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FREE FLOWWater security through science-based cooperation:UNESCO’s International Hydrological ProgrammeBlanca Jiménez-Cisneros, Alexander Otte, Miguel de França Doria, Giuseppe Arduino,Léna Salamé, Siegfried Demuth, Anil Mishra, Alice AureliThe International Year of Water Cooperation reflects theglobal recognition that fresh water is vital for humanhealth, prosperity and peace and that internationallyagreed development objectives, in particular poverty eradication,gender equality, food security and the safeguarding ofecosystems and their life-supporting functions, cannot be facedwithout resolving current and future water challenges.In June 2012, the United Nations Conference on SustainableDevelopment underlined the need to address an array of water issuesincluding extreme events, pollution and wastewater treatment. Headsof state, governments and high-level representatives stated in theoutcome document The Future We Want that “water is at the coreof sustainable development as it is closely linked to a number of keyglobal challenges. We therefore reiterate the importance of integratingwater in sustainable development... In order to achieve this end westress the need for international assistance and cooperation.” 1Given its vital role, water has a specific target under the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs), is a thematic area under consultationfor the post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda and is recognizedas a human right. While water is a distinctive feature of ourplanet, allowing life to flourish, freshwater is a limited resource andImage: © Alexander Otte/UNESCOis unevenly distributed in space and time. Billions ofpeople are affected by water challenges including scarcity,water supply and sanitation.Currently, 85 per cent of the world’s human populationlive in the drier half of the Earth. All regions– particularly Africa – face serious freshwater challenges,albeit in different contexts. Our water resourcesare under increasingly severe pressures from climatechange and other global changes such as urbanization,intensified agricultural and industrial production,and population growth. Combined with the currenteconomic and financial crisis, this situation endangersthe significant progress achieved over recent decades inproviding safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.Almost 800 million people still have no access to safewater; nearly 2.5 billion lack access to basic sanitation;and 6-8 million die each year from water-related disastersand diseases. Climate change is aggravating this situation,as is the fact that almost 85 per cent of the world’stotal wastewater is discharged without adequate or anytreatment. Women, children and those living underconditions of poverty suffer most of the burdens causedby the water crisis. In some parts of the globe, they oftenwalk for hours to fetch unsafe water, sometimes underlife-threatening conditions, jeopardizing their chancesfor education. The water crisis contrasts with the goal of‘water security’ – that is “the capacity of a population tosafeguard access to adequate quantities of water of acceptablequality for sustaining human and ecosystem healthon a watershed basis, and to ensure efficient protection oflife and property against water-related hazards – floods,landslides, land subsidence, and droughts.” 2Facts and figuresWater management must go beyond protection and restoration, and recognize thecarrying capacity of ecosystems in the face of increasing human impact• Groundwater is critical for the livelihoods of nearly 1.5billion rural households in the poorer regions of Africa andAsia, and for domestic supplies of a large share of theworld’s population elsewhere• Almost 85 per cent of the world’s total wastewater isdischarged without adequate or any treatment• 145 nations have territories within at least onetransboundary river basin• The costs of adapting to climate change impacts on waterare estimated to be around US$12 billion per year by 2050,with 83-90 per cent in developing countries.[ 12 ]