Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by W. Michael Reisman
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Introduction to International Environmental Law
- Chapter 2 Foundations of International Environmental Law
- Chapter 3 Compliance and Governance Mechanisms
- Chapter 4 Marine Environment
- Chapter 5 Water Resources
- Chapter 6 Fisheries Resources
- Chapter 7 Biodiversity
- Chapter 8 Air Pollution
- Chapter 9 Trade and Environment
- Chapter 10 Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes
- Chapter 11 Liability and State Responsibility
- International Treaties and Other Instruments
- List of Cases
- Index
Chapter 5 - Water Resources
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword by W. Michael Reisman
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Introduction to International Environmental Law
- Chapter 2 Foundations of International Environmental Law
- Chapter 3 Compliance and Governance Mechanisms
- Chapter 4 Marine Environment
- Chapter 5 Water Resources
- Chapter 6 Fisheries Resources
- Chapter 7 Biodiversity
- Chapter 8 Air Pollution
- Chapter 9 Trade and Environment
- Chapter 10 Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes
- Chapter 11 Liability and State Responsibility
- International Treaties and Other Instruments
- List of Cases
- Index
Summary
STATE OF WATER RESOURCES
Facts and Recent Trends
The fair and efficient management of water resources and the protection of water quality are some of the most pressing issues in international policy making. Today, 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe water and 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. In developing countries, 90 percent of all wastewater still goes untreated into local water streams. An estimated forty-seven countries are classified as suffering medium to high water stress. Some five million deaths a year are caused by polluted drinking water. It is estimated that $75 billion will be needed per year to expand water service infrastructure beyond the costs required for maintaining existing systems, whereas, at present, the total development assistance allocated to the water sector is only about US 3 billion per year.
A joint study executed by WHO and UNICEF has found that in low-income countries, the reliable and consistent provision of water supply is lacking. On the sanitation front, further challenges have to be met, as many cities are not equipped with appropriate sanitation facilities. The issue of water and proper sanitation was one of the most important issues during the WSSD, when the goal was set to halve by 2015 the number of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. It was in the 1970s, with the full swing of the environmental movement, that the intensive manipulation of water (i.e., dams, canals) came under criticism.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- International Environmental LawFairness, Effectiveness, and World Order, pp. 169 - 243Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006