Business
/ Private Sector
World
Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
http://www.wbcsd.ch/
The
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a coalition of 150
international companies united by a shared commitment to sustainable development
via the three pillars of economic growth, ecological balance and social
progress. The WBCSD has members drawn from more than 30 countries and 20 major
industrial sectors. They also benefit from a Global Network of 30 national and
regional business councils and partner organizations involving some 700 business
leaders globally. The WBCSD is member-led organisation with a well established
network whose mission is to provide business leadership as a catalyst for change
toward sustainable development, and to promote the role of eco-efficiency,
innovation and corporate social responsibility. The
Council of the WBCSD meets annually providing a forum for discussing the
organisation’s priorities and strategy. This is in terms of: business
leadership; policy development; best practice; and global outreach. The WBCSD
has prioritised the issue of freshwater. Their website gives details of many
successful case studies. These include: in the field of technology and
innovation, the Gerling project: Providing drinking water resources to a small
Mediterranean island. In terms of Eco-Efficiency General Motors in Mexico run:
Water Conservation and Reuse Program. Dialogue and Partnerships have been
building through projects like: BC Hydro: Collaboration Through Water Use
Planning, CH2M Hill & Suez: Partnerships on Water; and Severn Trent: Water
Partnership for St. Petersberg.
Unilever
http://www.unilever.com
Unilever
is a large multi-national corporation dedicated to meeting the everyday needs of
people everywhere. Unilever has a drive to serve consumers all over the world.
The company has a sustainability program and is committed towards sustainable
development principles.
Unilever
recognises that water stewardship is an important part of its business as many
of its products revolve around water both upstream and downstream in their life
cycle process. The company has developed a structured approach to dealing with
water as a business, developed a set of guiding principles, and commissioned a
detailed imprint of Unilever’s impacts. Unilever has been involved in a number
of water based projects worldwide, case studies include: the Pasig river
Rehabilitation Project in the Philippines; the Living Lakes initiative to
restore and protect lakes on 4 continents; Zero liquid discharge initiatives in
India; Improving water quality on the West Bank, Palestine.
Severn
Trent plc
http://www.severn-trent.com
Severn
Trent Plc is an environmental services company and a leading provider of water,
waste and utility services. The group includes Severn Trent Water, Biffa Waste
Services and Severn Trent Services, and generates revenues of £1.7 billion and
employs more than 14,000 people in the UK, US and Europe. Severn Trent is
characterised by experience and environment in freshwater and in sanitation
issues by policy and action.
Business
/ Public Sector
Randwater
http://www.randwater.com
Randwater
in South Africa realised the potential water services delivery challenges likely
to be placed on the new democratic order, and adopted a pro-active corporate
vision. This enabled Rand Water to contribute its expertise in the
reconstruction and development of South Africa. This vision also enables Rand
Water to play a role in the African Renaissance by forming partnerships with
established water services institutions and providers. Particular capacity was
required in the retail water operations arena (reticulation) and management
terrain.
This led to the establishment of the Retail Water Operations Division, with a
founding objective: "to ensure continuity of service in areas where a
retail water supply organisation is in difficulty; to take actions which will
overcome the immediate cause of difficulties; to develop a business structure
which will ensure stable and sustainable supplies into the future in accordance
with industry best practice and commercial sustainability; and to satisfy the
need and requirement for community influence over the organisation in terms of
prevailing laws and policies" . These objectives meant that Rand Water
had to "go beyond its conventional mandate and
assist in the provision of basic sanitation and services, as also in the supply
of clean water to communities."
Farmers
International
Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP)
http://www.ifap.org
IFAP
is a worldwide organisation for national farmer organisations. IFAP
was established in 1946 to secure the fullest cooperation between organizations
of agricultural producers in meeting the optimum nutritional and consumptive
requirements of the peoples of the world. It works to improve the economic and
social status of all who live by and on the land. Freshwater issues and
strategies are a major part of this organisation.
Intergovernmental
Bodies
World
Health Organisation (WHO)
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/index.htm
The
World Health Organisation (WHO), has a mandate towards the protection of human
health. The WHO defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and
social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
The
WHO has been historically at the forefront of initiatives and programmes dealing
with water supply and sanitation sector monitoring. The impetus to monitoring
was provided by the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade
(1981-1990), which was a major outcome of the United Nations Water Conference,
held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, 1977.
At
the end of the Decade, WHO and UNICEF decided to combine their experiences and
resources in a Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP)
intended for capacity building in information systems at the country level.
WHO
and UNICEF have conducted a global exercise to assess the status of the water
supply and sanitation sector as at the end of 1999.
3rd
World Water Forum Preparatory Committee
http://www.worldwaterforum.org/
The
World Water Council established the World Water Forum concept, a series of
stepping stones towards global collaboration on water problems which threaten
the health and safety of so many of the world's citizens. The 3rd World Water
Forum, heralding the beginning of the 'century of water,' will take place in
Japan in 2003.
Kyoto
City has been selected as the venue and the event will take place in March of
2003. The 3rd World Water Forum will be a manifestation of global reactions to
water and sanitation issues, and in this crucial sense the Forum will be a 'Forum
created by all.'
United
Nations Environment Progamme: Freshwater
http://freshwater.unep.net/
The
United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) freshwater section provides
information and support on freshwater issues. It strives to change the fact that
about one-third of the world's population lives in countries with moderate to
high water stress. The problems are most acute in Africa and West Asia but lack
of water is already a major constraint to industrial and socio-economic growth
in many other areas, including China, India and Indonesia. If present
consumption patterns continue, two out of every three persons on Earth will live
in water-stressed conditions by the year 2025. UNEP has a lead role in combating
the declining state of the world's freshwater resources, in terms of quantity
and quality, which may prove to be the dominant issue on the environment and
development agenda of the coming century.
World
Bank
http://www.worldbank.org
The
World Bank uses its financial resources, its highly trained staff, and its
extensive knowledge base to individually help each developing country onto a
path of stable, sustainable, and equitable growth. The main focus is on helping
the poorest people and the poorest countries. As a result freshwater issues and
strategy are high on the agenda of this organisation.
The
Bank is now working in more than 100 developing economies, bringing a mix of
finance and ideas to improve living standards and eliminate the worst forms of
poverty. For each of its clients, the Bank works with government agencies,
nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to formulate assistance
strategies. Its country offices worldwide deliver the Bank's program in
countries, liase with government and civil society, and work to increase
understanding of development issues. The Bank has a network of support,
knowledge and expertise and is a strong contributor towards the freshwater
debate. A clear link has been made between poverty alleviation and sustainable
development, the Bank is focusing on finding ways to ensure that economic growth
does not come at the expense of the world's physical and ecological systems or
the world's poor.
Water
Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
http://www.wsscc.org
The
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) is a leading
international organisation that enhances collaboration in the water supply and
sanitation sector, specifically in order to attain universal coverage of water
and sanitation services for poor people around the world. WSSCC is a cross
between a professional association and an international NGO. It operates with a
mandate from the United National General Assembly.
The
mission of the Council is “to accelerate the achievement of sustainable
water, sanitation and waste management services to all people, with special
attention to the unserved poor, by enhancing collaboration among developing
countries and external support agencies and through concerted action programmes”.
The
Council helps sector professionals to share their concerns, knowledge and
experience with one another. It provides opportunities for problem solving,
access to combined expertise, continuous dialogue on key issues, and
publications which set out guidelines, procedures and codes of conduct developed
by experts working together over several years. The main mechanisms that the
Council adopts to achieve its objectives and carry out its tasks are:
These
activities are carried out by groups of volunteers from existing organisations
(from both developing and industrialised countries) with an
interest
in finding ways to resolve the issues. Each global forum provides the platform
for consensus building on recommendations emanating from such activities.
Emerging issues and appropriate policy/strategy regimes for the future are also
discussed.
The
World Water Assessment Programme
Local
Authorities
International
Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)
http://www.iclei.org
ICLEI
is the international environmental agency for local governments. ICLEI's mission
is to build and serve a worldwide movement of local governments to achieve
tangible improvements in global environmental and sustainable development
conditions through cumulative local actions. Building
a worldwide movement requires that ICLEI functions as a democratic,
international association of local governments. Serving a worldwide movement
requires that ICLEI operates as an international environmental agency for local
governments.
More
than 350 cities, towns, counties, and their associations from around the world
are full Members of the Council, with hundreds of additional local governments
participating in specific ICLEI campaigns and projects. As a movement,
association, and agency, ICLEI continues to work towards its environmental
and sustainable development goals. Significant improvements in the
freshwater and sanitation sector form a major part of achieving these goals.
Multi – Stakeholder Organisations
International
Rivers Network
http://www.irn.org/index.html
IRN
supports local communities working to protect their rivers and watersheds. The
organisation works to halt destructive river development projects, and to
encourage equitable and sustainable methods of meeting needs for water, energy
and flood management.
IRN
seeks a world in which rivers and their watersheds are valued as living systems
and are protected and nurtured for the benefit of the human and biological
communities that depend on them. This vision can be achieved by developing
worldwide understanding of the importance of rivers and their essential place in
the struggle for environmental integrity, social justice, and human rights.
IRN's
mission is to halt and reverse the degradation of river systems; to support
local communities in protecting and restoring the well-being of the people,
cultures and ecosystems that depend on rivers; to promote sustainable,
environmentally sound alternatives to damming and channeling rivers; to foster
greater understanding, awareness and respect for rivers; to support the
http://www.irn.org/index.html
IRN
supports local communities working to protect their rivers and watersheds. The
organisation works to halt destructive river development projects, and to
encourage equitable and sustainable methods of meeting needs for water, energy
and flood management.
IRN
seeks a world in which rivers and their watersheds are valued as living systems
and are protected and nurtured for the benefit of the human and biological
communities that depend on them. This vision can be achieved by developing
worldwide understanding of the importance of rivers and their essential place in
the struggle for environmental integrity, social justice, and human rights.
IRN's
mission is to halt and reverse the degradation of river systems; to support
local communities in protecting and restoring the well-being of the people,
cultures and ecosystems that depend on rivers; to promote sustainable,
environmentally sound alternatives to damming and channeling rivers; to foster
greater understanding, awareness and respect for rivers; to support the worldwide
struggle for environmental integrity, social justice and human rights; and to
ensure that our work is exemplary of responsible and effective global action on
environmental issues.
IRN
has adopted a two-pronged approach, combining work on changing global policies
with campaigning on specific key projects around the world. We do this because
we understand that effective lobbying for policy change must include specific
project examples, and that fighting successive individual projects without
addressing root causes is not an efficient use of our resources nor will it
decelerate the pace of destructive project construction.
Global
Water Partnership
http://www.gwpforum.org/
The
Global Water Partnership is a working partnership among all those involved in
water management: government agencies, public institutions, private companies,
professional organizations, multilateral development agencies and others
committed to the Dublin-Rio principles.
Today, this comprehensive partnership identifies critical knowledge needs at
global, regional and national levels, helps design programs for meeting these
needs, and serves as a mechanism for alliance building and information exchange
on integrated water resources management.
The mission of the Global Water Partnership is to "support
countries in the sustainable management of their water resources."
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
International
Development Enterprises
http://www.ide-international.org/
Since
1981, IDE has been active in providing the “right help” to the rural
poor through affordable technology. The production and marketing of small-scale
irrigation technologies has contributed to an increase in income of not only
farmers, but also the masnufacturers, distributers and technicians that help
disseminate these technologies. This happens through the free market, and IDE
contributes only to the development of the technology and its widespread
marketing promotion.
ECO-Accord
http://www.ecoaccord.cis.lead.org
Eco-Accord
is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, founded in 1992 to promote the
realisation of the decisions adopted at the UN conference on Environment and
Development at the Rio conference in 1992.
It
aims to find solutions to environmental and sustainable development problems
both on the global and the national level, to raise public awareness on
environmental and sustainable development issues, to facilitate information
exchange and develop partnerships between NGOs, governmental, business, academic
and other sectors of society.
WaterAid
http://www.wateraid.org.uk
WaterAid
works in fifteen countries in Africa and Asia with a wide variety of cultures
and communities. WaterAid is a unique charity. It is the only one in the UK to
specialise in just three things: water, sanitation and hygiene education. These
three aspects of development can be the catalyst to a completely improved life.
WaterAid provides the financial support and technical advice to communities
overseas to help them work towards practical solutions to their water and
sanitation problems.
WaterAid
believes that once people have safe water to drink, effective sanitation and
knowledge of good health practices they are able to take control of their lives.
They can then construct good housing, have time to go to school, grow extra food
for their families and undertake other activities to generate income. WaterAid
believes that safe water means healthier lives and better futures.
Environmental
Monitoring Group
http://home.global.co.za/~emg/
Environmental
Monitoring Group (EMG) is an independent non-governmental organisation
established in June 1991, and located in Cape Town, South Africa. Its primary
role is to assist communities and interest groups to assert their environmental
rights in policy and decision-making and in cases of environmental injustice. We
see our role as one of 'building a bridge' between decision-makers and those who
are most affected by these decisions. This role translates into a number of key
activities, including: brokering, capacity building, research, information
dissemination, communication, policy input, forging partnerships and networking.
Their
mission is to empower people to take charge of their own environment, so that
the right to a healthy environment can be enjoyed by all.
Watershed
Organisation Trust (WOTR)
http://www.wotr.org
The
Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) is a development support team of
professionals, having core competency, committed to motivating and facilitating,
rural communities and NGOs, towards sustainable, integrated watershed
development with the help of local and external resources.
The
aim of WOTR is to
support village communities in eradicating their poverty by regenerating
their environment along watershed lines. To
achieve this objective, WOTR,
together with its partners, seeks to mobilize the creative potential of the
watershed dwellers so that they come together to regenerate their environment,
in a comprehensive and integrated manner. WOTR
also seeks to assist NGOs through capacity-building. In
order to ensure a large scale impact and replication effort, WOTR
seeks to facilitate the unfolding of a people's movement for natural
resources management along watershed lines.
Institute
for Agriculture & Trade Policy
http://www.iatp.org/
The
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy promotes resilient family farms,
rural communities and ecosystems around the world through research and
education, science and technology, and advocacy.
The Institute assists public interest organizations in effectively influencing
both domestic and international policymaking through monitoring,
analysis and research; education and outreach; training
and technical assistance; coalition building and international networking.
IATP
run a website called the Water Observatory, ‘a site
dedicated to providing information and resources to citizens, policy makers, the
media, activist and movements working locally and globally on the right to
water’.
Professional Associations
International
Water Association (IWA)
http://www.iawq.org.uk
The
International Water Association (IWA) is
to be the leading international membership association for the improvement of
urban water management worldwide in an environmentally sustainable way.
Specifically, IWA's coverage includes all aspects of water supply and treatment,
wastewater collection, treatment and disposal and overall management of water
quality and quantity including environmental and public health issues.
IWA’
mission is
to achieve its vision by promoting best practice and exchange of the latest
skills, techniques and knowledge on these aspects of water management. Then IWA
disseminates this worldwide by all possible means including meetings,
publications, expert networks and electronic media. Also, IWA engages in
advocacy and exchange of ideas with major agencies and the promotion of public
awareness. And, IWA provides a means whereby all the different types of
organisations and professions in the water sector can exchange information.
Scientific
Communities
World
Conservation Union (IUCN)
http://www.iucn.org
The
World Conservation Union (IUCN) brings together 78 states, 112 government
agencies, 735 NGOs, 35 affiliates, and some 10,000 scientists and experts from
181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership. Its mission is to influence,
encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity
and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is
equitable and ecologically sustainable. Within the framework of global
conventions IUCN has helped over 75 countries to prepare and implement national
conservation and biodiversity strategies. IUCN has approximately 1000 staff,
most of whom are located in its 42 regional and country offices while 100 work
at its Headquarters in Gland, Switzerland.
Trade
Unions
International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)
http://www.icftu.org
The
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) was set up in 1949 and
has 225 affiliated organisations in 148 countries and territories on all five
continents, with a membership of 157 million. It has three major regional
organisations, APRO for Asia and the Pacific, AFRO for Africa, and ORIT for the
Americas. It also maintains close links with the European Trade Union
Confederation (which includes all ICFTU European affiliates) and International
Trade Secretariats, which link together national unions from a particular trade
or industry at international level.
The
ICFTU organises and directs campaigns on a wide range of issues, including
defending worker’s rights, eradicating child labour, equal rights for women,
the environment, education programmes, organising young people and investigating
trade union networks worldwide. This is a very strong organisation capable of
making a significant contribution towards the problems associated with
freshwater and sanitation worldwide.
Public
Sector International
www.world-psi.org
Public
Services International (PSI) is an international trade union federation. PSI,
unites public sector workers in more than 600 trade unions in over 140
countries. Twenty million women and men in a variety of public sector jobs are
members of PSI.
For more than 90 years, PSI has fought for public services through its
activities and campaigns, its regional structure, its association with other
international organisations and its work on priority issues.
Public Services International
considers that the environment is a priority public service workplace issue.
With clean air, a clean and regular water supply, clean streets, untainted food,
healthy housing and good sewage, running as high priorities within this
organisation.
Women
Gender
and Water Alliance
http://www.irc.nl/projects/genall/
The
Gender and Water Alliance (GWA) is an associated programme of the Global Water
Partnership. The purpose of this programme is to promote strategic improvements
in the practice of gender mainstreaming, through a network of organisations
committed to and active in mainstreaming gender in their own work and that of
their partners. This will contribute to the goal, which is to achieve effective
policies and practice on gender mainstreaming in integrated water resources
management. It comprises 110 members from 39 countries in seven regions of the
world.
Active
Gender Ambassadors, an annual global report on Water and Gender, improving
access, consolidation, repackaging and dissemination of quality information,
best practices and training materials are among the key actions of the alliance.
The project is co-funded by DFID from the United Kingdom and DGIS from the
Netherlands.
The
Huairou Commission
http://www.huairou.org
“Forging
strategic partnerships to advance the capacity of grassroots women worldwide to
strengthen and create sustainable communities”, is
the mission statement of the Huairou Commission. The commission’s objectives
are to promote the institutional transformation needed to engender local
community development and governance; To strengthen the capacity, resource
position, and collaboration of local women's organizations and their affiliated
regional and global networks; and to increase grassroots women's participation
in the decision-making processes impacting their lives with a special focus on
political participation.
Youth
Youth
World Water Forum
http://www.ywwf.net
The
Youth Water Action Team aims to further develop the youth commitment in
water conferences, and form a basis for a youth network on raising awareness on
water issues, by organizing local projects. Their major achievements to date
include work during the Youth World Water Forum (YWWF) in Vlissingen (the
Netherlands) from 25 to 28 June 2001, where about 200 young professionals
discussed world water issues to put on the international agenda for the decades
to come. The basis for this event are the Youth Action Plan (YAP) and the Youth
Vision Statement, which were drawn up by young people at the Second World Water
Forum (WWF2). In order to allow the voice of the youth to be heard at
international meetings, it is very important to give structure and continuity to
the execution of the YAP. To guarantee this continuity, a task force was formed
out of the YWWF participants. The members of this group will be the ambassadors
of the YAP execution process in their own region. This task force is called the
Youth Water Action Team (YWAT).
