Water: A Crisis of Governance, Says UN Water Report
Although unevenly distributed, the world has plenty of freshwater. However, mismanagement, limited resources and environmental changes mean that almost one-fifth of the planet's population still lacks access to safe drinking water and 40 percent lack access to basic sanitation, says the United Nations World Water Development Report 2, a joint effort of 24 UN agencies and entities involved in water resources management. Entitled “Water, a shared responsibility,” this triennial report focuses on the importance of governance in managing the world's water resources and tackling poverty.
Governance systems, it says, “determine who gets what water, when and how, and decide who has the right to water and related services.” Such systems are not limited to “government,” but include local authorities, the private sector and civil society. They also cover a range of issues intimately connected to water, from health and food security, to economic development, land use and the preservation of the natural ecosystems on which our water resources depend.