Earth Day Declaration on Water
The United Nations has declared 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater.
Earth Day Network supports this designation and is launching a two-year Water
for Life campaign for Earth Day 2003 and 2004. Earth Day Network\'s Water for
Life campaign aims to bring global attention to the world\'s water crisis and
provides practical ways for individuals, communities and corporations to improve
access to healthy water worldwide. More than one billion people lack access to
safe drinking water and more than two billion lack sanitation. According to the
World Health Organization (WHO), millions of people, most of whom are children,
die from water-related diseases every year. Water is a human right and access to
clean and safe water is fundamental to humanity. Although there is significant
work being done to address the world\'s water challenges, more citizens,
organizations, and corporations must participate in solutions to adequately
address the emergency. Governments carry full responsibility to provide safe
water to citizenry. Many municipalities have failed to adequately provide water
services and sanitation, increasing the risks of water borne illnesses, water
scarcity, and crop failure. Conservation strategies and improved management can
protect and ensure the long-term viability of watersheds and water resources.
The current trend toward privatization of water services weakens public control
and threatens governments\' ability to ensure water as a human right. The track
record of the private sector\'s management of water resources and services has
shown that private interests often take precedence over the basic human right of
access to water. In the same vein, many opportunities exist for the largest
corporate users and purveyors of water to adopt more sustainable and proactive
approaches to addressing the world\'s water crisis. Corporate leadership and
commitment to action are vital to addressing the global water crisis. Companies
who take precautionary actions through conservation efforts not only help to
protect their own future needs for water but will also reduce future risks to
health and the environment in communities where they have a presence. Increased
regulation of corporate purveyors and industrial users of water is imminent.
Many water conservation strategies offer benefits of increased efficiency and
lower overall costs now as well as the opportunity to avoid future repercussions
from regulation. The lack of attention to sanitation is a glaring problem given
the number of water-related deaths and diseases resulting from inadequate
sanitation. To address sanitation, governments and international agencies have
moved away from large infrastructure projects and centralized water treatment,
and many different household and community approaches are being developed. As
more decentralized approaches are explored and new water purification products
come on the market, it will be increasingly important to tailor approaches to
the local situation and avoid allowing private sector market interest to drive
the solutions chosen. Long-term environmental and health impact assessments must
be performed as these household treatment methods are introduced at greater
scale. Another way governments and communities can deal with poor water access
is to address the inequity in different sectors\' water consumption. According
to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), more than 70% of
the world\'s water is consumed for agricultural purposes. In many countries,
farmers are now tapping into groundwater resources when other supplies run
short. This leads to a gradual lowering of the water table and the sinking of
its foundations. In the U.S. alone, the most recent National Water Quality
Inventory reported that agricultural non-point source pollution is the leading
cause of water quality impacts to rivers and lakes and a major contributor to
groundwater pollution. In the past, water use for large-scale industrial
agriculture has been prioritized over small-scale subsistence, communal, and
traditional uses. In order to ensure food security, poverty alleviation, and
environmental protection, water use for industrial agriculture must be better
managed and regulated. Everywhere, communities and local and national
governments need capacity building, education and access to information to be
more effective water managers. These critical elements of the water development
process are often disregarded. More value must be placed on local
capacity-building institutions, cultural diversity, and traditional knowledge in
order to focus on a long-term commitment to improving the water crisis.
Education on water issues also needs to continue to be made available to all
stakeholders in all parts of the world. Greater attention should be given to
water education in primary and secondary school, and higher-level water-sector
education and training needs to be re-oriented towards solutions. While more
than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water and more than two
billion lack sanitation, during the 1990s, nearly one billion people gained
access to safe water and the same number to sanitation. It is possible to come a
long way in a short amount of time. Water can be a matter of life or death; the
urgency involved with addressing these issues is extreme. Solutions are emerging
that indicate a hopeful future, but individuals, communities, governments,
international institutions, and the private sector will still need to make
substantial contributions in addressing the water crisis. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eliza
Barclay Media Coordinator Earth Day Network 1616 P St. NW, Suite 200 Washington,
DC 20036 USA Ph: 1 202.518.0044 Fax: 1 202.518.8794 barclay@earthday.net
The United Nations has declared 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater. Earth Day Network supports this designation and is launching a two-year Water for Life campaign for Earth Day 2003 and 2004.
Earth Day Network\'s Water for Life campaign aims to bring global attention to the world\'s water crisis and provides practical ways for individuals, communities and corporations to improve access to healthy water worldwide.
More than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water and more than two billion lack sanitation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), millions of people, most of whom are children, die from water-related diseases every year. Water is a human right and access to clean and safe water is fundamental to humanity. Although there is significant work being done to address the world\'s water challenges, more citizens, organizations, and corporations must participate in solutions to adequately address the emergency.
Governments carry full responsibility to provide safe water to citizenry. Many municipalities have failed to adequately provide water services and sanitation, increasing the risks of water borne illnesses, water scarcity, and crop failure. Conservation strategies and improved management can protect and ensure the long-term viability of watersheds and water resources.
The current trend toward privatization of water services weakens public control and threatens governments\' ability to ensure water as a human right. The track record of the private sector\'s management of water resources and services has shown that private interests often take precedence over the basic human right of access to water. In the same vein, many opportunities exist for the largest corporate users and purveyors of water to adopt more sustainable and proactive approaches to addressing the world\'s water crisis.
Corporate leadership and commitment to action are vital to addressing the global water crisis. Companies who take precautionary actions through conservation efforts not only help to protect their own future needs for water but will also reduce future risks to health and the environment in communities where they have a presence. Increased regulation of corporate purveyors and industrial users of water is imminent. Many water conservation strategies offer benefits of increased efficiency and lower overall costs now as well as the opportunity to avoid future repercussions from regulation.
The lack of attention to sanitation is a glaring problem given the number of water-related deaths and diseases resulting from inadequate sanitation. To address sanitation, governments and international agencies have moved away from large infrastructure projects and centralized water treatment, and many different household and community approaches are being developed. As more decentralized approaches are explored and new water purification products come on the market, it will be increasingly important to tailor approaches to the local situation and avoid allowing private sector market interest to drive the solutions chosen. Long-term environmental and health impact assessments must be performed as these household treatment methods are introduced at greater scale.
Another way governments and communities can deal with poor water access is to address the inequity in different sectors\' water consumption. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), more than 70% of the world\'s water is consumed for agricultural purposes. In many countries, farmers are now tapping into groundwater resources when other supplies run short. This leads to a gradual lowering of the water table and the sinking of its foundations. In the U.S. alone, the most recent National Water Quality Inventory reported that agricultural non-point source pollution is the leading cause of water quality impacts to rivers and lakes and a major contributor to groundwater pollution. In the past, water use for large-scale industrial agriculture has been prioritized over small-scale subsistence, communal, and traditional uses. In order to ensure food security, poverty alleviation, and environmental protection, water use for industrial agriculture must be better managed and regulated.
Everywhere, communities and local and national governments need capacity building, education and access to information to be more effective water managers. These critical elements of the water development process are often disregarded. More value must be placed on local capacity-building institutions, cultural diversity, and traditional knowledge in order to focus on a long-term commitment to improving the water crisis.
Education on water issues also needs to continue to be made available to all stakeholders in all parts of the world. Greater attention should be given to water education in primary and secondary school, and higher-level water-sector education and training needs to be re-oriented towards solutions.
While more than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water and more than two billion lack sanitation, during the 1990s, nearly one billion people gained access to safe water and the same number to sanitation. It is possible to come a long way in a short amount of time. Water can be a matter of life or death; the urgency involved with addressing these issues is extreme. Solutions are emerging that indicate a hopeful future, but individuals, communities, governments, international institutions, and the private sector will still need to make substantial contributions in addressing the water crisis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eliza Barclay
Media Coordinator
Earth Day Network
1616 P St. NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036 USA
Ph: 1 202.518.0044
Fax: 1 202.518.8794
barclay@earthday.net
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