Water & sanitation:
a problem even in so-called developed countries
UNECE Forum on Sustainable Development to discuss
Water & Sanitation
Geneva, 15-16 January 2004
Palais des Nations, Conference Room XIX
Geneva, 15 January 2004 - Water
and sanitation will figure high on the agenda
when the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE) holds its first Regional
Implementation Forum on Sustainable Development
on Thursday, 15 January, and Friday, 16
January.
Droughts, floods, cuts in water supplies, leaking pipes and
water-related diseases occasionally hit the headlines, but just how bad is
the situation in the UNECE region and what are governments doing to ease it?
Clean water a luxury?
Most Europeans take clean drinking water for granted, but maybe next time
they turn on the tap they should spare a thought for the estimated 120 million
who aren't so lucky. In Romania, for instance, the water supply in rural areas
reaches only 16% of the population and a mere 10% of the rural population
has access to adequate sanitation.
The one in seven Europeans who don't have access to safe
drinking water and adequate sanitation are also more vulnerable to diseases
such as cholera, bacillary dysentery, coli infections, viral hepatitis A and
typhoid.
Some countries are in a better position than others to tackle
water and sanitation problems. In general, economically stronger countries
suffer fewer water quality and quantity problems. However, in Eastern Europe,
the Caucasus and Central Asia the problems are still acute: not enough waste
water is treated, water supplies are frequently cut and drinking water is
all too often contaminated. In Armenia, the Republic of Moldova and the Russian
Federation only about half the waste water is treated; in Azerbaijan that
figure drops to a sixth.
Where does all the water go?
On average UNECE countries use 42% of their total water abstraction for agriculture,
40% for industry (almost half of it for energy production) and 18% for household
use. However, there are wide variations. For instance, agriculture accounts
for 50 to 70% of total water abstraction in South-Western Europe, Eastern
Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and some parts of the United States.
Sharing dwindling supplies, curbing waste and combating
floods
Unfortunately, clean water everywhere is scarce and getting scarcer.
Many UNECE countries are depleting precious aquifers to meet the demand for
drinking water. At the same time almost half the drinking water is wasted
in leaking pipes.
Sharing limited water resources is a huge challenge, especially
in the countries that used to make up the Soviet Union. In Central Asia the
overexploitation of water for irrigation continues to have serious environmental
consequences, e.g. the drying-up of the Aral Sea. Moreover, as water supplies
run low, water management could become a source of disputes between countries.
In Western Europe and North America, on the other hand, floods are on the
increase.
Financial incentives to curb consumption in richer
countries
Yet the picture is not entirely bleak. Despite increased urbanization,
the consumption of water has fallen in most of Western Europe and in some
Central and East European countries too, as water utilities have focused on
water savings, increased water metering and the use of economic instruments.
In Hungary, for example, the effect of the price of water on household water
use has been striking. Household water use has dropped by a third in the past
decade, from roughly 150 litres per person per day to 100 litres, while the
price of water has risen from some 15 forint per cubic metre to almost 200
forint. In several cities of Saxony (Germany), household water use dropped
from 300 litres per person per day to 90 litres in just five years when metering
and consumption-based billing were introduced.
Waste-water treatment, too, has improved markedly, resulting
in better water quality in rivers and lakes and even in seas.
International cooperation
Many UNECE countries depend on their upstream neighbours for their
water supplies so water management is a prime candidate for transboundary
cooperation. And countries are getting together to negotiate water management
arrangements, often under the impulse of the UNECE Convention on the Protection
and Use of Transboundary Waters and International Lakes. Many are successful.
There has been a move recently towards a more integrated approach in water
management and many countries have updated their water legislation as a result.
Agenda 21
Most EU and accession countries have met the targets set in Agenda
21 on water and sustainable urban management. For instance, all their urban
residents have access to at least 40 litres of clean water a day and at least
75% are provided with on-site facilities for sanitation.
Other countries are falling behind. Unfortunately, solutions
that work in the wealthier countries, such as metering and water charges,
don't work there because the consumers are too poor to pay and the tools are
not used consistently. However, low-cost ideas exist to overcome some of their
problems. Some will be discussed at the Forum.
- Mr Philippe Roch (Switzerland), State Secretary for the Environment,
will chair the round table on water on Thursday afternoon.
- Mr Zaal Lomtadze (Georgia), Vice-Minister for the Environment, will
chair the round table on sanitation on Friday morning.
The background documents for the Forum are available on the UNECE web site:
http://www.unece.org (click on Regional
Implementation Forum).
For more information about water and sanitation, please contact:
Rainer Enderlein
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations, office 313
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 23 73
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org
For more information about the Forum, please contact:
Mary Pat Silveira
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations, office 338
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 13 15
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org
Ref: ECE/ENV/04/P02