Download or read book Water for People Water for Life written by World Water Assessment Programme (United Nations) and published by Unesco. This book was released on 2003 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The world's freshwater resources are coming under growing pressure through such environmental hazards as human waste, urbanization, industrialization, and pesticides. The problems are exacerbated through drought in many parts of the world. The improvement of the water quality itself and access to it have been major concerns for politicians and development agencies for over a decade. First officially formulated at the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, they have been restated or expanded since then. The UN Millennium Declaration of 2000 transformed general guidelines into specific targets. The international community pledged "to halve by 2015 the proportion of people who are unable to reach, or to afford, safe drinking water" and "to stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources, by developing water management strategies at the regional, national and local levels, which promote both equitable access and adequate supplies." Thus, ten years after Rio it is time to take stock. Based on the collective inputs of 23 United Nations agencies and convention secretariats, this Report offers a global overview of the state of the world's freshwater resources. It is part of an on-going assessment process to develop policies and help with their implementation as well as to measure any progress towards achieving sustainable use of water resources. Generously illustrated with more than 25 full-color global maps and numerous figures, the report reviews progress and trends and presents seven pilot case studies of river basins representing various social, economic and environmental settings: Lake Titicaca (Bolivia, Peru); Senegal river basin (Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Guinea); Seine Normandy (France); Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe (Estonia, Russia); Ruhuna basin (Sri Lanka); Greater Tokyo region (Japan); and Chao Phraya (Thailand). It assesses progress in 11 challenge areas, including health, food, environment, shared water resources, cities, industry, energy, risk management, knowledge, valuing water and governance. Proposing methodologies and indicators for measuring sustainability, it lays the foundations for regular, system-wide monitoring and reporting by the UN, together with the development of standardized methodologies and data. With its comprehensive maps, glossary, references and coverage of a broad range of themes and examples of real-world river basins, the UN World Water Development Report will no doubt prove to be a most valuable reference work. Visit the United Nation's Water Portal for more information on the report and on the International Year of Freshwater 2003.
Download or read book Rivers for Life written by Sandra Postel and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-06-22 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The conventional approach to river protection has focused on water quality and maintaining some "minimum" flow that was thought necessary to ensure the viability of a river. In recent years, however, scientific research has underscored the idea that the ecological health of a river system depends not on a minimum amount of water at any one time but on the naturally variable quantity and timing of flows throughout the year. In Rivers for Life, leading water experts Sandra Postel and Brian Richter explain why restoring and preserving more natural river flows are key to sustaining freshwater biodiversity and healthy river systems, and describe innovative policies, scientific approaches, and management reforms for achieving those goals. Sandra Postel and Brian Richter: explain the value of healthy rivers to human and ecosystem health; describe the ecological processes that support river ecosystems and how they have been disrupted by dams, diversions, and other alterations; consider the scientific basis for determining how much water a river needs; examine new management paradigms focused on restoring flow patterns and sustaining ecological health; assess the policy options available for managing rivers and other freshwater systems; explore building blocks for better river governance. Sandra Postel and Brian Richter offer case studies of river management from the United States (the San Pedro, Green, and Missouri), Australia (the Brisbane), and South Africa (the Sabie), along with numerous examples of new and innovative policy approaches that are being implemented in those and other countries. Rivers for Life presents a global perspective on the challenges of managing water for people and nature, with a concise yet comprehensive overview of the relevant science, policy, and management issues. It presents exciting and inspirational information for anyone concerned with water policy, planning and management, river conservation, freshwater biodiversity, or related topics.
Download or read book The Worth of Water written by Gary White and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-03-29 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the founders of nonprofits Water.org & WaterEquity Gary White and Matt Damon, the incredible true story of two unlikely allies on a mission to end the global water crisis for good On any given morning, you might wake up and shower with water, make your coffee with water, flush your toilet with water—and think nothing of it. But around the world, more than three-quarters of a billion people can’t do any of that—because they have no clean water source near their homes. And 1.7 billion don’t have access to a toilet. This crisis affects a third of the people on the planet. It keeps kids out of school and women out of work. It traps people in extreme poverty. It spreads disease. It’s also solvable. That conviction is what brought together movie actor Matt Damon and water expert and engineer Gary White. They spent years getting the answer wrong, then halfway right, then almost right. Over time, they and their organization, Water.org, have found an approach that works. Working with partners across East Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, they’ve helped over 40 million people access water and/or sanitation. In The Worth of Water, Gary and Matt take us along on the journey—telling stories as they uncover insights, try out new ideas, and travel between the communities they serve and the halls of power where decisions get made. With humor and humility, they illuminate the challenges of launching a brand-new model with extremely high stakes: better health and greater prosperity for people allover the world. The Worth of Water invites us to become a part of this effort—to match hope with resources, to empower families and communities, and to end the global water crisis for good. All the authors’ proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Water.org.
Download or read book The Human Rights to Water and Sanitation written by Léo Heller and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-05-12 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This analysis of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation (HRtWS) uncovers why some groups around the world are still excluded from these rights. Léo Heller, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation, draws on his own research in nine countries and reviews the theoretical, legal, and political issues involved. The first part presents the origins of the HRtWS, their legal and normative meanings and the debates surrounding them. Part II discusses the drivers, mainly external to the water and sanitation sector, that shape public policies and explain why individuals and groups are included in or excluded from access to services. In Part III, public policies guided by the realization of HRtWS are addressed. Part IV highlights populations and spheres of living that have been particularly neglected in efforts to promote access to services.
Download or read book Thirst written by Scott Harrison and published by Crown Currency. This book was released on 2018-10-02 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An inspiring personal story of redemption, second chances, and the transformative power within us all, from the founder and CEO of the nonprofit charity: water. At 28 years old, Scott Harrison had it all. A top nightclub promoter in New York City, his life was an endless cycle of drugs, booze, models—repeat. But 10 years in, desperately unhappy and morally bankrupt, he asked himself, "What would the exact opposite of my life look like?" Walking away from everything, Harrison spent the next 16 months on a hospital ship in West Africa and discovered his true calling. In 2006, with no money and less than no experience, Harrison founded charity: water. Today, his organization has raised over $750 million to bring clean drinking water to more than 17.4 million people around the globe. In Thirst, Harrison recounts the twists and turns that built charity: water into one of the most trusted and admired nonprofits in the world. Renowned for its 100% donation model, bold storytelling, imaginative branding, and radical commitment to transparency, charity: water has disrupted how social entrepreneurs work while inspiring millions of people to join its mission of bringing clean water to everyone on the planet within our lifetime. In the tradition of such bestselling books as Shoe Dog and Mountains Beyond Mountains, Thirst is a riveting account of how to build a better charity, a better business, a better life—and a gritty tale that proves it’s never too late to make a change. 100% of the author’s net proceeds from Thirst will go to fund charity: water projects around the world.
Download or read book Texas Aquatic Science written by Rudolph A. Rosen and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2014-11-19 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This classroom resource provides clear, concise scientific information in an understandable and enjoyable way about water and aquatic life. Spanning the hydrologic cycle from rain to watersheds, aquifers to springs, rivers to estuaries, ample illustrations promote understanding of important concepts and clarify major ideas. Aquatic science is covered comprehensively, with relevant principles of chemistry, physics, geology, geography, ecology, and biology included throughout the text. Emphasizing water sustainability and conservation, the book tells us what we can do personally to conserve for the future and presents job and volunteer opportunities in the hope that some students will pursue careers in aquatic science. Texas Aquatic Science, originally developed as part of a multi-faceted education project for middle and high school students, can also be used at the college level for non-science majors, in the home-school environment, and by anyone who educates kids about nature and water. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.
Download or read book The Human Right to Water written by Inga Winkler and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-14 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council recognised the human right to water in 2010. This formal recognition has put the issue high on the international agenda, but by itself leaves many questions unanswered. This book addresses this gap and clarifies the legal status and meaning of the right to water through a detailed analysis of its legal foundations, legal nature, normative content and corresponding State obligations. The human right to water has wide-ranging implications for the distribution of water. Examining these implications requires putting the right to water into the broader context of different water uses and analysing the linkages and competition with other human rights that depend on water for their realisation. Water allocation is a highly political issue reflecting societal power relations, with current priorities often benefitting the well-off and powerful. Human rights, in contrast, require prioritising the most basic needs of all people. The human right to water has the potential to address these underlying structural causes of the lack of access to water rooted in inequalities and poverty by empowering people to hold the State accountable to live up to its human rights obligations and to demand that their basic needs are met with priority.
Download or read book Blue Future written by Maude Barlow and published by The New Press. This book was released on 2011-05-10 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water is a human right: “A rousing case for what will be one of the key environmental challenges of the twenty-first century.” —Booklist The United Nations has recognized access to water as a basic human right—but there is still much work to be done to stem this growing environmental crisis. In this book, water activist Maude Barlow draws on her extensive experience to lay out a set of key principles that show the way forward to what she calls a “water-secure and water-just world.” Not only does she reveal the powerful players even now impeding the recognition of the human right to water, she argues that water must not become a commodity to be bought and sold on the open market. Focusing on solutions, she includes stories of struggle and resistance from marginalized communities, as well as government policies that work for both people and the planet. At a time when climate change has moved to the top of the national agenda and the stage is being set for unprecedented drought, mass starvation, and the migration of millions of refugees in search of water, Blue Future is an urgent call to preserve our most valuable resource for generations to come. “In a book as clear as a pristine mountain stream, Maude Barlow lays out a practical and inspiring vision for how we can defend water—the source of all life—from the forces of death.” —Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine
Download or read book Reconnecting People and Water written by Liz Sharp and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-05-18 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water management in industrialised western countries has long been seen as a technical process associated with pipes, drains and bureaucracies. This technical model of water management is now being questioned. This book examines the nature of contemporary water management and the prospects for and barriers to different forms of engagement with the public. In particular, it shows how historical and social scientific understandings develop and question current water management norms in relation to water in the landscape, water in the home and the hidden management of water beneath our streets and behind our walls. It is shown that the four-fold challenges of climate change, urbanisation, changing environmental standards and fiscal accountability mean that we can no longer rely on unseen technical fixes to erase the threats of pollution, water shortages and floods. Such concerns offer two prompts for public engagement and participation. First, on a purely instrumental level, public engagement can complement, or offer an obvious alternative to, technical fixes. Second, public engagement may provide a route to find new ways of addressing water and related challenges. The author offers a unique social science perspective on many of the socio-technical issues facing the management of water in urban settings in developed countries, where urban is interpreted broadly to include all areas served by piped water. Drawing on historical context and an extensive review of the published literature, as well as the author's own empirical studies, the work prompts broader discussions about how we manage water in contemporary society. It is invaluable for students and professionals in water resource management and planning.
Download or read book Water as a Human Right written by John Scanlon and published by IUCN. This book was released on 2004 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Formally acknowledging water as a human right could encourage the international community and governments to enhance their efforts to satisfy basic human needs and to meet the Millennium Development Goals. But critical questions arise in relation to a right to water. What would be the benefits and content of such a right? What mechanisms would be required for its effective implementation? Should the duty be placed on governments alone, or should the responsibility also be borne by private actors? Is another 'academic debate' on this subject warranted when action is really what is necessary? Without claiming to prescribe the answers, this publication clearly and carefully sets out the competing arguments and the challenges.
Download or read book Manual on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation for Practitioners written by Robert Bos and published by IWA Publishing. This book was released on 2016-08-15 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Manual highlights the human rights principles and criteria in relation to drinking water and sanitation. It explains the international legal obligations in terms of operational policies and practice that will support the progressive realisation of universal access. The Manual introduces a human rights perspective that will add value to informed decision making in the daily routine of operators, managers and regulators. It also encourages its readership to engage actively in national dialogues where the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation are translated into national and local policies, laws and regulations. Creating such an enabling environment is, in fact, only the first step in the process towards progressive realisation. Allocation of roles and responsibilities is the next step, in an updated institutional and operational set up that helps apply a human rights lens to the process of reviewing and revising the essential functions of operators, service providers and regulators.
Download or read book Water and Sanitation for Disabled People and Other Vulnerable Groups written by Hazel Jones and published by WEDC, Loughborough University. This book was released on 2005 with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The main focus of the book is on facilities for families in rural and peri-urban areas of low- and middle-income countries, but many of the approaches and solutions may also be applied in institutional settings, such as schools and hospitals and in emergency situations.
Download or read book How Water Makes Us Human written by Luci Attala and published by University of Wales Press. This book was released on 2019-04-01 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a novel cross-disciplinary approach to water, demonstrating the role water plays in shaping human lives. It uses anthropological information about water in Kenya, Wales and Spain to show how what water does in those areas has influenced the way that people can be with it.
Download or read book Transforming Rural Water Governance written by Sarah T Romano and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most acute water crises occur in everyday contexts in impoverished rural and urban areas across the Global South. While they rarely make headlines, these crises, characterized by inequitable access to sufficient and clean water, affect over one billion people globally. What is less known, though, is that millions of these same global citizens are at the forefront of responding to the challenges of water privatization, climate change, deforestation, mega-hydraulic projects, and other threats to accessing water as a critical resource. In Transforming Rural Water Governance Sarah T. Romano explains the bottom-up development and political impact of community-based water and sanitation committees (CAPS) in Nicaragua. Romano traces the evolution of CAPS from rural resource management associations into a national political force through grassroots organizing and strategic alliances. Resource management and service provision is inherently political: charging residents fees for service, determining rules for household water shutoffs and reconnections, and negotiating access to water sources with local property owners constitute just a few of the highly political endeavors resource management associations like CAPS undertake as part of their day-to-day work in their communities. Yet, for decades in Nicaragua, this local work did not reflect political activism. In the mid-2000s CAPS’ collective push for social change propelled them onto a national stage and into new roles as they demanded recognition from the government. Romano argues that the transformation of Nicaragua’s CAPS into political actors is a promising example of the pursuit of sustainable and equitable water governance, particularly in Latin America. Transforming Rural Water Governance demonstrates that when activism informs public policy processes, the outcome is more inclusive governance and the potential for greater social and environmental justice.
Download or read book Superman s Not Coming written by Erin Brockovich and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2021-04-20 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the environmental activist, consumer advocate, and renowned crusader comes a riveting book that is "part memoir, part non-fiction report, and part call-to-action—a plea to readers to engage with the water crisis in America because no one else is going to do the work for you" (InStyle Magazine). Clean water is as basic to life on planet Earth as hydrogen or oxygen. In her long-awaited book—her first to reckon with the condition of water on our planet—Erin Brockovich shows us what’s at stake. She writes powerfully of the fraudulent science disguising our national water crisis: Cancer clusters are not being reported. People in Detroit and the state of New Jersey don’t have clean water. The drinking water for more than six million Americans contains unsafe levels of industrial chemicals linked to cancer and other health issues. The saga of PG&E continues to this day. Yet communities and people around the country are fighting to make an impact, and Brockovich tells us their stories. In Poughkeepsie, New York, a water operator responded to his customers’ concerns and changed his system to create some of the safest water in the country. Local moms in Hannibal, Missouri, became the first citizens in the nation to file an ordinance prohibiting the use of ammonia in their public drinking water. Like them, we can each protect our right to clean water by fighting for better enforcement of laws, new legislation, and stronger regulations.
Download or read book Sustainable Use of Water by Industry written by Cheryl Davis and published by IWA Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-15 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustainable Use of Water by Industry: Perspectives, Incentives, and Tools
Download or read book Clean Water for All written by Danielle Haynes and published by 'The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc'. This book was released on 2021-07-15 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, 785 million people are living without access to safe water. Water-related illnesses are responsible for almost 1 million deaths each year. Clean water should be a basic human right, but far too few people have access to it. With this informative book, readers will study the global water crisis, how it reached its current state, and its impact on the environment and human lives. Real-life examples of the steps being taken to save Earth's water resources and improve the quality and availability of drinking water will inspire budding environmentalists to take action.
