Yet many countries – particularly those in developing regions – signaled a need for increased capacity-building, investment and infrastructure development in order to fully implement integrated water resources management.
Country Perception of Key Issues
The water-related issues cited most often as ‘high’ or ‘highest priority’ by governments are infrastructure development and financing (79 per cent of all countries) and financing for water resources management (78 per cent).
Climate change is cited as a high priority for action in a majority of countries (70 per cent overall) and 76 per cent of countries considered that the threat to water resources from climate change has increased since 1992.
But the survey also highlights important differences between developed and developing countries in terms of water-related priorities. Using the Human Development Index, the survey categorized countries in four groups: low HDI, medium HDI, high HDI and very high HDI.
Ensuring adequate water supply for agriculture is a high priority for many low HDI countries, while the preservation of freshwater ecosystems (‘water for environment’) is a priority mainly for very high HDI countries.
Survey Recommendations
The survey includes a number of suggested targets and recommendations, which are designed to inform decision-makers at Rio+20. These are based on an assessment of the findings from the survey and include:
- By 2015, each country should develop specific targets and timeframes for preparing and implementing a programme of action and financing strategy for IWRM.
- By 2015, a global reporting mechanism on national water resources management should be established. This is to ensure a more rigorous reporting system on progress with IWRM, and improve the availability of information.
- More effort is needed to increase levels of financing and to improve the institutional framework for water resources management – especially focusing on low HDI countries.
The “UN-Water Status Report on the Application of Integrated Approaches to Water Resource Management”will be launched at the Rio+20 Conference on 19 June 2012 during the ‘Water Day’ coordinated by UN-Water.
The UN-Water assessment was based on two surveys: a questionnaire-based survey among all UN Member States (Level 1 Survey) and an interview-based survey in 30 representative countries (Level 2 Survey). 134 countries responded to the Level 1 Survey, representing 70 per cent of UN Member States and fairly even distribution among geographical regions and HDI groups. A list of all questions and the countries that participated in the survey is provided in an annex to the report.
Source: UNEP.
