UN-Water

UN-Water is an inter-agency entity of the United Nations, endorsed in 2003 for the follow-up process of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. Its purpose is to support states in their water-related efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals.[1] UN-Water strengthens coordination among UN agencies that work on all aspects of freshwater and sanitation. This includes surface and groundwater resources, the interface between freshwater and seawater and water-related disasters. UN-Water aims at improving the cooperation between relevant governing bodies and development organizations. It is responsible for the annual World Water Day as well as for the UN Water decade.

Activities

Programmes

UN-Water has four specific programs,[2] each with its own work plan, budget and an executing agency co-ordinating the implementation:

Reports and publications[3]

UN-Water has three primary, regularly produced reports on water resources:

Task forces

UN-Water also maintains ad hoc Task Forces on issues such as Climate Change, Gender and Water, Transboundary Waters, Monitoring (including indicators and reporting), Country-level Coordination, and Sanitation.[4]

World Day for Water

UN-Water is responsible for the coordination and planning of the World Day for Water, which is observed every March 22.

Members and partners of UN-Water

UN-Water is composed of member representatives of 26 United Nations organizations that work on water issues and 17 other, non-UN organizations which are partners in UN-Water.[5]

Members

CBD - United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency
IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development
UNICEF - United Nations Children’s Fund
UNCTAD - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNCCD - United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
UNDESA - United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
UNECA - United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
UNECE - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
UNECLAC - United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
UNESCAP - United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
UNESCWA - United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme
UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UN-Habitat - United Nations Human Settlements Programme
UNHCR - United Nations High Commission for Refugees
UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNISDR - International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
UNU - United Nations University
World Bank - The World Bank
WHO - World Health Organization
WMO - World Meteorological Organization
UNWTO - World Tourism Organization

Partners

Aquafed - The International federation of Private Water Operators
The Global Compact
GWP - The Global Water Partnership
IAH - International Association of Hydrogeologists
IAHS - International Association of Hydrological Sciences
ICID - International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage
IWA - International Water Association
IWMI - International Water Management Institute
PSI - Public Services International
Ramsar - Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
SIWI - Stockholm International Water Institute
UNSGAB - United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation
WSSCC - Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
WBCSD - World Business Council for Sustainable Development
IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature
WWC - World Water Council
WWF - World Wide Fund for Nature

See also

External links

References

  1. http://www.unwater.org/downloads/UNW-terms-of-reference.PDF
  2. http://www.unwater.org/programmes.html
  3. http://www.unwater.org/documents.html
  4. http://www.unwater.org/activities.html
  5. http://www.unwater.org/members.html