Proceedings of the International Symposium on Efficient Water Use in Urban Areas


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<Proceedings of the International Symposium on Efficient Water Use in Urban Areas
- Innovative Ways of Finding Water for Cities ->

J. SESSION 8: Summary and Conclusion

Ms. Lilia GC. Casanova, Deputy Director of UNEP-IETC, noted that the symposium served to give participants an overview of how different countries are each dealing with their respective water challenges, according to their different situations. Presentations described water use approaches at the municipal, state and national levels. It is expected that some of the many approaches presented can provide answers to developing country problems and improvements in water use practices whether in developed or developing countries.

Dr. Gregory Bevan Goldstein, Co-ordinator of WHO’s Healthy Cities Programme, presented a summary of the recommendations consolidated by each of the session rapporteurs.

Summary of Recommendations

1. Awareness, Education and Training

Public awareness and education are essential to improve the acceptance of innovative ways to augment water supply.
To facilitate the transfer of know-how, guidance documents and training packages must be made available to water authorities and companies.
Training the staff of water authorities and companies should be undertaken to improve the quality of service to users.
Demonstration projects should be undertaken to improve public acceptance and assist in removing institutional barriers.

2. Planning and Policy

Appropriate water management should be seen as an integral component of all countries’ strategies leading toward sustainable development.
Government must play a leading role to ensure that safe water is made available to the population. In so doing, closer links between water supply, environmental sanitation and health must be established, taking into account the perspective of users.
The involvement of the private sector in the provision of water services is welcome, however, governments must provide good controls and regulations.
Coordination of centralised and decentralised approaches is needed.
Governments should give priority to the treatment of human wastes, with the objective of enhancing its potential reuse for irrigation of non-edible crops as well as industrial water uses.
For cities (or sections of cities) without sewers, planning and design should consider future reuse potential, and should take steps to direct wastewater flows towards potential reuse areas.
Rainwater collection and utilisation should be viewed as an effective flood control strategy, and should be implemented in conjunction with water demand management, as well as aquifer recharge enhancement measures.
Steps should be taken to establish autonomous water systems that are not dependent on water resources outside a given watershed.
Care must be taken to ensure that potable water is not negatively affected by proposed water supply augmentation schemes.
To augment water supply for urban areas, policies, implementation strategies, technology development, and networking are required.

3. Regulatory and Legal Frameworks

Water authorities and companies should be supported by effective laws and regulations. Legal barriers must be overcome to ensure that measures and programs for augmenting water supply are implementable.
Where innovative approaches are being considered, an appropriate regulatory framework should be established.

4. Financing

Policies should be established for the banking of water, to encourage the safe and beneficial application of aquifer recharge, water efficiency and other water supply augmentation initiatives.
Innovative approaches are needed to finance water supply augmentation.

5. Research and Development

Research and development on innovative technologies and approaches is important for augmenting the sustainability of water supply.
Further research is needed to ensure appropriate and safe methods of water supply.

Following the presentations, the comments of participants were solicited. Prof. Saburo Matsui from Japan pointed out that water use is relevant not only for humankind, but also for all other species, and for the local and global environment in general. He stressed the importance of humans remembering how human activity affects the delicate balance of our complex ecosystem. Another participant raised the concern that the word “health” was not mentioned in the recommendations, and pointed out that in fact human health is one of the main considerations. Ms. Madeleen Wegelin-Schuringa from IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, indicated that the equitable use of water resources among persons of different economic and social status also needs to be emphasised.

Finally, concluding remarks were made by Mr. Masaharu Yagishita, Director, Planning Division, Global Environment Department, Environment Agency of Japan. Ms. Casanova moved on to thank all those present, on behalf of UNEP and IETC, for their contributions in making this symposium—IETC’s first—a very successful one. She went on to thank IETC’s supporting partners, particularly Japan’s Environment Agency and Environment Australia for their financial support, as well as WHO and its Kobe office, and UNCHS (Habitat) and its Fukuoka Office.

IETC’s Deputy Director also thanked the expert participants who had come from 45 countries all over the world, and without whom the meeting could not have been so fruitful. Attendance by so many experts from the developing world made this a particularly special event. IETC is particularly proud that all regions of the world were represented.

The event also would have not been possible without the staff and other major contributions from the Global Environment Centre Foundation (GEC) and the International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC). Special thanks were given to the symposium staff; their hard work, friendliness and efficiency made the event go smoothly. Special thanks were given to Mr. Makoto Fujita, the principal co-ordinator of the event. Mr. Fujita and the other staff expressed their appreciation for the participants’ patience and understanding, given the many cultural and linguistic differences that crop up in the course of such an event.

Finally Mr. Saul Arlosoroff of Israel spoke a few words on behalf of all the participants. He noted that, of the one hundred or so symposiums he’d attended in his life, this one was the best organised. He praised the preparation efforts and efficiency of the staff and other organisers, and the important function that the maESTro database serves. He opined that he and perhaps all the symposium participants would return to their respective countries as ambassadors for UNEP-IETC.

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