WATER FOR CITIES: RESPONDING TO THE URBAN CHALLENGE
By Ugonma Cokey

Today the international community is celebrating World Water Day. The Day is held annually and is celebrated by hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals on March 22 to highlight the importance of freshwater and sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme for this year’s celebration is: Water and Urbanization under the slogan Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge.

According to a comprehensive new Footprint report, nearly one billion people lack access to adequate amounts of fresh water. The report also says that of the world’s total estimated population, about 15 percent of the population doesn’t have enough freshwater to live a healthy life.

It is to highlight the water problem in the world that the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UNCED in 1992, recommended that a day be set aside to create awareness on water issues and make a day to remind the world of the importance of water. The United Nations General Assembly responded and designated 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

The objective of this year’s World Water Day (WWD 2011) is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems. It is also to encourage action by governments, organizations, communities, and individuals on the need, more than ever before, for concerted action by the international community to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals related to water and sanitation.

Water and sanitation related diseases remain among the biggest killers, especially of children. Mortality from diarrhea diseases alone contributes about 6% of the Global Burden of Diseases. They are also responsible for the transmission of diarrhea, cholera, typhoid and several parasitic infections.
These diseases have a strong negative impact on the health and nutrition of children and their learning capacities, and contribute to significant absence from school. The adverse impacts of poor sanitation can extend well beyond the direct impacts on health; reducing tourism and agricultural exports, eroding good governance thereby dragging back economic progress.

The build-up to the day began on March 20 in Cape Town South Africa, venue of this year’s celebrations, with a variety of thematic sessions organized by UN-Water members and partner organizations. These include the WWD 2011 exhibition and fair which attracted one thousand five hundred participants, with a large podium for presentations and entertainment. It featured cultural events, speeches and interviews.

The global celebrations of World Water Day 2011 will provide a good opportunity to sensitize the world to the adverse global situation in urban water management, and to celebrate success and better educate decision-makers, sector stakeholders and the world population about solutions.

As half of the human population now live in cities, and within two decades nearly two-thirds of humanity will be living in cities, sanitation is today one of the most worrying targets, especially in cities.

There is growing evidence that the water infrastructure will also be significantly affected by climate change, particularly through the impact of floods, droughts, or extreme events. Water resources are expected to change, both in quantity and quality; and water, storm water and wastewater facilities will face greater risk of damage caused by storms,
floods and droughts. The effect of climate change will mean more difficult operations, disrupted services and increased cost for water and wastewater services.

According to the United Nations Joint Monitoring Programme, globally, cities have kept coverage rates stable in the face of massive population growth.
To meet the water and sanitation targets of the Millennium Development Goals, World leaders have acknowledged that it is critical that efforts should be maintained and stepped up. They also believe that the urban water challenge must be recognized for what it really is; a crisis of governance, weak policies and poor management.

The leaders stressed that there is need to shore up water security against the added problems of pollution, and climate change, the need for innovative ideas and good practices to implement, need for sound policies and the political will to back them up.

 

The World Water Day 2011 should therefore serve as a platform for sober reflection on the need for countries to have strengthened institutions and trained managers to run them together with an enlightened public sector to work with and the active participation of the communities most in need.

Also, available statistics about population growth requires that more infrastructures for sanitation and water management be built, and greater attention paid to resolving water issues.