We would like to announce a new, unique booklet on water for children! The booklet, "Water World - Children's Voices" is produced by UNEP in close collaboration with the Eco-Schools International Coordination. "Water World" clearly represents a new creative approach to teaching children about urgent environmental issues, in this case Water. It could be used as part of the study literature in schools or as additional material for children to read at home. The book is written in the form of a story. The narrator, Nthabi, is a 14-year old Kenyan girl living in a village where she has to walk down to the common stream for the family's water supply. Together with her friends from all over the world, Nthabi describes her own experiences and presents basic facts and challenges related to water.
   

The information is provided in an exciting, non-formal, children-friendly yet educational way. To further add interest to the book, the story brings together beautiful drawings, poems and essays from children around the world - all, of course, on the theme of water. Water World is now undergoing the final layout phase in Portugal and will be out in print in early December this year, to be presented at the Annual International Eco-Schools meeting, this year in Dublin, Ireland.

   
To know more about this book and find out how to get your own copy or a larger number of copies to your school, please contact:
United Nations Environment Programme akpezi.ogbuigwe@unep.org
Eco-Schools International Coordination waterworld@eco-schools.org

(November 2003)

«World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. The World Environment Day theme selected for 2003 is Water - Two Billion People are Dying for It! The theme calls on each of us to help safeguard the most precious source of life on our planet? WATER. This theme has been chosen to support the United Nations International Year of Freshwater, 2003 and World Water Day (22 March). You will note that the logo of the International Year of Freshwater has been incorporated in our World Environment Day logo to highlight this important United Nations Year. Broadly, our agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. World Environment Day is a people's event with colourful activities such as street rallies, bicycle parades, green concerts, essays and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns.
  
When did it all begin?
World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of UNEP.
  
How can you celebrate world environment day?
World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways, including street rallies, bicycles parades, green concerts, essay and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, recycling efforts, clean-up campaigns and much more. In many countries, this annual event is used to enhance political attention and action. Heads of State, Prime Ministers and Ministers of Environment deliver statements and commit themselves to care for the Earth. More serious pledges are made which lead to the establishment of permanent governmental structures dealing with environmental management and economic planning. This observance also provides an opportunity to sign or ratify international environmental conventions. On this World Environment Day, let us examine the state of our environment. Let us consider carefully the actions which each of us must take, and then address ourselves to our common task of preserving all life on earth in a mood of sober resolution and quiet confidence.»
  
For more information: www.unep.org/wed/2003/

(May 2003)

«As the 22^nd of March approaches every year, we are reminded of our responsibility, be it individual or collective, towards conserving life's most vital of resources: Water. The goal for World Water Day 2003 is to inspire worldwide political and community action and encourage greater global understanding of the need for more responsible water use and conservation.
  
The theme for this year's event is "Water for the Future", calling on one and all to observe sustainable approaches to water use for the benefit of future generations. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the lead UN agency for World Water Day 2003, aims to work with governments and key partners worldwide to plan events that achieve this end. It is notable that World Water day, this year, coincides with celebrations marking 2003 as the International Year of Fresh Water.
  
To encourage and foster world awareness-raising activities, the Global Water Partnership (GWP) prepared a comprehensive manual offering NGOs, schools, and other civil society partner organizations an excellent toolbox of ideas and suggestions. This manual has been prepared by UNEP for on-line presentation in the following pages, with the kind permission of GWP. By turning words into action, you can make a difference by increasing awareness of water problems and solutions.»

  
To access these ideas on how to make a difference visit:
www.waterday2003.org/Make-a-Difference/contents.htm
For more information visit: www.waterday2003.org

(February 2003)

The availability of clean, fresh water is one of the most important issues facing humanity today - and will be increasingly critical for the future, as growing demands outstrip supplies and pollution continues to contaminate rivers, lakes and streams. To raise awareness and galvanize action to better manage and protect this crucial resource, the United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater (Water Year 2003).
  
"Lack of access to water - for drinking, hygiene and food security - inflicts enormous hardship on more than a billion members of the human family," said United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "Water is likely to become a growing source of tension and fierce competition between nations, if present trends continue, but it can also be a catalyst for cooperation. The International Year of Freshwater can play a vital role in generating the action needed - not only by governments but also by civil society, communities, the business sector and individuals all over the world."
  
Agreement on Targets
The International Year comes at an important time, just as world leaders have agreed on key targets to tackle water and sanitation problems for the 1.2 billion people without access to safe drinking water and the 2.4 billion people who lack proper sanitation. More than 3 million people die every year from diseases caused by unsafe water.
  
In September 2000, world leaders pledged at the United Nations Millennium Summit to cut in half by 2015 the proportion of people unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water. And at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, a matching target was agreed to halve the proportion of people lacking adequate sanitation, also by 2015. To meet these targets requires coordinated action, not just from governments but also from people who use water and those who invest in it. Substantial resources are also needed. Currently it is estimated that approximately $30 billion per year is spent on meeting drinking water supply and sanitation requirements worldwide. It is estimated that an additional $14 to $30 billion per year would be needed to meet the targets on water and sanitation.
  
Water scarcity is also a critical issue for future development. Water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population during the 20th century. As a result of overexploitation of groundwater, water tables are dropping and some rivers, such as the Colorado River in the United States and the Yellow River in China, often run dry before they reach the sea. A number of regions, such as the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, are chronically water-short. Already, four out of every ten people worldwide live in areas experiencing water scarcity. By 2025, as much as two thirds of the world's population - an estimated 5.5 billion people - may be living in countries that face a serious shortage of water. To address this situation, wide-scale improvements need to be made in the efficiency of water use, such as getting "more crop per drop" in agriculture, the largest consumer of water. Watersheds need to be better managed, and leakage reduced, especially in cities, where water losses total 40 per cent or more of the water supply.
  
Plans for Water Year 2003
The United Nations, governments and many non-governmental and private sector partners are planning a wide range of events and activities for the International Year of Freshwater, which is being jointly coordinated by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). One cluster of events will take place around World Water Day, celebrated annually on 22 March. The activities for the Day are being coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2003. The United Nations will release the first edition of the World Water Development Report, the result of a joint project involving 23 UN agencies that provides a comprehensive view of today's water problems and offers wide-ranging recommendations for meeting future water demand. It will be launched at the Third World Water Forum, a major international meeting to be held from 16 to 23 March in Kyoto, Japan. Other activities will take place in connection with Earth Day, which is celebrated in many countries on 22 April. The Earth Day Network, a non-governmental umbrella group coordinating events worldwide, plans to focus the day on freshwater issues. World Environment Day, observed annually on 5 June, will also focus this year on water issues, according to UNEP, the coordinating agency.
  
A special website for the Year, at www.wateryear2003.org, provides extensive links to information materials, reports and planned activities and events around the world, by United Nations agencies, governments, and non-governmental and private sector partners.
  
Press release by the United Nations (www.un.org), New York, December 2002

(February 2003)