| Issue 03. 24 May 2013 | www.un.org/waterforlifedecade |
| This week in focus | Editor’s note
Welcome to the Decade’s Weekly! Every week it brings you the latest news from the International Decade for Action ’Water for Life’ 2005-2015. Please feel free to forward this newsletter. You can also access this newsletter online. Tip of the week |
| #SDGs 3rd session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals Date: 22-24 May 2013 The 3rd session of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals has met to discuss the issues of food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture, drought, desertification, and land degradation for one and a half days (on 22 and 23 May), and water and sanitation for the other one and a half days (on 23 and 24 May). Video recording of sessions can be accessed through the UN webcast channel. >> More info |
| In the news | Forthcoming events |
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#Water&Biodiversity
UN urges collective efforts to achieve ’water secure world’ on Day for Biological Diversity
Unless greater efforts are made to reverse current trends, the world will run out of freshwater, the United Nations said on 22 May marking the International Day for Biological Diversity and urging stronger scientific alliances to understand and protect natural resources. #Post2015 Findings of national stakeholder consultations on water publishedA series of country consultations carried out by the Global Water Partnership (GWP) took place from February to May 2013 to address the importance of water to national development. The purpose of the national stakeholder consultations on water was to listen to country needs and priorities regarding the post-2015 agenda for water and sustainable development. The findings have been published in the report, National Stakeholder Consultations on Water: Supporting the Post-2015 Development Agenda. #Asia&Pacific Asian leaders adopt Chiang Mai DeclarationDelegates participating in the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit on 19 and 20 May 2013 have adopted the "Chiang Mai declaration" pledging to build regional resilience to natural disasters, share scientific and technical knowledge on water resources management, accord high priority to water security and sanitation in national agendas and promote water efficiency. From UN Radio
>> Water security was the focus of International Day for Biodiversity |
#Sanitation
3rd LatinoSan Conference. Sanitation for all: new challenges, new opportunities
Place: Panama The 3rd Latin American Sanitation Conference (LatinoSan 2013) will be held under the theme ’Sanitation for all: new challenges: new opportunities’. This conference represents an opportunity to strengthen the leadership of Latin American and Caribbean governments in the sanitation issue, obtain country support for the inclusion of water and sanitation issues in new global goals, set new commitments in the sanitation agenda beyond the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline, and encourage the participation of other stakeholders in the issue. Latest videos
Clean Water for the City of Lakes
Asian Development Bank (ADB), April 2013 This video describes an Asian Development Bank’s project aimed at rehabilitating water facilities in the central Indian city of Bhopal which has led to a more efficient water treatment and supply system in the city. India: No Toilet, No BrideWorld Bank, 2013 Nearly half of India’s 1.2 billion people don’t have access to toilets, especially in rural villages. The lack of sanitation is the cause of one in every ten deaths here. This video describes an initiative by the Indian government supported by the World Bank geared at changing people’s behavior when it comes to using toilets. >> Videos accessible from the UN water video library |
- Life-Link Friendship-Schools Association and Programme
The Life-Link Friendship-Schools programme is developed to engage young people worldwide, at and around their schools, in positive and affirmative local actions related to the theme of my Peace, my Health, my Behavior towards Nature. The Association has joined th’Water for Life’ Decade with the Schools Earth Care Campaign 2010-2014.
The Life-Link Basic Education Programme offers a list of over 60, two-hour peace/care actions that take place in co-operation with teachers, parents and community members. Actions can take place in the classroom, in nearby watershed areas and in the community. This programme can also been organized through youth clubs. Actions connect to the three interdependent peace themes: "Care for Myself" (health, human responsibilities and rights); "Care for Others" (conflict resolution and constructive collaboration); and "Care for Nature" (environmental sustainability).
The project has organized international conferences in Europe, Arab region, Russia, Argentina with Water for Life as a main conference theme and has reached more than 750 schools with students aged 12 to 19 in 80 countries. It has also developed a Teachers Guidelines on Water for Life course. 250 Water for Life reports are registered on http://earthcare.life-link.org/water-for-life/
Contact: friendship-schools@life-link.org
- Sisters of Notre Dame Summer (SND) Service Experience
The SND Summer Service Experience is a three day retreat for high school students who are interested in an opportunity to engage more directly in the charism and mission of the Sisters of Notre Dame by working together with people in need to develop a greater awareness of the conditions and causes of poverty.
The Sisters of Notre Dame joined the Water for Life Decade campaign in summer 2006 during a Summer Service Experience for students from six high schools and one college. During this summer activity fitness bottles, printed with the Water for Life Decade Logo, were distributed among the participants and accompanied by awareness raising activities on water use.
Contact: Husnain Haider http://www.sndchardon.org/contact-us/
- Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Australia
The Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s Water Supply Section organizes an Osmosis photography competition every year to raise awareness and to educate on issues of water conservation, collection and consumption and to promote positive action in the community to care for this most precious resource.
Each year a different water related theme is selected and local photographers, poets and sometimes artists and songwriters are invited to submit creative and imaginative pieces that promote water as a life-giving resource and encourage awareness of water collection, consumption, conservation, recycling and reclamation. The Port Macquarie-Hastings Council joined the Water for Life Decade campaign by including the logo in the 2011 Edition of their Osmosis Photography Workshop.
Contact: Jean Bennett friendship-schools@life-link.org