| Issue 56. 12 December 2014 | www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/decade_weekly.shtml |
| This week in focus | Editor’s note
Welcome to the Decade’s Weekly! Every week we bring you the latest news from the International Decade for Action ’Water for Life’ 2005-2015. Please feel free to share this newsletter. You can also access this newsletter online. Tip of the week Last chance to submit your Water for Life Voice! |
| #Post2015 UN Secretary-General presents advanced version Synthesis Report on Post-2015 Agenda UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released an advanced version of his synthesis report on the post-2015 development agenda, titled ’The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet’ on 4 December 2014. This report responds to the UN General Assembly call on the UN Secretary-General, in A/RES/68/6 of September 2013, to synthesise inputs on the post-2015 development agenda, as a contribution to the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. In the report Ban proposes six essential elements to facilitate Member States’ deliberations: dignity; people; prosperity; planet; justice; and partnership. On people, for instance, Ban recommends addressing, inter alia: education; health; violence against women and girls; and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). The report calls on the post-2015 agenda to promote healthy behaviours, including those related to water, sanitation and hygiene, and to foster sustainable management of water resources. The Secretary-General equally highlights sustainable approaches to water and sanitation as key drivers of sustainable production and consumption, job creation, as well as sustainable and equitable growth. The official release of the report in all six UN languages is expected by 31 December 2014 and will be formally presented in early January.
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| In the news | Forthcoming events |
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#WaterDecadeUN General Assembly adopts resolution on International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015
On 5 December 2014, at its 69th session, the UN General Assembly (GA) approved a resolution on the International Decade for Action ’Water for Life’ 2005-2015 and further efforts to achieve the sustainable development of water resources. The resolution welcomes the activities related to water undertaken during the International Decade for Action and encourages Member States, the United Nations system and major groups to accelerate their efforts to achieve the internationally agreed water-related goals. Moreover, the resolution invites the President of the GA to convene following World Water Day on 22 March 2015 a high-level interactive dialogue of the GA in New York on a comprehensive review of the progress achieved in the implementation of the Decade, including best practices and lessons learnt. The resolution equally welcomes the offer of the Government of Tajikistan to host and fund, in June 2015, a high-level international conference on the implementation of the Decade. Finally, it requests the Secretary-General report to the General Assembly at its 71st session on the implementation of this resolution elaborating, inter alia, on the evaluation of the Decade. On 29 October 2014, UNICEF and Columbia University held the 3rd Annual Menstrual Hygiene Management in WASH in Schools Virtual Conference. As a follow-up to this conference, the partners held a strategy session and drafted a set of five priorities for menstrual hygiene management (MHM) in schools over the next ten years, including global guidelines, building a strong evidence base for MHM in schools, an evidence-based advocacy platform, getting national governments involved in responsibility for MHM in schools, and systematic integration of MHM in the educational sector. 5 December 2014 was the first official celebration of World Soil Day and the launch of the International Year of Soils, declared by the 68th UN General Assembly (A/RES/68/232) to raise awareness of the importance of soils for food security and essential eco-system functions. Soil, together with water, is the basis for food, feed, fuel and fibre production and for services to ecosystems and human well-being. The achievement of food security and nutrition, climate change adaptation and mitigation and overall sustainable development greatly depends on the condition of soils at local and global levels. Soil also plays a key role in the supply of clean water and resilience to floods and droughts. On 1st World Soil Day UN Secretary General welcomed the establishment of the Global Soil Partnership by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and pledged "to do more to protect this important yet forgotten resource". The SHARE Research Consortium and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) formed a research partnership in 2013 to investigate the specific impact of inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities on women and girls in India and Bangladesh. This partnership supports four studies which converge on the lack of safe and acceptable choices for women and girls. The studies raise links between unsafe sanitation and women and girls’ poor health in terms of stress and infections. The higher incidence of reproductive tract infections linked to poor menstrual hygiene management under socioeconomically deprived groups is equally highlighted. The research also points out the lack of WASH facilities accessible by pregnant women. |
#ZaragozaConference 2015 UN-Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference: one month to go!
Date: 15-17 January 2015 The UN-Water International Conference ’Water and Sustainable Development: From Vision to Action’ will start the year focusing on how to bring the post-2015 international agenda on water and sanitation into action. From 15 to 17 January 2015 more than 300 participants from UN agencies and programmes, experts, representatives of the business community, governmental and non-governmental organizations will meet in Zaragoza, Spain, to draw conclusions based on existing practice and the exchange of views between governments and stakeholders. This event will take place during the final year of the International Decade for Action ’Water for Life’, and participants will contribute to take stock of and learn from achievements as well as planning the next steps. Pre-Conference side events and technical visits begin on 14 January. Visit the Conference website to learn more and get engaged! Date: 19-21 January 2015 The intergovernmental negotiations on post-2015 development agenda will take place over several sessions starting in January 2015. The co-facilitators have prepared a food-for-thought paper regarding the modalities for the intergovernmental negotiations on the basis of the views expressed by Members States during the consultations held on 4 November and 10 November, 2014. Water and sanitation issues will be part of the debates. Date: 28-29 January 2015 Transboundary water cooperation, through improved water management, generates a range of economic, social and environmental benefits. Transboundary water cooperation may also have spill-over benefits in terms of regional economic integration, peace and security and other foreign policy goals. The objective of this Expert Workshop ’Beyond water’ is to contribute to the further development of a Policy Guidance Note on Identifying, Assessing and Communicating the Benefits of Transboundary Water Cooperation by producing recommendations on how to assess and communicate the regional integration and geopolitical benefits of transboundary water cooperation. The workshop aims to gather participants from regional economic integration and foreign policy communities. From the Decade’s Programmes
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UNW-DPAC participates in TV series ‘Aqua’
Josefina Maestu, UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) Director, explains the meaning, challenges and achievements of the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015 in the chapter ‘Water, A Common Good’ of this Catalan TV series. Produced by Olot Televisió and broadcast on more than 20 local television stations, the series includes several episodes on water as a key resource for life and development. |