African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

African Water Development Report 2006tection and sustainable use of ecosystems,such as wetlands, forests and sustainablymanaged soils which capture, filter, storeand distribute water;(b) An ecosystem approach to water supplyand sanitation that agrees that it is impossible,even counter-productive, to considerfreshwater and saltwater environments asseparate ecosystems. No longer can freshwaterand saltwater issues be considered inisolation, especially as the discharge of untreatedwastewater is one of the most seriousthreats to the health of coastal populationsand ecosystems;(c) Further promotion of the concept of integratedcoastal areas and river basin management,within the broader framework ofIntegrated Water Resources Management(IWRM) and facilitation of scientific, managementand institutional links betweenfreshwater management and coastal/marinemanagement, taking into consideration theexisting experience at the national and regionallevels.It is also necessary to take into consideration theten key elements identified by the United NationsMillennium Development Goals Task Force onEnvironmental Sustainability, on which specificrecommendations were made. These are:1. To improve small-scale agricultural productionsystems.2 To promote forest management for protectionand sustainable production.3 To combat threats to freshwater resourcesand ecosystems causing water scarcity indry areas and flooding in wet ones, as wellas pollution and salinisation.4 To address the threats to fisheries andmarine ecosystems brought on by the increasingdemand for marine products andservices and by the degradation of inlandhabitat.5 To address the drivers of air and water pollution6 To mitigate global climate change by stabilisinggreenhouse gas concentrations at450-550 part per million carbon dioxideequivalent and support countries in adaptingto its effects.7 To strengthen institutions and governancein order to improve the design and implementationof strategies for achieving environmentalsustainability.8 To develop policy instruments to correctmarket failures and distortions and toalign public and private incentives with thehealth and well-being of the poor.9 To promote science and technology for environmentalsustainability, and expand theuse of scientific and indigenous knowledgerelated to environmental management bypolicy makers and the general public.10 To build environmental sustainability intoall development strategies across sectors,and increase funding for environmentalmanagement.In order for African countries to achieve environmentalsustainability it is vital for them allto increase their efforts to systematically monitorkey environmental parameters such as air andwater quality, biodiversity and land degradationin order to enable them to develop indicators fordecision makers and all interested stakeholders.The number of transboundary basins existingin Africa makes regional and subregional cooperationnecessary in establishing measurementstations and systems to collect and analyse environmentaldata with active participation fromscientific advisory bodies.160