World Water Crisis (LIFE)

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Commentary: The upcoming UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference also includes the topic of water. The reason provided is that climate change is impacting rainfall, and thus certain regions of the world are receiving either too much or too little rainfall. The regions that have been receiving very little rainfall, will be a focus at the UN conference, and stand to gain billions (as measured in USD) in assistance for wastewater treatment and potable water infrastructure systems. The following links show a recent progression of activity leading up to the Copenhagen conference, followed by additional links for an article on All Africa, and the UN Capital Development Fund, UN Millennium Development Goals. The UN Millenium Development Goals, or MDG's has a number of "partner" links to various UN organizations and The World Bank's water program.

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UN - COPENHAGEN -CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE

José Manuel Durão Barroso
President of the European Commission
"The Road to Copenhagen
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/greenweek/sources/file/day04/closingsession.pdf


The fifth chapter - the Environment - shows that Ukraine has reconfirmed its commitments under Espoo, Aarus and other relevant multilateral environmental

agreements

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7th ETAP Forum on Eco-innovation
Adapting to Climate Change
through Eco-Innovation
Copenhagen
23-24 November 2009
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/ecoinnovation2009/2nd_forum/

Adapting to Climate Change through Eco-Innovation
Urgent action is required at all levels across Europe to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The 7th ETAP Forum on eco-innovation will take place in Copenhagen on the eve of the crucial COP 15 global negotiations on climate change.
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After Bangkok: The road to Copenhagen

Next stops
Major Economies Forum: London, Oct 18-19
ECOFIN Council: Oct 20
ENV Council: Oct 21
Technology Conference: New Delhi, Oct 22-23
EU Summit: Oct 29-30
Ministerial meeting: Barcelona, Oct 30-31
UN negotiations: Barcelona, Nov 2-7
Leaders’Summit: Nov 14??
Ministerial Pre-COP: Copenhagen, Nov 16-17
UN Climate Conference: Copenhagen, Dec 7-18
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/pdf/bangkok_sum_presentation.pdf


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UNITED NATIONS
CLIMATE CHANGE
CONFERENCE
DEC 7-DEC 18
2009

COP15
COPENHAGEN
http://en.cop15.dk/

Site MAP
http://en.cop15.dk/frontpage/sitemap

Additional:

Water and Climate Change
Adaptation Promising solutions, strategies and conditions for success
Brussel, June 2009
Ger Bergkamp
Director General

International Policy II
5th World Water Forum (Istanbul, 2009)
–
Thematic process
Regional priorities, hotspots, sector views
High-Level Panel
Political Process
Ministerial Roundtable – ‘Call for Action’
Parliamentarians, Mayors commitment
Follow-up dialogues
Bonn, Brussels,….
World Water Week (Stockholm August 2009),
WCC-III (Sept. 2009)
COP-15 (Copenhagen, Dec 2009)
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/greenweek/sources/file/day03/Pres-Bergkamp.pdf


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Kenyan adaptation estimated to cost billions
Spread it: http://www.equitygroups.com/pinksheets/rcch/messages/153726.html


Kenyan adaptation estimated to cost billions

Water scarcity is the main driver behind an ambitious government scheme. The price tag is of an order that demands donor financing.


Morten Andersen
18/09/2009 20:10
The government of Kenya hopes to take advantage of the UN conference on climate change this December to attract international financing for an ambitious

scheme.

”In Copenhagen, Kenya will be expecting an equitable and effective global climate deal that will apply the principle that the polluter pays,” Environment

Minister John Michuki tells All Africa.

Among other consequences of climate change, Kenya has seen declining rainfall, which in turn has led to lower resources for hydropower and scarcity of water

for agriculture and consumption.

”In Nairobi, the effect of climate change has been felt by people who dig bore holes because they now have to sink the holes as far as 600 meters to one

kilometer to hit the water table,” says John Nyaoro, director for water resources at the Water Ministry.

The ministries for environment and for wildlife are currently working on the details of an investment program to cost ”at least Sh80 billion (109 billion US

dollars) every year over the next twenty years” to mitigate and adapt to climate change. According to All Africa, investments on this scale can only take

place if private investments and donor financing are attracted.

http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2132


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United Nations Capital Development Fund, (Hyperlink is showing a list of countries sorted alphabetically).
http://www.uncdf.org/english/evaluations/documents.php?sort=alt
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Millennium Development Goals
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

2009 Millennium Development Goals Report
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG_Report_2009_ENG.pdf

With regard to water:

"About 70 per cent of water withdrawn worldwide is for agriculture; in
some regions, it is more than 80 per cent. When more than 75 per cent of
river flows are diverted for agricultural, industrial and municipal purposes,
there is simply not enough water to meet both human demands and
environmental flow needs. Physical water scarcity — characterized by
severe environmental degradation, declining groundwater, and water
allocations that favour some groups over others — is approaching when
this figure reaches 60 per cent, indicating that the world is facing an
impending water crisis.

In some regions, the stress on water resources is severe. Water
withdrawals are highest in arid and semi-arid lands, where they are
needed mostly for irrigation, and lowest in tropical countries. In Northern
Africa, an average of 78 per cent of renewable water resources are being
withdrawn annually; in Western Asia, almost half. In contrast, Latin
America only uses 2 per cent of its renewable water resources each year.
Page 46
From 1990 to 2006, 1.1 billion people in the developing
world gained access to toilets, latrines and other forms
of improved sanitation. An additional 1.4 billion people
will require such facilities if the 2015 target is to be
met.
In 2006, 2.5 billion people worldwide were still
unserved. The greatest challenge is in Southern Asia,
where 580 million people are without improved
sanitation. From 2006 to 2015, the region will have to
more than double the number of people currently using
an improved facility. Sub-Saharan Africa also faces

Defecating in open, often publicly accessible spaces is the last recourse
for people without any form of sanitation. The practice not only
jeopardizes one’s own health and that of his or her family, but those who
live nearby — even if they themselves use improved facilities. In addition,
seeking private areas in which to defecate can put the safety of girls and
women at risk.
Eighteen per cent of the world’s population — 1.2 billion people — practise
open defecation. The vast majority of them (87 per cent) live in rural
areas. In developing regions, more than one in three rural dwellers
defecates in the open. The one exception is Eastern Asia, where the
practice is less common in rural than in urban areas.
Page 47

The world is well on its way to meeting the
drinking water target, though some countries
still face enormous challenges

The world is ahead of schedule in meeting the 2015 drinking water target.
Yet a number of countries face an uphill battle: 884 million people
worldwide still rely on unimproved water sources for their drinking,
cooking, bathing and other domestic activities. Of these, 84 per cent (746
million people) live in rural areas.
Page 48

Worldwide, only 27 per cent of the rural population enjoyed the convenience and substantial health benefits of having water
piped into their homes or onto their premises in 2006. Fifty per cent of rural dwellers relied on other improved drinking
water sources, such as public taps, hand pumps, improved dug wells or springs (a small proportion of this population relied
on rainwater). And nearly one quarter (24 per cent) of the rural population obtained their drinking water from ‘unimproved’
sources: surface water such as lakes, rivers, dams or from unprotected dug wells or springs. But even using an improved
water source is no guarantee that the water is safe: when tested, the drinking water obtained from many improved sources
has not met the microbiological standards set by WHO.
A person living in an urban area of the developing world is more than twice as likely to have a piped drinking water supply on
premises than a person living in a rural area. Disparities are especially evident in Latin America and the Caribbean, the region
with the second lowest coverage of improved drinking water in rural areas. Only 73 per cent of rural populations in that
region use an improved water source, compared to 97 per cent of urban dwellers.

TARGET
By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement
in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

Page 49


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The World Bank supports water management and extends water services through lending operations, sharing and applying knowledge,

and our global programs. Our work is guided by our water strategies.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTWAT/0,,menuPK:4602384~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:4602123,00.html

The World Bank administers several global partnership programs in the water sector. These programs share best practices across regions and have a strong

focus on capacity building. Some mobilize practical expertise and implement innovative approaches at critical stages of the Bank's project preparation and

implementation cycle, while others work directly with client governments and other stakeholders.

Current Programs

The Water and Sanitation Program is an international partnership, administered by the World Bank, of leading development agencies concerned with improving

sector policies, practices, and capacities to serve poor people. The Water Partnership Program is a Multi-Donor Trust Fund with the goal of enhancing the

World Bank’s efforts in reducing poverty through two overarching objectives:

a) the sponsorship and mainstreaming of pragmatic and principled approaches for water resources management and development; and

b) the improvement of the quality and effectiveness of water service delivery.

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTWAT/0,,contentMDK:21650511~menuPK:4602429~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:4602123,00.html