Environment and Energy

Water and Climate Change

Currently at least 1.1 billion people lack access to safe water supply and almost 2.5 billion lack adequate sanitation, predominantly in the developing countries. One-third of the world’s people now live in countries where water is in short supply. In Africa, women and girls spend nearly three hours a-day fetching water, an energy expenditure that exceeds one-third of their daily food intake. Lack of water source closer to homes significantly constrains the time that mothers have available to care for their children and that girls have to attend school. The lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation is a major cause of ill health and life-threatening diseases in developing countries. If current trends in water use persist, two-thirds of the world's population could be living in countries experiencing moderate or high water scarcity by 2025.

In most countries, highly fragmented water institutions manage growing water scarcities and block integrated water management approaches1. Currently the greatest vulnerabilities worldwide are in unmanaged or unsustainable water systems in developing countries. Typically such systems are already at high risk due to population growth, increasing agricultural uses, water contamination, adverse policies, and other forces that make the system unsustainable.

There is increasing evidence that global climate change and climate variability will affect the quality and availability of water supplies. Integrated freshwater-resources development, use, and management strategies, are regarded as the most effective way to achieve sustainable development of water resources in a changing environment with competing demands and is considered key to sustainable development. It is critical that climate change in water governance be considered in the context of reducing vulnerability of the poor, in maintaining sustainable livelihoods and supporting sustainable development. UNDP’s role will relate to enhancing mechanisms for strengthening the capacity of governments and civil society organizations to assess the impact of climate variability and change on integrated water resources management, and the formulation of adaptation strategies to integrate the impacts into poverty reduction strategies, and national and local development planning.

The integration of adaptive capacity development in the water sector will contribute towards ensuring that water systems are effectively managed in an integrated manner, accounting for climate change stresses, thus helping in reducing poverty (MDG 1) and ensuring access to adequate and safe drinking water supply (MDG 7).

Go to: UNDP’s Water Governance Programme