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14 Nov 2023
UNECE opens call for input on specifications for Groundwater Resources
On the 1st of November, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)’s Expert Group on Resource Management announced a call for public comment on a draft document aimed at supporting decision making and reporting on groundwater projects. According to UNECE, effective reporting of groundwater resources is crucial for policy formulation, resource management, and decision-making that aligns with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development...
10 Nov 2023
The High Cost of Cheap Water
Released on World Food Day, the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) report entitled “The High Cost of Cheap Water” estimates the annual use value of water to the global economy at U.S. $ 58 trillion, or 60% of global Gross Domestic Product. The WWF estimates the direct economic benefits of water, such as water for households, agriculture and industry, at U...
10 Nov 2023
Improving water management for rural development within the 2030 Agenda
Three-quarters of the world's poorest people live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods as well as on access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene for their health. In Sub-Saharan Africa, nearly 90% of the poorest people live in rural areas. Poor rural development is measured by poverty, health problems due to food insecurity and lack of nutrition and sanitation, low levels of education and training, and the high number of those - households, businesses, farmers, herders and their herds - with difficulties in accessing water (water insecurity)...
10 Nov 2023
Odisha ‘torch bearer’ in successful non-sewered sanitation
Odisha State in India has become a ‘torch bearer’ in successful expansion of non-sewered sanitation. In 2014, the State did not have a single Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) installed and only 2% of municipal sewage was being treated. The Odisha State Pollution Control Board presented the contamination status of the rivers in the State in 2015, and most cities reported up to ten incidents whereby the legal limits of coliform organisms and other indicators of biologically contaminated water were reported...
9 Nov 2023
Farmers protest against Mexico’s intended release of Rio Grande water to United States
Farmers in Chihuahua State in Mexico have approached the government to reserve water for irrigation rather than releasing it in order to comply with a treaty obligation to share water with the United States. In 2020, protestors occupied the site of the La Boquilla Dam to protest an impending release of some 36 million m³ of water from the reservoir...
9 Nov 2023
Mississippi River drops to historic low, affecting water supplies and trade
The Mississippi River is experiencing historical levels of drought for the second year in a row, with water levels at a record low of 3.5 metres below average at Memphis on the 10th of October. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 98% of the Mississippi River Basin experienced some level of drought conditions during September and October...
6 Nov 2023
Nigeria Approaches its Open Defecation Free Target Date
In a blog in Nigeria Health Watch , arguments have been presented proposing ways to accelerate access to sanitation in the country. These include the need for more active involvement of subnational government – states and municipalities, investments in public sanitation facilities, the application of community-led sanitation initiatives, and the involvement of the private sector...
3 Nov 2023
New Study points to irreversible melt of West Antarctic Ice Sheet
A study published in Nature Climate Change has come to the conclusion that the future melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) in the 21st century is unavoidable even if greenhouse gas emissions were to be strongly reduced. The study looked at a range of different scenarios of future ice shelf melting in the Amundsen Sea, ranging from optimistic to pessimistic projections of emissions reductions during the rest of the 21st century...
2 Nov 2023
Qatar Charity and UNOCHA to provide water and sanitation to displaced Yemenis
In October, Qatar Charity signed an agreement with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Yemen to provide water and sanitation services and improve access to health services for internally displaced persons in Yemen. The project is valued at U.S. $ 1.35 million and will be implemented in the governorates of Taiz and Ibb in the southwest of the country...
1 Nov 2023
Study shows that human activity is disrupting the natural salt content of freshwater
A study published by Nature Reviews Earth and Environment has shown that increasing salt production is contributing to the ‘freshwater salinization syndrome’: scientists are observing dramatic increases in salt concentrations in freshwater systems across local, regional, continental, and global scales...
30 Oct 2023
Water Integrity Network initiates petition to stop weaponization of water
On October 20th, the Water Integrity Network initiated a petition to the United Nations through change.org to stop the weaponization of water in all forms of conflict. The ‘weaponisation’ of water is referred to by the authors Mihir and Emin as the use of water to gain leverage over an adversary : this can be achieved through the contamination of water, through flooding, through the restriction of access or through the destruction of water infrastructure...
25 Oct 2023
Guinea rejoins Mali, Mauritania and Senegal to jointly govern the Senegal River
Guinea has announced its intention to rejoin the Organisation pour la Mise en Valeur du Fleuve Senegal (OMVS) in October, reversing a decision taken by the government to withdraw from the OMVS in July. On the 18th of Jully the government of Guinea had announced that it would suspend its participation in the river basin organization, noting with c oncern that its strategic interests had not been sufficiently taken into account...