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Ministère de l'Aménagement du Territoire et de l'Environnement

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Ministère des
Affaires Etrangères

WATER AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Paris - 19/20/21 march 1998

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grâce à l'aimable autorisation du Secrétariat Général à la Conférence EDD
Site officiel: http://www.eaudd.com


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Summary

APPROVED PAPERS

PROGRAMME OF PRIORITY ACTIONS

WORKSHOP 1 : (here) IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE OF WATER RESOURCES AND USES FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
WORKSHOP 2 : PROMOTING HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING
WORKSHOP 3 : DEFINING STRATEGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT AND IDENTIFYING APPROPRIATE MEANS OF FINANCING
END : PARIS DECLARATION
WORKSHOP INBO : INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF BASIN ORGANIZATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS


I - IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE OF WATER RESOURCES AND USES FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT

I - A - ESTABLISHING AND IMPROVING INTEGRATED SYSTEMS FOR MONITORING WATER RESOURCES, THEIR USES AND ECOSYSTEMS

Within the framework of official development assistance, a high priority should be given to the strengthening or establishment of local, national or international integrated water information systems (collection, analysis, management and dissemination of data on water quantity and quality, and its availability and uses in the various water sub-sectors), in order to mobilise the necessary information for water resource and ecosystem management, use regulation and protection against point or non-point pollution and prevention of crisis situation.

A better assessment of the resource, the different water uses and of their efficiency (domestic water, irrigation, industry, hydroelectricity, transport, leisure, fishing, aquiculture, and so forth) is essential.

 

I - A- 1 - strengthening and establishment of integrated information systems

Integrated information systems should be developed on various scales, ranging from local to global, and include all parameters necessary for the integrated and sustainable management of water and ecosystems. They should be structured in the form of long-term monitoring systems at the different relevant levels, particularly for large river and lake basins, and aquifers.

Such information and data have a fundamental economic value for assisting in the management and use of water resources, and in the protection of the environment.

The sustainability of such monitoring systems is the responsibility of each Government, which must also make sure the quantity and quality of information is improved.

 

I - A - 2 - development of data exchange

Priority should be given to the national and international standardisation of definitions, development of user-friendly formats, and information access and exchange.

 

I - B - TRENGTHENING REGIONAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES FOR ACQUIRING FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE OF WATER RESOURCES AND THEIR USES:

I - B - 1 - understanding major trends and their impact:

In order to improve research capacities, international scientific, institutional and technical co-operation should be strengthened to develop concepts along with indicators and common methodologies, particularly as concerns the characterisation of:

(a) reliable and "usable" resources, that can be used in a sustainable water management framework, on the basis of rational demand management.

(b) different consumptive or non-consumptive water uses in the basins, their evolution and efficiency,

(c) point and non-point pollution sources,

(d) the condition (water quality and quantity) of aquatic ecosystems, rivers, lakes, wetlands, groundwater,

(e) eutrophication and biological degradation of rivers, lakes and reservoirs,

(f) extreme meteorological and hydrological events (floods, droughts),

(g) economic and social value of ecosystem functions,

(h) the modification of the watercourse flow regime and the functioning of aquifer systems caused by infrastructures, withdrawals and discharges,

(i) changes in land use and soil degradation, biological diversity and living aquatic and terrestrial resources.

 

Because women have a particular role in utilising and conserving water resources on a daily basis, their knowledge and experience should be considered as a component of any sustainable water management programme. Information systems should rely on data collected and analysed in such a way as to reflect the role of women.

The users of water-related information must be associated with data collection in order to facilitate their understanding of the impact of local actions on the resource and their involvement in defining solutions for sustainable protection of this resource.

Prospective studies should be carried out on water resource availability (both quantity and quality) and changes in water demand in order to provide information to assist in identifying potential serious water crises. It is particularly important to be able to assess the interaction between inland freshwater resource management and other major environmental issues. These include desertification, climate change, deforestation, soil degradation, biodiversity, and impacts on downstream coastal ecosystems. It is necessary also to make a connection between water, health, sufficient nourishment and poverty of the populations.

 

I - B - 2 - facilitating regional and international co-operation to improve knowledge:

In order to improve knowledge, it is necessary to reinforce regional and global programmes, that will rely, whenever possible, on national programmes. Considering their geographic coverage and their aim, some of these programmes should be financially supported while appropriate co-operation could deal with other national programmes.

Some on-going international programmes are mentioned hereafter:

(a) the " Eurowaternet " network of the European Environmental Agency,

(b) the Euro-Mediterranean Water Information System (EMWIS),

(c) the Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) and the World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS), both of which fall within the Operational Hydrology Programme (OHP) of WMO,

(d) the Flow Regimes from International Experimental and Network Data (FRIEND) within the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO,

(e) FAO’s AQUASTAT on the agricultural uses of water,

(f) GEMS/Water programme of UNEP, WHO and other co-operating United Nations Agencies and others, should be strengthened so as to ensure regional up-to-date and accurate coverage.

(g) the aquifer programme of the large SSO basins, with African countries and other organisations concerning deep water resources in Africa.

(h) developing actions for the prevention of natural catastrophes, initiated during the International Decade

(i) WHO/UNICEF joint monitoring programme of drinking water and sanitation.

(j) the inter-American water network of the Organisation of American States.

 

I - C - NETWORKING WATER DOCUMENTATION SYSTEMS

The following activities should be promoted:

- collection of documentation and wide dissemination to all stakeholders, in order to promote in-service training of the sector’s professionals, disseminate new knowledge, and enhance public awareness of important water-related issues (e.g. social, health, environment, institutions, technology, economics). Such documentation should also be made available in a form that can be both understood and used by decision-makers and the general public alike.

- creation of interlinked and widely disseminated systems for exchanging institutional, economic and technical documentation, as well as baseline information, such as directories of organisations and lists of experts and specialists, acting as a network between " documentation centres " focusing on specific water-related topics.

- development of compatible references, protocols for computerised exchange of documentation and multilingual approaches, as well as the management of the network and the training of documentation specialists.

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