
capable of assessing their respective water resources. Many national
agencies have faced reductions in observing networks and staffing
deficiencies at a time when water demand is rising rapidly in many
countries, and when the need for sustainable water resources is
becoming increasingly urgent. Within the United Nations system, WMO
and UNESCO have taken the lead in efforts to ameliorate the problem,
with the coordination of their activities being based on an inter-
agency working agreement established in the 1970s. Steps are now
being taken to remedy the reduction in observing networks and staffing
deficiencies. One example is the World Hydrological Cycle Observing
System, set up by WMO, whose overall objective is to contribute to the
improvement of national and regional water resources assessment
capabilities. That initiative is already under way in Mediterranean
countries and southern Africa, with the support of the European Union
and the World Bank, and plans are well advanced in other regions.
Related activities include the African Water Resources Assessment
Strategy adopted by the African Conference on Water Resources,
convened jointly by WMO and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
at Addis Ababa in March 1995, and the Action Plan adopted by the
Conference on Water Resources Assessment and Management Strategies in
Latin America and the Caribbean, convened jointly by WMO and the
Interamerican Development Bank at San Jose', Costa Rica, in May 1996.
(b) Protection of water quality
20. UNEP, in cooperation with WHO, WMO, UNESCO, ECE and a number of
institutions outside the United Nations system, provides a framework
for the Global Freshwater Quality Monitoring Programme (GEMS/Water),
within which global monitoring programmes are operated and assessments
undertaken. Linkage with health protection objectives is also
maintained by WHO through GEMS/Water and through its work on water
pollution control. FAO is linking up through its recently established
interdepartmental working group on pollution of natural resources in
the context of non-point sources of pollution from agricultural
activities. The disease control and eradication programmes of WHO,
notably its programmes for diarrhoeal diseases, guinea worm,
schistosomiasis and river blindness, as well as the Joint
WHO/FAO/UNEP/Habitat Panel of Experts on Environmental Management for
Vector Control, have had a significant impact on the way in which
water resources are being managed in many countries. Hydrological
questions in that area are also being dealt with by the International
Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO and the Hydrology and Water
Resources Programme of WMO.
21. Despite the efforts noted above, the lack of water quality data at
both the national and international levels remains a serious problem.
With a view to improving the situation, the ACC Subcommittee on Water
Resources, at its seventeenth session, supported a proposal for the
development of a comprehensive water quality programme, as a
cooperative effort of UNESCO, UNEP, the United Nations University, the
United Nations Secretariat and WHO, based on a carefully selected
global network of representative drainage basins encompassing a broad
spectrum of environments so that future extrapolation to unmonitored
basins can be achieved. Each monitored basin is to support a
carefully planned integrated research and training programme to
develop appropriate water quality models for addressing the needs of
water supply, water and health, and the broader objective of improving
the condition of the environment. At the same session, the
Subcommittee also recommended that the GEMS/Water programme be
strengthened as a means of rectifying the present lack of information
on water quality within the framework of water resources assessment.
(c) Integrated water resources management
22. Several organizations of the United Nations system, through the
ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources, have been engaged in the process
of formulating strategies for accelerating progress in the area of
integrated water resources development and management, with the United
Nations Secretariat, the World Bank, UNEP and the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) as lead agencies. In 1994, the ACC
Subcommittee on Water Resources requested UNDP, FAO and the World Bank
to prepare a joint guide on water resources policy review and reform
and on strategy formulation. The agencies subsequently merged their
respective publications 5/ and FAO organized an expert consultation in
January 1995 to review their joint document. The expert consultation
included representatives not only of the three agencies but also of
several organizations of the United Nations system and several
selected countries. The main outcome of this joint initiative, Water
Sector Policy Review and Strategy Formulation: A General Framework,
was published in 1995. 6/ The Framework makes the case for a systematic
water policy review in two stages: review and adaption of water
policy and formulation of strategies.
23. Several examples of coordinated efforts for river basin management
at the international level, such as those in the Lower Mekong, Lake
Chad and Danube basins, were identified and discussed at a major
United Nations interregional meeting on river and lake basin
development jointly organized by ECA, the former Department for
Technical Cooperation and Development of the United Nations
Secretariat and UNDP, held at Addis Ababa in the late 1980s. That
meeting also paved the way for the development of an iterative
approach to policy formulation and resource planning by various
organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, such as the
United Nations Secretariat, the World Bank, UNEP, WMO and the regional
commissions, with particular attention being given to the failures as
well as the successes of various river basin programmes throughout the
world. That innovative approach is currently being tested through
several joint technical cooperation activities by organizations of the
United Nations system, including the United Nations Secretariat, UNDP
and UNEP, in many developing countries and river basins.
(d) Sustainable urban water management
24. 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 that 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 Habitat, notably through its
Sustainable Cities and Urban Management Programmes.
25. The Habitat II preparatory process included an international
conference on the theme "Managing water resources for large cities and
towns", organized by Habitat in cooperation with UNEP, the United
Nations Secretariat and other organizations and bodies of the United
Nations system. The conference, held at Beijing from 18 to 21 March
1996, was attended by more than 150 participants from 50 countries,
bilateral agencies, United Nations agencies, sector professionals and
leading non-governmental organizations. The "Beijing Declaration"
reiterated the Dublin Principles adopted at the above-mentioned
International Conference on Water and the Environment and focused on
the urgency of undertaking greater efforts to promote management to
improve the efficiency of water use, as well as the importance of
innovative financing mechanisms and broad-based partnerships bringing
together the public and private sectors and local communities.
(e) Sustainable agriculture and rural water management
26. A technical consultation on this subject was convened by FAO in
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. The second technical
consultation on integrated rural water management, which took place at
Geneva in June 1995, was jointly organized by FAO, UNICEF, WHO, UNDP
and the World Bank. 7/ The third technical consultation, on the theme
"Building the bridge between water supply, sanitation and irrigation",
scheduled to take place in New York in July 1997, will be jointly
organized by UNICEF, FAO, WHO, UNDP, the World Bank and the United
Nations Secretariat.
27. In addition, the International Action Programme on Water and
Sustainable Agricultural Development, established by FAO, is being
used as the major instrument for assisting United Nations Member
States in implementing the sustainable agriculture programme area of
chapter 18 of Agenda 21. The Programme focuses on the following
areas: (a) review of the national water sector in general and the
irrigation subsector in particular; (b) identification of issues and
opportunities for development in the context of policies/
strategies, river basin master planning, adaptation of technologies,
management issues, environmental sustainability, and national
capacity-building; and (c) formulation of national action programmes
to address issues and realize opportunities. Assistance has been
provided to formulate national and subregional action programmes in
China, Egypt, Indonesia, Syria, the United Republic of Tanzania,
Turkey, Zimbabwe and the Lake Chad basin. Assistance for initial
implementation of the programme has been provided to four of those
countries: Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey and Zimbabwe.
(f) Water resources management in Africa
28. The Steering Committee for the implementation of the
Secretary-General's Special Initiative for Africa has established,
inter alia, the Inter-agency Working Group on Water, chaired by UNEP,
in order to coordinate the Initiative's water components. At the last
meeting of the Inter-agency Working Group, which took place in October
1996 in conjunction with the seventeenth session of the ACC
Subcommittee on Water Resources, members of the Working Group reviewed
ongoing and planned activities in support of the implementation of the
water-related objectives of the Special Initiative and the role of
lead agencies concerning specific objectives. The Working Group also
discussed criteria for the identification of both areas or countries
on which concerted action by the organizations of the system should
focus and indicators of success in the implementation of such
activities. The Working Group has identified four priority
objectives: (a) assuring sustainable and equitable freshwater;
(b) household water security; (c) freshwater assessments; and (d)
water for food security. The Working Group has also identified Mali,
Ethiopia, Uganda and Mozambique as focus countries in which concerted
United Nations system efforts to implement the water objectives of the
Special Initiative will shortly commence.
29. Another example of recent inter-agency cooperation in Africa is
the Africa 2000 Initiative on water supply and sanitation, which was
launched by the ministers of health of 46 African countries at the
meeting of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in September 1994.
The first regional consultation on the Africa 2000 Initiative was held
at Brazzaville, the Congo, in June 1996. It brought together some 140
participants, including senior government officials from almost all
the countries of Africa and representatives of United Nations
organizations, development agencies and non-governmental
organizations. The Brazzaville Declaration adopted at the
consultation stressed the needs for priorities to be based on people's
choices, for development to be founded on local skills and resources
aimed at producing appropriate solutions, for partnerships to be
formed among communities, local governments, non-governmental
organizations, the private sector and development agencies, and for
external support to be based on national plans and programmes. The
consultation also called for the appointment of Africa 2000 focal
points in all countries, the linking of Africa 2000 with other
development initiatives on the continent, especially the Secretary-
General's Special Initiative for Africa. In addition, two meetings
held between UNICEF and the World Bank - in Benin in October 1995 and
in Kenya in November 1996 - recorded the commitment of both agencies,
including the UNDP/World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme, to
collaborate in supporting sub-Saharan countries in their efforts to
promote access to water by the poor, as well as sanitation and hygiene
education in both rural and urban areas.
(g) Global Programme of Action for Protection of the Marine
Environment from Land-based Activities
30. There is an overriding need to consider the hydrological linkage
among land, rivers, coastal areas and oceans. In highlighting the
role of UNEP as the secretariat of the Global Programme of Action for
the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities -
in cooperation with other United Nations organizations,
intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations -
the Governing Council of UNEP, in its decision 19/14, invited the ACC
Subcommittee on Oceans and Coastal Areas, in collaboration with the
ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources, to perform the functions of a
steering committee on technical cooperation and assistance for the
Programme of Action, including activities related to a clearing house,
with representation from regional and international organizations that
have primary roles and responsibilities for its implementation.
Initial informal contacts between the two Subcommittees were
established by the Subcommittee on Oceans and Coastal Areas at its
last session in January 1997, through the Chairman of the Subcommittee
on Water Resources and its secretariat. Further informal
consultations are currently being arranged by the United Nations
Secretariat, as secretariat of the ACC Subcommittee on Water, together
with the secretariat of the ACC Subcommittee on Oceans and Coastal
Areas. Arrangements for formal consultations, as needed, still need
to be worked out.
(h) Capacity-building
31. The central importance of capacity-building for sustainable water
resources management was best expressed during the UNDP symposium on
the theme "A strategy for water resources capacity-building", held at
Delft, the Netherlands, in June 1991. 8/ In cooperation with other
organizations of the United Nations system, UNDP organized a second
symposium on water sector capacity-building, which was held at Delft
from 3 to 6 December 1996. INSTRAW, in cooperation with the
International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization
at Turin and the United Nations Secretariat, has developed a series of
multimedia training packages on women and water supply and sanitation.
Regional seminars for testing the modules have also been held in
Africa and Asia. In addition, the Global Capacity-Building Programme
for Sustainable Water Sector Development - which is funded by UNDP,
the Netherlands and several other donors - has supported water sector
assessments and strategy formulation in nine countries (Peru, Bolivia,
Mexico, Mali, Ghana, Sudan, Swaziland, the Guizhou Province of China
and Viet Nam). The Programme is based upon consultation with main
stakeholders, and is designed to produce the following outputs: (a) a
process of capacity-building initiated by a water sector assessment;
(b) a nucleus of officials and specialists trained in sustainable
water sector development; (c) water sector assessment reports,
including planning frameworks; (d) improved cross-sectoral
collaboration; and (e) improved coordination among national agencies
and external support agencies.
(i) Preparations for the dissemination of the World Day for Water
32. In order to provide the necessary support to the yearly observance
of the World Day for Water (22 March), the ACC Subcommittee on Water
Resources has agreed to assign one or several of its member
organizations as lead agencies for a given year, in accordance with
the theme for that year. Observance of the World Day for Water has
been characterized by increasing system-wide cooperation. The 1996
theme, "Water for thirsty cities" was selected by the ACC Subcommittee
on Water Resources to coincide with the convening of the United
Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II); Habitat was
designated as the lead agency for the organization of events for the
Day. Several activities were organized for the observance of the Day,
in collaboration with the United Nations Secretariat, UNEP, UNDP, WMO,
the World Bank, the regional commissions, the Water Supply and
Sanitation Collaborative Council, and numerous non-governmental
organizations including the above-mentioned international conference
on managing water resources for large cities and towns. The theme for
the observance of the World Day for Water in 1997, "Water resources
assessment", was selected to be linked with the publication of the
comprehensive assessment of the freshwater resources of the world.
UNESCO and WMO were designated as the lead agencies for the
organization of activities for the Day, which included a prominent
link-up with the First World Water Forum, held at Marrakesh, Morocco,
in March 1997, whose central theme was "Water resources management in
the next century". The Forum was an important meeting of high-level
officials and experts in the field of water resources, which was
jointly organized by the Government of Morocco and the recently
established World Water Council (see para. 39 below).
33. The theme of the World Day for Water in 1998 will be "Groundwater,
invisible resource" in order to stress the importance of the
sustainable development and management of groundwater resources. The
United Nations Secretariat and UNICEF were selected as lead agencies
to organize the observance of the Day on that theme.
4. Coordination at the regional level
34. Coordination of activities of organizations of the United Nations
system at the regional level is carried out through inter-agency
committees in both ECA and ESCAP.
5. Coordination at the national level
35. Because of the multifaceted nature of the work of the
organizations of the United Nations system, there is inevitably
overlapping of their activities at the national level, because each
organization brings a different perspective to its work at the country
level. That overlap, however, does not necessarily undermine the
overall effectiveness of the system provided that activities are
coordinated around a concerted approach to the issue. The country
strategy notes, where they exist, can be useful tools to bring
together, in a coordinated manner, the concerns of the programme
country and the United Nations efforts in the area, and the ACC
Subcommittee on Water Resources provides a forum through which such
harmonization can be promoted. Nevertheless, further efforts are
needed to delineate more clearly the areas of comparative advantage of
each organization in the field, and thus to strengthen their
collective activities at the national level. With the exception of
instances where one organization provides direct support to another in
the implementation of a given project or programme, activities and
projects of various organizations are too often carried out without
sufficient knowledge or consideration of those undertaken by others.
36. The lack of comprehensive information concerning activities of the
organizations of the United Nations system, particularly at the
country level, has hampered closer cooperation among organizations
and increased efforts to overcome that problem are needed. The
Subcommittee has agreed on the need to establish a distributed
database system linked to an Internet home page on United Nations
water activities. The Subcommittee has decided that the database
should initially be based on the United Nations field-level activities
and later be developed to include information on global, regional and
local activities. A task force comprising representatives of UNDP,
the World Bank, the United Nations Secretariat, UNICEF, UNESCO, UNEP
and ECA was formed in order to make recommendations on the scope and
content of the database and on an implementation schedule. As a first
step, the database is to be established for sub-Saharan countries that
are part of the Secretary-General's Special Initiative for Africa;
later it will be expanded to become a global database. The
Subcommittee needs to devote urgent attention to that endeavour,
taking advantage of the latest means for electronic communication.
C. Cooperative arrangements among organizations within
and outside of the United Nations system
1. The Global Water Partnership
37. The Global Water Partnership was officially launched at Stockholm
in August 1996. The Partnership is an international mechanism aiming
to translate the consensus on water management into responsive,
coherent services to developing countries, with an emphasis on local
implementation. It will support integrated water resources management
programmes by collaborating with Governments and existing networks,
and will also develop new arrangements and encourage Governments, aid
agencies and other stakeholders to adopt consistent and mutually
complementary policies and programmes and share their information and
experience. In addition, it will develop solutions to common problems
within integrated water resources management, suggest policies and
practices based on those solutions, and help match needs to available
resources. The Partnership is co-sponsored by UNDP, the World Bank
and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The ACC
Subcommittee on Water Resources, at its seventeenth session, in
October 1996, agreed that the Chief of the FAO Water Resources
Development and Management Service or the Chairman of the Subcommittee
would represent it at the meetings of the Interim Committee of the
Partnership in order to strengthen cooperation with the Partnership.
2. The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
38. The main goal of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative
Council is to enhance collaboration among developing countries and
external support agencies so as to accelerate the achievement of
sustainable water supply, sanitation and waste management for all
people, with an emphasis on the poor. Members of organizations and
bodies of the United Nations system dealing with water supply and
sanitation are also members of the Collaborative Council, and a
linkage with the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources is ensured
through the work of the Inter-agency Steering Committee on Water
Supply and Sanitation.
3. The World Water Council
39. The World Water Council is currently in the process of being
established. Its first major international initiative was to
co-organize the above-mentioned First World Water Forum. Its
membership is open to national and international institutions,
government agencies, private and public organizations and firms,
non-governmental organizations, and academic and scientific
organizations. A link with the members of the ACC Subcommittee is
currently being ensured through the Subcommittee's Chairman and
Secretary.
III. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROPOSALS TO STRENGTHEN COORDINATION
40. The monitoring of progress in the implementation of chapter 18 of
Agenda 21 has yielded further understanding of the need to take a more
comprehensive approach to water resources. The process of
coordination and cooperation is currently characterized by an
increasing appreciation of the importance of taking a holistic and
comprehensive approach to land and water resources development, so
that no one programme area can proceed without referring to the
requirements of others or to overall economic and social priorities.
There is a clear understanding of the need to formulate concerted
approaches to integrated water resources development and management,
which in turn should provide an overall umbrella for coordination and
cooperation at both the national and international levels.
41. The organizations and bodies of the United Nations system have
made significant strides since the late 1980s in developing a common
understanding of issues and approaches towards solving them,
particularly with regard to integrated development and management;
cooperation in the preparation and servicing of the 1992 International
Conference on Water and the Environment was a good example of that
progress. In spite of their different mandates and responsibilities,
as well as a general paucity of human and financial resources, United
Nations entities have demonstrated a considerable capacity for
cooperative joint ventures on concrete and well-defined subjects.
Nevertheless, there remain numerous opportunities for improvements.
Given the complexity of water resources issues and the nature of the
mandates of the different organizations and bodies of the United
Nations system, a certain amount of overlap and even duplication is,
at times, inevitable, particularly in activities at the country level.
At a time of stringent budgetary constraints, further efforts are
needed in order to streamline programmes and activities along the
lines of each organization's comparative advantage and in keeping with
their respective mandates. The ACC Subcommittee needs to redouble its
efforts in that regard, taking into account the terms of reference
given to it by IACSD. In addition, organizations active at the
national level need to improve coordination of their field activities
and to support efforts made by the office of the United Nations
resident coordinator to that end.
42. The Commission on Sustainable Development, at its fifth session,
in April 1997, called for the highest priority to be given to the
serious freshwater problems facing many regions, especially the
developing world. Given the seriousness of the situation, that is
likely to be best achieved if all actors involved, including
Governments, international organizations, scientific and research
institutes and non-governmental organizations, cooperate and
contribute to the goal of more efficient water resources management.
The United Nations system can clearly continue to play a significant
role in providing technical and financial support to national efforts
to develop (a) sustainable water strategies that address basic human
needs, as well as the preservation of ecosystems, in ways that are
consistent with national socio-economic objectives; and (b) national
water policies and plans that promote cost-efficient water
technologies, economic pricing and efficient water use. In addition,
the United Nations system should intensify assistance to national
efforts to build up needed expertise on water issues among water users
and decision makers at all levels, thus increasing their capacity to
deal with complex water management questions.
43. Given the problems related to lack of data identified during the
preparation of the comprehensive assessment of the freshwater
resources of the world, there is an urgent need for national and
international agreements to harmonize the information systems that
provide the data needed for decision- making. In that regard, the
Commission on Sustainable Development, at its fifth session, called
for a strengthening of the capability of Governments and international
institutions to collect and manage information, including scientific,
social and environmental data, in order to facilitate the integrated
assessment and management of water resources. The situation is
particularly critical with regard to water quality data. The ACC
Subcommittee, therefore, needs to take the lead in strengthening the
capability of the international community in assisting developing
countries, at their request, to enhance their information management
capabilities, and to take measures towards the creation of a global
information network encompassing organizations within and outside the
United Nations system.
44. The comprehensive assessment, as well as numerous other studies,
have emphasized the close relationship between the management and use
of water resources, land management, the preservation of aquatic
ecosystems and climate change. Close links need to be established
between the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources as a whole and
individual organizations, with the secretariats of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious
Drought and/or Desertification Particularly in Africa, and the
Convention on Biological Diversity. As previously indicated, given
the strong relationship between freshwater resources and the
protection of the marine environment from land-based activities, a
strong working relationship will need to be developed with the ACC
Subcommittee on Oceans and Coastal Areas in connection with the
implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of
the Marine Environment from Land-based Sources of Pollution.
Similarly, closer attention needs to be given to the link with work
concerning toxic chemicals, particularly POPs and waste management in
view of their impact on water quality.
45. The Commission on Sustainable Development, at its fifth session,
also called for a strengthening of regional and international
cooperation for technological transfer and the financing of integrated
water resources programmes and projects, in particular those designed
to increase access to safe water supply and sanitation. The flow of
financial resources for water resources development and for operation
and maintenance of projects remains far short of requirements.
Increased efforts, as well as new and innovative approaches to the
generation of financial resources, are needed at both the national and
international levels. With regard to the generation of financial
resources at the national level, the organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system, together with Governments, non-governmental
organizations and representatives of the private sector, need to
engage in a continuing dialogue concerning the formulation of pricing
and subsidy policies that favour the generation of financing while
providing for the equitable distribution of resources and the
satisfaction of basic human needs. More attention needs to be given
to ways of enhancing the role of the private sector as a partner in
the provision of services, particularly with regard to water supply
and sanitation. New forms of partnership, such as the Global Water
Partnership, need to be developed at the international level in order
to enhance the level of and efficacy of financial and technical
support to developing countries.
46. Although issues concerning the transfer and adaptation of
technologies have been dealt with by individual organizations in their
respective areas of concern, the organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system have not yet developed a coherent approach to
the question. The ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources, at its
fifteenth session, in 1995, agreed upon the need to focus on that
issue; however, although some incipient work is being carried out
under the leadership of UNDP, the pace of efforts needs to be
strengthened in order to increase the effectiveness of the system in
that regard. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to note that the UNEP
Freshwater Unit, in cooperation with its International Environment
Centre in Japan, has just completed a comprehensive regional
assessment and a series of workshops on appropriate technologies for
freshwater augmentation.
47. Because of the role of the regional commissions with regard to
assistance in the implementation of Agenda 21 within their respective
regions, they can be instrumental in coordinating system-wide
activities at the regional level. In the recent past, the commissions
have not been able to participate in a consistent manner in the work
of the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources, owing mostly to budgetary
constraints. The failure to appreciate the long-term value of
coordination of programmes and activities leads to insularity among
organizations, and tends to undermine the overall capacity of the
United Nations system to respond to major water problems. In that
regard, the various coordination efforts being carried out throughout
the system, particularly through the Subcommittee, need to benefit
from the regular participation of the regional commissions.
48. The successful outcome of the dialogue called for by the
Commission on Sustainable Development at its fifth session, for
consideration at the special session of the General Assembly, will
require the fullest support of the organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system, in partnership with non-governmental
organizations and major groups, in particular the private sector. The
ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources and each of the organizations
concerned will need to devote their energies in the forthcoming year
to elucidating major issues, particularly those enumerated above, as
well as to providing policy approaches for the consideration of the
intergovernmental process. That question will be on the agenda at the
eighteenth session of the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources in
September 1997. In addition, however, informal consultations among
its members will be essential prior to and following that session.
The ACC Subcommittee will need to bring other interested
organizations, non-governmental organizations and the private sector
into the process in order to provide the Commission on Sustainable
Development with the best possible framework for its discussions. In
that regard, it should be noted that a one-day session with non-
governmental organizations has been envisaged prior to the eighteenth
session of the ACC Subcommittee. Such institutions as the Global
Water Partnership, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative
Council and the World Water Council, as well as representatives of the
private sector, will need to work hand-in-hand with the organizations
and bodies of the United Nations system.
49. As in the case of the comprehensive assessment of the freshwater
resources of the world, it is envisaged that the inter-agency work in
support of the dialogue to be conducted under the aegis of the
Commission on Sustainable Development will be carried out through a
steering committee composed of members of the ACC Subcommittee on
Water Resources, as well as representatives of other key organizations
and bodies of the United Nations system.
Notes
1/ See World Economic and Social Survey, 1996 (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.96.II.C.1).
2/ See World Bank, Water Resources Management (Washington, D.C.,
1993).
3/ The following organizations and bodies of the United Nations
system are currently members of the Subcommittee: FAO; IAEA; the
World Bank; INSTRAW; Habitat; UNICEF; the Department for Development
Support and Management Services, the Department of Humanitarian
Affairs and the Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable
Development of the United Nations Secretariat; UNDP; ECA; ESCAP; ECE;
ECLAC; ESCWA; UNESCO; UNEP; UNHCR; UNIDO; UNU; WHO; and WMO.
4/ See World Meteorological Organization, International
Conference on Water and the Environment: Development Issues for the
Twenty-first Century (Geneva, 1992).
5/ The World Bank policy paper entitled "Water resources
management", published in 1993, provides a conceptual framework and
stresses the importance of a holistic approach to water resources
management; specific guidelines for the formulation of water resources
strategies were also proposed in a joint UNDP-World Bank technical
paper entitled "A guide to the formulation of water resources
strategy", published in 1994, and in Reforming Water Resources Policy:
A Guide to Methods, Processes and Practices (FAO, 1995).
6/ Rome, FAO, 1995.
7/ See WHO, Integrated Rural Water Management (Geneva, 1995).
8/ See IHE/UNDP, A Strategy for Water Sector Capacity-Building
(New York, 1991).
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