Building Effective Partnerships for Sustainable Water Management

1. Partnerships to move forward 13 July 2011 UN Statistics Division

2. The UN Statistics Division has very limited resources and therefore seeks to build partnerships in order have a greater impact. Examples: I. Improving drinking water and sanitation services II. Managing water supply and demand Latin America: Partnership with ECLAC for the implementation of SEEA-Water and IRWS. Workshops in Colombia and Ecuador with the participation of GIZ (formerly GTZ). The Andean Community will be included and Bolivia and Peru will also be invited. Africa: In partnership with UNECA and Statistics South Africa a workshop on SEEA-Water and IRWS was done for Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) also provided an expert. The UNSD resources are multiplied with the participation of regional commissions and other partners. 2

3. The UN Statistics Division has very limited resources and therefore seeks to build partnerships in order have a greater impact. Examples continued: II. Managing water supply and demand ESCWA region: In partnership with ESCWA we plan to organize a workshop for countries of the region (Egypt, Palestine, Jordan…) We can prepare a workshop for the EECCA countries in partnership with UNECE and perhaps also EEA. IV. Adapting to extreme hydro-meteorological events The UNSD is willing to partner with UNECE to develop accounts, statistics and indicators. It is possible to organize workshops and also to have teleconferences and e-mail discussions that could be useful for the EECCA countries. 3

4. The IRWS has been sent for printing and translation into the six UN official languages. The official edits of SEEA are being incorporated, then it will be sent for printing and translation. By the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012 we should have the SEEA-Water and IRWS printed and translated. 4

5. The SEEA is currently in global consultation. It will be submitted for adoption in February 2012 to the UN Statistical Commission. Once it is approved the SEEA-Water has to be revised to be fully compatible. IV. Adapting to extreme hydro-meteorological events All the information is available on the UNSD website. It is important that the EECCA countries participate in the process. 5

6. Some Useful Concepts for the Construction of Water Indicators 13 July 2011 UN Statistics Division

7. Indicators should help to control the decision making cycle . Policies, plans, programs Monitoring, Evaluation Operation Different policy objectives or priorities might require different indicators. Some indicators might be useful globally, assuming there are common objectives. 7

8. SEEA-Water and IRWS concepts Most indicators are about water abstracted, since it directly affects the environment. 8

9. SEEA-Water and IRWS concepts It should be noted that even though agriculture uses a lot of water, it also returns an important proportion of water to the environment. 9

10. Each economic activity has different impacts on inland water resources. Water and sanitation 17% Manufacturing and services 83% 10 Pollution (BOD5)

11. Impact of the different activities on inland water resources Value added High High High Low Low Low Low High Low High Low High Pollution (BOD5) Water abstractions Water consumption Industry and services Water and Sanitation Cooling Agriculture Hydroelectricity Desired direction 11

12. The ones who succeed are those who can shift to a new paradigm. The ones who fail are those who remain hidebound and fixated on traditional ideas because they have proved successful in the past or because they can see no use for some new idea. The Swiss failed to patent or market the quartz watch, even though they invented it, because they couldn't shift paradigms. The development of environmental indicators to face the challenges of the 21st century probably require a shift of paradigm. We need to learn from the different disciplines and share knowledge. 12

13. Thank you! Ricardo Martinez-Lagunes (martinezr@un.org)