The World Water Assessment Programme, founded in 2000, is a programme of UN-Water. Hosted and led by UNESCO, WWAP is a United Nations system-wide effort to develop the tools and skills needed to achieve a better understanding of the processes, management practices and policies that will help improve the supply and quality of global freshwater resources.
The principal objective of the Programme is to assess and report on the state, use and management of the world’s freshwater resources and the demands on these resources, define critical problems and assess the ability of nations to cope with water-related stress and conflict. Its primary product, the United Nations World Water Development Report, is produced every three years and launched in conjunction with the World Water Forum.
Initially housed in UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris, the WWAP Secretariat has been relocated to Villa La Colombella, its new headquarters, in Perugia, Italy.
Mission Statement
This UN-wide programme seeks to inform stakeholders and the general public, and to influence leaders in government, civil society and private sector, so that their policies and decision making that affect water promote sustainable social and economic development at local, national, regional and global scales.
WWAP also seeks to equip water managers with knowledge, tools and skills so
- they may effectively inform and participate in the development of policies and in decision making
- they may plan for, develop and manage water resources to meet the above objectives
Objectives of the Programme
The Programme's objectives are to:
- Monitor, assess and report on the world's fresh water resources and ecosystems, water use and management, and identify critical issues and problems;
- Help countries develop their own assessment capacity;
- Raise awareness on current and imminent/future water related challenges to influence the global water agenda;
- Learn and respond to the needs of decision makers and water resource managers;
- Promote gender and cultural balance;
- Measure progress towards achieving sustainable use of water resources through robust indicators; and
- Support anticipatory decision-making on the global water system including the identification of alternative futures.
Background
Growing global water crises around the globe threaten the security, stability and environmental sustainability of developing nations. Millions die each year from water-borne diseases, while water pollution and ecosystem destruction grow, particularly in the developing world. Over the past few decades there has been an increasing acceptance that the management of water resources must be undertaken with an integrated approach, that assessment of the resource is of fundamental importance as the basis for decision-making and that national capacities to undertake necessary assessments must be fully supported. Management decisions to alleviate poverty, to allow economic development, to ensure food security and the health of human populations as well as preserve vital ecosystems, must be based on our best possible understanding of all relevant systems.
In 1998, the Sixth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development stated that there was a need for regular, global assessments on the status of freshwater resources. In response to this recommendation, the member organizations of UN-Water (known then as the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources) decided to undertake a collective UN system-wide continuing assessment process. Founded in 2000, the flagship programme of UN-Water, the World Water Assessment Programme coordinates the production of the triennial UN World Water Development Report (WWDR), with an aim to report on the status of global freshwater resources and the progress achieved in reaching internationally agreed development goals related to water.
WWAP Activities
The World Water Development Report
WWAP produces the triennial United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR), as well as, on request, recommendations resulting from the findings of these reports.
- The WWDR3, "Water in a changing World", was launched on March 16, 2009 at the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey. More...
- The fourth edition of the report, or WWDR4, is currently under preparation. More...
Case Studies
WWAP concurrently produces case studies with UNESCO Member States that outline water resources issues and management practices in use in different parts of the world with different physical, climatic and socio-economic conditions. The process aims to assist countries in enhancing their self-assessment capability while highlighting the state, uses and management of freshwater.
Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)
The experience gained during the development of the first two WWDRs and insights learned from consultations and assessments on WWAP’s past performance demonstrated that the program will benefit from the involvement of a body comprised of scientists, policy and decision makers, stakeholders and representatives from member states. The TAC is composed of members from academia, research institutions, non-governmental organizations, public and professional organizations, and two ex-officio members (Chair of UN-Water and WWAP Coordinator).
Indicators
WWAP also develops indicators for water resources, its use and management. WWAP has established an Expert Group on Indicators, Monitoring and Databases (EG-IMD), which promotes dialogue between potential users of data and indicators and experts in the provision and interpretation of data. This is a complementary process that will support WWAP’ s input to the UN-Water Task Force on Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting, a group that seeks to improve data collection processes in order to refine and develop indicators for the resource, its use and management by making them more robust and more useful.
World Water Scenarios
WWAP has initiated a scenario exercise to examine possible futures under different policies taking into account the impacts of climate change and the other major drivers such as demographics, economic development, consumption patterns, environmental effects and social/cultural trends.
Capacity Building
WWAP proposes capacity building programmes to enhance the ability of governments to conduct their own assessments through human resource development; education and training; the provision of methodologies; the improvement of institution and infrastructure and the development of data and information networks.
From Potential Conflict to Cooperation Potential (PCCP)
PCCP facilitates multi-level and interdisciplinary dialogues in order to foster peace, co-operation and development related to the management of shared water resources. PCCP is housed within UNESCO-IHP and is a contribution to WWAP. It addresses situations where water users need support to manage their shared water resources in a peaceful and equitable manner. It capitalizes on the desire of the concerned parties to successfully manage their shared water resources in order to create a foundation upon which peace and cooperation are consolidated.
Activity Reports
2008 Mid-Term Report, August 2008 [PDF - 2 MB]
WWAP Interim Report, April 2008 - May 2009 [3.28 MB]
WWAP's Funders
The preparation of the third edition of the UN World Water Development Report and the activities of the World Water Assessment Programme during 2007-2010 have been possible thanks to the generous support of the Italian Government through its Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea. The Regional Government of Umbria has also generously extended the use of the Villa la Colombella in Perugia, for WWAP’s Secretariat Offices.
In addition to the Italian funds, the Government of Japan, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Army Corps of Engineers provided support to the WWAP Secretariat for its third phase.
The establishment and operation of the WWAP Secretariat during the first six years of the programme (2000-2006), as well as the launch of the first and second editions of the UN World Water Development Report, were made possible by generous project-based funds from the Government of Japan. During these first two phases, WWAP also received support from the governments of France, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Additionally, numerous countries have made in-kind contributions to WWAP through the development of case studies as part of the WWDR series.
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