UNEP-IETC Activities on on Water and Sanitation

Water: Global Environmental Priority

• Importance of freshwater issues raised at the local, national, regional, and global levels in MDG, WSSD, CSD and other fora

• UNEP has been engaged in water issues since its establishment in 1972. UNEP’s key areas of work have included the following:• facilitate and catalyze water resource assessments in various countries• implement projects that assisted countries in developing integrated water

resource management (IWRM) plans• create awareness of innovative alternative technologies• assist to develop, implement and enforce water resource management

policies, laws and regulations.

• To do so, UNEP has formed partnerships:• UNEP is part of UN Water, with 25 other UN agencies• UNEP has formed partnerships with numerous organizations and donors to

support and carry out its programming

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Framing of Water Issues in UNEP Programming

3

UNEP Water Policy and Strategy

(2007-12)

UNEP Medium Term Strategy

(2010-13)

UNEP Bali Strategic Plan for Technology

Support and Capacity-building

Operationalized through UNEP Programme of Work (POW)

1. Clim

ate C

hange

2. Disasters

Conflicts

3 .Ecosystem

M

anagement

4.Environ’tal

Governance

5. Harm

ful substances

6. Resource

efficiency

BS

P provides

guidance on W

PS

im

plementation

WP

S is a tool to

address M

TS

prio

rities

All 6 POW Sub-Programme areas include water issues, implemented by various branches of UNEP

UNEP Water Policy and Strategy

Background: • UNEP requested by governments to develop water policy with guidelines,

incentives and institutional/substantive responses to the water challenge• It provides strategic directions for UNEP’s actions in freshwater• It positions UNEP to provide advisory service packages to promote

ecosystem approaches in integrated water resources management (IWRM), at global, regional and national level

• It positions UNEP to provide coordinated leadership for IWRM• It makes contributions to the internationally agreed targets and goals

relevant to water and socio-economic development

Strategic principles to focus UNEP work: • Promote ecosystem-based approaches• Contribute to sound economic, and social development,

including poverty reduction• Address risks• Build national and regional capacity• Build on existing programmes & partnerships

and form new ones• Promote multi-stakeholder participation

4

UNEP Medium-Term Strategy 2010-2013

Six cross-cutting thematic priorities: to deliver tangible results

1. Climate change

2. Disasters and conflicts

3. Ecosystem management

4. Environmental Governance

5. Harmful substances and hazardous waste

6. Resource efficiency - sustainable consumption and production (RE/SCP)

The strategic direction contained in the MTS provides a clear, results-based focus for the UNEP Programme of Work (POW), initially for the biennium 2010-2011

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Bali Strategic Plan (BSP)

Bali Strategic Plan for Capacity Building and Technology Support

Intergovernmentally agreed approach to strengthen technology support and capacity building by UNEP, with emphasis on:

– Identifying and disseminating best practices

– Fostering entrepreneurship and partnership

– Promoting efficiency and effectiveness in using financial and human resources through better coordination

– More effective implementation at all levels

– Promotion of an integrated approach to allow optimal use of resources

19 thematic areas and 13 cross-cutting areas– Water-related thematic areas: freshwater resources, wetland

conservation, oceans and seas and coastal areas, sanitation

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IETC Water Contributions in UNEP Programming7

UNEP Water Policy and Strategy

(2007-12)

UNEP Medium Term Strategy

(2010-13)

UNEP Bali Strategic Plan for Technology

Support and Capacity-building

Operationalized through UNEP Programme of Work

1. Clim

ate C

hange

2. Disasters

Conflicts

3 .Ecosystem

M

anagement

4.Environ’tal

Governance

5. Harm

ful substances

6. Resource

efficiency

BS

P provides

guidance on W

PS

im

plementation

WP

S is a tool to

address M

TS

prio

rities

IETC’s water programming contributes to Resource Efficiency and Ecosystem Management

IETC Water and Sanitation Pillar

IETC’s ContributionsBSP Contributions:

Thematic areas: • Freshwater resources, wetland conservation, and sanitation

Cross-cutting areas: • Access to scientific and technological information, including information on state-

of-the art technologies• Facilitating access to and support for ESTs and corresponding know-how

UNEP Water Strategy and Policy Contributions: Thematic areas:

• Ecosystem restoration, water resource augmentation, sanitation, wastewater collection, reuse and reallocation, ESTs, demand management and conservation , mainstreaming of environment into development processes, technology transfer, capacity building, urban water resources

Strategic principles• Contribute to sound economic &social development, incl. poverty reduction• Build national and regional capacity• Build on existing programmes & partnerships, and form new partnerships

MTS/Programme of Work Contributions: Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Consumption and Production, and

Ecosystem Management

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IETC’s Comparative Advantages

Identifying and promoting innovative approaches and technologies that can give concrete environmental and economic benefits

Assisting countries and municipalities in selecting and adopting best available, locally feasible and economical technologies and management practices

Sharing information on technologies, their applications and management systems

Located in, and supported by, Japan, with a wealth of experience and information on ESTs and innovations

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Water Issues at Stake for IETC

• Lack of integrated methodologies and tools to enhance efficiency and quality in water consumption and to engage stakeholders

• Insufficient capacities for technology adoption/utilization and for accessing affordable and appropriate technologies, and lack of tools/capacity to apply the assessed technologies

• Lack of relevant experience and data for assessing and selecting ESTs and management approaches for ecosystem management

• Inadequate institutional, policy, and managerial frameworks that incorporate water-related sustainable production/consumption practices

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IETC’s Water and Wastewater EST Focus

• Decentralized and augmentation-oriented ESTs:• On-site decentralized systems with potential for nutrient recycling,

enhanced cost benefits and resource efficiency, reduction of eutrophication and pathogens

• Ecological sanitation

• Phytotechnology for water treatment, water quality management, ecosystem management

• Augmentation-oriented approach, including cascading use of water and wastewater, efficiency improvements, recycling…

• Does not mean low-tech

• Applied for resource efficiency improvements and ecosystem management

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Work Done So Far

1. Demonstrating and piloting promising ESTs• Iraqi Marshlands project (2004-2009)• EST demonstrations and survey in rural communities in

Jamaica• Water quality improvement and sanitation in Bocaina, Brazil• Pilot case studies on lake & reservoir management:

Indonesia, China• Ecological/Decentralized Sanitation in Philippines (on-going)

2. Testing applicability of innovative management approaches

• Water footprint and neutrality project3. Developing and implementing longer-term management

initiatives• UNEP-UNESCO - Natural and cultural management of the

Iraqi Marshlands as a World Heritage (On-going)• Encouraging Iraqi accession to Multilateral Environmental

Agreements (MEAs)

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Work Done So Far (continued)

4. Helping to make decisions for technology applications• Water use efficiency and sanitation in urban and domestic sectors –

Every Drop Counts• Phytotechnology applications and software development

5. Supporting replication of good practices• Mainstreaming pilot project lessons learned document

6. Numerous other efforts in partnership• International Sourcebook on ESTs for Wastewater and Stormwater

Management, with IWA and Murdoch University• ESTs for Wastewater Treatment for the implementation of UNEP

Global Plan of Action (GPA) “Guidance on Municipal Wastewater”• Guidelines on Phytotechnology & Ecohydrology, with UNESCO-IHP• Collaboration on the World Lake Vision, with ILEC and Shiga

Prefecture• Sourcebooks on Alternative Technologies for Freshwater

Augmentation• Water and Wastewater Reuse: An Environmentally Sound

Approach for Sustainable Urban Water Management, with GEC

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Water Footprint, Neutrality & Efficiency (WaFNE) Project

Objective: To enhance water efficiency and water quality management through the refinement of water footprinting and water neutrality methodologies with support of related management tools, their testing and application in industry and financial sector as well as in water stressed / scarce regions Joint initiative with Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch, UNEP

Financial Initiative Part of 61-P4, GEF proposal being developed, with various partners

including GEC

Activities: Applying water footprinting and related concepts in selected geographical locations under water stress/water scarcity

1. Dialogue2. Capacity building3. Assessment and demonstration

Water footprint accounting Impact assessment Reduction of the negative impacts of water footprints Offsetting the residual impacts of water footprints

4. Awareness raising and replication

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2010-11 POWRE/SCP Project on Technology (61-P4)

Technology assessments, technology policy and environmentally sound technologies to empower public

and private organisations to advance resource efficiencyCoordinated by IETC:1. Developing guidance on technology assessment and carrying out

illustrative assessments for augmenting efficiency of resource consumption, and developing technology policy recommendations

2. Building capacity on how to apply ESTs as well as management and technology policies by examining cost benefit, transfer barriers, and measures to promote their update in key priority sectors

3. Establishing an information exchange mechanism with examples of ESTs in key priority sectors

4. Convening global/regional technology forums to promote EST use and to provide policy recommendations

5. Developing a technology innovation initiative, including water management accounting and off-setting (water footprint)

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2010-11 POWRE/SCP Project on Polices ad Tools (61-P8)

Policies and Tools at the City Level: Best practices to improve waste management, water

and sanitation and energy efficiency

Coordinated by IETC, with water and sanitation lead on:

Support municipal level water (drinking water, waste water) and sanitation initiatives to advance best practices through capacity building and demonstration projects on use of appropriate tools and models displaying the link between efficiency, environmental health and quality (project SWEET)

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2010-11 POWEcosystem Management Project on Tools and Methodologies for Water Ecosystems (31-P1)

Tools and methodologies for assessing and maintaining freshwater ecosystems/ Building capacity to incorporate ecosystem management into development processes

Coordinated by Division on Environmental Policy Implementation, with IETC lead on:

1. Develop a compendium of EST and analyse emerging ESTS, organise symposium to discuss EST and build capacity

2. Organize international symposium on ESTs and water management for Iraqi Marshlands with Government of Iraq at CBD COP10 and identify potential follow-up management initiatives within the CBD framework

3. Identify drivers of ecosystems degradation, and develop and implement plans to address the drivers and testing tools and ESTs for: Iraq World Heritage Site, and for Iraqi Marshlands ecosystem management

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Possible Partnerships

• UN agencies: to develop and implement initiatives of mutual and complementary interests, to anchor IETC’s outputs into national level programming

• Bilateral institutions: to provide support for IETC’s programming, to coordinate initiatives of mutual and complementary interest

• Academic institutions, to provide technical and policy-relevant support, to assist in project formulation and implementation

• NGOs: to provide technical and managerial support to implement initiatives on the ground, to advise as stakeholders

• Development banks: to utilize IETC’s services in technical assistance, and to provide complementary programming

• Networks and others: to provide feedback on key technical and substantive issues, and to support replication

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Emerging Cooperation• KOICA through UNEP-ROAP is seeking increasing

cooperation on waste management, especially for integrated solid waste management, technologies, partnerships, and training

• ISWA on waste and climate change as well as for Global Partnership on Waste Management

• UNCRD on 3R and integrated solid waste management

• Secretariat of Basel Convention on E-waste• Academia and other civil society organizations on

research and capacity building

Thank You…

Osaka Office

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International Environmental Technology Centre