Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

8 / S E T T I N G T H E S C E N EThe World’s Water CrisisBox 1.1: Vision 21 – water supply andsanitation targets■ To reduce by 2015 by one-half the proportion ofpeople without access to hygienic sanitation facilities.■ To reduce by 2015 by one-half the proportion ofpeople without sustainable access to adequatequantities of affordable and safe water, which was alsoendorsed by the United Nations Millennium Declaration.■ To provide water, sanitation and hygiene for all by 2025.Source: WSSCC, 2000.Upon review of the events of the IWSSD, the use of such globaltargets was criticized as failing to focus on the changes thatcontribute progressively to health and development, and targetswere held to be too simplistic, dividing the world into those who‘have’ and those who ‘have not’. The Vision 21 report stressed theindicative nature of these targets and the need to consider them ina local context. However, it is still the view of many that suchtargets remain helpful in assessing the magnitude of the task aheadin meeting the water and sanitation needs of the poor.In this wider context, the United Nations General AssemblyMillennium meeting in the year 2000 established a number ofMillennium Development Goals that have become the key internationaldevelopment targets of the modern era. Only one directly relates towater (the Millennium Development Goal on environmentalsustainability) but improved water management can make a significantcontribution to achieving all of the goals. The relationships, both directand indirect, between the Millennium Development Goals and waterare listed in table 1.1. The Millennium Development Goals provide acontext within which wider issues linking water, sustainabledevelopment and poverty reduction can be understood. Table 1.1illustrates the importance of thinking about water in relation to a widercontext: the ways in which it can contribute to the overall reduction ofpoverty and the development of people and nations.Water and economic developmentThe economic well-being of society has so far exerted the greatestdemand on the world’s water resources. The major economic role ofwater lies in its relationship with agriculture. This is certainly true at anational level, where food security issues and national economicperformance are related, albeit in a complex way. But it is certain thatirrigation and the control of crop timing can equally affect the macroeconomicsof a country or region. At a local level, agriculture is themainstay of many rural communities, and the availability ofadequate water allows production of food for household nutritionand for sale at local markets. In addition, the availability ofirrigation water enables more crops to be grown per year, and theeconomics involved in the selling of produce, in irrigation and inyear-round farming increases employment opportunities, which hasdirect economic benefits on a local community.Water is an essential raw material in many industries that have amajor influence on economic performance at the national level, butalso at local and household levels. Water also plays a large role inpower generation in many countries whether through cooling, ordirectly through hydroelectricity generation. Water transport is alsoimportant in many parts of the world, allowing access to markets aswell as generating its own economy.Improved access to water and sanitation plays a huge indirectrole in local communities, insofar as the time taken for these basictasks is time made unavailable for economic activity. It can takesome people hours to collect water, and, in areas without sanitationfacilities, seeking privacy for defecation can also be timeconsuming.In addition, illness as a result of a water-relateddisease, not to mention the expense of medication or looking aftersomeone who is ill, prevents many people from carrying outeconomically active work. The time, energy and resources saved byimproved water and sanitation can very often be used on productiveeconomic activity.Many poor people in urban areas buy their water from privatevendors, often at a rate well in excess of piped water supply. Thismeans that a significant proportion of household expenditure isspent on water. Reduced water prices would have a major impact onthe economic status of such people, and, with money beingavailable for other things, may effect economic growth.Biodiversity, environmental sustainability and regenerationWater is an essential part of any ecosystem, in terms of both itsquantity and quality. Reducing the availability of water for thenatural environment will have devastating effects, as will thepollution from domestic, industrial and agricultural wastewaters. Justas the environment is integrally tied up with the social, health andeconomic impacts of water use, ensuring environmental sustainabilityand regeneration will also have positive effects on these areas.Damage to the environment is causing a greater number ofnatural disasters. Flooding occurs in areas where deforestation andsoil erosion prevent the attenuation of flood waters. Climatechange, which, it is suggested, is fueled both by emissions and bydegradation of the world’s natural environment, is blamed for theincreasing number of floods and droughts. The environment is alsoa source of many resources – food (agriculture, fisheries andlivestock) and raw materials from forests.