ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

Rotaract Global Model United Nations; Belgrade 26 – 30 August, 2015 [ ]1

Chair: Natalia Hermida, Co-Chair: Elisavet Dravalou

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WA-

TER MANAGEMENT

ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

Honorable Delegates,

It is our pleasure to welcome you to the GA second committee, the Economic and Social

Council of Rotaract Global Model United Nations Conference.

We are Natalia Hermida and Elisavet Dravalou and will serve you as your chairs. We will

do our best to make this conference an outstanding and challenging experience.

We know that you are on the lookout for this activity. Each one of you has a key role in the

development of the committee; therefore, it is vital that your research is accurate and you

have the knowledge and capacity in order to support your arguments and propose viable

solutions.

During the session, we will be discussing two subjects:

A. The Economic and Social Impact of Ebola on the Affected Countries and Solu-

tions for an Efficient and Multi-Sectoral Response.

B. Securing and Attaining Sustainable Water Management.

This study guide will be the starting point for you to get familiar with the topics and their

different dimensions. We encourage you to go further and get prepared by gathering as

much information as possible in order to make this debate a challenging one.

We are confident that this conference will contribute to your academic development but

beyond that, with wonderful memories, friends for life and courage to “Be the change you

wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

We are looking forward to meeting you, if you have any questions during the research,

please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely yours,

Natalia and Elisavet

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC 4

ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE TAKEN ACTION 6

RELEVANT UN BODIES AND ACTIONS 7

WATER FOR LIFE DECADE 9

QARMAS (QUESTIONS A RESOLUTION MUST ANSWER) 11

KEY WORDS 12

CONCLUSION 12

REFERENCES 13

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

Topic Area B: Securing and Attaining Sustainable Water Management

!

Source: http://social.yourstory.com/2014/01/solve-indias-toilet-crisis-through-simple-click-or-buying-toilet-cleaner/

INTRODUCTION

“Safe drinking water and adequate sanitation are crucial for poverty reduction, crucial for

sustainable development, and crucial for achieving any and every one of the Millennium

Development Goals.” – Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General

Water crisis, water stress and water scarcity are one of the most crucial issues

that concern the international community today. The concept Water scarcity is

referred to as the insufficient or lack of water resources that would cater to the

need of people in its usage. While Water stress is the struggle or difficulty of 1

obtaining fresh water for use in a certain period of time that may even lead to a

permanent situation because of environmental issues that adds up to the problem or

it may also be defined as a situation where the availability of water is major constraint on

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml1

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

human activity. Water crisis refers to the insufficiency of available, unpolluted 2

and potable water for the region’s need. Despite the great quantity of water on the planet,

not all of it is available for human consumption. While nearly 70 percent of the world is

covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh. The rest is saline and ocean based.

According to the statistics, 1 in every 5 people does not have access to clean water, which

means almost one billion people lack of it and around 768 million consume water from a

source that produces 20 liters per day at a distance of 1kilometre. Moreover, in the 20th

century the population of the world tripled and is still expected to increase by another

40-50% within the next decades. In essence, only 0.007% of the planet's water is

available to fuel and feed its 6.8 billion people. 3

Photo 1: Source: http://crisisboom.com/tag/water-crisis/

Photo 2: Source : http://www.occupyforanimals.net/the-global-water-crisis.html

To live properly, a person would need a minimum of 50 liters of water per day to ensure

that his basic needs are met; unfortunately millions of people do not have access to it, not

only because of environmental conditions, but also because of the lack of infrastructure,

the quality of the water, unsustainable consumption patterns and over-exploitation of

groundwater reserves. Moreover, pollution,

population growth and the amount of water

http://www.unep.org/dewa/vitalwater/article141.html 2

See also: http://www.climatedata.info/Impacts/Impacts/waterstress.html

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/freshwater-crisis/ 3

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

used in agriculture and industries only deteriorate the crisis, especially in certain regions of

the planet.

Access to safe water and sanitation are legal rights, governments should accelerate their

compromise to reach basic levels and better access; also vulnerable communities shall be

trained in order to participate in decision making processes.

For the reasons mentioned above, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights adopted the General Comment No. 15, which estates that "The human right to

water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the

realization of other human rights." The UN aims to improve the management of scarce

fresh water resources, emphasizing on supply and demand as well as quantity and quality.

ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE TAKEN ACTION

Numerous organizations have taken

act ion regarding the issue of

freshwater crisis. In many countries,

members of Rotary International

supply clean water and sanitation

facilities to prevent the spread of

infectious diseases and the individual

clubs raise awareness with multiple

projects. ABD’s (Asian Development 4

Bank) Water for All program, is a

p r o j e c t w o r k e d w i t h p r i v a t e

companies to provide clean water to cities in the People's Republic of China. The FAN 5

(Freshwater Action Network) is a global network of people implementing and influencing

water and sanitation policy and practice around the world. The World Water Council, an 6

https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/learning-reference/about-rotary/water-and-sanitation4

http://www.adb.org/sectors/water/main5

http://www.freshwateraction.net/content/about-us-0 6

Photo source: https://www.charlestonrotary.com/Community/Water-Project.aspxRotaract Global Model United Nations; Belgrade 26 – 30 August, 2015

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

international multi-stakeholder platform which produces the World Water Forum, is a

key platform on talking, debating and giving solutions to water problems. Conservation 7

International, the Global restoration network and many other institutions have dedicated 8

their work to promoting sustainable water management on an international level. On

national level, there are many countries who have prioritized and made policies and

program in relation to water challenges, such as recycling water, importing water,

desalination etc. 9

RELEVANT UN BODIES AND ACTIONS

T h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s

Environment Programme (UNEP) has as its goal the equitable and sustainable

management of water resources. The World Water Assessment Programme of UNESCO 10

monitors the world’s freshwater resources, provides recommendations, develops case

studies, enhance assessment capacity at a national level and inform the decision-making

http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/7

http://www.conservation.org/what/Pages/fresh-water.aspx8

See e.g. http://centres.insead.edu/innovation-policy/events/documents/Singapore-Wa9 -terShortage.pdf

http://www.unep.org/Themes/Freshwater/About/index.asp10

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

process. The WHO has repeatedly dealt with the issue of drinking water and health risks 11

that may arise after contaminating water with infectious agents. 12

[See also: http://www.un.org/earthwatch/freshwater/ for some detailed freshwater

assessments].

In order to protect and maintain a sustainable water management, the United Nations

implemented the following resolutions:

- 23 December, 2003: Resolution A/RES/58/217 proclaiming 2005-2015 International

Decade for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015.

- 22 March, 2005: Start of the International Decade for Action "Water for Life" 2005-2015

as established in Resolution A/RES/58/217

- 20 December, 2006: Declaration of 2008 'International Year of Sanitation' (A/RES/61/192).

- 21 December, 2009: Resolution calling for a Midterm comprehensive review of the im-

plementation of the International Decade for Action 'Water for life' 2005-2015 (A/RES/64/198).

- 28 July, 2010: UN Resolution recognizing access to safe and clean drinking water

and sanitation as a human right (A/RES/64/292).

- 11 February: 'Sustainable sanitation: the five-year drive to 2015'. Follow-up of the

International Year of Sanitation, 2008 (A/RES/65/153). This is an initiative by the UN

Secretary-General' Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB), UNICEF and

the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC). The resolution

makes reference to the Decade.

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/wwap/11

http://www.who.int/topics/drinking_water/en/12

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

- 11 February, 2011: Declaration of 2013 'International Year of Water Cooperation' (A/RES/65/154).

- 24 July, 2013: UN Resolution A/RES/67/291 designates 19 November as World ToiletDay in the context of Sanitation for All.

- 19 December, 2014: UN General Assembly adopts resolution on International Decade

for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015, and further efforts to achieve the sustainable de-

velopment of water resources (A/RES/69/215). 13

WATER FOR LIFE DECADE

.

According to UN Resolution A/RES/58/217, proclaiming 2005-2015 International Decade

for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015, these are the activities and reports done until now:

- 22 March, 2005: Start of the International Decade for Action "Water for Life" 2005-2015

as established in Resolution A/RES/58/217

- 11-22 April, 2005: 13th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.

Report on the thirteenth session (E/2005/29), which contains a matrix of actions to

form a basis for the Decade.

- 25 July, 2005: Report of the UN Secretary-General on Actions taken in organizing the

activities of the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015 (A/60/158).

This inception report of the Decade contains pledges of activities by the UN agencies,

as well as the proposed governance structure.

- August 2007: Opening of the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development

(UNW-DPC) in Bonn, Germany.

- January-December, 2008: International Year of Sanitation.

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/milestones.shtml13

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

- December, 2008: Status of Implementation of CSD-13 Policy Actions on Water and

Sanitation. This document builds upon the decisions reached during the 13th Session

of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in 2005.

- 22 March, 2010: High-Level Interactive Dialogue on the implementation of the

International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015. UN Headquarters, New

York. Four documents were presented:

o Water, peace and security: transboundary water cooperation (A/64/692 and A/

64/692/Corr.1).

o Organization of the midterm comprehensive review of the International Decade

for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015 (A/64/693).

o Water, climate change and disasters (A/64/695).

o Water and the internationally agreed development goals (A/64/694).

- 8-9 June, 2010: High-level International Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive

Review of the Implementation of the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life'

2005-2015. Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

- 22 June, 2010: Dushanbe Declaration on Water (A/65/88). This 'non-negotiated text'

lists a number of focal areas for the remainder of the Decade.

- 16 August, 2010: Report of the UN Secretary-General on the Midterm comprehensive

review of the implementation of the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life'

2005-2015 (A/65/297).

- 21 June, 2011: Launch of UN Campaign "Sustainable sanitation: the five-year drive to

2015".

- 20-22 June, 2012: Rio+20. The Rio+20 Outcome Document highlights the commitment

to the 2005-2015 International Decade for Action "Water for Life".

- January-December, 2013: International Year of Water Cooperation.

- September, 2013: UN Deputy Secretary-General’s Call to Action on Sanitation.

- 19 November, 2013: 1st UN celebration of World Toilet Day.

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

- 18-19 February, 2014: UN General Assembly thematic debate on Water, Sanitation

and Sustainable Energy in the Post-2015 Development Agenda. UN-water

presents recommendations for a global goal on water in post-2015 agenda.

- 11 March, 2014: Special Event “Taking Stock of the International Year of Water

Cooperation and Advancing the Global Water Agenda Post-2015”.

- 19 July, 2014: UN Open Working Group adopts its final proposal for Sustainable

Development Goals.

- 17 August, 2014: The 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-

Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (United Nations Watercourse

Convention) enters into force .

- 6 November, 2014: UN Human Rights Council appoints Léo Heller as 2nd Special

Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation.

- 4 December, 2014: UN Secretary-General presents advanced version Synthesis

Report on Post-2015 Agenda

- 30 March, 2015: High-level Interactive Dialogue ‘The International Decade for Action:

Progress achieved and lessons learned relevant to the achievement of sustainable

development'.

- 9-11 June, 2015: High Level International Conference on the implementation of the

International Decade for Action “Water for Life”, 2005-2015 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

- 13- 16 July, 2015: 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis

Ababa, Ethiopia. 14

QARMAs (Questions a Resolution Must Answer)

- How is sustainable water management being promoted?

- What incentives are provided in the solution?

- From where will the resources to generate those incentives come from?

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/milestones.shtml14

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

- What are some realistic short-term and long-term measures in order to achieve sus-

tainable water management?

- Which countries face a water crisis and what are the economic and social conse-

quences?

KEY WORDS

- Human Rights: Are those rights intrinsic to all human beings despite their nationality,

religion, language, etc.

- Millennium Goals: “The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set of eight

goals set by 191 United Nations member countries that have the goal of halving world

poverty by the year 2015.” 15

- Safe Water: Water able to be consumed due to a purification process which does not

represent any risk to health.

- Salubrious: “favorable to or promoting health or well-being.” 16

- Sanitization: Is the complete disappearance of pathogenic microorganisms without

causing any infection. The process whereby a substantial reduction of microbial con-

tent takes place, to a safe level , without reaching to the complete disappearance of

pathogenic microorganisms without causing any infection.

- Scarcity: Short supply.

CONCLUSION Cities cannot be sustainable without ensuring reliable access to safe drinking water and

adequate sanitation. Coping with the growing needs of water and sanitation services within

cities is one of the most pressing issues of this century. Sustainable, efficient and equitable

management of water in cities has never been as important as in today's world. There is a

strong link between water management and poverty reduction. The lack of fresh water

https://www.oxfam.org.au/what-we-do/aid-and-development/millennium-development-15

goals/what-are-the-millennium-development-goals/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salubrious16

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

does not only result to people suffering and dying, but also to nations’ economies suffering.

Water management is, not only a necessary step to preserve the planet and humanity, but

also a good investment. It can contribute to poverty reduction in affordable ways and it

promotes health and therefore development in local communities. 17

REFERENCES

- http://www.unwater.org/topics/water-security/en/

- http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/pdf/27_01_2014_un-water_paper_on_a_-

post2015_global_goal_for_water.pdf

- http://www.aquafed.org/pages/fr/admin/UserFiles/pdf/2013-10-11_Budapest_Water_-

Summit_Statement.pdf

- http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SC/pdf/Consultation_freshwa-

ter_2013_EN.pdf

- https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/learning-reference/about-rotary/water-and-sanita-

tion

- http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002180/218061e.pdf

- http://www.lb.undp.org/content/dam/rbas/doc/Energy%20and%20Environment/

Arab_Water_Gov_Report/Arab_Water_Report_AWR_Chapter%203.pdf

- h t t p s : / / b o o k s . g o o g l e . c o m . l b / b o o k s ?

id=UXy_AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259&dq=SECURING+AND+ATTAINING

+ S U S T A I N A B L E + W A T E R

+MANAGEMENT&source=bl&ots=HlkqSPu27F&sig=9MJgXwMEN_5EXhq1aPx-

q1q4RtR4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwATgKahUKEwj0kfWYvZHHAhUnKN-

sKHV1SAXw#v=onepage&q=SECURING%20AND%20ATTAINING%20SUSTAIN-

ABLE%20WATER%20MANAGEMENT&f=false

- http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/transboundary_waters.shtml

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/resources/povertyreduction/en/17

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ECOSOC, TOPIC AREA B: SECURING AND ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT

- http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/milestones.shtml

- http://www.un.org/spanish/waterforlifedecade/pdf/human_right_to_water_and_sanita-

tion_media_brief_spa.pdf

- http://www.refworld.org/docid/4538838d11.html

- http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24397#.Vcku3XGqqko

- http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/human_right_to_water.shtml

- http://ustmun.weebly.com/economic-and-social-council-ecosoc.html

- http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml

- http://www.unep.org/dewa/vitalwater/article141.html

- http://www.climatedata.info/Impacts/Impacts/waterstress.html

- http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/freshwater-crisis/

- http://www.adb.org/sectors/water/main

- http://www.freshwateraction.net/content/about-us-0

- http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/

- http://www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/water/en/

- http://www.conservation.org/what/Pages/fresh-water.aspx

- http://www.unep.org/Themes/Freshwater/About/index.asp

- http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/resources/povertyreduction/en/

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