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Stakeholders reflect on the value of water
The UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa (ROSA) in partnership with (a regional network of university departments and research and training institutes specialising in water) hosted a regional webinar on 22 March 2021 to mark this year鈥檚 . Held under the global theme, 鈥淰aluing Water鈥, the webinar provided a platform for stakeholders to reflect on the importance of water.
More than 180 delegates including those from the academia, researchers, UN agencies, young water professionals, water service providers, consumers and other key stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector participated in the webinar and shared opinions and comments on their understanding of this year鈥檚 theme 鈥榁aluing water鈥.
Speaking during the webinar, UNESCO Regional Director for Southern Africa, Professor Hubert Gijzen said while the value of water is generally appreciated, water remains the most undervalued and poorly managed resource on earth.
He said the effects of climate change were hampering efforts to improve access to water and sanitation and this has massive repercussions in future.
The Regional Director said 鈥榁aluing Water鈥 should not be limited to the economic and financial aspects of water only but also include cultural, ecological, social, and spiritual aspects of water. He said as the foundation of life, societies and economies, water carries multiple values and benefits, and therefore it needs the participation of all of society. He added that it also requires approaches, tools and institutions to ensure water moves sustainably within both the natural hydrological cycle, and within the anthropogenic cycle, where it is withdrawn from a natural resource to providing services, and then recovered for potential other uses, before it is returned safely (i.e. clean) back to ecosystems.
UNESCO ROSA Science Specialist, Dr. Koen Verbist presented an overview of the . The Report published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, shows that the inability to recognize the value of water is the main cause of water waste and misuse. It shows that waste and careless use stems from the fact we all too often think of water exclusively in terms of its cost price, without realizing its tremendous value, which is impossible to price.
Speakers during a roundtable discussion highlighted the importance of water in advancing human rights, reducing poverty and inequality, and enabling peace, justice and sustainability. They also alluded to the difficulty in quantifying and valuing water because different water users perceive and conceptualize the value of water differently.The complexities of valuing and quantifying water causes tension and conflict if decisions on water use and management are made and implemented without taking into account the value of water from the multiple perspectives. They added that these challenges necessitate the need for full and effective participation of all stakeholders in decision-making, allowing everyone to express their own values in their own way.
Professor Jean- Marie Kileshye Onema, the executive manager for the WaterNet Trust emphasised the need for stakeholders to collaborate in the face of the current economic and social upheavals in order to improve the livelihoods of the people.
World Water Day is celebrated annually, as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The aim of commemorating the World Water Day continues to be celebrating water and raising awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water.
