The Water Youth Movement was created in partnership by the French think tank called Youth Diplomacy and various students from the Netherlands.  h – 17th March 2012. During the Forum, governments and international leaders promised to help us share our message with the international community and enable exchanges between young people and decision makers (experts, politicians,…) beyond the 6th WWF. Therefore we decided to continue this project.

We are currently gathering youth organisations on water-related issues to share our ideas, our informations and strengthen our position in international summits. We wish to transform this local movement into a global network to encourage meaningful participation of global  youth to help solve issues related to water.  Youth Diplomacy and the WYM are currently laying the foundations for the Water Youth Network and will be in charge of its coordination. It already includes programs in which Phd and Master students from all around the world can share theirs experiences and research works. Most of them participated to the Emerging Academic Program (EAP) during the last World Water Forum.  In the long run, we hope to organize the network into regional divisions in order to be more efficient and have a greater impact.

We welcome all initiatives and are eager to learn about your experiences, researches, interests and ideas.

How can you join and participate in the WYN?

- You can join us on the WYN facebook page to participate to the online discussions and to keep in touch with your network.
– You can submit writing samples, ideas, findings that will be featured on the WYN website.
– You can create your local WYN division. WYN Europe in currently under construction but we need you to start shaping your local organization or network.

What is there for you?

- Joining the network is a great opportunity to participate in major water events. Last year, we invited more than 40 young people from all around the world to come to the 6th World Water Forum to express themselves and introduce their researches in front of important international leaders.
– It is also a great way to meet people that are interested in the same issues as you and with whom you can share your experiences.
– It is an easy way to keep in touch with the evolution of water related issues through our water news updates, our lecture reviews and water activities.

While writing the weekly water news for our website, we often come across articles and posts of different water NGOs. What always strikes us is how inaccurate and vague those articles often are when it comes to statistics and numbers.

We decided to compile a list of the most updated statistics from what we think are the most reliable sources. This way, you know where the world actually stands, in terms of water access and health and social disparities.

Access to water

● 783 million people lack access to improved water sources.

● By 2015, the number of people lacking access to improved water sources is expected to be 605 million.

● In just 20 years, demand for water will be 40 percent higher than it is today, and more than 50 percent higher in the most rapidly developing countries.

● No other single intervention is more likely to have a significant impact on global poverty than the provision of safe water.

● Water weighs 8.35 pounds per gallon. Many adults carry up to five gallons of water per trip. It means that they carry over forty pounds of water for miles.

● Between 50 and 100 litres of water per person per day are needed to ensure that most basic needs are met and few health concerns arise. Access to 20-25 litres per person per day represents a minimum, but this amount raises health concerns because it is insufficient to meet basic hygiene and consumption requirements.

● Most of the people categorized as lacking access to clean water use about 5 litres a day-one tenth of the average daily amount used in rich countries to flush toilets.

● Drinking water coverage increased from 76 per cent in 1990 to 89 per cent in 20107.

Social Disparities

● As of 2010, 84% of the world population without an improved drinking-water source lives in rural areas.

● In most developing countries 30-60% of rural water systems are inoperative at any given time.

● Rural women are responsible for water collection in almost two-thirds of households in developing countries.

● In developing countries, it is estimated that women spend a combined total of at least 16 million hours each day collecting drinking water; men spend 6 million hours; and children, 4 million hours.

● A return journey to collect water takes on average 25 minutes, and 3.9 trips per day are made by each household. Thus an average household spends 1 hour and 40 minutes each day collecting water.

● Use of improved water sources is correlated with wealth. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost 90 per cent of the richest fifth of the population use improved water sources, while only 35 per cent of thepoorest fifth of the population do.

● People living in the slums of Jakarta, Manila and Nairobi pay 5 to 10 times more for water than those living in high-income areas in those same cities and more than consumers in London or New York.

Health

● Safe drinking water alone can reduce water-related deaths by 21%

● Roughly half the hospital beds in the developing world are filled with people suffering from water related illnesses.

● Diarrhoea kills more young children than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined.

● Diarrhoeal disease alone amounts to an estimated 11% of the Global distribution of deaths among children under age 5 in 201017 (13% in Africa region)

● 94% of diarrhoea cases are preventable.

Sources

● The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) monitors progress towards the MDG target to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. The JMP publishes a report every two years which presents an update on the progress made towards reaching the MDG target for drinking water and sanitation using proxy indicators for use of improved drinking-water sources and the use of improved sanitation facilities. The estimates for the use of drinking-water supply originate from data collected by national statistics offices and international survey programmes through nationally representative household surveys and national censuses

● UNICEF. UNICEF has a specialized statistical website ( http :// www . childinfo . org / ) where some of the latest data on women and children can be found. Country profiles, regional profiles, graphics - using google tools – are available. UNICEF supports countries to collect data through the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) programme. They also get their data from National Sample Survey, demographic and health survey; district level servey… There is no regularly published survey.

● The Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) is produced every two years by the World Health Organization (WHO) on behalf of UN-Water. It monitors the inputs required to extend and sustain water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems and services. The 2012 report presents data received from 74 developing countries (through the 2011 GLAAS country survey) covering all the Millennium Development Goal regions, and from 24 external support agencies, representing approximately 90% of official development assistance for sanitation and drinking-water.

● World Water Development Report (WWDR) is coordinated by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) on behalf of UN-Water and published every three years. It provides a global strategic outlook on the state of freshwater resources, trends in use of the resource base in the various sectors (inter alia, agriculture, industry, energy) and management options in different settings and situations. It also includes regional assessments.

● UNDP MDG Reports. National, regional and global annual reports based on data provided by a large number of international organizations within and outside the United Nations system. The aggregate figures in the report provide an overview of regional progress under the eight MDG goals and are a convenient way to track advances over time. The report is coordinated and published by the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

● UNDP. Human Development Report is an annual milestone publication. It was first launched in 1990. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI): The 2010 Report featured a new multidimensional poverty measure that complements income-based poverty assessments by looking at multiple factors at the household level, from basic living standards to access to schooling, clean water and health care.

By Elisa Dehove for the Water Youth Movement

Water Youth Movement @ the 6th World Water Forum 

 The vision of all youth at the World Water Forum, structured around 3 pillars (education, crossing boundaries, innovation)

The Youth Vision, which has been presented on Wednesday 14th March, combines the work of all youth initiatives at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille and focuses on the contributions and commitments of the youth towards the next Forum and other major water related events.

The vision is initiated by the Youth task force of the Forum, the Water Youth Movement. The Water Youth Movement aims to bring together the different youth initiatives at the World Water Forum. Besides, the Water Youth Movement is looking beyond March 17th 2012 towards the next Forum in Daegu, Korea, but also towards other water related events and processes such as Rio+20 and the Stockholm water week, and other water related initiatives of the youth.

We have structured the vision along three interrelated pillars being education, crossing boundaries and innovation, that have emerged from declarations of the youth during the forum. These are areas in which the Youth can have a direct, active, observable and lasting contribution. They also have a direct impact on young people around the world.

]]> http://wateryouthmovement.org/water-youth-movement-the-6th-world-water-forum-presentation-of-the-vision-of-all-youth-on-march-14-2012/feed/ 1 http://wateryouthmovement.org/the-emerging-academic-program-solutions-for-the-6th-world-water-forum/ http://wateryouthmovement.org/the-emerging-academic-program-solutions-for-the-6th-world-water-forum/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:13:22 +0000 Elisa http://wateryouthmovement.org/?p=395

Students and young professionals coming from all over the world have innovative solutions to tell about at the 6th World Water Forum. Here is the summary of the Emerging Academic Program Solutions :

1. Good governance is the key

In order to ensure that the actions, opinions and needs of all who have an influence on and are influenced by water management are taken into consideration, sustainability assessments need to be backed up by multi-stakeholder engagement.

• It is important to take into account the expertise voiced by different actors including residents, policymakers, scientists, potential investors and enterpriseswho can participate in roundtable meetings, plan policies and assess investment opportunities. (Xiaoman Yu, People’s Republic of China)

• Furthermore, acknowledging the difficulty of incorporating the voices of the usually socially excluded, it is necessary to integrate the local community into decision-making processes to better understand the factors which influence the success of a project. Such factors include community culture, government roles and the available funds and resources. (David Rounce, United States)

• The management of water resources must also be adapted to geographical, political, economical, social and cultural particularities of regions. It is crucial to create a sustainable access to water by thinking globally and acting locally. Specifically, this means incorporating all three nodes of sustainability and creating solutions that are economical – (at fair prices), environmentally friendly (by preserving ecosystems and biodiversity), and socially inclusive (by creating participatory democracy). (Natalia Selivanova, Canada)

• A good water governance and managementalso relies on good communication. Today’s technological ability must be recognized to bring experts and population together, such as the use of a cellular telephone as a financial incentive to support water resource management plans. (Aaron Krolikowski, United States)

• The importance of a long-term vision across all levels needs to be at the heart of the solutions. Building in the long term and in a sustainable way should become a priority and be encouraged and rewarded, not only by governments. For instance, competitions for the title of ‘sustainable city’ / ‘sustainable region’ could be organized by the government and rewarded by a “good water management” label.

There should be no conditions to let people choose what kind of water management they want. Aid donors should stop tying their lending to economic policies or policies which have negative environmental and social effects. Structural adjustment loans and water and sanitation loans used to contain conditions requiring privatization, including service contracts, management contracts. If donors argue that they have changed their approach and that ‘conditionality’ has been replaced by ‘ownership’, little has changed on the ground.

The best water management doesn’t always rely on privatization or private public partnership. Local people and government should be the ones to decide what type of water management will meet poor people’s needs. We should promote a type of water management and provision that is the most adapted to local context, (community based management, informal water provision), inspired to what is working on the ground. regulation.

2. A better use of water to insure food security

Finding an optimal use of water in order to prevent waste is one of the major issues being faced today.  Indeed, agriculture is one of the major water consumers, and yet it is indispensable to human life. To avoid waste, several levels of water use require attention and improvement. Many of the solutions mention alternatives to the high water consumption of agriculture.

• For instance, it is proposed to promote organic polyculture to compensate for the impact of urbanization on peri-urban agriculture, against intensive agricultural production which causes a deterioration of the environment. (Amanda J, India).
• Anthony Egeru, Uganda, suggests developing a Phytomass Growth model (PHYGROW), the mapping of grazing and migration routes and water points conditions using relatively cheaper technologies, in order to optimize water uses.
• A new irrigation system is also submitted by Bertrand Joel Foe Eloundou, Cameroon: the idea is to reduce the difficulty of watering for truck farmers imposed by the decrease of available water resources, adopting a new small irrigation based on the use of motor-pumps.
• Wasting food is wasting water. Reduction of food lost through regional food systems, better storage facilities and infrastructures will help limit the waste of water (Jessica Sharkey).

Also, some solutions underline the importance of capturing and stocking water.

• For example, Lauren Bulcock promotes small scale water harvesting, which could improve the efficient use of rainfall by capturing it on or near the site.
• The idea of setting up large water tanks on top of mountains using the water and ice stored from the winter months has also been put forward by Mohamed Manoufali. Nabil Mansouri presents an innovative project: the 100L Water Project which is an integrated rainwater harvesting and end-use.

In order to set up an optimal use of water, consumers also have a responsibility.

• Indeed, they should recycle their wastewater and transform it for domestic purposes. At the same time, they should use what they really need. For example, Natalia Selivanova emphasizes implementing restrictions such as the unnecessary use of drinking water for industrial purposes.
• The economy and markets should also be involved in this water use improvement. It has been proposed to create basin-wide water markets (Dominic Skinner), to implement and improve water trade (Yana Nazarova, Russia) and to work out a payment for the environmental services system (PES) (Bruce Charles Scott-Shaw).

 3. Water treatment

Water treatment is a key link in the water use chain, as it is indispensable from a customer’s point of view with regards to the environment. Indeed, water treatment contributes to health improvement, and to the environmental cleanup. But most of the time, treatments are complicated, or expensive. Many solutions propose cheap and easy alternatives, using local material.

• For example, Björn Plüg, South Africa, proposes to implement new treatment plant re-using garden refuse as a source of carbon for the nitrate removal of treated landfill leachates. This solution aims at cleaning up waste waters and industrial effluents.
• Also, some African countries are lucky to own pozzolan in their ground (a volcanic rock). Indeed, this volcanic rock, when activated, can be used as a low cost and environmentally friendly way of filtrating water (Isaac Yves Nyengue Bahanak, Cameroon).
• In agricultural world, the installation of Biodigestor could contribute to waste-water-treatment decontamination while producing biogas (Pierre Paul Audate, Haïti Haïti).
• Another proposition is to improve the constructed wetlands technology for wastewater treatment, with active aeration or higher organic loads. (Viviana Valancia-Zuluaga, Colombia).
• A South African laboratory developed a very efficient water sanitizing filter (that is cheap and easily manufactured from biodegradable materials…) cheap, easily manufactured from food grade materials, biodegradable (Danielle Marguerite Du Plessis, South Africa).

4. Education

Education is an often highlighted theme. Indeed, there is a need to empower people, especially the younger population, and make them a part of the solutions.  It has been emphasized that if they learn the importance of water preservation and how to better use it, they will spread their knowledge into their community.

• According to Alex Zizinga, skill development among young people is key to sustaining all the mentioned priorities.
• For example, children and young people should be taught alternative water saving techniques for  irrigation methods, recycling and reuse of water (Edward Mukiibi).
• Teaching children and youth how to use water is a step in the right direction, but it is not the sole answer. Some propose to make them real actors of this issue. In this way, Sajid Iqbal emphasizes the creation of Youth Water Clubs, which would aware the youth and population about proper water use and conservation through workshops, camping and conferences.
• Nicole Susan highlights that training young teens between ages 11 to 15 to become peer educators in order to then promote the building capacity and to provide training for their younger siblings and neighbors, could increase the effectiveness of current hygiene promotion interventions.
• Young people should be taught ICT, to facilitate communication in the cheapest possible way to educate and advocate for environmental issues (Hira Hafeez-Ur-Rehman).

In order to strengthen the effects of all solutions, knowledge should be shared on a national, international and local level. International scientific discourses should be compared to local knowledge. Eunjeong Park supports the creation of a locally originated epistemic community, incorporating the nationwide epistemic groups and the collected local knowledge.

Finally, to help people understand the issues and the difficulties of proper water management, Kimberly Ogren suggests Hydro-games, as a way to develop solutions for water management, at any scale, from local to international, exploring the “what ifs” of water management.

 5. Information and data

A topic often mentioned in the solutions is access to data and information regarding hydrological matters. These solutions concern either the way data should be used or the models designed to forecast water management. A lot of solutions propose to use new technologies to get more accurate data and ease water management.

• For example, the use of freely available satellite images in a Geographical Information System (GIS) and of a web-based ICT tool in order to avail the processed data can help inform decision making processes (Bahal’okwibale Mulengera Patrick-Moïse, Congo).
• Access to this information is also another obstacle to tackle, and Xiaoman Yu’s idea, People’s Republic of China, is to build a database for decision makers . It would be equally open for public including NGO, enterprises, and research institutions.
• Following the same thought, the University of Texas has recently engaged in a project called World Water Online (WWO) aimed at linking geospatial, climate and observation data together and distributing this data across the globe while conforming to standards (Fernando Salas, United States).

6. Crises and risks management

Another theme highlighted by young people in their solutions is risk management. Risk may be understood as a natural disaster (such as flood, drought, hurricane…), or tribal wars triggered by water issues.

• Regarding natural disasters, one of the proposition is to promote a strategic planning for flood risk management, with a multidisciplinary networking approach, three levels of action (prevention, during and post-event) and above all a participatory management with the creation of a committee of health emergency, involving representatives of civil society along with political managers and technical staff specialized in this type of situation. (Camila Pozzer, Brazil).
• Mukhtar Mohamoud, Somaliland, suggests improving our resilience to variable rainfalls, for instance using underground aquifers, drought resistant crops, water harvesting…
• Around the world, water is a source of life, but also of conflicts. Eunjeong Park, South Korea, proposes to reinforce soft power of weaker countries in hydro-politics in order to overcome asymmetrical capabilities.

The 5th World Water was held in Istanbul in 2009 under the theme “bridging divides for water”. In spite of its goal, the Forum ended with mixed conclusions and showed a significant divide in opinion. But the true scope and urgency of the world water crisis became recognized and many engaged to solve water related issues.

Water scarcity is among the main problems to be faced by many societies around the world in the XXIst century. Furthermore, water resource management is administratively complicated because it involves legal, environmental, technological, economic and political considerations. The goals of the World Water Forum are to « raise the importance of water on the political agenda, to support the deepening of discussions towards the solution of international water issues in the 21st century, to formulate concrete proposals and bring theirimportance to the world’s attention and to generate political commitment ». However, differentiating views on how water resources should be managed divided the different actors of the WWF concerning the following main debates :

- Is access to water a human right or a need ?

- Who is legitimate to hold the Forum ?

- How to include access to water rights in national legal frameworks ?

- Is the privatization of water systems the best way to manage water ?

To answer those questions, among others, the 5th WWF theme was explored through more than 100 thematic sessions, seven regional sessions, and a series of political processes. Here are its main outcome.

Overall challenges emerged

From all sectors, continents and backgrounds, participants identified six challenges :

 1. Global Changes, Disasters and Migration

2. Advancing Human Development and the MDGs

3. Managing and Protecting Water Resources and their Supply

Systems to Meet Human and Environmental Needs

4. Governance and Management

5. Finance

6. Education, Knowledge & Capacity Building

A broad range of region-specific issues.

The regional discussions emphasized the need to enhance transboundary cooperation on water resource management, and to build adaptive capacities of institutions in each region to manage emerging challenges, particularly those related to climate change.

Political Process

 For the first time in the World Water Forum’s history, a Heads of State meeting was organized. They adopted the Heads of State Appeal, promising to put Water Security at centre stage.

 In addition, the outcome of meetings between the Ministers and Heads of Delegations resulted in the “Istanbul Ministerial Statement” and the “Istanbul Water Guide”, a list of 140 recommendations, which provide guidance on how to improve water security and water management.

Also for the first time over 250 Parliamentarians from around the   world jointly started to address water issues. The “Parliaments for Water” meeting ended with series of proposals on water-related policies. The document also indicates the necessity to create a “Parliamentarians Helpdesk” in the upcoming year to aid political cooperation on water legislation and its implementation.

Finally, local/regional elected representatives produced the “Istanbul Water Consensus”, a compact for Local and Regional Authorities willing to commit to adapting their water infrastructure and services to the emerging challenges they are facing.

 The Youth Declaration

The document signified the stance of youth on water crisis emphasizing the importance of global cooperation for a better future.

The forum’s conclusions showed a significant divide in opinion when the “right to clean water” was acknowledged only as “a necessity for life” : “We acknowledge the discussions within the UN system regarding human rights and access to safe drinking water and sanitation. We recognize that access to safe drinking water and sanitation is a basic human need”. But, since then, a great deal of progress has been made and the United Nation, following an intense negotiation, adopted a resolution recognizing that the human right to water and sanitation are a part of the right to an adequate standard of living. Many other progresses have been made over the past three years and the objectives of the 6^th WWF will be to “build on previous fora and move forward”.

Many people are working hard to contribute to the world water forum. You are one of these people.

Please sign in the comments section at the bottom to call for more continuity between Forums so your contribution is not lost. Spread the word!

               As youth water stakeholders, we strongly feel the need to cast in stone the importance of inclusiveness, continuity and working towards a better a better future together. Therefore we ask you to support our call to plead for a renewed commitment on the facilitation of input from all water stakeholders and continuity between the World Water Forums. Stronger structures are needed to ensure that the networks, knowledge and progress started in the previous Forums and other important events are linked and continued and that the next Forum builds upon it.

               We, undersigned, water stakeholders, participants and organisers of sessions in the 6th World Water Forum, gathered in Marseilles, France, for contributing to the preparation process from all over the world:
 
1.     Recognise the urgency to develop and implement solutions to the water crisis the world is facing and to make water a tool for the sustainable development of our planet and its societies;
 
2.     Recognise the fundamental role of the World Water Forum in mobilizing water stakeholders from all perspectives to create synergies and partnerships between each other to further connect them with elected politicians and other representatives of civil society in order to place water high on the global agenda and to progress toward water-related solutions;
 
3.    Acknowledge the importance of the timely and thorough analysis of issues, the development of SMART targets and the identification of concrete solutions to address these issues and the move towards implementation through action plans and commitments;
 
4.   Commit to work in the coming three years toward the implementation of the action plans agreed upon during the preparation and the sessions of the 6th World Water Forum, ensure continued input from the youth and other important stakeholders within this process and commit to report on the progress made at the 7th World Water Forum to be held in Daegu, Korea in 2015;
 
5.   Urge the World Water Council and the organisers of the 7th World Water Forum to put in place a mechanism and appropriate tools that will help the youth to coordinate actions and report on the progress of our commitments so as to sustain the momentum and outcomes from this Forum and ensure proper reporting and further consolidation of our achievements in Korea in 2015;

 
6.   Ask involved politicians and the World Water Council to collect all action plans and relevant solutions as validated by the 6th World Water Forum sessions and officially forward them to the Commission for Sustainable Development, together with this Declaration, as a contribution to the success of the Millennium Development Goals and the Rio+20 conference.

Post your solution on our Forum of Solutions to build the Youth Voice !!

No deadline, you can post your thoughts until the Forum… and beyond !

The 6th World Water Forum is looking to invite advanced Master’s and PhD students from around the world to present their solutions-based work and participate as fully engaged members of the Forum. Selected applicants will have the opportunity to work with high level experts from academia, the public sector, and private industry. They will take part in networking events with other young professionals and water experts from around the world. So don’t wait to  fill in the form to apply! Deadline : 15th January

http://www.jotform.com/wateryouthmovement/applicationforthe6thworldwaterforum

Here’s the presentation document for more information : 6th World Water Forum Call for Applications

Best applications will be selected by a committee of water experts. Meet our selection committee here !

Together, as a global youth movement, we will be able to influence important decisions. The film explains our plan and we hope you will join us.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Today, almost 900 million people do not have access to safe drinking water and more than double lack access to basic sanitation. Both with detrimental effects. Water can be a friend, but also an enemy through storms, droughts and floods that are expected to become more serious in future. Every part of the world faces different water challenges.

The current water crisis hits us, children and youth, hard: diseases and health risks hit this vulnerable group harder than others, limiting the freedom and opportunities to use our full potential, to build up good lives and to contribute to the societies we belong to.

It is obvious that we, the youth of the world, have a large stake to get involved in the decision making on water; the future is ours!

The World Water Forum gives us the chance to speak up and to get involved in the process leading up to the 6^th World Water Forum in Marseille. We are invited to think about and contribute to the targets set by the World Water Community.

The following months, we will gather contributions to the discussions from all over the world. These contributions will come from young people already active in other youth initiatives to the Forum, and from youth outside of this initiative. Everyone is free to join.

Do you want to get involved too?