Posted on August, 08 2002

Gland, Switzerland - Less than three weeks before the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), WWF today launched a report showing a new approach to managing river basins as crucial for delivering sustainable use of the world's limited freshwater resources. The WWF report on managing water wisely Tackling Poverty and Promoting Sustainable Development: key lessons for integrated river basin management, shows that collectively, 261 transboundary rivers worldwide drain 45 per cent of the Earth's surface, account for 80 per cent of river flow by volume, and are home to 40 per cent of the world's human population. Using research and extensive field experience, the report provides the basis for the seven guiding principles for managing rivers and their basins. Maintaining the health of these river basins is the key to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people without access to both clean water and adequate sanitation by 2015. "Freshwater ecosystems such as rivers, lakes, flooded forests and marshes, are crucial to the day-to-day existence of billions of people," said Jamie Pittock, Director of WWF's Living Waters Programme . "Mismanagement of the flow of water from the upper course of a river often has devastating impacts on people living downstream, far from the point of origin." The report is part of a toolkit developed by WWF to address the key elements of sustainable and equitable water management on the table at the WSSD. Of the 11 case studies that were prepared, five show how poor planning and mismanagement of freshwater resources have adverse socio-economic and environmental consequences. From the Upper Paraguay Basin of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay to Spain's National Hydrological Plan involving several hundred dams, exclusion of local people combined with inadequate environmental assessments are at the heart of unequal distribution of water benefits. There are many striking examples of water management, such as Working for Water in South Africa, the continent's largest environmental management programme. Comprehensive socio-economic assessments and the employment of 18,000 local people to tackle freshwater threats result in economic and environmental stability. The establishment of local authorities or river basin commissions is also found to be a key factor in improved freshwater management. Australia's Murray Darling Basin generates 40 per cent of national income and the commission, re-established in 1988, has helped promote decision-making and conflict resolution for better joint management of the river. "Governments must leave rhetoric behind when they come to the WSSD and adopt targets and initiate work that can be measured in a specific timeframe," said Jamie Pittock. "It is high time that world leaders address the conservation of the world's sources of water, and this report provides solutions that serve as a starting point for conserving water at the source and its efficient use." For further information: Lisa Hadeed Communications Manager, WWF Living Waters Programme Tel.: +41 22 3649030 E-mail: LHadeed@wwfint.org Mitzi Borromeo Press Officer, WWF International Tel.: +41 22 3649562 E-mail: MBorromeo@wwfint.org