How valuable is water to people, the economy, the environment, and societies?
Water is a finite and non-substitutable resource. As the foundation of life, societies and economies, it carries multiple values and benefits. But unlike most other natural resources, it has proven extremely difficult to determine its true ‘value’. The 2021 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report, Valuing Water, assesses the current status of and challenges to the valuation of water across different sectors and perspectives, and identifies ways in which valuation can be promoted as a tool to help improve its management and achieve global sustainable development.
The current status of water resources highlights the need for improved water resources management. Recognizing, measuring and expressing water’s worth, and incorporating it into decision-making, are fundamental to achieving sustainable and equitable water resources management and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The discussion in the Report is complemented with experiences from different global regions, opportunities to reconcile multiple values of water through integrated and holistic approaches to governance and financing mechanisms, and prospects to address knowledge, research and capacity needs.
The report will be launched online in an event to be hosted by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on World Water Day, 22 March 2021. This year’s World Water Day is about what water means to people, its true value and how we can better protect this vital resource. The programme of the high-level event is being jointly developed by FAO and UNESCO.
Please take a minute to watch a video to discover more about the upcoming World Water Development Report!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEro6Qb4QRI&feature=youtu.be
The United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR)
The United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) is UN-Water’s flagship publication on water and sanitation issues. The UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) works in collaboration with UN-Water and other prominent institutions to produce the WWDR.
The theme of the World Water Day and the WWDR is aligned. Thus, the theme of the Report changes every year to highlight different strategic water issues and to provide content basis for discussions taking place throughout the year.
More information on the WWDR:
en.unesco.org/wwap
水对你有多重要？
水对人类、经济、环境和社会有多重要？
水是一种有限且不可替代的资源。作为生活、社会和经济的基础，它具有多种价值和好处。但是，与大多数其他自然资源不同，事实证明确定水的真正“价值”极为困难。2021年《联合国世界水发展报告：珍惜水、爱护水》评价了不同部门和视角的水价值评估的现状和挑战，并确定了如何将水的价值评估作为一种工具进行推广，以改善水的管理和实现全球可持续发展。
水资源现状凸显了对改善水资源管理的必要性。认识、衡量和表现水的价值，并将其纳入决策，对于实现可持续和公平的水资源管理以及联合国《2030年可持续发展议程》中确定的可持续发展目标（SDGs）至关重要。
2021年世界水日（3月22日），2021年《联合国世界水发展报告：珍惜水、爱护水》将通过联合国粮食及农业组织（FAO）主办的一个活动进行线上发布。敬请期待！
(Source: UNESCO)