Status Report on the Application of Integrated Approaches to Water Resource Managemen

About the report

The Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development marks 20 years since the historic Earth Summit that was instrumental in laying the foundations and charting the course for
contemporary sustainable development.

This report looks at the issues that pertain to the management, development and use of fresh water resources. Its starting point is in the Earth Summit’s Agenda 21 recommendation for an
integrated approach to the management of water resources. This report demonstrates that while there is still a long way to go, progress towards the goal of sustainable water resources management
is undoubtedly being made.

The report is part of the stock-taking needed in the run-up to Rio+20, but is also necessary in order to recalibrate the sustainable development compass to allow Earth’s seven billion
inhabitants, which will rise to over nine billion by 2050, to prosper and fulfill their full potential. Rio+20 is likely to set a process in motion to deliver a range of new goals for after 2015 aimed at
bringing rich and poor nations into more cooperative efforts towards a sustainable 21st century.

This report, rich in analysis and recommendations, can assist in defining how those new transformational goals can be forged – and, more importantly, be met – over the coming years and decades. UN-Water will strive to contribute to this process through improved monitoring and reporting to inform policy-making, advocacy and capacity development, and through more effective coordination across the spectrum of UN agencies involved in water in lending support to countries toward achieving sustainable water resources development and management.

Key Messages and Recommendations

Key messages and recommendations from the survey include:

• Since 1992, 80% of countries have embarked on reforms to improve the enabling environment for water resources management based on the application of integrated approaches as stated in Agenda 21 and affirmed in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.
• Water-related risks and the competition for water resources are perceived by a majority of countries to have increased over the past 20 years.
• Countries that have adopted integrated approaches report more advanced infrastructure development but further efforts are needed to ensure appropriate levels of coordination.
• Countries report a gradual but positive trend in financing for water resources development and management with more diverse sources of finance, but little progress on payment for water resources services.
• Countries report improvements to the institutional framework together with improved policies, laws and systems over the past 20 years. This has led to better water resources management practices bringing important socio-economic benefits.
• Integrated approaches to water resources management and development are critical for progress towards a green economy.
• The survey has demonstrated the progress made with integrated approaches to water resources management as called for at the UNCED in 1992. To capitalise on this progress and ensure continuity the following target is proposed for the Rio+20 conference to consider:
  -By 2015, each country to develop its specific targets and timeframes for preparing and implementing a programme of action and financing strategy to take its integrated approaches to water resources management forward in accordance with UNCED 1992 and subsequent global agreements.
• The high country response to the survey demonstrates the value of reporting and emphasizes the need for a more rigorous, evidence-based, reporting system on progress with water resources development and management. The following target is proposed for the Rio+20 conference to consider:
  -By 2015 a global reporting mechanism on national water resources management be established. UN-Water is committed to facilitate and coordinate this process, drawing on its existing mechanisms.