Memorandum submitted by WWF
WWF'S INVOLVEMENT
IN WATER
1. WWF welcomes this opportunity to submit
to this Inquiry on water and sanitation. WWF works with government,
business and communities in more than 90 countries around the
world. Our mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's
environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony
with nature.
2. WWF has global experience in the management
of freshwater resources. WWF's Global Freshwater Programme focuses
its efforts in 28 of the world's major river basins to support
the development of sustainable and robust institutions for the
management of water that secure improved livelihoods while conserving
freshwater and wetland ecosystems.
3. In addition to work in river basins,
WWF is engaged in a number of specific initiatives that address
the relationship between water and livelihoods. WWF led the development
of the Better Sugar Initiative, a collaboration of progressive
sugarcane retailers, investors, traders, producers and NGOs who
are committed to developing internationally-applicable baselines
that define sustainable sugar cane.[141]
WWF-UK is a partner in the development of the Water and Sanitation
for the Urban Poor (WSUP) programme, and has led the first WSUP
project in Naivasha, Kenya.[142]
4. WWF worked closely with leading development
NGOs including Oxfam, Wateraid and Tearfund to ensure strong outcomes
from the Commission on Sustainable Development's international
negotiations on water in 2004 and 2005.[143]
5. WWF is currently engaged in a Partnership
Programme Agreement with DFID that supports WWF's work on the
sustainable management of natural resources around the world.
As part of this Agreement, WWF-UK engages with DFID to ensure
that natural resources management issues receive sufficient attention
in DFID's aid and assistance programmes.[144]
6. WWF has published influential reports
on the links between water management and livelihoods and on Integrated
Water Resource Management. These are available at www.panda.org/rivers.
WATER DELIVERY:
HYDROLOGICAL REALITY
7. Pollution and over-exploitation of water
resources will present one of the major global challenges of the
21st century. As water use increases with economic growth, so
the security of access to water resources will become increasingly
fragile. Over the last 200 years there has been a 6-fold increase
in human water use, and, according to United Nations agencies,
one-third of the world's population live in countries that are
experiencing moderate to high water stress. Already a number of
the world's major rivers nearly run dry, and some fail entirely
to reach the sea. Climate change is likely to significantly increase
water insecurity in many parts of the world. This poses profound
social, economic and environmental challenges.
8. The relationship between access to safe
water and sanitation and improved livelihoods and health are clear
and well documented. The benefits of access to safe water and
sanitation also include improved gender equity and educational
outcomes. This importance has been reflected by the high-profile
position afforded to water in the Millennium Development Goals.
Focus on the importance of improved access to safe water and sanitation
should not be lost.
9. In addition to the importance of safe
water and sanitation, water also plays a vital role in securing
economic development and livelihoods improvement. Globally, 70%
of water withdrawals are for agriculture. Improvements to agricultural
production remain vital to securing poverty alleviation. In most
parts of the world, access to irrigation water remains central
to the improvement of agricultural livelihoods.
10. Other livelihoods are also dependent
on healthy freshwater ecosystems, for example fisheries livelihoods.
In the Indus delta, for example, saline intrusion due to reduced
river flows have had very significant negative impacts on the
livelihoods of local fishermen. Reliable supplies of water play
a vital role in a number of key strategic industries, including
hydropower generation. For example, the Mtera dam in Tanzania
supplies up to 50% of Tanzania's power, but its functioning is
threatened by insecure water supplies.
11. Despite this importance, the lack of
security of supply and inequitable access to water is widespread,
undermining poverty reduction efforts. In a number of WWF's freshwater
programmes, we experience the conflict—sometimes violent—that
results from inequitable access to water resources. One example
of this is the Great Ruaha River in Tanzania, where conflict between
competing water users has on occasion led to violence. WWF has
worked with communities on the Great Ruaha on conflict resolution
and better water management along the river.
12. Over-exploitation and pollution of global
water supplies is also fundamentally undermining freshwater ecosystems.
The WWF Living Planet Report 2004 shows that populations of terrestrial,
freshwater and marine species fell on average by 40% between 1970
and 2000. The index tracks trends in populations of more than
a thousand species. It reveals that from 1970 to 2000 populations
of terrestrial and marine species dropped by 30%, while freshwater
populations plummeted by a spectacular 50%.[145]
A recent World Bank Environment report suggests that 25 to 30%
of freshwater fishes are vulnerable, endangered or extinct.
THE NEED
FOR BETTER
WATER MANAGEMENT:
POLITICAL REALITY
13. At the heart of the vital role that
water resources play is the need for strong water resources management—otherwise
known as Integrated Water Resources Management. What precisely
does this concept mean? Most vitally, decisions need to be made
over who needs water, how we get water to those who need it, and
what happens to water once it has been used.
14. Ensuring that water resources are allocated
equitably and sustainably requires strong institutions. Without
strong management, water over-abstraction can deny access to water
to the poor and the socially marginalized, fundamentally undermining
any efforts to improve livelihoods.
15. Safe water for domestic and productive
purposes requires the control of pollution from industry, agriculture
and household waste.
16. Planning of strategic industries, dams
and hydropower development must take account of the availability
of water resources and the downstream impacts on other water users
and water dependent livelihoods. In addition, dams and hydropower
development afford well recorded opportunities for mismanagement
and corruption, sometimes with very significant adverse social
consequences.
17. Each of these is roles is important
but demanding, and requires the development of significant new
capacity in the vast majority of countries around the world. Despite
the focus on the importance of water and sanitation for livelihoods
improvement, there still has not been adequate progress in developing
these management institutions and the policies and legislation
that support them. Of 95 countries surveyed by the Global Water
Partnership in late 2005, only 21% reported that significant progress
had been made in implementing Integrated Water Resources Management
nationally.
18. The devotion of resources and political
will to the development of robust water resources management institutions
is simply an absolute requirement if the challenges of global
water security are to be met.
19. SPECIFIC
RECOMMENDATIONS
20. DFID can play a number of important
roles in promoting the development of strong water resources management
institutions.
— DFID and aid partners must ensure
that safe water supplies and the development of strong integrated
water resources management receives high priority in future Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers on which aid is based. A review commissioned
by WWF-UK in 2004 of 10 PRSPs conducted in Africa, Asia and Latin
America found that that water issues had been inadequately and
inconsistently incorporated in PRSPs and—importantly—in
budgetary processes.
— DFID must ensure that support to
all aspects of water management is included alongside support
to water and sanitation infrastructure development in the provision
of aid to the water sector.
— DFID has played an important role
in a number of global water management initiatives, including
the Global Water Partnership and the EU Water Initiative. While
there has been some progress in these, it remains important that
a focus on support for integrated water management is retained
in these initiatives. More should be done to monitor rigorously
delivery against IWRM objectives and strategies.
— DFID must ensure that the highest
social and environmental standards are applied in the planning,
construction and operation of major water-related infrastructure
projects such as dams, hydropower, large irrigations schemes and
transport schemes that are donor financed. This must include finance
provided through multi-lateral initiatives, for example the EU-Africa
Infrastructure Partnership. DFID must work to ensure that all
dams financed through development assistance meet the recommendations
of the World Commission on Dams.
October 2006
141 http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/policy/agriculture_environment/index/our_solutions/better_sugarcane_initiative/index.cfm Back
142
http://www.wsup.com/ Back
143
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/csd12.htm Back
144
http://www.wwf.org.uk/researcher/issues/internationaldevelopment/index.asp Back
145
www.panda.org/livingplanet/ Back
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