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Water and Poverty
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The world water crisis is mainly one of governance and underlines the need to ensure that every human being has adequate access to water services, and that water resources are managed sustainably. But what it really boils down to is human dignity.
The connection between water and poverty has never been clearer than since the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002 hoisted water and sanitation issues up to the top of the agenda to become the most significant global social and environmental concern.
ADB and collaborating partners started a Water and Poverty Initiative for the 3rd World Water Forum - WWF to be held in Kyoto, Japan, in March 2003.
The 3rd WWF will focus on water actions around the world to achieve the vision of water security in the 21st century. This vision acknowledges that all people should have
ON LINE Women, traditional providers of water, are most affected by lack of access
Water and Poverty is a central theme of the 3rd WWF because the poor are most vulnerable to water-related problems.
Globally, 1.1 billion people lack access to safe water supply and 2.4 billion lack basic sanitation. More than 80% of these people live in rural areas, but the number of urban residents without adequate water services is increasing rapidly.
The vast majority of poor people without adequate water services live in Asia.
Many poor people also face other problems related to water security. They are exposed to disasters such as floods or landslides, are among the victims of conflicts over water resources, or face declining fish stocks and decreasing productivity of their land — both essential to their livelihoods.
Inadequate water security has further consequences for the poor, such as ill health that undermines family livelihood, or unprotected investments that are lost to calamity.
In Asia, home to 900 million of the world’s poor, one in three people has no access to safe drinking water within 200 meters of their home, and one in two people has no access to basic sanitation facilities.
Women, traditional providers of water, are most affected by this lack of access. Some spend their lives as water carriers — and do little else. Gender is therefore recognized as a key dimension of pro-poor water governance actions.
While it is clear that the management of water resources and the delivery of water services are central to investments to reduce poverty, there is much to learn about how such investments can be more effective.
The Water and Poverty Initiative aims to showcase lessons learned from good practices internationally; raise awareness of the need to improve water security for the poor; stimulate further action; and leverage financing at community, country, and international levels.
Achieving these goals requires commitment through an alliance of policy and decision makers, practitioners, funding agencies, private sector, professional organizations, media, and civil society.
Water needs and their effects on people are intricately woven throughout the daily lives of poor communities, particularly of women and children. The following aspects are vital to understand.
Production. Economic growth helps reduce poverty. Water is a direct input to this growth through agriculture and mariculture, home gardens, livestock, production, and manufacturing.
Health. Water, together with sanitation and hygiene, directly affects the health of the poor, especially children, women, and the elderly. Women’s roles are central, particularly in rural communities.
Environment. Many poor rural communities depend on sensitive ecosystems such as forests, lakes, and wetlands for their livelihoods. Yet their basic needs may degrade their very habitat unless communities are encouraged to participate in sustainable ecosystem management.
Vulnerability. The poor are particularly vulnerable to water-related hazards, such as floods, droughts, typhoons, landslides, and pollution.
The relationship between water and poverty is as complex as poverty itself. There are no easy solutions, but urgent action is needed where the poor face problems on water security. The starting point is to build from the capabilities and assets that poor communities possess.
These poor communities have clear views of both the challenges they face and the solutions to which they aspire. Listening to the voices of the poor is a central theme of the Initiative.
Six key result areas form the thematic framework for action to improve water security for the poor.
Pro-Poor Water Governance. Strengthen water governance through better water policies, laws, action agendas, and information management; introduce pro-poor safeguards into integrated water resources management work; improve stakeholder consultation and participation; and empower women to improve water resources management.
Improved Access to Quality Water Services. Increase the access of the poor to water services such as drinking water supply (with hygiene and sanitation), irrigation, and drainage. Put people at the center of viable and affordable services to be delivered by public, private, and community providers; and mobilize funds from the community or water users, as well as from national and international sources.
Pro-Poor Economic Growth and Livelihood Improvement. Increase investments in agriculture, rural development, and other water-using sectors that generate income for poor communities. Community Capacity Building and Empowerment. Invest in capacity building of poor communities to help them improve the management of water resources, negotiate better access to water services, and promote empowerment to improve their livelihood through income-generating activities.
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Improve the resilience of the poor to water-related disasters through better forecasting, prevention and mitigation, and relief and recovery systems. These include rapid onset disasters, such as floods, and slow onset disasters, such as droughts and water pollution.
Management of the Environment. Introduce sustainable natural resource management arrangements with the participation of the poor, maintain the biodiversity on which many of the rural poor rely for their livelihood, and reduce the unsustainable exploitation caused by poor communities in their effort to meet short-term needs.
ADB is leading the initiative on Water and Poverty in the 3rd World Water Forum, working with partners including the African Development Bank, Gender and Water Alliance, Government of the Netherlands, Inter- American Development Bank, International Water Management Institute, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Japan International Cooperation Agency, World Conservation Union, United Nations Children’s Fund, WaterAid, Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, and the Global Water Partnership.
Action plans developed through ADB-sponsored regional consultations on water and poverty will be presented at Kyoto to the wider water sector audience.
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