| Issue 47. 19 September 2014 | www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/decade_weekly.shtml |
| This week in focus | Editor’s note
Welcome to the Decade’s Weekly! Every week we bring you the latest news from the International Decade for Action ’Water for Life’ 2005-2015. Please feel free to share this newsletter. You can also access this newsletter online. We are back!The Weekly returns after a packed August. We’ve just returned from World Water Week in Stockholm and we’ve seen the UN Watercourses Convention come into force. We’ve also had the fascinating task of sorting through all the entries for our Water for Life Voices Campaign. Thank you very much to all those who have already submitted their voices. If you have water stories, images or cases you wish to share, the deadline for the online exhibit is 15 December 2014.
Tip of the week
>> Submit your WaterForLifeVoice
Water and sustainable development is key to human progress across the world. In January 2015, we will host the 2015 UN-Water International Zaragoza Conference on ’Water and Sustainable Development: From Vision to Action’. Visit the Conference website to learn more and get involved! >> Conference website |
| #WaterForLifeAward Two more weeks to apply for UN-Water Best Practices Award! Nomination deadline now 30 September The application period for the 5th edition of the ’Water for Life’ UN-Water Best Practices Award has been extended until 30 September This edition’s focus is ’Water and Sustainable Development’, which mirrors that of World Water Day 2015. As this year’s award will represent the culmination of the ’Water for Life’ Decade (2005-2015), the deadline was extended to grant nominating bodies enough time to make this the biggest year yet. Winners will be awarded at a special UN World Water Day ceremony on 22 March 2015 at UN Headquarters in New York in two categories: ’Best water management practices’ and ’Best participatory, communication, awareness-raising and education practices’. The ceremony will also provide an opportunity to reflect on the Decade’s achievements. The ’Water for Life’ Best Practices Award aims to acknowledge and promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water and related issues by 2015, by recognizing outstanding best practices that can ensure sustainable long-term management of water resources and help achieve the water and sanitation targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The ’Water for Life’ Best Practices Award is awarded to projects, initiatives or programmes, rather than individuals or organizations. Self-nominations are not accepted. Candidatures must be submitted through an independent nominating organisation. Applications are now being accepted until 30 September 2014. If you know of a project that deserves recognition get it nominated!
>> Award Homepage |
| In the news | Forthcoming events |
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#WaterForLifeVoices Water for Life Voices now on Flickr
You can now visit the Water for Life Voices Flickr Photostream. We’ve already received hundreds of fantastic images from water projects all over the world. Please come and share your own Flickr images with us, and get updates by following the photo gallery. Any submissions received until 15 December will be eligible for our online exhibit. The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is launching an updated version of the e-learning course on ’Governance in Urban Sanitation’, which will run from 6 October to 12 December 2014. This online course aims to enhance the capacity of local decision-makers to make enlightened decisions and investments in the area of urban sanitation. It provides analytical tools to understand the financial and institutional framework of the sanitation sector, taking into account the needs of urban poor communities. Deadline for registration is 29 September 2014. Latest United Nations Bimonthly Publications Review contains 33 UN water and sanitation related publications, among which an Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes; a policy brief on Drylands; a guide to good practice on Urban Water Supply and Sanitation in Southeast Asia or a UNESCO’s discussion paper on Water in the post-2015 development agenda. UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, Catarina de Albuquerque, has launched a handbook on "Realizing the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation". Since 2010, when the UN General Assembly recognized the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, the UN Special Rapporteur has received repeated requests from all kinds of stakeholders to clarify what this human right implies for their work and activities. The book was a collaborative effort in identifying key barriers, challenges and opportunities that stakeholders encounter in realizing the human rights to water and sanitation. This collaborative approach ensures the Handbook is relevant and helpful beyond the mandate of the current Rapporteur. On 12 September 2014, the European Union and UNESCO joined forces for the sustainable management of the natural and cultural heritage of the transboundary Lake Ohrid region. Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in the world, embracing numerous exceptional natural and cultural features. On 15 and 16 September 2014, the Inception Workshop in Pogradec, Albania, kick-started the 36-month project co-financed by the European Union ’Towards strengthened governance of the shared transboundary natural and cultural heritage of the Lake Ohrid Region’. This newsletter is designed to update you on programmes, progress and activities in the African Development Bank’s (ADB) rural water supply and sanitation sector (RWSS). In this launch edition, ADB shares some of the Initiative’s notable developments and highlights various strategic events that have taken place, as well as some of the lessons and experiences they have had in pursuit of continental RWSS development goals. |
#UNGA 69th Session of the UN General Assembly
Date: 16 September-1 October 2014 The 69th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 69) is convening at UN Headquarters. The General Debate opens on Wednesday, 24 September 2014. This session’s theme is ’Delivering on and Implementing a Transformative Post-2015 Development Agenda’. Water and Sanitation issues will be part of the debate. Date: 22-24 September 2014 The aims of this XXVI Danube Conference are: to foster exchange of hydrological basic information; to improve and adopt new models and techniques for hydrological forecasting and parameters at several time and space scales; to deal with disasters in an appropriate manner; to better articulate the role of hydrological and biotic processes in aquatic systems; to link different fields of science; and, to promote cooperation of the Danube countries. Both methodological approaches as well as case studies from countries of the Danube are welcome. Date: 22 September 2014 This side event will explore local populations’ wastewater reuse for energy production and highlight energy sector practices which help realise the human rights to sanitation and a safe and healthy environment. Date: 7-10 October 2014 For over 25 years, FRIEND-Water program has aimed to boost regional experts and communities to generate new knowledge on regional hydrology and multi-scale water cycle processes. FRIEND-Water studies long-term variations and changes in hydrological variables to better understand the effects of climate, environment and human activities on the spatial and temporal distribution of water. Conference topics include: Hydrological databases: how to cope with future questions; Trends in hydrological regimes and extremes; Changes in ecological flows and coastal ecohydrology; Erosion and sediment transport processes and trends; Regional observational-hydrological modelling frameworks; Water resources and prospective scenarios. Date: 8-10 October 2014 Since 2008 AfricaSan has been associated with establishing and tracking progress towards achieving the eThekwini commitments. AfricaSan also features a growing and high-level learning exchange on different aspects of sanitation and hygiene service improvement and promotes political prioritization of sanitation and hygiene. The Conference is attended by Ministers responsible for water and sanitation and the key agencies working in this field in Africa. Online registration ends 6 October 2014. |
