Towards better monitoring: taking drinking water equity, safety and sustainability into account

While current figures indicate that access to improved drinking water has increased from 77 per cent to 87 per cent between 1990 and 2008, the real percentage of people with sustainable access to safe drinking water is likely to be significantly lower. This is one of the conclusions of a new report [1] that the UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) released on 20 December 2011.

If the maximum acceptable time needed to collect water is taken as 30 minutes per round trip, then drinking water coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa drops by eight percentage points, the report says. Similarly, if you include water quality as an indicator, then the 2008 JMP estimates of access to safe drinking water would go down by 16% for Nicaragua, 11% for Ethiopia, 10% for Nigeria and 7% for Tajikistan.

The new report analyses existing JMP statistics in more detail and includes increased disaggregation of water service levels and analyses of trends across countries and regions. It focuses on the three key challenges of equity, safety and sustainability. Disparities in terms of geography, wealth and gender are explored, as well as the role of household water treatment and safe storage in water safety, and the unique threats posed by climate change to the sustainability in rural and urban contexts.

National and global monitoring will require a major evolution, concludes the report, to meet demands for targets and indicators that take equity, safety and sustainability into account.

[1] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP), 2011. Drinking water equity, safety and sustainability. (JMP thematic report on drinking water ; 2011). New York, NY, UNICEF ; Geneva, World Health Organization. 62 p. : 40 fig., 2 tab. 23 ref. <Available at: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/JMP_Report_DrinkingWater_2011.pdf>

Related news:

• Monitoring: new tools meet demand for more transparency in the water sector, E-Source, 05 Dec 2011
• Angelica de Jesus, First consultation on developing post-2015 monitoring indicators, Berlin: Refocusing the monitoring approach, E-Source, 02 Aug 2011

Related web site: WHO / UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation – http://www.wssinfo.org/

Source: UNICEF, 20 Dec 2011

WWF proposes water solutions for megacities

A new WWF study says water shortages in megacities can be tackled by: protecting important freshwater ecosystems, managing and using water supplies better, and planning for the impacts of climate change.

Presented in Stockholm during the World Water Week, the new WWF report ‘Big Cities, Big Water, Big Challenges’ warns of severe water shortages worldwide by the middle of this century, when 70% of the world’s people will be living in urban areas – often in ‘megacities’. In many of the world’s biggest cities, water management is already poor, WWF says.

The report looks in detail at the water situation in five megacities: Mexico City, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Nairobi, Kenya; Karachi, Pakistan; Kolkata, India; and Shanghai, China.

One billion city dwellers may face water shortages by 2050, study says

By 2050, more than 1 billion city dwellers may face water shortages if no new infrastructure is built or no new water conservation efforts are undertaken, according to a new study [1]. More than 3 billion may suffer similar water shortages at least one month of every year, says the study. The shortages are projected to hit megacities ranging from Beijing to Delhi, Mexico City, Lagos and Tehran.

The study looks only at water availability within a metropolitan region. Many more people lack access to clean water if problems of inadequate water quality or delivery within cities are taken into account.

To define “water shortage,” the study used a standard of 100 litres per person per day, which the World Health Organization says is the minimum a person needs for “optimum” long-term health and sanitation.

The researchers found that urban population growth will account for most of the big projected increases in water shortage. Climate change may add an additional 100 million more people to live without adequate supplies unless cities take measures on time.

Common infrastructural solutions to address water shortages such as transporting water longer distances, building dams and desalination are all expensive. Better ways to address shortages, says one of the study’s authors Rob McDonaldOne solution, are more efficient water use by agriculture and industry, payments to farmers to reduce areas of irrigated agriculture, and removal of non-native water-hungry vegetation such as eucalyptus.

“The thing I’m really worried about,” says McDonald, “is how the poorest cities are going to be able to afford to get water to their residents. Right now, many poor cities have trouble delivering clean water to their residents, and unless new capital is available for investment the situation will get worse.

“There’s a real shortfall in investment right now in solving this problem, and the developed countries in my opinion need to play a larger role in helping close that shortfall.”

[1] McDonald, R.I. … [et al.] (2011). Urban growth, climate change, and freshwater availability. PNAS, Published online before print 28 March 2011. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1011615108 [open access]

Source: Robert Lalasz, Cool Green Science, 28 Mar 2011

Water resources: new global map provides new insights into sustainable groundwater resources and climate modelling

A new global map could help improve water resource management and climate modelling, and eventually lead to new insights into a range of geological processes. The map uses permeability data to a much greater depth than before – up to approximately 100 metres – and across greater areas. This makes it possible to evaluate sustainable groundwater resources as well as the impact of groundwater on climate change at the global scale. The maps and data were published in Geophysical Research Letters [1].

The map was developed by researchers from the University of British Columbia (Canada), the US Geological Survey, the University of Hamburg (Germany) and Utrecht University (The Netherlands).

A better understanding of large scale permeability of rock and sediment is critical for water resource management–groundwater represents approximately 99 per cent of the fresh, unfrozen water on earth. Groundwater also feeds surface water bodies and moistens the root zone of terrestrial plants. [...]

The study’s maps include a global map at a resolution of 13,000 kilometres squared, and a much more detailed North American map at a resolution of 75 kilometres squared.

The research also improves on previous permeability databases by compiling regional-scale hydrogeological models from a variety of settings instead of relying on permeability data from small areas.

[1] Gleeson, T., L. Smith, N. Moosdorf, J. Hartmann, H. H. Dürr, A. H. Manning, L. P. H. van Beek, and A. M. Jellinek (2011). Mapping permeability over the surface of the Earth, Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L02401, doi:10.1029/2010GL045565. Full text

Source: University of British Columbia, 24 Jan 2011

Climate change: water supply in developing countries will be hit hardest

Adapting raw industrial and domestic water supply to climate change could cost US$ 12 billion per year, with up to 90% of this needed in developing countries, according to new research [1]. A research team from the Netherlands, US and UK found that the highest costs are in Sub-Saharan Africa. Though US$ 12 billion seems a lot, the team stressed that the baseline costs of meeting existing and future demand for water by 2050 in most regions were far greater than adaptation costs.

“Many studies have already shown that the developing world is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,” Philip Ward of the VU University Amsterdam in the Netherlands told environmentalresearchweb. “In this study we show that the costs of adaptation to climate change in the industrial and municipal water supply sector are also greater for developing countries than for developed countries, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP.”

The highest climate adaptation costs were for sub-Saharan Africa, where western Central Africa is projected to dry, followed by Latin America, which is likely to see increased seasonal and interannual rainfall variability in eastern Brazil.

Before calculating the climate adaptation costs, the researchers analysed the baseline costs needed to meet existing and future demand for water by 2050 without the effects of climate change. These baseline costs also covered the elimination of existing backlogs and the consequences of socioeconomic development.

The researchers then analysed the effect of adaptation to climate change over and above this baseline, using one emissions scenario and two global climate models to project the effects of climate on water supply.

“We found that in most regions the baseline costs far exceed adaptation costs,” said Ward. “This supports the notion of mainstreaming climate-change adaptation, and current and future climate vulnerability, into broader policy aims. It raises the question of ‘how much climate change adaptation should be factored into the current design of water supply systems?’ “

On a global scale, the baseline costs for water supply were $73 billion per year, compared with $12 billion per year for adaptation to climate change.

The researchers fixed the cost of meeting increased demand at US$ 0.30/cubic meter, whether this was met by additional surface reservoirs or other techniques, such as desalination, recycling, or rainwater harvesting. ,

The building of reservoirs is controversial as it can cause heavy environmental and social impacts. The team’s projections indicate that under these assumptions, global reservoir storage capacity would need to increase by around 34–36% by 2050 to cope with water demand.

The researchers hope their work can assist ongoing climate negotiation, such as COP-16, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, which ends on 10 December 2010.

[1] Ward, P.J. … [et al.] (2010). Partial costs of global climate change adaptation for the supply of raw industrial and municipal water: a methodology and application. Environmental research letters ; vol. 5, no. 4 ; 044011. doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/5/4/044011

Source: Liz Kalaughe, environmentalresearchweb, 08 Dec 2010

World Bank: policy review calls for more integrated approach to water management

Following a mid-cycle review of its 2003 water strategy [1], the World Bank says it is moving from stand-alone water supply projects to those that link water use to resource management. It also promises to employ “the full extent of its instruments” to the help address the backlog in reaching the sanitation Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The strategy review found significant improvement both in funding levels and project performance, with satisfactory ratings consistently higher than the Bank-wide average of 75 per cent. The Bank’s water commitments will continue to rise to an estimated US$ 21-25 billion for the coming three years.

Some other important new strategic directions covered in the review include:

• scaling-up of support for hydropower
• more focus on water for climate change adaptation and mitigation
• increased assistance to agricultural water management; and
• exploring opportunities for private financing for and corporatisation of water utilities

The scaling-up of its water activities has led to a recruitment drive, so that now the Bank employs 158 sector specialists. Nevertheless, there are several areas like (surprisingly) economics and finance, and wastewater reuse where expertise is missing. To compensate for this the Bank set up the Water Anchor which can call on experts as short-term consultants, through various technical support facilities. One of these is SWAT, the Sanitation, Hygiene and Wastewater Support Service. Since its inception in 2005, SWAT has committed about US$ 1 million for operational support in 28 countries and 33 projects. The service has influenced a total sanitation and wastewater investment valued over US$ 1.1 billion.

[1] Vandycke, N. (2010). Sustaining water for all in a changing climate : World Bank Group implementation progress report of the Water Resources Sector Strategy. Washington, DC, USA, World Bank. xiii, 105 p. Download full report

Related web sites: World Bank – Water | SWAT

Source: World Bank, 31 Aug 2010

EU to realign development aid towards water

With the UN Millennium Development Goals set to be reviewed this year, the European Commission is stressing the need for an increased focus on access to water, as the achievement of other UN development goals depends on it.

Climate change will alter completely the EU’s aid policy to developing countries in the future, and “water and land use will gain in importance,” said Luis Riera Figueras, director at the European Commission’s development department, addressing the European Parliament’s intergroup on water on 24 February 2010.

As more than 1.2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water, including more than 40% of Africans, there is “a strong case” for more progress on the matter, he said.

This year’s mid-term review of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) presents an opportunity to integrate a comprehensive water strategy into development strategies across the world, he suggested.

Riera Figueras stressed that more investment in water is necessary as it is a core element of the fight against poverty. Intergroup members agreed that access to water and sanitation is indeed a prerequisite for achieving other MDGs and should be put higher on the agenda, particularly as food security and health goals, for example, directly depend on the availability of water.

Meanwhile, Peter Gammeltoft, the head of the EU executive’s water unit, stressed that a lot more funding than currently available is needed to respond to the challenge. As well as mobilising funds from various sources, “we need to address absorption capacity,” he said, arguing that a number of small water projects that are not linked to any overarching strategy have resulted in the fragmentation of aid.

As part of this year’s mid-term review of the MDGs, the European Commission will adopt a ‘spring package’ on development by the end of April, including the first assessment of the EU’s contribution to the MDGs.

As part of the package, the Commission will publish a communication on agriculture and food security. Riera Figueras said that the communication would address, among other issues, water, land use, and the position of small-scale farmers.

Next Steps

* By end April 2010: Commission to publish ‘spring package’ on development.
* 20-22 Sept. 2010: Millennium Development Goals summit in New York.

Source: EurActiv, 01 Feb 2010

Call for Papers: nexus of water, climate change, governance and corruption

The Water Integrity Network is seeking paper submissions for an Expert Consultation on 29 March 2010 in Berlin exploring the nexus of water, climate change, governance and corruption.

Significant financing will be invested in new and existing water infrastructure, governance mechanisms and technology for climate change adaptation and mitigation. As these investments begin to flow, special attention must be paid to the growing risk of corruption. Investments may be diverted, misdirected, over or under- estimated, not only due to corruption, but also because of weak governance and inappropriate management. Overall, this will lead to missed opportunities to combat the adverse effects of climate change as social inequity continues to increase and environmental conditions worsen.

Selected authors will receive an invitation to participate in the consultation. The invitation will include one return economy class airfare, visa/insurance fees, per diem and accommodation for three days in Berlin.

Paper submission deadline: 03 March 2010 at 18.00 CET

For more information read the call for papers on the WIN web site

Please note: do not send requests for information or submissions to this blog

Water at core of climate change impacts-UN experts

The main impact of climate change will be on water supplies and the world needs to learn from past cooperation such as over the Indus or Mekong Rivers to help avert future conflicts, experts said on 7 February 2010.

Desertification, flash floods, melting glaciers, heatwaves, cyclones or water-borne diseases such as cholera are among the impacts of global warming inextricably tied to water. And competition for supplies might cause conflicts.

“The main manifestations of rising temperatures…are about water,” said Zafar Adeel, chair of UN-Water which coordinates work on water among 26 U.N. agencies.

“It has an impact on all parts of our life as a society, on natural systems, habitats,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview. Disruptions may threaten farming or fresh water supplies from Africa to the Middle East.

“Therein lies the potential for conflicts,” he said. Shortage of water, such as in Darfur in Sudan, has been a contributing factor to conflict.

But Adeel said that water had often proven a route for cooperation. India and Pakistan have worked to manage the Indus River despite border conflicts and Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia have cooperated in the Mekong River Commission.

“Water is a very good medium (for cooperation). It’s typically an apolitical issue that can be dealt with,” said Adeel, who is also director of the U.N. University’s Canada-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-IWEH)

A Meeting of UN-Water Senior Programme Managers was held from 2-4 February 2010 at UNU-IWEH in Hamilton, Canada.

250 Million

Regions likely to become drier because of climate change include Central Asia and northern Africa. Up to 250 million people in Africa could suffer extra stress on water supplies by 2020, according to the U.N. panel of climate experts.

“There are many more examples of successful transboundary cooperation than conflict over water,” said Nikhil Chandavarkar, of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary of UN-Water.

“We are trying to take the examples of good cooperation — the Mekong, the Indus are examples. Even where there were hostilities in the surrounding countries the agreements did function,” he told Reuters.

Adeel said that water should have a more central role in debates on food security, peace, climate change and recovery from the financial crisis. “Water is central to each of these debates but typically isn’t seen as such,” he said.

And efforts to combat global warming will themselves put more strains on water because of rival economic demands — such as for irrigation, biofuels or hydropower. Adeel noted efforts to manage water supplies by counting how much water goes into products — from beef to coffee.

One study showed that it took 15,000 litres to produce a pair of blue jeans, he said. Making industries aware of water use could help shift to conservation. He said the world might reach a “millennium goal” of halving the proportion of people without access to safe water by 2015 but was failing in a related target of improving sanitation. About 2.8 billion people lack access to basic sanitation.

Source: Alister Doyle, Reuters, 07 Feb 2010

Climate change: four billion people threatened by water shortages if world leaders stumble at 2010’s first hurdle, Oxfam says

World leaders are set to fail their first test on climate change since Copenhagen and put the world on track for almost four degrees of warming, said Oxfam International, ahead of the 31 January 2010 deadline for countries to submit emission reduction targets under the Copenhagen Accord.

Despite agreeing that temperatures should be kept from rising above the two-degree danger level at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen, world leaders are so far failing to provide adequate emissions cuts targets, according to Oxfam. The European Union, Japan and Australia have already put their plans on the table, none of which improve on the offers they made before Copenhagen.

Rich countries pledges on emissions cuts are expected to total just 12-18 per cent below 1990 levels – less than half of the 40 per cent cuts needed from rich countries to keep temperatures in check.

The pledges expected under the Accord will, according to climate models, lead to a nearly four degree centigrade rise in global temperature by 2100. Scientists predict this will create a world crippled by drought with four billion people affected by water shortages across the globe, year round droughts in Southern Africa and serious droughts in Europe every ten years instead of every one hundred years.

Oxfam says the Accord proves that the bottom up approach, where countries set their own emission reduction targets, will not deliver the cuts that are needed. The international agency is calling for a global target for emissions reductions based on the science and for national contributions to the global target to be calculated according to a country’s historical responsibility for creating the climate crisis and their economic capability for tackling it. This would, for example, mean Europe should cut its emissions by at least 44% percent below 1990 levels by 2020, as opposed to its current target of just 20 per cent.

To deliver their fair share of global effort to tackle climate change, rich countries should also provide $200 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries adapt and reduce their own emissions. The Accord aims to raise just $100bn a year and progress hangs on the establishment of a High Level Panel to recommend how the money will be raised and delivered.

The Accord also promises $30 bn in fast track finance – emergency funds to help the poorest and most vulnerable countries cope with climate impacts over the next three years. For example Bangladesh, one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change, needs an estimated $1.5m, to provide drinking water to coastal communities whose traditional water sources have been contaminated with salt water due to sea level rise.

“The lackluster response [of world leaders] shows the Accord isn’t solving anything. Only a UN deal can deliver the global emissions reductions that are needed and ensure the voices of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries are heard”, said Antonio Hill, Climate Advisor for Oxfam International. “Real negotiations must restart now. Every year we delay an estimated 150,000 people will have died and a further one million displaced as a result of climate change.”

Oxfam has launched a climate change petition

See the latest outline of country pledges on emissions reductions.

Oxfam’s analysis of how global emissions reductions should be shared across countries: Hang Together or Separately

Climate models include climate interactive www.climateinteractive.org and climate action tracker www.climateactiontracker.org. Climate impacts statistics are from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2007 and Stern Review 2006.

Source: Oxfam, 29 Jan 2010