UN-Water meeting May 11 – 13 2004 WHO, Geneva

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UN-Water meeting

May 11 – 13 2004

WHO, Geneva

Report 1. Opening remarks The meeting took place at the headquarters of the World Health Organization in Geneva from 11 to 13 May 2004. Ms. K. Leitner, Assistant Director General WHO addressed UN-Water. 2. Minutes of previous meeting in Addis Ababa

Pradeep Aggarwal reported on the outcomes of the meeting in Addis, highlighting the discussion on indicators, the relation between UN-Water and the Environment Management Group (EMG) and also the work done in establishing the basic elements for the terms of reference of UN-Water, indicating that the new mandate implied a greater sectorial role. During this meeting UNEP reported on the successful implementation of the World Water Day. He stressed that the major outstanding issue was finalizing the Terms of Reference for UN-Water to be presented to HLCP. 3. Report back on developments since last meeting

• CEB • HLCP • CSD

M. Dengo introduced the discussion making reference to the meeting of HLCP held in Rome in September 2003 which sets the basic principles for inter-agency mechanisms. The HLCP meeting also agreed to confirmed UN-Water as the interagency mechanism for freshwater and sanitation matters and requested the preparation of the ToR following the principles established by them. It was also pointed out that immediately after the HLCP meeting the Chief Executives Board (CEB) met and endorsed the HLCP decisions on UN-Water. Inter-agency mechanisms for energy (UN-Energy), oceans (UN-Oceans) and consumption and production patterns were also established. It was indicated that terms of reference for these mechanisms had already being prepared and accepted by HLCP. It was stressed that the terms of reference for UN-Water were urgently required and that HLCP and the CEB Secretariat were putting a great deal of pressure to have them finished by the end of this meeting.

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Dengo also reported on the establishment of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation that was announced by K. Annan on World Water Day, and the criticisms received from members of civil society during the Commission on Sustainable Development. The Board is chaired by Mr. R. Hashimoto, former Prime Minister of Japan and there has to be a close link with UN-Water. The terms of reference of the Board were distributed as part of the information papers for the UN-Water members. Dengo reported on the outcomes of the 12th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development that dealt with Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements. He indicated that there had been several references to UN-Water during the deliberations of the CSD. Other issue mentioned was the launch of the 2005 Integrated Water Resources Management Alliance during CSD-12. It was stressed that UN-Water must play a more relevant role in CSD-13, which will take the review of implementation made during CSD-12 and take decisions on the necessary steps to further the implementation of the water resources and sanitation agenda. Very important in this regard are the contributions that UN-Water makes to the reports of the Secretary-General that have to be prepared for CSD-13. M. Linn, Director of the EMG Secretariat reported on the outcome of the discussions held both at Jeju, South Korea and in New York at the CSD-12, on the paper on Water and Sanitation prepared by EMG. She also reported on the side event held during the CSD HABITAT reported on the CSD-12 side event on access to basic services. He signalled that the focus was at city level. UN-Water had an extensive discussion on the above issues, the highlights of these deliberations were:

• The need to make clear to the CSD what is UN-Water, its terms of reference, its role, modalities of work and programme of work.

• The need to establish a clear linage between UN-Water and the Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation.

• It was suggested that there should be a clear definition of the relationship between UN-Water and the EMG. It was emphasized that the work of EMG in the immediate future will shift away from water and sanitation issues.

• The 2005 Integrated Water Resources Management Alliance was thoroughly discussed –regretting the absence of UNEP in the meeting. It was felt that this alliance should operate under the umbrella of UN-Water and this should be clearly reflected in the Programme of Work to be developed. UNESCO and many other agencies indicated that this was an issue of interest to many of the members and should thus be treated as an inter-agency action matter.

• Some of the members expressed that UN-Water was insufficiently active in build up to and during CSD12. S. Donkor (ECA) indicated that lessons should be drawn from the regional preparatory process leading to CSD-12, that included participation of many agencies and members of civil society. This is specially important when designing the working strategy for UN-Water.

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4. Terms of Reference (ToR) P Aggarwal made an introductory statement to start the discussion of this item in which he explained the work that was done in Addis Ababa last December and presented the basic elements for the Terms of Reference of UN-Water that were delineated in that meeting. He stressed that HLCP did not want a “heavy” UN-Water structure and that despite UN-Water having been the first of the thematic inter-agency mechanisms, UN-Water was lagging behind in the presentation of the final terms of reference. During the discussion it was remarked that there were high expectations from the many of the Member States, that several donors were also willing to collaborate with the UN-Water efforts and that there was a real need for an inter-agency mechanism that would bring together the different forces of the UN system to improve coordination and coherence of action. Among the highlights of the discussion:

• The meeting agreed to move forward from the agreements in Addis and in doing so it was also necessary to stress what would be the deliverables, identify the products and services to be collectively delivered in order to satisfy the ToR; and to look at how to organize the working and management modalities for UN-Water that would allow to deliver these products and services.

• It was also agreed to define how to link and collaborate with non-UN partners effectively.

• The meeting agreed that it was necessary to indicate the importance of UN Water, strategic priorities, its policy relevance and its added value.

• It was pointed-out that UN-Water should be seen as an integral part of the UN agency actions.

• UN-Water should focus on matters of universal concern and work closely with non-UN entities that should become partners of UN-Water.

• UN-Water should address the declared priorities of developing countries, and in doing so become a leader in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, the Johannesburg Programme of Implementation and other international action frameworks.

• The Terms of Reference agreed are included as Annex I of this report.

5. Plan of Work (deliverables - products and services)

The purpose of this session was to look at the deliverables under each of the elements that connect the ToR with the Programme of Work and not to include detailed arrangements for their delivery. Strategic thematic areas of work were indicated, groups were organized to prepare quick presentations of the rationale and importance for UN-Water to include these issues in its programme of work

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• During the discussion the following main thematic items to be included in the Programme of Work were agreed as strategic priorities for the future work of UN-Water:

o Thematic priorities Scarcity Sanitation access Disaster prevention Pollution Transboundary water issues Gender issues on water and sanitation

o Responses Capacity building Financing Valuation

o Conceptual framework Integrated Water Resources Management

o Geographical Focus Africa: a region for priority action

• It was also agreed that the programme of work should include clear indications of

policy relevance, the UN-Water added value and concrete deliverables during the next 2 years. The elements of the programme of work should not only consider good practices but also the basic elements for scaling-up the current efforts. All of these elements were thoroughly discussed during the deliberations on each of the above points. They are reflected on the Programme of Work tables included in Annex II of this report.

5.1 Deliverables on monitoring

This agenda item included presentations on WWDR and JMP and their respective role as UN-Water “branded” products. • G. Young made a summarized presentation of the work based on a note

specially prepared for this meeting, including a short report on the work related to indicators, the revised table of contents for WWDR II, the role of WWDR as a reporting mechanism of implementation of MDG’s goals. He also reported on the preparations of the African Water Development Report and the lessons learnt if similar reports are to be prepared for other regions. S. Donkor followed providing progress details on the AWDR.

• J. Bartam on behalf of UNICEF and WHO reported on the forthcoming work of the JMP and the progress so far on the preparations of the report that includes data from 2002.

5.2 Deliverables on coherent system voice The discussion was lead by the Chair, who indicated that a previous consultant review of ACCSWR gave significant insights in this area and recommended that

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certain products be recognized as the positions of the UN system as a whole. He indicated that the challenge will be to identify products for such treatment and the to delineate the processes by which UN-Water recognizes a product or service as being a system-wide one and presented under the UN-Water banner. Presently the products are: the World Water Development Report, the Join Monitoring Programme and the Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. The second element discussed was the “single point of entry” or 'one UN-system voice' to interact or serve as a point of contact for entities wishing to approach the UN system as a whole rather than one of its constituent agencies. It was agreed that the “coherent system voice” be focused on:

o facilitate inter-agency information exchange, including sharing of experiences and lessons learned;

o serve as a clearing house for policy-relevant information, assessment and advice on status and trends at global and regional levels;

o for providing Member States with a collective point of entry to the system’s initiatives and responses in areas within its purview.

5.3 Deliverables on UN system linkage to extra UN alliances/networks The discussion centered on the mandate emanating from CEB to include non UN entities in UN-Water our activities. Reference was also made to the intervention made by the G77 CSD12, while discussing inter-agency coordination. The meeting recognized the need for this inter-action, many members referred to the ways it was handled by ACCSWR.

• It was decided that the next meeting should take this matter to define details of the modalities of work with these other entities (including among them: GWP WWC, WSSCC, EMG, UN-Oceans, MDG Water and Sanitation Task Force)

5.4 Deliverables on increased effectiveness in UN system actions at country level

Alvaro Umaña (UNDP) and Manuel Dengo (UNDESA) provided some initial thoughts that stimulated the discussion. The discussion was centered on how to optimize the support that UN-Water could provide to country level actions. It was decided that:

• Coherence of UN-system action on water issues is an objective of UN-Water and will be facilitated by communication actions targeted at both system agencies and external entities and will be pursued especially through close cooperation with UNDG.

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• Emphasis will be given to ensuring consistent approaches and methods in country reporting and assessment (for example in relation to progress towards MDG targets);

• It would encourage the appropriate reflection of water and sanitation issues in international support to member States in pursuing internationally agreed targets (for instance in UNDAF framework and PRSPs)

5.5 General deliverables

The need to have a series of name recognition actions was discussed among the more urgently needed actions were:

• The establishment of a UN-Water internet site • Setting up a promotion and dissemination mechanism. • Definition of a Logo

5.6 WMO proposal for a panel of experts on freshwater

A. Tyagi and W. Grabs of WMO made a detailed presentation of the proposal for establishing a panel of experts on freshwater. After a comprehensive discussion of the pros, cons and added value of the establishment of a new body, as well as of the political sensibilities of the freshwater agenda, it was agreed that:

• UN-Water as the inter-agency mechanisms specialized on freshwater, now

that it has a clear mandate from the Chief Executives Board itself satisfies some of the underlying needs which lead to the development of the proposal of a panel of experts.

• UN-Water has the authority to establish, when deemed necessary, specialized time-bound ad-hoc groups of experts -from within the UN system and other partners- to deal effectively with specific aspects freshwater.

• The establishment of an additional mechanism would lead to unnecessary duplication of functions, thus under the present arrangements the establishment of the proposed Panel of Experts is not necessary.

However, the proposal presents several important concepts and ideas that remain valid and that UN-Water will take into account in further developing its programme of work

6. Organizational arrangements

6.1 Management The members of UN-Water are UN System entities that are active in water and sanitation. UN Water operates at four levels:

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• Management meetings attended by senior staff members working on water issues from each member agency

• Regional initiatives, especially regional UN-Water and similar initiatives, overseen by UN Regional Commissions

• Country-level action in close cooperation with UNDG

• Ad-hoc meetings of Heads of UN-Water member agencies to provide strategic direction and major political and policy impetus, especially in response to concerted calls from Member States

6.1.1 Management Meetings:

UN-Water functions through periodic management meetings attended by a senior staff member working on water issues from each member agency. Some of these meetings are held in conjunction with regional entities, such as regional UN waters or other similar arrangements. Management meetings are directed by a Chair and Vice-Chair, elected from among the group and normally serving for 2 years.

UNDESA will continue to provide the secretariat functions and services. The management meetings will take decisions on:

• Defining and overseeing UN-Water priorities and periodically updating ToR and Plans of Work (including ensuring coherence between activities and products and coordinating the contributions of various UN Agencies, within their respective mandates, towards the overall activities of UN-Water)

• Steering and overseeing UN system-wide actions on water and sanitation; including:

o Serving as the UN system-wide steering committee for the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, 2005 – 2015” established by the UN General Assembly Resolution A/58/485

o Providing timely information for preparation of UN system products, e.g., UNSG reports

o Defining themes and lead agencies and oversight of celebration of World Water Day

• Reaching agreement on plans of work for thematic priorities and other UN-Water programme areas, including specific products/activities, and delegating individual or groups of agencies to lead in their implementation (including development of the World Water Development Report)1

1 For most areas of work, one agency or a group of agencies will lead the implementation of an agreed plan of activity. A balance will be struck in which UN-Water exercises oversight, while the implementing agencies will have flexibility to implement within agreed boundaries. Thus for each area of work, the Management meeting will agree and endorse the definition of (or any changes to the definition of): the purpose; UN agency participation and leadership; participating partners; and the framework of the plan of work (including products and an outline of their content). Implementing agencies are thereafter empowered to act within these broad guidelines in efficiently implement the agreed upon activities. _

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• Reaching agreement on UN-Water position on important issues in order to have a coherent and common voice that defines the UN

• Overseeing relations with regional entities such as UN-Water Africa, and endorsing their products as UN-Water products

• Agreeing on communication and advocacy strategies and the “branding” of UN-Water and specifying substantive communication activities

• Specifically endorsing information products that will be permitted to carry the UN-Water identity

• Adjust and review terms of reference for UN-Water when necessary. The decisions of the management meetings will be included in action oriented minutes that will include the decisions and clearly identify the responsibilities for action.

6.2 Regional UN-Waters The discussion was centered on the results of WSSD, CSD11 and 12 that call for a wider emphasis on regional work. Any action may rely on initiatives taken by an RC, which could be supported/endorsed by UN-Water, e.g. Second Millennium Development Report for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP/UNDP), including Technical Background Paper on water, sanitation and health, etc.. The latter is important, keeping in mind the 2005 special session on MDG’s. It was the view of the meeting that UN-Water must support and follow-up closely the development of UN-Water/Africa and utilize it as a vehicle for work at country level. This is an excellent opportunity as a pilot for other regions. It was agreed that:

• The encouragement of effective regional and sub-regional initiatives is an

explicit function of UN-Water. • The principal mechanism will be through fostering the development of

regional arrangements which may involve establishment of regional UN-Water chapters or other less formal structures.

• These initiatives will normally be lead by UN Regional Commissions. • Such entities will be encouraged to adopt the Terms of Reference and Plans of

Work that are coherent with and, where appropriate, will share areas of work with, those of UN-Water itself.

• To foster these linkages, some UN-Water Management Meetings will be implemented in cooperation with their regional equivalents.

• Close cooperation will also be sought on the communication strategies of UN-Water and these regional counterparts.

7. Involvement of non-UN actors in UN-Water activities UN-Water will invite and encourage participation of non-UN partners in its thematic initiatives. In order to facilitate this, UN-Water Management Meetings will normally be

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held consecutively with sessions involving non UN partners that are active in thematic initiatives. The main mechanisms for developing partnerships will be through:

• direct participation by partners in UN-Water thematic initiatives; • development and ongoing facilitation of broad, open participation by all key

partners in debate and discussion on major issues The following decisions were taken in relation to partnerships and nature of the non-UN organizations to be invited to the meetings of UN-Water :

• Criteria for partnerships, which encourage wide participation and access, are to be developed.

• Special outreach to major groups, as defined in Agenda 21, and to major alliances and networks has been identified as a positive measure.

• Non UN for partners should be organizations that show a willingness to contribute tangibly to a UN-Water area of work, that are active internationally and/or multinational in structure and membership.

8. Forthcoming events

Among the forthcoming events in which the strategic participation of UN-Water is requires, three major events were discussed:

• Decade for Action, 2005 - 2015 "Water for Life". • World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Kobe • 13th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development • The 2005 Event to review the progress of implementation of the Millenium

Development Goals It was agreed that:

• UN-Water would act as steering committee for the Decade. • The thematic priorities of the UN-Water Programme of Work should be the

basis for the themes of the Decade • Inputs to the SG’s report to CSD-13 would be provided to DESA on the basis

of a preceding request. • UN-Water should have an important presence during this event that will take

place, at the Head of States and Government level, during the YY Session of the General Assembly in September 2005.

9. Next meeting It was decided, due to the amount of work in progress, particularly in terms of the programme of work and the need to meet with entities outside the UN system, to meet again this year. End of September was suggested. UNESCO and FAO offered to host the next meeting. The Chair will consult for appropriate dates and the venue will be decided in consultation with UNESCO and FAO. 10. Closure

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The meeting was closed by the K. Leitner Assistant Director General of the World Health Organization, who made remarks on the vast amount of work covered and the important outcomes of the meeting: 1) agreed Terms of Reference to be presented to HLCP; 2) Management guidelines for UN-Water and 3) Draft Programme of Work.

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ANNEX I

UN-Water I. BACKGROUND: 1. The High Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) in its meeting held on 18-19 September 2003 established “UN-Water as the inter-agency mechanism for follow-up of the WSSD water-related decisions and the MDGs concerning water' and requested UN-Water to prepare, 'its terms of reference and modalities of work, including arrangements for progressive participation of non-UN actors in the WSSD follow-up, bearing in mind the guiding principles and functions established by the High Level Committee on Programmes”. 2. The HLCP also requested UN-Water to “…prepare a detailed plan, through its subgroup on sanitation, for an effective follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation in the field of water and sanitation linked to the work related to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and the United Nations Millennium Declaration” 3. The Chief Executive Board (CEB) endorsed these decisions at its Fall 2003 session in New York. II. UN-WATER 4. The scope of UN Water’s work encompasses all aspects of freshwater, including surface and groundwater resources and the interface between fresh and sea water. It includes freshwater resources, both in terms of their quality and quantity, their development, assessment, management, monitoring and use (including, for example, domestic uses, agriculture and ecosystems requirements). The scope of work of UN-Water also includes sanitation - encompassing both access to and use of sanitation by populations and the interactions between sanitation and freshwater. It further includes water-related disasters, emergencies and other extreme events and their impact on human security. 5. UN-Water is the inter-agency mechanism that promotes coherence in, and coordination of, UN system actions aimed at the implementation of the agenda defined by the Millennium Declaration and the World Summit on Sustainable Development as it relates to its scope of work. 6. UN-Water has grown out of many years of extensive collaboration and partnership among the UN Agencies. These efforts have contributed to the achievement

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of significant progress to date and have helped to bring water and water related issues to the top of the political agenda. 7. Advancing the implementation of this complex and ambitious international agenda is a collective responsibility and challenge which calls for coordinated action – beginning with the UN system but also progressively involving other concerned “non-traditional” partners and stakeholders, including among them organizations from public and private sectors, civil society and labour-towards a global, comprehensive effort. 8. The main purpose of UN-Water is thus to complement and add value to existing programmes and projects by facilitating synergies and joint efforts, so as to maximize system-wide coordinated action and coherence as well as effectiveness of the support provided to Member States in their efforts towards achieving the time-bound goals, targets and actions related to its scope of work as agreed by the international community, particularly those contained in the MDGs and the JPOI. 9. UN-Water will interface with other inter-agency mechanisms, including UN-Energy, UN-Oceans, EMG and others, on issues of common concern. It will also collaborate with other relevant initiatives, including the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. 10. In carrying out its work, UN-Water will closely adhere to the generic objectives for inter-agency mechanisms established by HLCP2 and annexed to this document for ready reference. III. Terms of Reference 11. UN-Water will seek to enhance the coherence, credibility and visibility of UN system actions related to its scope of work, and, in particular:

a) Identify strategic issues and priorities for system-wide action, and facilitate timely, coordinated and effective responses by the UN System and its partners at global, regional and country levels in relation to both policy development and implementation.

b) Promote the elaboration and facilitate the dissemination of system-wide

positions shared by UN-Water members, in particular with regard to relevant MDG and JPOI targets and their achievement.

c) Facilitate inter-agency information exchange, including sharing of experiences

and lessons learned, and serve as a clearing house for policy-relevant information, assessment and advice on status and trends at global and regional

2 Reference: CEB/2003/7, Report of the High Level Committee on Programmes at its sixth session

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levels, and for providing Member States with a collective point of entry to the system’s initiatives and responses in areas within its purview.

d) Promote effective communication and collaboration between the UN system

and civil society and private sector partners

e) Facilitate and support work being carried out at the regional and sub-regional levels, both within the UN system and with partners, to follow-up on relevant goals and targets of the Millennium Declaration and the JPOI, working through the Regional Commissions and relevant inter-agency mechanisms;

f) Contribute to the coherence and impact of UN System actions at country level,

in support of Resident Coordinators, country teams and theme groups, and working in close collaboration and coordination with UNDG.

12. Management of UN-Water will be performed by a Chair and Vice-Chair, elected from among its members on a rotational basis and normally serving for 2 years. UNDESA will continue to provide secretariat support.

13. UN-Water plans of work will be updated every two years and will be set out in the reports of its meetings (see paragraph 14 below). 14. The above terms of reference will be periodically updated IV. Modalities of Work 15. UN-Water seeks to add value to activities related to its scope of work at three levels:

• at the level of the senior programme managers overseeing such activities in

member organizations and agencies, by providing a forum for on-going contacts and periodic meetings among them;

• at the regional level, by providing an instrument for effective exchange of information and facilitating mutual support between global and regional activities and developments, and encouraging regional inter-agency networking arrangements, supported by the Regional Commissions; and

• at the country level, supporting, where appropriate and in close cooperation with UNDG, Resident Coordinators, country teams and theme groups by similarly encouraging and facilitating system-wide exchanges of information and dialogue on policy and operational issues.

16. Objectives and modalities for exercising the above roles are outlined below:

a ) Global level

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Added value to the sum of headquarters activities of the many UN system entities involved in water-related activities will focus on promoting greater system-wide coherence, based on more systematic exchange of information, more intensive policy dialogue, improved programme coordination, the adoption of common positions on policy and programme issues of common concerned, and the promotion of stronger partnerships within the system and with relevant non-UN system actors.

To these end:

o Networking among, and periodic meetings of senior programme officials will be organized;

o Coordinated actions and thematic joint initiatives - to be pursued, through result-oriented, time-bound task forces, with the participation, as appropriate, of non-UN system partners - will be identified and outcomes reviewed in UN-Water meetings; and

o A pool of information on relevant policy and programme issues and developments will be created, as a basis for promoting continuing information exchanges within the system, and providing relevant “clearing house” information services to the international community, particularly Member States in the central inter-governmental bodies.

Where major policy issues arise, or the need emerges, from the work of

UN-Water or from new inter-governmental policy directives, for policy guidance and political and policy impetus, these will be brought to the attention of CEB, through HLCP. Provision may be made for ad hoc meetings/consultations of Executive Heads of concerned UN organizations and agencies to provide strategic guidance to UN-Water’s work.

b) Regional Level

The encouragement of effective system-wide action and inter-agency collaboration at the regional and sub-regional levels is an integral part of UN-Water’s functions. This will be pursued by facilitating exchange of information, policy and programme dialogue, promoting mutual support between regional and headquarters levels, and supporting “regional UN-Water” arrangements, to be led by the UN Regional Commissions. Such networks will be encouraged to adopt Terms of Reference and Plans of Work that are coherent with those of UN-Water itself, and areas of work will be shared with them. To foster these linkages, some UN-Water meetings may be organized in conjunction with regional counterparts. Communication strategies of UN-Water will build on, and be coordinated with, relevant regional inter-agency initiatives.

c) Country Level

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Coherence of UN-system actions at the country level is equally crucial to achieving the overall objectives underlying the establishment of UN-Water. Although many of the UN entities that form UN-Water have country level operational activities, UN-Water is not a mechanism for direct implementation. UN-Water’s contribution to country-level coherence will, thus, consists largely of “communication” actions targeted at both system agencies and external entities and will be pursued through the Resident Coordinator, country teams and theme groups and in close cooperation with UNDG. Emphasis will be given in cooperation with UNDG, to supporting Resident Coordinators, country teams and theme groups to ensure consistent approaches and methods in country reporting and assessment on issues related to its scope of work, particularly in relation to progress towards relevant MDG targets; and to encouraging an appropriate reflection of such issues in international support provided to Member States in pursuing internationally agreed targets, within the CCAs/UNDAF and PRSPs frameworks.

d) Involvement of non-UN System actors

UN-Water will encourage the contribution of non-UN System actors in its thematic initiatives, including participation in relevant time-bound task forces, and in discussions at UN-Water meetings to monitor progress in relation to such initiatives.

Collaboration with non-UN System partners, including organization from

public, and private sector, civil society and labor that are active in UN-Water’s scope of work, will be facilitated by:

• Arranging for direct participation by partners in UN-Water thematic

initiatives which should seek to assign specific and time bound tasks to each partner; and

• Facilitating the involvement of key partners in the inter-agency dialogue on major issues of common concern.

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ANNEX II

UN-Water PROGRAMME OF WORK

2004 - 2006

(WORK IN PROGRESS)

CEB’s decision requests UN-Water to prepare a detailed plan for addressing water and sanitation issues.

• The following two tables, based on the Geneva discussions and agreements, show a breakdown of the draft Plan of Work to be undertaken by UN-Water during this period.

• The first table shows the areas of work in relation to the items in the terms of reference.

• The second table shows the actions and deliverables in relation to the priority thematic areas defined in the May 2004 meeting held at WHO headquarters.

• It was agreed that these thematic areas would also conform the main concentration areas for the programme of the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-1015.

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UN-Water Draft Plan of Work 2004-2006

ToR Areas of Work Immediate Actions Deliverables International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015. Thematic priorities defined in May 2004 meeting. Will constitute the main elements for the program of the Decade..

• Capacity building • Pollution • Financing • Valuation • Extending access to

sanitation • Natural disasters • Scarcity • Transboundary • IWRM • Africa • Women and gender

Same themes for International Decade Water for Life Agree plans of work on specific themes and towards specific products/activities and charge/delegate individual or groups of agencies to implement

Thematic plans in preparation, to be discussed during next meeting (early fall 2004)

Common voice Areas of work, unified and consistent single voice

Prepare a UN-Water paper for World Conference on Disaster Reduction Liaise with SG Advisory Board

Prepare document for Kobe Conference on Disasters UN-Water products: two page policy briefs derived on themes of each substantive chapter of WWDR

Assessment and reporting CSD13 World Water Assessment Programme/World Water Development Report WHO/UNICEF "Joint Monitoring Programme" (JMP) on water supply and sanitation

Input to SG report (Recommendations based on outcomes CSD-12) WWAP/WWDR JMP:

WWDR deliverables: WWDR every 3 years Africa WWDR; ECE with UNEP/ROE and WHO/EURO assessment of transboundary waters by 2006 - may become a full regional water development report thereafter ESCWA want to produce a west Asian equivalent - no timeline Country level case studies and annual reports JMP Deliverables: Global status reports 2004-05-12 baseline report for new decade 22 March 2005 Water quality pilot project

External Partners Progressive inclusion of non-UN actors

Info meeting with session with WSSCC, GWP, WWC, IUCN and others. Later stage to include representatives o Major Groups and other actors.

Dialogue forum Action alliances Implementation of support actions to 2005-2015 International Decade.

Regional actions Set-up UN-Water regional chapters

ESCAP and ECE take action after UN-Water/Africa

UN-Water/Europe UN-Water/Asia

Country level actions Liaise with UNDG and UNDP

Note to the Chair of UNDG Prepare guidelines for action at country level

Communications and advocacy

Set-up internet site Prepare communications and advocacy strategy and branding

Chair and secretary will continue efforts to obtain resources to support development and implementation of a communication strategy including internet site and "branding" (NOTE THERE WERE OBJECTIONS WITH “BRÄNDING)

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Launching WWDR II Decade CSD-13, 2005 MDG event, World Conference on Natural Disasters, WWF4

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DRAFT THEMATIC PRIORITIES AND ASSOCIATED ACTIONS 2004-2006

Thematic Priorities Agency to initiate process Immediate Actions 24 Month Deliverables ISSUES Scarcity FAO Prepare 4-pager for next

meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

WWDR will include the outcomes of this work

Sanitation access WHO and UNICEF Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

"Think piece" on innovative approaches to both technical aspects and service delivery Review of technical and behavioural intervention impact Study on innovation in delivery models Global assessment with WHO UNICEF and HABITAT (under JMP) Cross links to cost-benefit and financing work

Disaster prevention ISDR and WMO Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

Organize a UN-Water side event during the Kobe conference Prepare a UN-Water document outlining joint activities/programs and projects related to water-related risks, their progress and expected deliverables (promotion document)

Pollution ESCAP, but check with UNEP and include WHO)

Prepare 4-pager for next meeting-. (detailed justification and deliverables)

State of knowledge report Joint strategy Advocacy campaign (leading to large scale campaign) Target in terms of remedial resources mobilised)

Transboundary water issues ECE, ECA, ESCAP Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

ECA Workshop in Africa in 2004 Catalogue of good practices of transboundary water management

Water, sanitation and and gender

IATF on Gender and Water Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

Programme for Decade

RESPONSES Capacity building UNESCO Prepare 4-pager for next


Assessment within 10 months i.e., ready for CSD 13 Resource library

Financing UNDP to liaise with with WB Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

Guidelines and "how to" manuals

Valuation UNDP DESA WHO

Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

How to design and implement ecosystem services recognition Links to trade in virtual water General approaches to and reports on costs and benefits

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management

DESA + UNEP Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

2005 IWRM Alliance WWDR

GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS Africa: a region for priority action

ECA Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

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Report of UN-Water Meeting

September 28 – October 1, 2004 FAO, Rome

1 Introduction

The first meeting of UN-Water after the adoption of its terms of reference by the Eighth Session of the CEB High Level Committee on Programs (Florence, Italy 15 – 17 September 2004)1, took place at the FAO Headquarters in Rome from 28 September to 1 October 2004. On behalf of FAO, Mr. Kenji Yoshinaga welcomed the participants on this special occasion. The meeting was organized in two parts: first two days were devoted to discussions among the participants representing UN agencies members of UN-Water, while during the last two days "non- traditional UN partners" also participated in the meeting. [See Annex 1 for list of participants].

2 Organizational Aspects

2.1 Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The meeting adopted the minutes of the Geneva meeting held on 11-13 May 2004.

It was agreed that report of this and future meetings, with the principal function of summarizing and documenting decisions reached, will be made available to participants immediately after the meeting, and the revised final version of the report will be distributed within four weeks after the meeting.

2.2 Involving non-UN System Actors in UN-Water Activities2 In order to start implementing this component of the ToR a group of the “non traditional” partners and stakeholders –hereafter referred as the partners- were invited to the meeting in order to: (i) promote effective communication and collaboration between the UN system and civil society and private sector partners; and (ii) encourage the contribution of non-UN System actors to the work of UN-Water. The meeting stressed the need to secure a balance among the representation of the partners, based on the criteria developed and agreed during the Geneva meeting. The participating partners strongly endorsed the idea of inter-agency coordination effort in the form of UN-Water. They noted that active participation of non-UN system entities and actors would contribute to ensuring that the UN was not perceived to be using this 1 CEB/2004/7 Report of the High-Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) at its Eight Session, paragraph 61: “The Committee took note of the update provided by the CEB Secretariat of follow-up to WSSD in the areas of water, oceans and energy, including the adoption of UN Water’s terms of reference (CEB/2004/HLCP/VIII/CRP.6/Add.2)”. 2 See paragraphs 7, 11(d) and 16(d) of the ToR of UN-Water.

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mechanism to monopolize water-related initiatives. Moreover, there was a general agreement that UN-Water should neither be viewed nor projected as an implementation mechanism.

2.3 UN-Water involvement in International Meetings/Events A number of international meetings/events of different scales and varied scope are scheduled to take place during the work program cycle of UN-Water. With regard to participation in these meetings, the following decisions were made:

o While accepting invitations for participation in these meetings, a balanced

approach should be adapted ensuring that neutrality of the system is preserved. o UN-Water shall participate in those meetings that are more relevant to its work

program. Invitations received by individual agencies/members should therefore be channeled to the Chair/Secretary for response. Whenever the Chair, Vice-chair or secretary cannot represent UN-Water in a given event, the Chair will request one of the agencies attending the meeting to represent UN-Water and speak on its behalf.

o A set of criteria will have to be established for use by the Chair and Secretary

under 'delegated authority' to accept or reject invitations. o UN-Water should carefully study and decide on invitations to associate UN-

Water’s name to a particular meeting or event.

2.4 Other Matters

2.4.1 Financing for UN-Water The meeting was informed about the resource mobilization actions so far undertaken by the Chair and Secretary to strengthen and support the work of the UN-Water mechanism. Although preliminary contacts with various donors led to some positive indications, these donors do not wish to see UN-Water evolving into any permanent structure. The meeting emphasized that this matter be approached cautiously, paying due attention to the conditionalities attached to such assistance.

2.4.2 Next Meeting Next meeting of UN-Water will take place from 15-18 February 2005 in Paris. UNESCO agreed to host the meeting. On 15 February, agencies collaborating on various areas of the work program can meet among themselves on bilateral basis. Official UN-Water meeting will start on 16 February: 1-1/2 days each for meeting of UN agencies, and UN agencies plus non-traditional partners.

2.4.3 Number of Meetings/Year It was agreed that for the effective further development and delivery of the program of work would require two management meetings would be required per year. It was further

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agreed that, when possible, one meeting should be held within the UN system premises and the other outside.

2.4.4 Distribution Lists For circulating the UN-Water documentation, three distribution lists were agreed: (i) senior program managers of UN agencies who are the focal points for UN-Water, (ii) senior program managers plus non-traditional partners, (iii) focal points and additional relevant senior staff of the agencies. A draft of these lists is annexed to this report for review, corrections and additions.

3 Program of Work The meeting was informed that TOR of UN-Water has already been adopted by the HLCP, and the next step is to provide them with the work program for next 2 years. There was a general consensus to use the thematic group classification agreed during the Geneva meeting to develop the work program--since this classification potentially serves as basis for organizing the actions for the Decade as agreed and recorded in the report of previous meeting in Geneva. It was agreed that the bi-annual work program would correspond to the period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2006. It was also agreed that the tenure of the present Chair and Vice-Chair would conclude on 31 Dec 2006 in order to align it with the bi-annum work program. The discussion on program of work touched upon five areas: (i) monitoring and reporting, (ii) thematic priorities for the period, (iii) achieving coherence in UN system activities, (iv) support to global policy agenda, and (v) strengthening information and communication. The first two areas cover the core activities that will be undertaken under the aegis of UN-Water, while the actions contained in the last three areas represent key elements of the UN-Water operational strategy.

3.1 Monitoring and Reporting3 General discussion focused on assessment and advice on status and trends at global and regional levels through WWDR, contributing to the assessment and bridging of critical gaps, and promoting effective communication and collaboration between the UN system and civil society and private sector partners.

3.1.1 World Water Development Report

3.1.1.1 General The meeting recalled the original idea behind WWDR as an special and authoritative UN System report providing an objective assessment on progress and obstacles. 3 Paragraph 11(b) of the ToR of UN-Water calls for, inter-alia, facilitating the dissemination of system-wide positions shared by UN-Water members, in particular with regard to relevant MDG and JPOI targets. and their achievement.

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It was agreed that WWDR should be consistently promoted and projected by all participating entities as a '“UN System” report. Meeting participants recognized and expressed appreciation for the catalytic and implementation role of UNESCO in this effort.

3.1.1.2 WWDR First Edition On the question of dissemination and impact assessment, the WWAP Secretariat reported that a CD of the WWDR-I has been prepared and distributed to all agencies. However, no dissemination impact assessment has so far been made. The WWAP secretariat was requested to undertake an evidence-based assessment and analysis of the dissemination and impact of WWDR-I. A report on this issue should be presented at the next UN-Water meeting in order to orient discussions for developing an effective communication strategy for the next report. It was noted that WWAP secretariat had not followed up on preparing information on co-marketing arrangements for WWDR-I, as discussed at the previous meeting in Geneva, The WWAP Secretariat was requested to treat this as a priority issue and report back on progress to the next UN-Water meeting.

3.1.1.3 WWDR Second Edition Production schedule and mechanisms to finalize the WWDR-II were reviewed in detail. The meeting was informed that so far the progress on preparation of the report is reasonably satisfactory, with some variability between chapters. All lead agencies for the different chapters were asked to ensure that the agreed schedule was met. The first draft of all chapters would be ready by end of October 2005. A meeting of chapters’ coordinators is planned for 8-9 November, 2004 in Paris, to further assess the status of progress and to ensure inter-linkages between various chapters. Services of a Consultant are being engaged to finalize the report by March 2005. Annex 3 records the status and production schedule as reported and agreed during the meeting. It was agreed that a full draft of the report will be distributed to the members of UN-Water for their final review –with enough time to allow real inputs on inter-chapter consistency and cross cutting issues and non-loss of key issues/messages. It was also decided that up to a very late stage updated data could be incorporated into tables in order to ensure that the most up-to-date data is presented. The WWAP Secretariat mentioned that the size of WWDR-II should be limited to 400 pages instead of the 600 of the previous one, and therefore case studies will need to be summarized. In response to the question on involving the partners to contribute to the work on case studies, the meeting decided that:

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o WWDR’s nature and added value resulting from being a 'UN system product' should not be compromised, while recognizing that contributions from UN-Water partners must be in line with the ToR;

o Illustrative examples supportive of individual chapters remain the responsibility of

those developing the chapters; o Partnerships with non-UN water entities could be in order to improve the data nad

information going into the report, but the ultimate responsibility and accountability for WWDR and its quality control rests with UN-Water, and will be exercised as described in previous meeting reports.

o Overall size of the main report should remain at the originally agreed level. The

publishing of case studies might require a separate approach (see section 3.1.5 below).

3.1.1.4 WWDR Third Edition It was agreed to select “IWRM” as the thematic title of WWDR-III . GWP offered to systematically provide information on progress with IWRM as an input to the preparation of the WWDR. The meeting accepted this offer with thanks. GWP also offered to collaborate substantively in the data for and preparation of the thematic focus on IWRM in WWDR-III. The offer was discussed and accepted with thanks.

3.1.1.5 WWDR Case Studies There was an extensive discussion on the role of case studies within the context of: (i) development of the different editions of WWDR and (ii) as free-standing UN-Water products. The WWAP Secretariat mentioned that it is planned for WWDR-II to have country/national and within countries, some sub-national cases, and also to include international river basins/lakes cases, with an objective to capture and highlight local perspectives. The discussion also focused on the process, level and justification of case studies, and their relevance to the overall scope of the report. Annex 3 describes the development and justification of case studies. The meeting decided that: (i) case study development should be undertaken in cooperation with the Regional Commissions and agreed partners as appropriate, depending upon the geographical scale of the study; and (ii) in order to be considered a WWDR-associated case study, it should comprehensively treat the full range of issues addressed by UN-Water.

3.1.2 Joint Monitoring Programme

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On behalf of WHO/UNICEF, the Chair presented an updated report on “the status and development of JMP”. The report captures the latest data and trends on the subject and highlights the additional activities that are currently under development. In this respect, it was reported that JMP is preparing the following reports: (i) a report on the status of the water supply and sanitation sector to be launched at the start of the International Decade for Action – Water for Life, is now under preparation; (ii) in collaboration with UN-Habitat, a report on water supply and sanitation in urban areas; (iii) together with UNEP/GPA , a report on environmental and health impact from urban wastewater; and (iv) a comprehensive Global Sector Assessment 2006 report. Other activities under development by JMP include capacity building on monitoring at country level, national assessments of the water supply and sanitation sector and the development of a comprehensive survey instrument on water supply, sanitation and hygiene, as well as the preparation of an advocacy and communication strategy for the JMP.

3.2 Thematic Priories for the 2005- 2006 period4 To define the work program priorities, overall thematic priorities/issues5 and their associated actions as agreed during the Geneva meeting served as a frame of reference for discussion. Annex 4 reproduces these thematic priorities. It was decided to organize the UN-Water work program into two phases. The meeting agreed that the work program of the first phase (2005 - 2006) should be developed around the following four thematic areas: scarcity; sanitation, drinking water and hygiene; disaster risk reduction; and focus on Africa. To carry forward the work on each thematic area, an agreement was reached about the agencies which will assume the initial responsibility and those which will serve as the cooperating agencies.

Thematic Area Initial responsibility Cooperating Agencies 1. Scarcity 2. Sanitation, drinking water and Hygiene 3. Disaster Risk Reduction 4. Focus on Africa

FAO WHO, UNICEF ISDR ECA

UNESCO WMO, UNESCO

Agencies with initial responsibility were asked to prepare a 4-page work program consistent with the general guiding principles agreed during the Geneva meeting for discussion in the next meeting. The work description should clearly reflect the added value that UN-Water will bring out both in terms of coordination and substantive impact. The meeting noted that although the above thematic areas reflect priority areas of work for the next bi-annum, individual agencies will continue to work on other thematic areas

4 Paragraph 11(a) of the ToR of UN-Water calls for “identification of strategic issues and priorities for system-wide action….” 5 Nine thematic priorities agreed during the Geneva meeting include: pollution, financing, valuation, sanitation, risk, scarcity, trans-boundary waters, and IWRM.

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agreed during the Geneva meeting, in line with their respective agency mandates. Progress made in this regard will be reported in future meetings which could be used to develop the program of work for the second phase.

4 Operational Strategy

4.1 Achieving Coherence in UN System Actions6

4.1.1 Country Level Action7 To facilitate discussions on this topic, UNDP presented two papers highlighting the role of country-level processes such as CCA and UNDAF (coordinated by UNDP) and the PRSP (coordinated by the WB) emphasizing that these processes need to be guided by the MDGs. The meeting in general stressed the importance of enhancing country level coherence and coordination among the UN agencies and with external partners wherever possible in order to increase the overall impact on implementation. While discussing the ways and means to strengthen the impact of UN System actions at country level, the meeting noted the need to work more closely with the UN Resident Coordinators, Country Teams/Theme Groups, and with the UNDG. In this regard, it was considered equally important to promote effective communication and collaboration at country level between the UN system, civil society and private sector partners. Several of the agencies that do not have representation at the country level, but have country level projects and activities, expressed their interest in contributing to and participating in CCA, UNDAF and other country level exercises. This corporate approach would in turn help developing countries to better define the responsibilities of national institutions for water related actions and sanitation in particular, which are often imprecise and disperse. The meeting took the following specific decisions to strengthen coherence in country-level actions and to enhance their impact:

o First, the Chair of UN-Water should write to the Chair of UNDG proposing ways to ensure that water related issues are properly reflected in the work of the UNRC system and (or) thematic task forces established for this purpose. Together with this letter should go a “Guidance Note” for Resident Coordinators and Country Teams, with concrete suggestions for inclusion of the water agenda and for the

6 According to paragraph 7 of the ToR of UN-Water: “Advancing the implementation of this complex and ambitious international agenda is a collective responsibility and challenge which calls for coordinated action – beginning with the UN system…..”. 7 Paragraphs 11(f) and 16 (c) of the ToR of UN-Water refer to the scope of work that should be undertaken at the country level.

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participation of all agencies and stakeholders in UNDAF and other country level exercises.

o Second, the “Guidance Note” should be sent by the Chair of UNDG to UNRC or

Country Teams to ensure that water sector is given high priority in the UNDAF exercise. The note, inter-alia, should emphasize that the UNRC/Country Team should regularly organize meetings with all relevant stakeholders to enhance coherence of action and review how the implementation of water agenda is progressing. UNDP agreed to lead the development of the draft of this note in order to make it consistent with existing procedures. The UN-Water partners present at the meeting indicated their interest in contributing to the development of this note. UNDP will prepare the initial draft to be discussed and finalized via e-mail exchange.

o Third, each agency should work through its own offices and channels to

communicate the importance of this issue to its country offices/representatives. Each agency should ensure inputs to the guidance note and its dissemination and promotion through their individual systems and channels.

UN-Water partners indicated their willingness to extend support to the existing country level mechanisms/UN Country Teams using the capacities of their respective local networks. They indicated that their networks are also well positioned to reinforce and influence policy level decision making. The meeting recognized that applying and monitoring the effectiveness of this coordination process and effort in a few selected countries on a pilot basis would yield useful insights and practical elements for making country level coordination more effective. UNDP was asked to identify a small number of countries in which the Guidance Note could be applied on a pilot basis and from which the experience gained could be assembled, reviewed, and used to refine the procedures set in the Guidance Note for wider replication.

4.1.2 Regional Level Action8

The meeting recognized the importance of facilitating and supporting the work being carried out at the regional and sub-regional levels, both within the UN system and with partners, to follow-up on relevant goals and targets. In this regard, while noting the pioneering steps taken by UN-Water/Africa, the importance of linkages of the regional UN-Water with other regional mechanisms such as EC, ASEAN, SADDC, AMCOW, OAS and others was stressed. The meeting agreed that these issues are of such importance that the next meeting of UN-Water should address these matters as a major theme of the agenda. In this regard, it was agreed that the: (i) Regional Commissions should be encouraged to participate in the next meeting and, for that matter, the Chair of UN-Water should take the necessary steps to

8 Paragraphs 11 (e), 15 (second bullet) and 16 (b) of the ToR of UN-Water emphasize the need for regional level coordination of actions.

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ensure their presence; and (ii) Regional Commission for Africa will coordinate with other RC’s to provide an input document as a basis for the discussions. The document should consider, among others, improving regional coherence and linkages to other mechanisms and actors in the region, as well as their involvement in different countries.

4.2 UN-Water and the Global Policy Agenda9

4.2.1 First Meeting of the SG’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation10

Meeting was briefed about the first meeting of the SG’s Advisory Board that took place on 21-22 July 2004 in New York. The only external input to this meeting of the Advisory Board was a presentation made by the Chair of UN-Water about the findings of the latest JMP report under the aegis of UN-Water. During this meeting, the Board established the following three thematic groups: (i) follow-up on commitments, (ii) resource mobilization, and (iii) IWRM. The next meeting of the Board is scheduled to take place on 9-10 December in Tokyo, in conjunction with the International Conference on Integrated Water Resources Management that will take place from 6-9 December 2004. UN-Water may be called upon to provide necessary substantive support and information on key issues. The Board’s outreach capacities could possibly be utilized for mobilizing resources in support of the UN-Water work program. The meeting noted that this issue needs to be approached cautiously--may be when UN-Water has the opportunity to present its work program during the next Board’s meeting. Some participants suggested that relevant work of various agencies may also be presented to the Advisory Board.

4.2.2 Preparations for CSD-13 The meeting was informed that 13th Session of the CSD will consist of two parts: (i) an intergovernmental preparatory meeting in New York from 28 Feb to 04 March 2005, and (ii) CSD-13’s main session in New York from 11-22 April 2005. Regarding the process followed for the preparation of SG report for CSD, the meeting was informed that DESA as Secretariat for the CSD is responsible for the preparation of the SG’s reports. In so doing, DESA makes the best use of inputs received from various agencies. A first draft has been prepared and this is currently being reviewed within DESA. The meeting was informed that contributions provided by various agencies were acknowledged as those of UN-Water, and not of the individual agencies--an effort to give more visibility and identity to UN-Water. DESA will confirm the possibility scheduling a side event by UN-Water during the preparatory session in February 2005 and explore other possible contributions by UN-Water to both CSD-13 meetings. The objective is to make meaningful contributions to the

9 See paragraph 11 (c) and 16 (a) of the ToR of UN-Water. 10 Paragraph 9 of the ToR of UN-Water calls for “collaboration with other initiatives, including the SG Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation”.

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deliberations of the 13th Session of the CSD and demonstrate the added value of a consistent UN system voice that UN-Water provides. In order to present the most updated synthesis of current challenges and their possible solutions, it was agreed to prepare and distribute a 1-page summary of each chapter of WWDR-II.

4.2.3 MDG Review Meeting The meeting was informed that the dates and format for the General Assembly Session on MDGs review have not been fixed yet. The event will take place at the beginning of the General Debate when all Heads of State and Government are present. The various MDG Task Forces are likely to finalize their reports before November 2004.

4.2.4 Water-Energy Linkages in CSD14 – 15 The thematic focus of CSD 14 and 15 will be on energy/atmosphere issues. A considerable debate is likely to take place on the relationship between water and energy within the context of sustainable development and JPOI. UNIDO has agreed to submit a succinct proposal for UN-Water action as an input to CSD14 and 15 on water-energy nexus for discussion in the next meeting.

4.2.5 World Conference on Disaster Reduction The meeting was given an update by the representative of ISDR about the preparatory process of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction that will take place in Kobe on 18-22 January 2005. The conference will have three segments: inter-governmental, thematic and public forum. Expected outcomes of this conference will include, inter-alia, a programme of action; launching of some specific initiatives; and some new initiatives on monitoring and reporting mechanisms etc. The meeting agreed that title/focus of the paper to be presented by UN-Water at the Kobe event should be changed from “floods” to disaster reduction. An electronic version of the paper should be sent to all partners for making comments by 5 October 2004. Comments/ suggestions should be sent back to the Coordinator by 8 October 2004 who will finalize the paper for presentation in the Kobe meeting on behalf of UN-Water. The meeting expressed the need for UN-Water to be visible in Kobe. Many UN agencies are likely to participate in this meeting that would be pleased to contribute to this objective.

4.2.6 World Water Day (WWD) Meeting entrusted the responsibility of coordinating activities for the WWD in 2005 to UN DESA (Theme: Water for Life 2005 – 2015), and in 2006 to UNESCO (Theme: Water and Culture). DESA was requested to confirm plans through email and report to next meeting; UNESCO to present outline of plans to next meeting for approval.

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4.3 The International Decade for Action "Water for Life, 2005 - 2015"

Launching of the Decade is planned on World Water Day (22 March 2005). The meeting discussed as to 'what should be the UN system support/response to the forthcoming decade? In this regard, the meeting reaffirmed the decision of Geneva meeting that thematic priorities selected as overall work program of UN-Water would also conform the main concentration areas for the programme of the Decade. There was a general agreement about the simultaneous launching of the event at all RCs headquarters. In addition, a pre-recorded message of SG may need to be obtained for showing at the launching ceremonies. Individual agencies and partners may as well mark the launching of the Decade in their individual headquarters and oriented to their constituencies. Various agencies have agreed to make the following contributions towards launching of the Decade: (i) WWAP Secretariat: a small report on three thematic areas consistent with the title of the decade--water for people, water for ecosystems and water for food; (ii) WHO: guidelines for world water day celebrations; (iii) FAO: design homepage prototype for the UN-Water website; and (iv) UNEP will explore the possibility of contributions with its HQs.

4.4 Strengthening Information and Communications11 The meeting discussed various actions as how the roles and functions of UN-Water could be made well known to all stakeholders in the water sector--for example: why it has been established; what are its functions; who are its members; how does it work; and what is its added value? Towards this aim, the following actions were agreed.

o Endorse information products (leaflets/brochures/publications etc.) that will be permitted to carry the UN-Water identity. While labeling the products, distinction should be made as to what is a UN-Water product and what therefore should carry the UN-Water identifier. DESA was asked to check with the Office of Legal Affairs in the Secretariat on logo issues and if the UN-Water name could be legally protected.

o Make presentations in relevant international meetings and events. For this purpose,

develop a standard power point presentation, explaining the roles and functions of UN-Water, including its work program for the coming years as linked to internationally agreed goals and targets.

o Establish own website. FAO has already offered to design the prototype for

website.

11 Paragraphs 11 (c,d) of the ToR of UN-Water emphasize the need for promoting effective communication and information sharing.

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o Streamline country level coherence to the extent that UN-Water could serve as a collective entry point for countries to seek assistance from the UN system for activities planned in support of water goals.

o Facilitate inter-agency information exchange, including sharing of experiences and

lessons learned. Since such efforts require resources, the meeting authorized the Chair and Secretary of UN-Water to undertake necessary steps for mobilizing resources to support and strengthen the work of UN-Water as described in its ToR.

5 Annexes

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Annex 1: List of Participants

Representatives of UN Agencies

Mr. Alberto Tejada-Guibert Deputy Secretary, International Hydrological Programme, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO Mr. Alexey Vikhlyaev Division on International Trade in Goods and Services and Commodities, UNCTAD Mr. Alvaro Umaña Leader, Energy and Environment Group UNDP Mr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy Deputy Assistant Director-General for Natural Science, and Director of the Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO Mr. Claudio Caponi Senior Scientific Officer Hydrology and Water Resources Department WMO Mr. David Osborn Head, Partnerships and Policy Unit UNEP/GPA Coordination Office Mr. Dinesh Shrestha Senior Water & Sanitation Officer Technical Support Section, UNHCR Mr. Dominic Ballayan Statistician, FAO Mr. Gordon J. Young Coordinator, WWAP Mr. Jacob J. Burke Senior Water Policy Officer, FAO Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal Programme Manager (Water Resources) Head Isotope Hydrology Section, IAEA Mr. Robert O. Williams Senior Industrial Development Officer, UNIDO Mr. Rudolph Cleveringa Senior Technical Adviser, IFAD Mr. Salah Darghouth Senior Advisor Agriculture and Rural Development World Bank

Mr. Jamie Bartram Chairman UN-Water, and Coordinator, Water, Sanitation and Health Programme, WHO Mr. Janos Bogardi Director UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security Bonn Mr. Jean-Marc Faurès Senior Water Resources Management Officer, FAO Mr. John Harding Programme Officer International Strategy for Disaster Reduction UN/ISDR Secretariat Mr. Kenji Yoshinaga Director, Land and Water Development Division FAO Ms. Louise O. Fresco Assistant Director-General, Agriculture Department FAO Mr. Manuel Dengo Chief, Water, Natural Resources and SIDS DSD/DESA, United Nations (Secretary UN-Water) Mr. Massimo Toschi Associate Adviser DSD/DESA, United Nations Mr. Muhammad Aslam Chaudhry Senior Inter-Regional Adviser (Water) DSD/DESA, United Nations Mr. Pasquale Steduto Chief Water Resources Development and Management Service, FAO Mr. Stefano Burchi Senior Legal Officer, FAO Mr. Stephen Maxwell Donkor Senior Regional Advisor Coordinator UN Water/Africa, UNECA Ms. Wendy Mann Office of Special Advisors to the Director-General of FAO

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Representatives of Non-UN Agencies/Organizations

Mr. Arthur Askew President-elect, IAHS Ms. Margaret Catley-Carlson Chair of GWP Mr. Mark Pascoe Deputy Director, International Water Association (IWA) Mr. Peter Bridgewater Secretary-General Ramsar Convention Secretariat Mr. Sebastià Semene Guitart Ramsar Convention Secretariat Mr. William Cosgrove President, World Water Council Mr. Carlos Garces Assistant Programme Manager, IPTRID

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Annex 2: Current Status and Production Schedule of WWDR-II Current Status: Overall progress has been uneven across various chapters but could be regarded as satisfactory. Some chapters are at more advanced stage as their first drafts are already available for discussion, while work on others is yet at the preliminary stage. The following table provides an update of the contents posted with regard to each chapter on the WWDR website.

Section Chapter 6 Outlines 7 Drafts Section 1 Setting the Scene

1. Living in a changing world - -

2. Governance challenges

- Outline posted: 2004-05-18 / 7 pgs -

3. Water and human settlements - -

4. The Resource - Outline posted: 2004-06-28 / 1 p. -

Section 2 Challenges to Life and Well-being 5. Water and health - -

6. Water and ecosystems

- Outline posted: 2004-07-23 / 1 p. -

7. Water and food - Outline posted: 2004-06-01 / 2 pgs -

8. Water and industry - Outline posted: 2004-05 / 5 pgs

1st draft posted: 2004-07-06; Pages: 27

9. Water and energy - Outline posted: 2004-05 / 6 pgs

1st draft posted: 2004-08-03; Pages: 25

Section 3 Management Responses 10. Managing risks - Outline posted: 2004-

09-14 / 1 p. -

11. Sharing water - -

12. Valuing water

- Outline posted: 2004-05-18 / 2 pgs - Preliminary posted: 2004-07-09 / 3 pgs

-

13. Ensuring the knowledge base

- 1st Summary: 2004-06-07 / 14 pgs - Questionnaire :2004-06-07 / 10 pgs - 1st progress report: 2004-06-15 / 46 pgs - 2nd progress report: 2004-08-25 / 32 pgs

Section 4 Case Studies - - Section 5 Conclusions and Recommendations - -

General documents and status Indicators

- Indicators summary / 2004-07-23 / 23 pgs. - Overview of indicators / 2004-07 / 90 pgs.

Status of WWDR II - WWDR II Status table / updated regularly

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WWDR-II Schedule of Production Activities Deadline 1. All draft chapters completed. Agencies to make final submissions

before consultation and integration of additional material.

31 October 2004

2. Review of all drafts and discussion of overlaps/linkages between chapters (Workshop at Paris)

8-9 November 2004

3. Finalization of all chapters (Tony Milburn to be engaged for this process).

End March 2005

4. Start work on draft text of the Executive summary.

1 June 2005

5. Editing of final document April 2005 6. Complete, revised final manuscript ready for copy editing and

submission to co-publishers

30 June 2005

7. Edited manuscript + layout complete

15 September 2005

8. Last proofs with OK for printing by all parties, goes to the printer 15 January 2006 In addition to the above activities, 2-4 page summaries will be made for each chapter of WWDR II during the period November 2004 – February 2005 as inputs/contributions to World Water Day celebrations and CSD 13.

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Annex 3: Case Study Development and Justification WWDR, while painting a broad, global picture, also recognizes that many management decisions on water have to be made at the national, sub-national and very local levels. Thus it incorporates a number of case studies reflecting the importance of the local conditions. Accordingly, in the second edition of the WWDR four types of case study are proposed:

- Country level studies: this because national assessments are vital for many planning purposes;

- International Basins: this especially to address the challenges of sharing water between countries;

- Within-country regions or basins, as in the first edition; - Collectivities of countries having common characteristics and within the same overall

geographic region, eg groups of small island states or a group such as the Gulf States. With increasing number of case studies, some difficulties arise as how to accommodate them all in the report. Our proposed solution is to include summary statistics from all case studies and also to include within the text, at appropriate places, examples of particular issues from individual case studies. We will include full case study reports only on our web site as they become available and make reference to the web site within the Report.

The benefit of conducting a case study is mutual to both the country and the WWAP. The logical reasoning behind conducting a pilot case study in a country is to increase the level of co-operation and cohesion existing among the institutions responsible for water resources management. The WWAP provides the necessary stimulus to promote dialogue among planners and decision makers. This directly complements in-country capacity building that aims to strengthen national capabilities for performing local or national assessments and monitor progress towards achieving targets. Proposed case studies

On going/Planned Case Studies

Potential Case Studies

Country case studies

Sri Lanka (expanded from Ruhuna Basins in WWDR-I) Thailand (expanded from Chao Phraya Basin in WWDR-I) France (expanded from Seine-Normandy in WWDR-I) Japan (expanded from Tokyo in WWDR-I) S Africa Mali Kenya Ethiopia Uganda

New Zealand

International River Basins/Lakes

Senegal River basin (continued from WWDR-I) Lake Peipsi (continued from WWDR-I) Lake Titicaca (continued from WWDR-I) La Plata Tajo (Spain / Portugal)

Nile Niger Aral Sea Mekong

Within-country studies

Mexico

Turkey Murray-Darling Volga Pakistan China India USA Mississippi Italy

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Annex 4: Work Priorities (2004-2006) Agreed During the Geneva Meeting

Thematic Priorities Agency to initiate process Immediate Actions 24 Month Deliverables ISSUES Scarcity FAO Prepare 4-pager for next


WWDR will include the outcomes of this work

Sanitation access WHO and UNICEF Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

"Think piece" on innovative approaches to both technical aspects and service delivery Review of technical and behavioural intervention impact Study on innovation in delivery models Global assessment with WHO UNICEF and HABITAT (under JMP) Cross links to cost-benefit and financing work

Disaster prevention ISDR and WMO Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

Organize a UN-Water side event during the Kobe conference Prepare a UN-Water document outlining joint activities/programs and projects related to water-related risks, their progress and expected deliverables (promotion document)

Pollution ESCAP, but check with UNEP and include WHO)

Prepare 4-pager for next meeting-. (detailed justification and deliverables)

State of knowledge report Joint strategy Advocacy campaign (leading to large scale campaign) Target in terms of remedial resources mobilised)

Transboundary water issues ECE, ECA, ESCAP Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

ECA Workshop in Africa in 2004 Catalogue of good practices of transboundary water management

Water, sanitation and and gender

IATF on Gender and Water Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

Programme for Decade

RESPONSES Capacity building UNESCO Prepare 4-pager for next


Assessment within 10 months i.e., ready for CSD 13 Resource library

Financing UNDP to liaise with with WB


Guidelines and "how to" manuals

Valuation UNDP DESA


How to design and implement ecosystem services recognition Links to trade in virtual water General approaches to and reports on costs and benefits

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

IWRM DESA + UNEP Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

2005 IWRM Alliance WWDR

GEOGRAPHICAL FOCUS

Africa: a region for priority action

ECA Prepare 4-pager for next meeting (detailed justification and deliverables)

Third Meeting of UN-Water UNESCO Paris

February 16 - 18, 2005

DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP Introduction The Third Meeting of UN-Water took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from February 16 – 18, 2005. Opening remarks were made by Mr. Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director General, UNESCO. List of attendees is attached to these minutes as annex I

1. Organizational Aspects

1.1 Approval Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The meeting reviewed and adopted the minutes of the 2nd UN-Water Meeting (Rome, 28 September – 1 October 2004) with minor amendments. It was agreed to accept the proposal from Chair and Secretary that the format of this and future meeting reports should be divided in two columns, with the minutes (including decisions) of the meeting on the first column; and agreed actions on the second column. Previous agreement that the UN-Water Secretariat is to make meeting reports available speedily to participants; and at least within four weeks after a meeting were reiterated. It was agreed that sequential numbering should be given to the meetings, starting with Geneva, 2004 as the first. Thus this meeting becomes the Third Meeting

Secretariat to format minutes of 1st and 2nd meetings in agreed format; circulate final version to UN-Water members and partners; and post on internet site as pdf once available. Chair, vice-chair and secretary to ensure that draft minutes of this 3rd meeting are distributed within 4 weeks, in agreed format.

of UN-Water. Convention for referring to previous meeting would be e.g. "at its xth meeting (city, year)".

2. Involving partners in UN-Water Activities 2.1 Agreed criteria for UN-Water partners

The meeting discussed suggestions for the participation of new partners in UN-Water’s activities. The meeting stressed that participation of partners should be based on the criteria developed and agreed during the 1st Meeting (Geneva, 2004), i.e. that non-UN entities considered UN-Water partners should: show a willingness to contribute tangibly to a UN-Water area of work; be active internationally; and be multi-national in structure and membership. Previous discussion during the 2nd Meeting (Rome, 2004) at which it was agreed to systematically outreach to major groups (e.g. as defined in Agenda 21), in a second phase of partnership development was noted. The meeting decided that, before systematic outreach to major groups and others, it would be desirable to develop plans of work for UN-Water’s priority thematic initiatives, their deliverables and products, in order to provide a concrete ground for their involvement; and also to informally discuss modalities of engagement with them.

Chair/secretary to circulate list of entities presently treated as partners; Chair to rewrite to those entities proposed and agreed, e.g. Rotary and ADB to invite their participation. Chair and secretary to explore informally "modalities of engagement" with both identified potential partners and "major groups".

3. Distribution Lists

For communications, including circulating UN-Water documentation, the need for three distribution lists was agreed: (i) senior program managers of UN agencies who

are the focal points for UN-Water; (ii) other staff of the same agency as nominated

by SPM who should be routinely copied on correspondence; and

(iii) senior program managers of UN-Water partners

A draft of these lists is annexed to this report [See Annex 2]. Recipients are requested to check and communicate corrections urgently. Secretariat to circulate a list of the UN entities that participate in UN-Water. The Chair will write to HLCP Secretariat, requesting to extend an invitation to all agencies that have water programmes to

The meeting agreed that all communications including, for example, announcements and invitations for UN-Water meetings, should be sent from the email address of the Secretariat of UN-Water ([email protected]) and addressed to lists (i) and (iii), cc(ii). Replies should also go to the same address, copied to the Chair and Vice-Chair. The meeting also agreed that initiatives such as the Inter-agency Gender and Water Task Force or UNEP/GEMS/Water should not be considered as separate UN-Water members and the agency SPM/focal point as indicated above should include them in list (ii), as appropriate. SPMs should represent all relevant actions/initiatives of their agency. All agreed documents (minutes, reports, agenda, policy brief papers, thematic plans of work etc.) will be made available in the web page when the latter becomes operational. The meeting agreed to explore the feasibility of the UN-Water website to have a reserved section for UN-Water members only that would contain work in progress and other documents for internal use.

participate in UN-Water.

mailto:[email protected]

4. Financing for UN-Water Several countries have shown interest in hosting an office for the Water for Life Decade. Offers from interested countries were discussed. The meeting was informed that, in preparation for CSD-13, there is a rapidly evolving political push towards strengthening UN-Water. The precise ideas will not be known before the CSD-13. Several countries have expressed their interest in seeing this happen. The meeting discussed the possibility to use the last day of UN-Water meetings to invite donors and discuss with them the UN-Water work plan. It was agreed to invite donors to a meeting with UN-Water during one of the forthcoming events where all donors are present, e.g. CSD-13.

Chair and Secretary will meet with potential hosts to further discuss the details of the offers and their implications. The meeting emphasized that dialogue should continue in this regard and asked the Chair and Secretary to continue the dialogue with key political actors and potential donors, in order to explore what is this status of thinking in this regard and what are the possible alternatives for strengthening UN-Water.

5. UN-Water involvement in International

Meetings / Events The draft Paper “Criteria for meetings” prepared by the Chair was discussed and considered. The main points raised in the Chairs presentation were:

Meetings that may wish to be associated with UN-Water include those that:

• Are parts of its Plan of Work. • Organizers approach UN-Water with

promotional purposes • Organizers invite UN-Water to make a

presentation on a particular issue.

It was agreed that, in deciding on the appropriateness of associating UN-Water with a particular meeting, it would be required that:

• The meeting is part of the UN-Water Plan of Work and had been recorded as such in minutes of a UN-Water meeting, normally as part of a thematic initiative.

All UN-Water members are requested/invited to send to the Secretariat of UN-Water their comments and additional ideas for criteria (i.e.: the meeting agreed that UN-Water would consider both invitations to single country events or with an international dimension on the basis of the established criteria). DESA to circulate work done during the International Year of Freshwater with criteria for involving private sector in UN related activities. This work was based on elements of the Global Compact and other documents from different agencies in consultation with the Office of Legal Affairs These criteria were discussed and agreed and will be circulated electronically by the Secretariat for review (and are attached to

• The purpose of association is not primarily promotional.

• The meeting serves to advance recognized activities and products as per ToR.

• The meeting at large, including specific UN-Water associated components, fosters maintenance of the integrity, independence and impartiality of UN-Water.

• Balance should be sought in terms of themes, partners, nature (international vs national) across the overall range of UN-Water associated meetings.

these minutes as annex II).

5.1 Water Resources International (WRI)

WWAP Coordinator presented a note by Water Resources International, containing a draft initiative of the British water industry to associate itself with the Water for Life Decade and benefits that it can bring to the water industry. To become involved in the work of the UN they propose to start by organizing a Conference in the UK in autumn 2005. The meeting agreed on not participating as UN-Water in this Conference.

WWAP Secretariat to prepare a draft reply from the Chair of UN-Water to Water Resource International (the letter was prepared and sent to the Chair of UN-Water on 22 February 2005)

5.2 Stockholm Water Week

The Swedish International Water Institute offered UN-Water to hold a half day session during the Water Week, Stockholm, 2005. For this they would make available the space free of charge and waive of fees for UN-Water members. Potential advantages include that GWP has its annual meeting every other year in parallel with the water week. WWC indicated that it was a meeting attended by a very varied group of stakeholders in water and sanitation. The meeting decided that UN-Water should be represented and that representation would be led by WWAP, WMO and UNEP, who confirmed

Chairman to confirm participation to SIWI. WWAP. WMO and UNEP to follow-up and report back to UN-Water

attendance. Other members and partners are considering to participate.

5.3 2005 Water Resources Alliance WWAP Coordinator informed the meeting that there will be a meeting of the "2005 Water Resources Alliance” on 13-14 March 2005 in Oslo, Norway. The discussion of this item centered on the lack of action since CSD-12 when the Alliance was launched. At that time, meeting participants had understood that the participation of UN entities in the Alliance would be under UN-Water and that UNEP’s ExD had agreed to do so. The meeting expressed concern that the organizers showed UN-Water as a co-convener without consultation with all parts. Some UN agencies (UNESCO) were included in the list of founders of the Alliance without having been consulted in advance. The meeting noted concern that the creation of this Alliance might duplicate other existing initiatives; the lack of clarity on its objectives. GWP and IWA shared these concerns. The UNEP representative was requested to consult with UNEP HQ and inform the meeting on the recent developments of the Alliance. Having done so, it was reported that DESA was not invited as Secretary of UN-Water and that there was no agreement that the UN component was under the umbrella of UN-Water.

UN-DESA, WHO, WWAP and GWP are attending the meeting and should carefully observe the direction the process is taking and how it works for UN-Water.

5.4 IAHS Meetings

Arthur Askew, informed the meeting about the following IAHS meetings:

- Brazil (2005) - Perugia, Italy (2007)

5.5 World Water Forum 4

WWC gave a presentation of WWF4 which will take place in Mexico 2006, with the title “Local action for Global Challenges”. The program was presented as well as the preparatory process schematics, which are available on: www.worldwaterforum4.org All background papers are going to be discussed next week in Mexico. WWAP is going to be present at the meeting and will report back following the meeting on aspects of relevance to UN-Water. All agencies that wish to send input on the preparatory background papers can look at these on the website. WMO has been requested to act as a “beacon” for the framework theme “Risk Management”, in conjunction with ISDR, CPWC (Cooperative Program and Water Climate) and JWF (Japan Water Forum). UNESCO is in charge to explore the possibility to include the issue of ground water.

The meeting requested that on 22nd March, a slot be devoted to UN-Water and that part of this event will be the launching of WWDR-II. WWC will confirm. WWAP, on behalf of UN-Water, will lead the necessary arrangements and will report back on a detailed plan at next meeting as well as the possibility to have the internet café of the Forum nearby the stand for UN-Water and individual agencies added visibility (reference to Hague model).

6. Monitoring and Reporting

The meeting decided to establish a UN-Water group on monitoring composed by FAO (lead) UNICEF, UNECA, UNEP, UN-DESA, WWAP, WMO, WHO, UNESCWA, UNESCAP, GWP and IAEA. The group on monitoring will be charged with leading work on this area. WWC referred to the sectorial approach on monitoring and that it is essential to improve coordination of various monitoring initiatives and in this regard explained the work they are doing in developing a web based system to share different monitoring. He also referred to the “Water Monitoring Alliance” that was discussed at the IWRM Conference in Tokyo.

6.1 World Water Assessment Program

The post of WWAP Coordinator is becoming vacant in mid 2006 and it is now time to open the discussion on finding a new Coordinator and establish the

UNESCO Human Resources will send first draft of TOR and criteria to Selection Committee.

procedural path for selecting him/her. The vacancy announcement must have a wide distribution announcement, through agencies networks and selected publications, in order to ensure the best possible candidates. Members of UN-Water were encouraged to circulate the vacancy announcement among their constituencies and to encourage applications from potential candidates. The meeting agreed that Selection Committee (Andreas Szollosi-Nagy (UNESCO), Jamie Bartram (Chair, UN-Water and WHO), Vanessa Tobin (UNICEF), Ralph Daley (UNU) and Youssef Al-Mooji (UNESCWA) will develop terms of reference, criteria and qualifications for the vacancy announcement. The WWAP Secretariat reported on the fund raising efforts made on behalf of UN-Water mainly for WWDR-II and other WWAP work. WWAP Coordinator indicated that many agencies have approached UNESCO for funding work on WWDR II. It was clarified that agencies had requested funds from this Trust Fund for their work on the different chapters of WWDR-II and not from UNESCO itself. The WWAP Secretariat was congratulated for its efforts, on behalf of UN-Water, in fund raising for WWDR-II and for the WWAP Trust Fund that is administered by UNESCO. UN-Water and in particular the WWAP Secretariat when meeting with donors should raise the issues related to the WWAP Trust Fund replenishment. ESCAP requested WWAP to share with them the key messages identified for WWDR, in order to ensure consistency.

UNESCO will place the vacancy announcement and do initial screening of candidates. Deadlines for applications should be end of October 2005. The Selection Committee will review the application that passed the first screening and then will interview short-listed candidates. On this basis the recommendation will be made to UNESCO for finalizing the hiring process.

WWAP’s responsibility to ensure consistency and formatting among the various summaries of the different chapters of WWDR before posting or distributing them.

6.1.1 WWDR First Edition

The WWAP secretariat presented the report requested at the Second Meeting of UN-Water on an evidence-based assessment and analysis of the dissemination

It was decided that for WWDR-II a more systematic approach must be followed for impact assessment and a plan for such

and impact of WWDR-I. For highlights of this analysis please see the full analysis attached to these minutes as annex III:

• WWDR-I was translated to, Spanish, French, and Arabic. Hardcopy of the Spanish version is being finished and French and Arabic versions are under negotiation.

• 2,630 hardcopies have been sold and 5,660 have been distributed free of charge to Member States and UN-Water.

• The Executive Summary was produced in the 6 UN languages plus Bahasa-Malay, German and Japanese. All still available as hardcopies and in the website.

• WWDR website has had over 800,000 visits since March 2004. Developing country visits were focused on privatization issues while developed country visits focused on transboundary aspects.

• WWAP is producing a newsletter called “Currents”.

Lessons learnt from WWDR I: - Important to launch the report translated into 6 UN languages. Nice to do but difficult. - Report must be free of charge for developing countries - Because of high production and mailing costs of hardcopy version there should be a focus on electronic Internet based publishing. Summary must be produced in hardcopy. - There is a need for a more systematic approach to the production/distribution based on “log frame” - Process should be more self-critical and there is a need for external evaluation. - For WWDR-II translation into Spanish is a must. - Need to evaluate success and usefulness. Must have feed-back on practical use.

analysis must be prepared including indicators in advance of publication. WWAP Secretariat was asked to do this for next meeting. WWAP to contact the publications departments of all UN-Water members with the objective of setting-up the necessary arrangements for co-marketing of the WWDR.

It was agreed that the electronic version must be free of charge.

6.1.2 WWDR Second Edition The WWAP Coordinator informed the meeting about progress on preparation of the report and indicated that some chapters are overdue. Annex YYY includes a table with the status and production schedule of chapters. A consultant and an editor have been engaged to finalize the report on time. Previous discussion on the extent of WWDR-II was recalled and it was re-iterated that the report should be limited to 400 pages. The WWAP Secretariat was asked to take action to contain chapter over-runs in order that this target is met. Case studies should be integrated to the extent that they support overall report and an integrated perspective. It was decided that on the issue of languages, Spanish is a must for the launching of WWDR-II in Mexico City. The feasibility of having it translated to other UN languages at that stage was considered low due to financial and time constraints, in particular. The meeting agreed that WWAP Secretariat in preparation for the launching of WWRD II in Mexico City must observe the following priorities:

- WWDR II must be available in Spanish; - Other languages versions would be desirable

(only if financial and time constraints are overcome).

For the Fourth Meeting of UN-Water, WWAP secretariat was requested to present a report on the status of the trust fund, realistic pledges, incoming contributions and general plan for financial commitments.

All lead agencies for the different chapters were asked to ensure that the agreed schedule was met.

WWAP Secretariat to circulate consolidated integrated WWDR-II to UN-Water including external partners, not exceeding 400 pages by end of October 2005.

6.1.3 WWDR Third Edition

The meeting considered it premature to discuss details of WWDR-III and that it is best to do so once the new WWAP Coordinator has been recruited. In this regard, it is important that there is an overlap period that allows the new Coordinator to start work before the departure of G. Young. As agreed in the Second (Rome 2004) Meeting, the

It was decided that detailed discussions on WWDR-III are premature at this stage It was agreed that it is important to start including work towards WWDR-III in the Programme of Work of UN-Water. It was agreed to make all efforts to include

Global Water Partnership will be making important input to this edition. The importance of including budgeting for the work on the different chapters of the report into the budgets of the different agencies was noted as important.

in budgets of the different agencies elements that allow financing work on the different chapters of WWDR-III.

6.1.4 WWDR Case Studies

WWAP gave an update on the case studies and indicated that there was great interest from the countries from which case studies were in preparation to see them in the WWDR. The meeting discussed the way case studies would be used in WWDR-II, and reiterated previous agreement that the meeting decided that case studies should be stand-alones pieces and that they should be in the website of WWDR. They should only be supported when resource requirements of other high priorities had been satisfied.

WWAP Secretariat to circulate case studies to chapter coordinators so that they can include them partially as examples of the different chapters.

6.1.5 Letter from Suez

The Chair presented a letter sent to UN-Water by Suez Environment, indicating concern that little attention was given to private public partnerships, that the report had a negative bias and lacked objectivity.

A letter of reply from will be prepared and sent to Suez from chair UN-Water. The meeting decided to prepare a policy brief paper on the issue of PPP’s and other similar initiatives. This work will be lead by UNESCAP together with UN-DESA, FAO, UNESCO, ECE and IFAD (World Bank and HABITAT inputs should be requested). Inputs and consultations on the draft will be carried-out electronically. A draft will be available before the next UN-Water meeting.

6.2 Joint Monitoring Program 6.2.1 Progress Report

The meeting was updated on the status and recent developments of JMP and related initiatives.

All interested UN-Water members have been invited to attend Technical Advisory Group

The next JMP Technical Advisory Group “TAG” meeting will take later in 2005. A technical meeting in May will concentrate on issues related to harmonization of information and of the instruments that provide information. A JMP report will be ready to be presented at the World Water Day 2005. The launch of this document is planned on 17th March 2005. This report will describe impact of Water, Sanitation and Health on different life stages and the costs and impact of key actions advocated to achieve MDG target 10. It was reported that the methodology for the water quality initiative is under development and progress is positive.

meetings. Only requirement is to inform organizers of participation. UNICEF and WHO invited UNECE to give a presentation to their next TAG meeting on their evaluation of data collection system for high- countries

6.2.2 UNECE

UNECE reported on the difficulties faced by the European Region of WHO in assessing the water supply and sanitation. Official data does not reflect the reality of access to services and household survey data (and therefore JMP data) for countries in this region is scarce. To contribute to JMP and to serve the parties to the Protocol on Water and Health of the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Trans-boundary Watercourses and International Lakes, both ECE and WHO are working together with member states to develop a framework for such assessment. In preparation for the first meeting of the parties of the Protocol, there will be a meeting of experts from 9 – 10 May in Copenhagen focusing on data gathering.

UNECE to send WHO and UNICEF more detailed information about the meeting in Copenhagen and will report back to next UN-Water Meeting.

6.2.3 ESCAP JMP related activities

UNESCAP informed that, in collaboration with UNDP and the Asian Development Bank they are preparing on the Technical paper on “Water and Sanitation” (also addresses health and livelihoods issues) which include 7 technical background papers. The draft will be finished in a couple of weeks to be finalized around

mid of 2005. A stronger liaison and cooperation will be developed with UN-Water.

6.3 Work on water indicators (UN Statistics Division Environmental Statistics Branch)

FAO briefed the meeting about the history of this issue. There was a first meeting Luxembourg a few months ago with FAO, Eurostat and OECD. WWAP also participated in the meeting. The Statistic Division of the UN is moving towards developing indicators on water. There will be a meeting in Vienna, 20-22 June 2005, organized by UN Statistic Division, UNEP, FAO, ECE, OECD and EUROSTAT, focusing on statistic on water especially in developing countries. UNECA pointed out that if the meeting focuses on developing countries it would be very useful if relevant actors from developing countries should be invited to the meeting.

It was agreed that FAO and ECE will contact the UN Statistics Division before the Vienna meeting to find ways of collaboration with UN-Water on the issue of indicators and other matters related to water and sanitation statistics, including their participation in the work and meetings of UN-Water. It was agreed to inform the Statistics Division that UN-Water could bring a lot of experience to the meeting and should be part of this work. FAO and ECE to report back to UN-Water before the meeting in Vienna takes place. UN-Water’s Secretary will also discuss this matters with the Director of the Statistics Division and brief him on UN-Water.

7. Program of Work

The meeting discussed the work program for the 2 year period 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2006. Thematic Priorities for the 2005-2006 period The thematic priorities as defined in the Second Meeting of UN-Water, were: Sanitation, drinking water and Hygiene (WHO, UNICEF (Initial responsibility), Scarcity: FAO (Initial responsibility), UNESCO (Cooperating Agencies) Disaster Risk Reduction: ISDR(Initial

The meeting decided that the UN-Water thematic plan of work for scarcity; WSH and disaster risk reduction should be agreed and recorded (to be attached to the report of the meeting). Plan of work should include: - Log frame (objective, product and deliveries) - Indicators for deliveries and impact - A “backgrounder” similar to a Policy brief paper and for dissemination purposes for each theme. This would summarize context, rationale for UN-Water engagement; objectives and mojor lines of work.

responsibility), WMO, UNESCO (Cooperating Agencies) Focus on Africa: ECA (Initial responsibility) There have to be regional and local initiatives. The WWCD indicated that these thematic activities provide an excellent interlink between UN-Water and the Fourth World Water Forum. Themes can provide a basis for the thematic organization of WWF4. It was agreed that in preparing thematic initiatives the following criteria should be followed:

• One or more lead agencies (at least 1 must be a UN entity);

• associated agencies identify themselves; • Plan of Work is minimum 2 years with

specified deliverables and long term overall vision with a 10 year horizon;

• Plan of work reviewed and adopted by Senior Program Managers meeting and recorded as annex to minutes;

• Once agreed identified participating members and partners are authorized to implement in line with agreed plan of work and general UN-Water ToR.;

• Lead agencies agree to respect their role on behalf of UN-Water;

• All thematic initiatives must contain a policy brief explaining context, rationale, objective as well as log frame or equivalent.

Process of development of plan of work is open to all UN-Water members and partners. Added value of UN-Water should be clearly identified (e.g. contribution to UN system coherence at different levels).

7.1 Sanitation

UNICEF/WHO gave a presentation of the draft work plan on sanitation which awarded inputs from other concerned agencies. - Theme analysis in relation to MGD, which pointed out that Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are not in a situation to reach MDG on water. - Key lessons learned were presented. - Plan of work and action.

UNICEF/WHO to revise, distribute electronically and follow-up the work plan (agencies that are interested to add information and input should get in contact with the lead agency) and will circulate among participants.

This document is attached to these minutes as annex IV.

7.2 Scarcity FAO/UNESCO gave a presentation of the work plan on scarcity indicating that there had been an excellent contribution from many of the members to the paper. The need to involve in this work social scientists was stressed. With regard to the list of deliveries in the thematic work plans, the meeting agreed that if the list should be a realistic list of what UN-Water could achieve. The meeting signaled that some issues are missing in the paper (droughts, trans-boundary etc.). FAO will work on developing a policy paper which will include the inputs of all those interested in contributing. DESA pointed out that missing in the plan of work is how to develop country level initiatives. This document is attached to these minutes as annex V.

FAO/UNESCO will revise, distribute electronically and follow-up the work plan (agencies that are interested to add information and input should get in contact with the lead agency) and will circulate among participants.

7.3 Disaster risk reduction

ISDR Secretariat presented a draft plan of work on disaster risk reduction; input had also been received from WMO and UNESCO to be integrated into the draft prepared by ISDR. UNESCO presented several initiatives among them the International Flood Initiative developed with WMO and support of Japan (documents are attached to these minutes as annex VI and VII). UNICEF and WHO requested inclusion of water supply and sanitation as a component of disaster preparedness as well as a part of humanitarian response of post-disaster reconstruction.

ISDR/WMO/UNESCO will revise, distribute electronically and follow-up the work plan (agencies that are interested to add information and input should get in contact with the lead agency) and will circulate among participants. The lead agency should work with all agencies interested to develop: a) a Plan of Work, describing context, rationale for UN-Water involvement, objective of UN-Water and outline of work; b) a log frame linking objectives to specific actions, products and services.

ISDR Secretariat’s request for the participation of chair or secretary of UN-Water in the IATF/DR (Inter-agency Task Force on Disaster Reduction) was accepted. It was agreed to have, for the next meeting, a draft program on disaster reduction similar to the one prepared by FAO and WHO/UNESCO, with work plan and delivables was also accepted and agreed. It was agreed that links should be sought with the work of UN-Oceans since there are many areas of common interest.

ISDR must finalize this work to be adopted at the 4th Meeting

7.4 Focus on Africa

UNECA made a detailed presentation of the work plan on the “Current and Planned Activities of UN-Water Africa”. This work by ECA is setting the pace and providing a good example for UN-Water’s work in the regions. The Chair summarized discussion in previous meetings in Geneva and Rome that lead to the identification of Africa as a theme for the biannual work plan and that in general regional issues would have been coordinated by UN regional commissions. The discussion focused on the relationship between UN-Water SPM meetings and regional initiatives and what is the added value of UN-Water SPM to regional initiatives. In particular, which are the areas that UN-Water can bring additional value to the regional UN-Water mechanisms and viceversa. UNESCWA referred to the special conditions of coping with drought in their region and the expertise they have developed in this area. ESCAP pointed out that there is a communications gap between the Economic Commissions and the regional offices of the different agencies of the system. There is a need for vertical coordination at the regional level, and UN-Water must be aware of this and search

The meeting decided that a small group 2/3 UN Regional Commissions (ESCAP, ECE and ECA) and 2/3 UN agencies (still to be identified) should meet and define the relationship between UN-Water and Regional UN-Water initiatives (as well as on which issues could the global program support regional programs and which issues could the regional programs support the global program) and report back to next UN-Water meeting. This is crucial to improve the coherence of action at the regional and sub-regional levels.

for improvement. ESCAP referred to the Regional Coordination Mechanism (RCM) established by ECOSOC that serves as a means for increasing coherence and efficiency of the UN system at the regional and sub-regional level. It serves as the regional equivalent of the global CEB. ESCAP who co-chairs the RCM for Asia-Pacific together with UNDP, reported on the work in progress and the need for UN-Water to liaise with it. He also indicated that UN-Water/Asia-Pacific could be born in this context. ECE highlighted the lack of information and capacities in Eastern Europe in the field of environment and the need to support them on this regard. IWA mentioned that the EUWI is not focusing only at the EU but globally. Supported ECE proposal and be very involved. DESA emphasized the importance of the proposal and referred to similar problems in Central Asia, in this regard mentioned that together with UNDP, DESA is organizing a meeting in Tajikistan in May on trans-boundary issues and invited UN-Water members to actively participate.

Regional Commissions to follow-up and report back to next UN-Water meeting on the issue of communication between Economic Commissions and regional offices of the different UN Agencies. ESCAP to follow-up on RCM and report back to next UN-Water meeting.

7.5 Other thematic initiatives agreed in 1st

meeting Geneva, 2004 The meeting agreed that, even if trans-boundary and gender should be cross-cutting issues that all thematic issues should take into account, a plan of work for each of them would still be very useful, and therefore encouraged the organizations identified as having initial responsibility at the 1st Meeting (Geneva, 2004) and 2nd Meeting (Rome, 2005), to prepare such plans. This should be done by development of a draft Plan of Work and its presentation at next meeting. The meeting agreed that trans-boundary and similarly gender, should be cross-cutting issues that all thematic areas should take into account World Water Council remarked that there were a series of very important cross cutting issues that

should also be dealt with as part of the work plan, among them, the right to water, the developments on financing for implementing recommendations of concrete actions. 7.5.1 Inter-agency Gender and Water Task Force UN-DESA presented a report submitted by the Inter-agency Gender and Water Task Force including activities and publications programmed for the Decade, yet not presenting any proposals in the form of a program of work for the Decade. The Chair emphasized that the GA Resolution on the Decade explicitly refers to gender and proposed that a policy brief on this theme be prepared (ideally to be ready before the launch of the Decade). UNICEF offered assistance to produce a policy brief; UNECA offered to contribute their experience. 7.5.2 Trans-boundary issues ECE agreed to provide contributions on the issue of trans-boundary waters, as a standalone theme. 7.5.3 Capacity Building The meeting decided that a Plan of Work on capacity building should be prepared by UNU and UNESCO for discussion at next meeting.

The meeting requested the Secretary to communicate to the GWTF to prepare a draft a policy brief on gender and water. The preparation of this paper must follow the criteria decided during this meeting. The policy brief is to be ready before the launch of the Decade. The Secretariat was also requested to circulate an electronic version of the paper presented by the GWTF. The Secretariat also to convey invitation to GWTF to prepare a concrete Plan of Work for discussion. ECE will lead the process to prepare a draft thematic initiative paper to be presented at the next meeting.

7.6 Linking the thematic initiatives to the

Decade Water for Life The meeting agreed that the UN-Water support to Decade implementation should be in the areas of:

• Mobilize actors towards achieving the goals; • Thematic activities should be oriented to

provide the substantive basis for the Decade; • Rolling links thematic initiatives and

communication; • Themes for public relations, awareness raising

and communications should emanate from within the different initiatives;

• Selection of champions for each theme; • Regional celebrations of the Decade’s

benchmarks; • Ensuring that implementation and achievement

of MDGs take place.

The meeting agreed with the offer from UNESCO of hiring a consultant to assemble a concrete plan for the Decade along the lines described above.

8. The International Decade for Action "Water for Life, 2005 - 2015"

The meeting reaffirmed the decision of the 1st Meeting (Geneva, 2004) that the agreed thematic priorities selected as the overall work program of UN-Water would also conform the main concentration areas for the program of the Decade. UN-DESA mentioned that the Program of the Decade should assist to achieve MDG and CSD outcomes. The program of the Decade must be intrinsically linked to these outcomes and thus the final version must be prepared until the CSD-13 and the MDG review event have produced their outcomes. 8.1 Preparations for launching the Decade The SG Video message to launch the decade on 22 March, is in preparation There is no special event planned for 22nd March 2005 at the UN headquarters in New York. The meeting reiterated the call for UN Regional Commissions to mark launch. Related initiatives to be led by Residential Coordinators. A launching event will be organized close to the high level segment of the CSD-13 in order to take advantage of the presence of Ministers and important decision makers in the areas of water and sanitation. A booklet “Water for Life Decade” has been prepared by UN-DESA, on behalf of UN-Water, jointly with DPI. WHO, on behalf of UN-Water, has prepared an

The meeting agreed each UN-Water member to improve coordination / liaison with their own communication departments and that all efforts should be made to ensure exchange of information. Regional Commissions to organize regional celebrations emphasizing regional priorities. UN-DESA to re-transmit booklet to UN-Water distribution lists (i) and (iii) and cc (ii); all UN-Water members and partners to disseminate through their networks/mechanisms. WHO to re-transmit to UN-Water

advocacy guide which had been “launched” and was in translation and distribution. IAHS made a summary of its activities indicating their firm interest on collaborating with UN-Water in implementing the Decade.

distribution lists (i) and (iii) and cc (ii); all UN-Water members and partners to disseminate through their networks/mechanisms. UN-Water should organize itself, in order to deal with specific activities like WWAP and now the Decade, in a decentralized manner by establishing “activity centers” (BLOBS) that are hosted and managed by a UN entity and that can reside either at the headquarters or in a city other than the headquarters of the UN entity. The directors of the possible “activity centers” would be chosen by UN-Water and their work would be overseen by UN-Water à la WWAP.

9. UN-Water and the Global Policy Agenda

9.1 Second Meeting of the SG’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation1

The second meeting was held in Tokyo on 9 an 10 December 2004 in Tokyo and chaired by Mr. Hashimoto. There were presentations by W. Cosgrove on the IWRM conference; by Dengo on UN-Water in Rome; on floods by Hyogo Prefecture in Japan; a video link with Habitat for a report on Wash Forum, in Dakar (December 2004). MDG 10 was discussed but not in an in-depth manner. MDG 7 Task Force Report was well received by the SG AB. Main outcomes of the meeting relevant to UN-Water is that the Board recognized the need to strengthen the capacity of UN-Water for it to play a relevant role this message as well as others will be forwarded by the Board the SG. Next meeting is going to be immediately after CSD-13, depending on the availability of resources.

Chair/Secretary to propose a presentation of UN-Water work plan in the agenda for the next meeting of the SG’s Advisory Board

9.2 International Conference on IWRM UN-DESA reported on the Conference on IWRM that took place from 6-10 December in Tokyo; mentioning that the two major outcomes:

- 2005 IWRM goal: A two step approach, 1) commit to start work on IWRM and water efficiency plans, 2) development of the plans and their implementation.;

- Water related disasters: to establish a new MDG to reduce by one half by 2015 the number of deaths caused by water natural disasters.

UN-DESA pointed out that the proposal to create a new MDG is politically unrealistic, whereas its

1 Paragraph 9 of the ToR of UN-Water calls for “collaboration with other initiatives, including the SG Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation”.

objectives can possibly be linked it with the discussions of CSD.

9.3 Preparations for CSD-13 Chair reminded that CSD-12 was the first year of a biannual cycle and reviewed three themes: Water, sanitation and human settlements. The review is finished and now we are in the policy cycle in CSD-13. UN-DESA explained the way CSD-13 is going to be organized and presented the program of work for the 13th Session of the CSD which consists of two parts: (i) an intergovernmental preparatory meeting in New York from 28 Feb to 04 March 2005, and (ii) CSD-13’s main session in New York from 11-22 April 2005. UN-DESA confirmed that a time-slot has been reserved, on 28 February, for UN-Water to brief the intergovernmental preparatory meeting (IPM). Chair indicated the concerns of several Members States to have a follow-up process to substantial decisions being taken during CSD-13 and how UN-Water could contribute to monitor their implementation. The meeting suggested that UN-Water should be the focal point for monitoring progress from the UN side.

UN-DESA, on behalf of UN-Water, will organize a side-event at CSD-13 to launch the International Water for Life Decade.

9.4 European Union Water Initiative (EU WI) Chair reported on the meeting between UN-Water and European Union Water Initiative (EU WI) that took place in December 2004 in Brussels (attended by the Chair (WHO), Secretary (UN-DESA) and UNICEF) and Meeting minutes had been previously circulated among UN-Water members. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how effectively engage. The issue of the financing facility was not an agenda item.

Chair and Secretary to follow-up

EU WI see UN-Water as a policy partner with capacity for leverage in the international policy arena and with added value of coordination and cooperation The meetings agreed on continuing the dialogue with EUWI and make it an effective alliance for policy discussion and implementation.

9.5 Report Task Force 7 on Water and Sanitation

Roberto Lenton, co-chair of the Task Force on Water and Sanitation (tf7) apologized for not attending the meeting to make the presentation of the report and discuss the implications for UN-Water. WHO, DESA, UNDP, UNICEF and WWAP had participated in the work of the tf7. The Chair briefed the meeting on the summary of the report: on the 10 actions, and in greater detail on the recommendation concerning the international system, including UN-Water, and references to WWDR and JMP.

The meeting decided to organize an event to ensure UN-Water visibility at the MDG Review. As announced by WHO, the Lancet article was submitted.

9.6 Water-Energy Linkages in CSD 14 – 15 At 2nd meeting (Rome, 2004), UNIDO had agreed to prepare a proposal for UN-Water preparation towards CSD 14 – 15. UNIDO did not participate in this meeting.

Chair/Secretary to request UNIDO to provide with an up-to-date on the proposal for UN-Water action as an input to CSD-14 and 15, as offered at 2nd UN-Water Meeting

9.7 World Conference on Disaster Reduction ISDR Secretariat gave a report on the World Conference on Disaster Reduction that took place from 18-22 January 2005 in Kobe, Japan. The outcomes of the thematic discussions are available on www.unisdr.org The main outputs are:

a) a Framework for Action 2005 – 2015; b) Hyogo Declaration;

The meeting agreed to contribute to supporting the follow-up of the WCDR as set out in the Hyogo Framework for Action through the activities set out in the thematic area of the UN-Water “Disaster risk Reduction”. UN-Water partners were very active at the Conference.

Comments and suggestions on the policy brief should be sent within three weeks in order to revise the paper

http://www.unisdr.org/

The key issues for UN-Water are: • The process and experience gained in developing

the policy brief. • How to support the implementation of the Hyogo

Strategy. • The establishment of focal points for activities

such as policy brief development • The consultation process in development of policy

briefs (added value)

9.7.1 Policy brief paper on Disaster Reduction The Chair emphasized that was the first time that UN-Water presented a policy brief and this was discussed at length as a model for such brief in the future. The UN-Water policy brief paper “Water Hazard Risks – A Priority for Integrated Water Resource Management” was widely distributed ( 3,000 copies were made). On the basis of the lessons learnt in preparing the policy brief, the meeting decided: Process:

- All policy briefing papers must be agreed in advance by the Senior Program Manager meeting.

- Clear identification of a focal point; - Consultations are required to allow all UN-Water

(members and partners) to contribute. Content: - Requires common design of the format for the policy brief paper. They should resemble the one prepared for Kobe; - Standard content including current status/trends, problem statements; recommendations on ways forwards. Boxes presenting good practices and relevant initiatives / partnerships could be added; - UN-Water description, contact information, website, list should be included in the last page. - Standard reference to every UN-Water member UN-Water partners would be mentioned only when

they contributed to the paper “other partners includes” – criteria “opting in”. Efforts should be made to publish the policy briefs in all UN official languages.

10. Zaragoza Expo A Delegation from Zaragoza (composed by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Spain to UNESCO, the Mayor of Zaragoza, the Minister for Environment of Aragón and the Manager of the Expo 2008) addressed UN-Water to present a proposal to support the work of the United Nations on Water. The objective of the presentation was to confirm the written offer by the City of Zaragoza, with the support of the Spanish Government to host the UN Secretariat of the Decade. The Mayor of Zaragoza presented the historical links between Zaragoza and Water. On 16 December 2004 Zragoza won the competition to host Expo 2008. The theme for EXPO 2008 is Water and Sustainable Development (A video was presented). He stressed that the commitment included the following: To widen the cooperation between Spain and the United Nations To make the Water for Life Decade a success. Spain, and in particular Aragón and Zaragoza, is the country that can contribute the most. That financial support would be provided for the initial period (two years) as well as an appropriate venue for the office. Financial support for five professional and five general service staff posts would also be provided. The Environmental Minister of the Regional Government of Aragon presented information on water related work in the region of Aragon, as well as work they have carried out with the support of WWAP. He reiterated the proposal made to WWAP to host the UN Secretariat for the International Decade Water for Life 2005 – 2015. The Manager of the Expo 2008 presented the plans for the Expo 2008 highlighting that there could be a possibility to start working now a venue for the

Chair and Secretary to continue discussion with the City of Zaragoza.

Secretariat would be available right away, since the Decade secretariat was very important to help organize the Expo. He also pointed out that temporary office space would be available at the starting point and then it would be moved to permanent premises; the support would not finish after 2008. The Permanent Representative of Spain to UNESCO emphasized the commitment of Spain towards the UN and multilateralism, as well the support to water. He indicated that the offer by Zaragoza was fully supported by the Government of Spain and that it was seen as a joint venture. The Chair thanked UNESCO for promoting and organizing the meeting and to bring the proposal from Zaragoza to UN-Water.

11. Information and Communication UN-Water Secretariat reported on the results of the discussion with the Office of Legal Affairs in the UN Secretariat [See Annex VII, letter of response by OLA]:

11.1 UN-Water Logo OLA recommended that UN-Water as a UN Interagency mechanism not develop a logo; The meeting opted for the solution for a “non logo” as a visual identifier (as it was shown on the draft policy brief paper “Water Hazard Risks”);

11.2 UN-Water Trademark Trademark of UN-Water: OLA confirmed that UN-Water trademark is protected by the copyright protection of the UN trademark;

11.3 “Water for life Decade” Logo “Water for Life Decade 2005-2015” Logo: the Board of Publication (UN DPI) approved both the logo as well as the waiver of liability for the use of this logo.

11.4 Web-site UN-Water FAO presented a prototype of the website of UN-Water

FAO will circulate a more advanced version of the prototype web page as soon as it is

The meeting warmly congratulated FAO for the good project and invited to go ahead in the same direction. Link to website of partners was decided

ready for comments and suggestions.

12. Next meeting

Fourth Meeting of UN-Water will take place after the MDG session of the General Assembly.

The Secretary will contact ECLAC to explore the possibility of having the Fourth Meeting of UN-Water in their headquarters. It was agreed that the meeting should take place during the week starting 24th of October. ESCWA offered to host it in case ECLAC cannot do it.

13. Country Level Action

Achieving coherence in UN systems actions UNDP apologized for not being able to participate due to recent changes in staffing and re-organization. As agreed in the Second Meeting, UNDP provided a first draft of the Guidance Note for discussion.

The Secretary will circulate electronically the draft Guidance Note for comments and suggestions. The draft Guidance Note will be added to the agenda of next meeting for discussion.

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Fourth Meeting of UN-Water UNU/EHS Bonn

27 February – 1 March 2006

DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP 27 February Introduction The Fourth Meeting of UN-Water took place at UNU/EHS Headquarters in Bonn from February 27 to March 1, 2006. Opening remarks by UNU. Dr. Katharina Thywissen opened the meeting and welcomed participants. UN-Water’s Chair made opening remarks focusing on the main issues to be discussed at this meeting and explained the participation of Mr. J. Kuylensterna, representative of SIWI during the initial part of the meeting (See section 5.1 for items discussed and decisions). Annotated agenda was reviewed and adopted with minor modifications necessary to adjust the sequence of discussion of different agenda items to the presence of key UN-Water members.

1. Organizational Aspects

27 February 1.1 Approval Minutes of the Previous Meeting

The final draft minutes were circulated in August 2005 after integrating several comments received. No further comments were received. UNESCO presented an alternative text on the offer from Zaragoza. The meeting toke note of the explanatory text provided by UNESCO on the offer from the Government of Spain in support of the International Decade for Action: Water for Life 2005 – 2015. This text will be included as annex to the UN-Water’s Third Meeting Report.

The minutes will be distributed as approved.

2. Election of UN-Water Officers

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP

2.1 Election of Vice-Chair (until Dec. 2006). After the the resignation of D. Jezeph (ESCAP) the post has been vacant. A new Vice-Chair was elected. Stephen Maxwell Donkor of the Economic Commission for Africa was elected Vice –Chair for the remaining of the current period, until Dec. 2006. The meeting decided to request DESA to identify the new Secretary as early as possible, since M.B. Dengo will be retiring in September 2007.

2.2 Election of Chair and Vice-Chair (Period

2007 – 2008) The meeting decided to postpone the election of the Chair and Vice-Chair until the fall session of UN-Water. It was decided that informal consultations will be carried before Stockholm.

Informal consultations to be held prior to the Stockholm World Water Week when UN-Water will have two closed meetings.

27 February

3. Organising UN-Water procedures.

3.1 Meetings face to face The number of face to face meetings depends on the issues on the table. Flexibility should be maintained and meetings should be according to the needs. The meeting decided that there should be at least one face to face meeting each year.

3.2 Video conferencing / teleconferencing There was consensus that it is not always easy to hold these type of meetings. Depends on theme and number people, time zone differences and also on technical aspects that in some cases limit the value of these encounters. The meeting reviewed the experience of 2005 with the organization of these meetings. The discussion on monitoring, lead by

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP FAO, was mostly via e-mail, the video conferences were useful to finalize specific aspects of the discussion. ECE reported that technical reasons hindered the discussion on transboundary issues. Video and teleconferencing would be called for on an ad-hoc basis for specific topics. These meetings need not necessarily be related to the number of face to face meetings in a year. Presentations of the different task forces will be requested at the meetings.

3.3 UN-Water website presentation by FAO FAO made a presentation of the prototype website developed by them for UN-Water. It was the opinion of the meeting that the website prototype is very well structured, the sections seem to be the right ones and that only minor details remain to be fixed before making it available on the web. There are important aspects that need to be taken into consideration for the long term sustainability of the website, among them: where will it reside?; who will be responsible for its day-to-day running ?; Maintenance, updating are critical elements for making it “a living website”. Among the modifications/comments proposed were the following:

• Tab on donors be eliminated. • Tab on Events must show list of events that

comply with the criteria of established at UN-Water’s Third Meeting in Paris.. Sharp criteria are needed, otherwise the list would loose relevance. Urgent to provide events that follow these criteria and are relevant to be included. (title, description and link)

• For the launching to go smoothly, FAO will of communicate with all members to request the initial information to be loaded and launch it as soon as possible so that it is operational for the 4th World Water Forum. WWDR2 should be the more prominent issue on the front page.

• Preparation of a brochure and include a brief text to circulate to individual groups of stakeholders.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP FAO stated that they can cover the running of the site for a six month period. Analysis of sustainability would be done at a later stage, it would be necessary for the website’s long term operation. It was decided to launch the website as is, with only minor adjustments, and then make changes based on experience using it. Inputs during the initial operation,as well as feed-back on its utilization should be sent to FAO ([email protected]). The meeting decided to thank FAO for its excellent work and for its offer to cover the operation for the next 6 months. The meeting remarked that the website is a major product of UN-Water and should be always be dynamic and current.


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4. Overall framework for support to UN-Water

4.1 WWAP and WWDR Gordon Young, WWAP coordinator reported on the work of the programme and the development of the second edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR2). The achievements of WWAP were pointed out and details on the WWDR2 were provided, including all the financial contributions received for its production (Full report in Annex). It was also indicated that there is now a process in place for outreach to developing countries to help build capacities for producing national reports. Regarding case studies, G. Young reported that they will be only references to them in the Report itself but that they will be available in full in the WWAP website. With reference to indicator development, there is not as much progress as desired, some are well developed others not as much and more work is required. Communications strategy for WWAP/WWDR has to be connected to the website of UN-Water, presently the WWAP website gets 5000 visits per day. Among the issues that central to the work of the secretariat are the online versions of WWDR1 and WWDR2. Interactive version should be an area of concentration for the future As part of the activities in public awareness the film “The Dream Of Water” was prepared and is currently available. WWDR2 production Keeping the schedule of production was difficult. Agencies contributing to the different chapters had big differences in complying with the planned schedule. Many did not meet the schedule, others were too late with their inputs. The original idea of a WWDR2 shorter and lighter than WWDR1 was practically lost since none of

UNESCO to convey thanks to government of Italy for their offer to host WWAP. UNESCO to follow-up recommendation to proceed as soon as possible to recruit the new Coordinator for WWAP/WWDR. UN-Water must establish selection committee. Shortlist to be prepared by UNESCO then sent to UN-Water’s selection committee to interview shortlisted candidates. New coordinator should be informed to present to UN-Water the new vision on the future editions of the report.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP the agencies met the planned length of their contributions, result is a 600 page publication again. It is lighter in weight, same number of pages, with more content and fewer pictures. Executive summary is coming out in 3 languages for distribution at the Fourth World Water Forum with a length of about 50 pages. Brochures have also been prepared for the Forum. Among the ideas being discussed for new products related to WWDR are regional and country reports, or reports focused on different target groups, like for example, school children. UNESCO as hosting agency for WWAP reported on perspectives for the future of the programme. It was pointed out that WWAP is arriving at a critical juncture where several changes are occuring: current Director is retiring this summer, the Japanese contribution is diminishing; other donors still have not determined the level of their contributions. UNESCO received a concrete offer from Italy for support to the WWAP and WWDR process. It is a joint offer by the Ministry of Environent and the Ministry Foreign Affairs of 2.5 million Euros per year plus office facilities in Perugia. It includes all physical facilities plus a connection to the facilities of the University of Peruggia. It is a long term offer. At this moment this is the only concrete proposal for new WWAP/WWDR funding. and there are clear indications for a mechanism to guarantee the sustainability of this funding. UNESCO also informed that they have not made the vacancy announcement for the post of WWAP/WWDR Coordinator since there is not a definitive duty station. Once the agreement with Italy is in place, the vacancy announcement will be made. The meeting was informed that Italy agreed that the Coordinator of office should not to be Italian, though they would like an Italian as senior

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP officer in the team. The meeting decided: To have clear terms of reference for the work of the WWAP-like distributed units so that coordination and coherence with UN-Water’s programme of work is ensured. To thank and congratulate UNESCO for their efforts in the development of WWAP and providing the basis for its sustainability. To thank Dr. Gordon Young for his dedication, commitment and excellent manner in which he has managed the programme and the excellent results obtained in the production of WWDR1 and WWDR2.

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4.2 Zaragoza The Secretary reported on the discussions the Chair and himself had with the German delegation to CSD-13 with regard to the offers made by Zaragoza and Bonn, and the level of understanding on the potential division of tasks between the two offices if the offers materialize. Zaragoza would work on advocay and communications, linking to the theme of Expo 2008 “Water and Sustainable Development”. DESA reported on the progress since the presentation of the Zaragoza offer at the 3rd Meeting in Paris, including the meeting of Spanish authorities with USG Ocampo during CSD-13 and the meetings held in Madrid, with the Ministries of Environment and Foreign Affairs, and in Zaragoza, with the Major of Zaragoza, the authorities from the Government of Aragón and the Expo 2008. Details were given on the progress of discussions with Spain so far. It was indicated that the negotiations of the trust fund agreement, with annual contributions of close to $ 1.4 million for ten years, were in their final stage and that a host country agreement was also been finalized. DESA informed that the UN Office of Legal Affairs indicated that the term “Secretariat” was not appropriate for this unit and that it could be called “office” The meeting discussed the thrust of the work of the Zaragoza office and how to differentiate it from that of the office in Bonn if the latter agreement is realized. In the course of the discussion, it was pointed out that Zaragoza should concentrate on advocacy and communications while Bonn should add value to the system efforts in capacity building. Both ought to provide support to actions of UN-Water members in the implementation of the agreed programme of work. The meeting decided to thank UNESCO for initiating the Zaragoza process and DESA for

DESA to inform UN-Water once all agreements have been reached.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP follow-up. The role of UN-Water is one of guidance. DESA’s responsibility is to fully manage the Zaragoza office and the implementation of its programme of work, in the same manner as it is done by UNESCO with WWAP. Same model should be used for Bonn.

Chair, S. Donkor(ECA) and P.Aggarwal (IAEA) will work with DESA (host agency) to support the Zaragoza’s Director selection process and advise on possible candidates. Incoming director to present plan of work in line with UN-Water’s programme of work to link to the Decade’s overall activities.

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4.3 Bonn The Chair indicated that both the Bonn and Zaragoza efforts are intimately connected and are complimentary in the implementation of the Decade’s programme. The fact is that Zaragoza is certainly happening while Bonn is not there yet. All the discussions so far held between Chair, Secretary, UNU and the German govenrment officers, indicate that the timeframe for obtaining the clearance for realizing this agreement is questionable at this moment in time. The ensuing discussion focused on determining what should be the best role for the Bonn facility. Several options were discussed among them: clearing house mechanisms, training facility and capacity building as a complement to what member agencies are doing on their own.. The meeting agreed that capacity building is a main issue for UN Water, and it is an area where several agencies working together do add value. There is a real need for more integration in this field, and the Bonn office would facilitate this integration. The meeting decided that the Bonn office would concentrate, as it was discussed during the 3rd Meeting, on building the capacities that can make the water and sanitation goals achievable. It was also decided to encourage UNU and the Chair to continue de consultation process with the German authorities.

The Chair to continue in contact with the German authorities on the status of the process and re-instating at every opportunity the interest of UN-Water in bringing this process to a successful closure.

4.4 DFID

In summary, at the side meeting held in Stockholm on UN-Water related issues, a decision was made to have a donors meeting to view their possible support to UN-Water actions ( WWAP/WWDR, JMP, the Water for Life Decade) The meeting in London based its discussions on the

The meeting strongly endorsed this proposal, stressed its importance and requested the Chair to follow-up with DFID and other donors to bring this process to a successful closure, since it’s a key mechanism to implement UN-Water’s mandate.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP report prepared by Jon Lane to DFID through consultation with almost all members and partners as well as with several other important players. Among the points considered were the limitation of resources from DESA to run the secretariat, the role of the chair and the necessary support to its office. As a result, a proposal was prepared to request DFID for support to UN-Water, in order to put funds in place to support secretariat and rotating chair. And at the same time support some activities that are of pure inter-agency nature and that none of the members can tackle on its own budget/resources. The system is very much lacking in its work of the integrated aspects, suffering much from the sectoral support approached by the different processes and mandates. The Chair presented the proposal that was sent to DFID as per Attachement I. Chair informed that DFID have indicated tentatively their willingness to support this proposal and also that there are indications of support by Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Some of the potential areas for use of these resources are: Further development of the website and its sustained maintenance and operation. Elaboration of the sanitation thematic plan of work, including incorporating UNSGAB recommendations with regard to the year of Sanitation. Consolidation of UNW Plan of Work, as required in UN-Water terms of reference into a single product including a version appropriate for use in communication purposes. This can become the first biennial PoW for the 2007- 2008 period. Preparations towards capacity building thematic initiative.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP Actions to encourage donors to coordinate among themselves and contribute to the efforts of UN-Water towards coherence and coordinated action. The meeting agreed: To thank the consultant for his work and expressed its satisfaction with the efforts so far. To request the Chair to finalize the proposal to DFID on the basis of comments received.

5. UN-Water involvement in International Meetings / Events

27 February 5.1 Stockholm Water Week

The Swedish International Water Institute offered UN-Water several possibilities for participation at the future Stockholm World Water Weeks. A special invitation was made to SIWI to discuss these ideas during the 4th Meeting of UN-Water. The invitation to SIWI was done as a follow-up of seminar on UN-Water at the 2005 World Water Week. This seminar brought positive results since there was little awareness about UN-Water, its purpose and role. SIWI offers space to have a regular meeting/seminar during the water week. The World Water Week has changed it is orientation. Seminars and workshops will be more interactive and concentrated in three main areas:

• Building capacity • Creating partnerships • Review on implementation

The Stockholm World Water Week offers the possibility of having something more than a working meeting, it brings the opportunity for UN-Water to have an annual meeting focusing on specific issues of implementation of MDG’s and JPOI. To show how the UN is dealing with theses issues, how is the

Chair to write to SIWI welcoming the offer and accepting it, indicating at the same time the topics for the different sessions. FAO to take the lead in organizing the UN-Water session on “Coping with Scarcity” and in doing so prepare a budget of 50,000 Euros to the organizers, for this purpose. Chair and secretary to organize the 2 half day closed sessions on reviewing on going work. FAO as lead agency of the monitoring group to provide support in the organization of the monitoring session. The other session will review progress on other issues, among them transboundary waters.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP involvement of civil society etc. J. Kuylenstierna presented the new scheme of organization of the water week and the offer from Sweden to support financially the organization of the UN-Water session / seminar and SIWI would provide support in kind. For this a porposal must be presented before the end of March 2006. SIWI must also receive a letter from UN-Water indicating the types of activities planned for the World Water Week. The session could have a special character like an open session where UN-Water selects the topic for presentation/discussion. In particular its is important to establish a discussion with different stakeholders present in Stockholm. It would include invitation to specific actors and contribution from different actors to specific thematic initiatives initiated by UN-Water. The discussion following the presentation focused on the excellent opportunity that the World Water Week presents to showcase what is being done and to reach an important portion of stakeholders, some of whom have little contact with the UN. Among the issues discussed were: the opportunity to show cohesion of action; the option of having a UN-Water meeting on the side; the need to present to stakeholders an indication of what are the gaps for implementation of programs and policies; linking the session to themes for the Decade. It was remarked that the session should not have the same focus every year and in organizing it consideration should be given to take maximum advantage of the possible contributions of other participants in the World Water Week. The meeting decided: To thank Sweden and SIWI for the offer and Mr Kuylenstierna for his presentation and accept the offer of having a UN-Water event at the Stockholm World Water Week This will be organized as a half day UN-Water event focusing on a specific topic each year to make emphasis on actions that might help provide

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP breakthroughs to unblock implementation of the JPOI and MDG’s targets related to water and sanitation. This session would be held with participation of major stakeholders working on the selected topic, and would cover the areas of reviewing implementation, capacity building and creation of partnerships. For this year the theme will be “Coping with Scarcity” Two half day closed (ie 'by invitation') sessions of UN-Water to work also on specific issues of its programme of work.. For 2006 the issues to be considered are monitoring and transboundary issues. To prepare a letter to SIWI welcoming their initiative and confirming the participation and present to Sweden a proposal for funding the session with a budget of 50,000 Euros 28 February (Morning)

5.2 World Water Forum 4 An internal discussion on the logistical and organizational aspects of the 4th World Water Forum was held. Among the topics discussed were security issues, special ground-passes to attend the Inaugural, Ministerial and Closing sessions. The contents of the draft Ministerial Declaration and the way in which the negotiations were being conducted were also discussed. It was noted, that contrary to previous, WWF’s UN-Water was not invited to participate in this process. G Young provided a detailed description of the arrangements for the World Water Day celebration and the launching of the Second Edition of the World Water Development Report. The program and sequence of events, and the participation of the different Heads of Agencies were also discussed. Concern was expressed by many on the lack of involvement of UN-Water in the preparation of the Ministerial Declaration as well as for the lack of reference to WWDR/WWAP in the present text. UN agencies were actively engaged in the negotiation of the declarations of the Second and Third World Water

UN-Water secretariat to prepare list of participants, including high level representatives to be sent to the Mexican government for preparing ground passes to the opening and closing ceremony. Explore with Mexican authorities the possibilities of providing inputs making reference to WWAP/WWDR for the Ministerial Declaration.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP For a. There was no invitation issued for participation in these negotiations for WWF4. The Executive Secretary of the World Water Council, Mr D. Zimmer, indicated that the WWF4’s theme is Global action for local challenges, thus recommendations coming out of the Forum should focus on the local level actions, as the lowest appropriate level for decision making. To this effect the organizers were trying to have good participation of cities, municipalities and local authorities. The three main points of focus for the deliberations in Mexico are:

• Progress in dialogue and understanding of the issues by the ever growing number of stakeholders.

• Working on new partnerships • Recommendations for action, to strengthen

local action. He gave indication of the 208 session to be held, the number of participants expected, the number of journalists and the logistical difficulties with visas Mr. Zimmer also referred to the organization of the Ministerial segment. He indicated that there had been a push for not having a Ministerial declaration, but at the end the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico decided to have one. The segment if organized around the idea of a “Ministerial Dialogue”, an internal discussion by Ministers. There is also a dialogue of local authorities and parlamentarians. Both local authorities and parlamenterians are preparing declarations of their own. On 22 March there will be the UN events related to World Water Day and the launch of WWDR2. There will also be a series of ministerial roundtables with cross-cutting perspectives: financing, institutions. The results of the dialogue will be annexed to the Ministerial Declaration. A. Askew of IAHS indicated that not all conveners of the session have submitted their plans for their sessions. He added that on 14, 15 March the WWC

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP General Assembly would take place and a new board of Directors would be elected. Also will look at the venue for WWF5 in 2009. He also indicated that in the initial drafts of the Ministerial Declaration there were references to WWAP/WWDR and that during the final round of negotiations in Geneva they have been removed at the request of some countries that do not agree with global monitoring reports.

6. Monitoring and Reporting

6.1 Monitoring Group and UN-Water

database. The Chair recalled that the 3rd Meeting decided to establish a UN-Water group on monitoring composed by FAO (lead) UNICEF, UNECA, UNEP, UN-DESA, WWAP, WMO, WHO, UNESCWA, UNESCAP, GWP and IAEA. The group on monitoring will be charged with leading work on this area. The World Water Council referred to the work they are doing on monitoring and to the sectorial approach that has been adopted for different monitoring exercises. He stressed that it is essential to improve coordination of various monitoring initiatives and in this regard explained the work they are doing in developing a web based system to share different monitoring experiences. He also referred to the “Water Monitoring Alliance” that was discussed at the IWRM Conference in Tokyo at the end of 2005. The meeting discussed the need to understand and map the different monitoring initiatives, what each initiative does and what are the overlapping areas, as well as the complementary areas. Chair reported on the outcomes of the S-G’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation held in Berlin, among them their priorities are to strengthen JMP as a vitla mechanism to monitor progress on achieving the MDG’s, the call on UN-Water for establishing a

FAO and DESA to explore participation of the Statistics Division in the UN-Water meeting on monitoring at the Stockholm World Water Week in order to present their work on water accounting and indicators. FAO continue leading the work on monitoring and prepare ½ day session in Stockholm on this issue.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP “monitoring platform” to follow-up on implementation at the global level. The meeting agreed that WWDR should continue to be a reporting mechanism that includes, among other things, the results of different on going monitoring exercises like JMP. The actual monitoring is left to the ad-hoc mechanisms and WWDR reports on its results. The World Water Council Monitoring Alliance is basically conducting a survey of different monitoring exercises. It is an initiative supported by France, and provides an informal collection of who is doing what. The IWRM InfoForum –an informal network to keep momentum on the 2005 target- presents a possibility for monitoring the implementation of the IWRM target of JPOI. The session to be held at the WWF4 with the participation of GWP, UNDP and UNEP represents an effort in bringing together global and regional surveys together with country level examples, review them and devise the way forward. This points towards using the WWDR3 as a mechanism to report on the results of monitoring the implementation of the IWRM target. ECA informed that the Africa Water Facility, African Developing Bank, the World Bank, as well as the French government are leading initiatives on this same area. It would be good to bring them together and invite them to work with UN-Water towards a harmonized approach. Sometime around June in the Africa region a meeting is planned to bring all these agencies together. Work done by GWP on monitoring the implementation of the IWRM JPOI target, is on the basis of information provided by different stakeholders and not by governmental institutions. IWRM is a goal or target but not an indicator. GWP wishes to continue contributing to this effort but their work needs a more formal process. Maybe after WWF 4 after an analysis of different surveys on the 2005

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP target determine the way to go forward more systematically can be determined. ECE indicated that they are preparing a report on monitoring in trans-boundary basins for 2007. The meeting discussed several of the more urgent issues related to monitoring, including the need for more work on indicators, in this regard is important to understand the work that the UN Division of Statistics is doing.

The meeting decided : To use the 2006 Stockholm World Water Week as an opportunity to analyze in a closed session the issues of monitoring. There is need for some preparatory work on mapping initiatives by each agency. To further discuss the idea of producing a brochure or publication, as part of our work programme that would include the analysis on existing monitoring exercises. Welcome the request by S-G’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation to develop a platform, through our monitoring group, with emphasis on an integrated approach. Members of the monitoring group to participate in mega session on 18th March at the WWF4 that will deal with work on IWRM target

6.2 World Water Assessment Program

6.1.1 WWDR Second Edition G. Young made a detailed presentation on the Second Edition of the World Water Development Report in which a series of slides showing different elements of the WWDR2 were shown. The launching of the report includes, apart from the printed version, a CD version and a web based version. . For the immediate future there should be evaluations of the accomplishments of the World

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP Water Assessment Programme. Ideally there has to be an internal evaluation by UNESCO, a UN-Water evaluation and also it would be desirable to have an external evaluation. Dissemination policies and copyright issues have improved in comparison with the First Edition. For the Second Edition 10,000 hardcopies are being printed, plus many more copies of the Executive summary in English, French and Spanish. CD versions will be distributed at the same time as the report. The final edition of the African Water Development Report will be launched in WWF4.

The meeting re-iterated its thanks to WWAP staff and to Gordon Young in particular for their excellent work in the production of WWDR2.

6.3 Joint Monitoring Program

WHO reported on present JMP work, indicating that the next batch of results –based on household surveys- would be ready by mid 2006.

6.4 Work on other monitoring exercises

presentation by DESA on CSD-Wand DESA reported on the development of CSD-WAND, a web-based system developed as part of the mandate on follow-up granted by CSD-13 to the Division on Sustainable Development. The system builds upon the Portfolio of Water Actions. DESA is starting a complementary project on monitoring policy implementation with support of the Italian Cooperation. After the deliberations on the development of this system and its connection with the work of UN-Water’s monitoring group, the meeting agreed that:

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP DESA will develop, as mandated by CSD the web based system for CSD Decisions follow-up, in close coordination/collaboration with UN-Water monitoring group for value adding and for establishing the necessary links other initiatives. As part of the UN-Water monitoring group and through its GIRWI project, the development of a detailed survey of monitoring, assessment and follow-up exercises on water and sanitation that lead to some of the building blocks of the “monitoring platform” as requested by the SGAB to UN-Water. To develop this component, which is responsibility of UN-Water, the close collaboration between DESA and the UN-Water monitoring group is fundamental.

7. Program of Work Thematic Priorities for the 2005-2006 period Progress on the development of the thematic priorities as defined in the Second Meeting of UN-Water1 was discussed as indicated in the following sub-sections.

7.1 Sanitation

UNEP/GPA will put together a thematic initiative paper , in collaboration with the Sanitation group, and present the draft to the Stockholm closed meeting. The meeting discussed the need to have a continued effort to raise the sanitation issues since their implementation is lagging behind.

UNEP/GPA to prepare a sanitation draft policy paper to be discussed in Stockholm.

7.2 Scarcity

FAO presented the paper on Water scarcity. The meeting agreed it was an excellent work.

1 Sanitation, drinking water and Hygiene (WHO, UNICEF), Scarcity (FAO, UNESCO), Disaster Risk Reduction (ISDR, WMO, UNESCO), Focus on Africa (ECA)

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP The meeting decide to congratulate FAO for its work in leading this process to a successful conclusion

7.3 Disaster risk reduction

ISDR must finalize this work following the same structure as the Water Scarcity paper. The meeting remarked that there is a need to show that there is a niche for UN-Water on disaster risk reduction and that this is a coordinated and coherent effort, ISDR is the connecting element between UN-Water and the rest of the UN System working on these matters.

7.4 Regional Focus

It was recalled that at the 3rd meeting a decision was taken to define the relationship between UN-Water and Regional UN-Water initiatives (as well as on which issues could the global program support regional programs and on which issues the regional programs could support the global program) and report back to next UN-Water meeting. This is crucial to improve the coherence of action at the regional and sub-regional levels It was agreed that Regional Commissions were to follow-up and report back to next UN-Water meeting on the issue of communication between Economic Commissions and regional offices of the different UN Agencies.

ECA on behalf of UN-Water/Africa indicated that they have met and agreed on the thematic priorities for the region, sub-groups have met and are working on the thematic issues. In conclusion the only action required is the UN-Water/Africa actions are reinforced preferably with a regional office.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP Other item discussed was the actions by the other Regional Commissions, ECA reported that ann informal draft has been circulated to all the other Commissions for presenting the regional programs and proposed mechanisms for each region. The meeting agreed to: Explore ways to strengthen UN-Water/Africa. Request ECA to present a report on the actions/decisions taken by the other Regional Commissions and their reactions to the draft paper. This report should be presented to the UN-Water meeting in early 2007.

7.5 Other thematic initiatives agreed in 1st meeting Geneva, 2004

The meeting agreed that, even if trans-boundary and gender should be cross-cutting issues that all thematic issues should take into account, a plan of work for each of them would still be very useful, and therefore encouraged the organizations identified as having initial responsibility at the 1st Meeting (Geneva, 2004) and 2nd Meeting (Rome, 2005), to prepare such plans. This should be done by development of a draft Plan of Work and its presentation at next meeting.

7.5.1 Inter-agency Gender and Water Task Force A report by the task force was included as part of the documents for this session The report was complemented by a report from ECA on the recent activities carried out in Africa as a follow-up of the work of the task force during a meeting held in that region UN-Water noted the report and the work done by the task force. The meeting agreed to congratulate the Chair and the task force for the good work done and sustained efforts on this area

The task force is requested to prepare a policy paper, based on text previously circulated among UN-Water members and following the format of the scarcity paper.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP 7.5.2 Trans-boundary issues ECE presented an outline for a document that contributes to the debate on the issue of trans-boundary waters, as a standalone theme. Regarding the work plan, a request was sent to members on providing information on the activities that are being implemented. Only a few replies received, some partial only. Since this is an important This is indeed an area for further cooperation among agencies. Do we need to have a discussion on future activities in this area. How to incorporate the 2005 target on IWRM actions into the paper. Not to list single organization activities, only those carried out by at least 2 organizations. The meeting decided that ECE should continue as lead agency on this issue and others interested were to contribute.

Following the way other thematic activities a paper will be prepared on trans-boundary activities. Agreed to use for this purpose the outline as it was presented, correcting the overlaps that were signaled during the discussion. The issue of transboundary waters should be a theme for one of the Stochkholm water week closed sessions.

Bring this issue up for further discussion at one of the Stockholm ½ day UN-Water closed sessions.

7.5.3 Task Force on GPA/IGR2 presentation by UNEP. UNEP made a presentation on GPA and on the Second Intergovernmental Review session that will take place in Beijing in October of 2006. The Joint steering committee by UN-Water and UN-Oceans should be the mechanism to coordinate the UN

Chair to send a letter to all members indicating their views on the 4 points mentioned. UNEP to prepare draft for the letter.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP component of the review process. Heading to the second intergovernmental review meeting of GPA. At the first meeting the Chairs of UN-Water and UN-Oceans addressed the meeting reporting on activities. The 2nd Review meeting will take place in Beijing in October 2006. UNEP indicated that although GPA is more imbedded in UN-Oceans than in UN-Water, all its activities are more connected to land processes and freshwater flows into the oceans. At the oceans conference in Paris, earlier this year, several freshwater specialists were invited. The review focuses on making progress in implementation at the intergovernmental level but there is also a need to show progress at the UN level. For achieving this it is necessary to have:

• UN-Water member agencies to nominate focal points for the task force.

• Endorsement of the issue of linking freshwater with oceans.

• Endorsement of the joint UN-Oceans/UN-Water task force

• UNEP to provide coordination for this task force.

IAHS inquired about the involvement of IAHS, IGHS and other scientific associations who are increasingly more active in taking part in these type of processes. They were reminded that GPA is more a political body than a scientific one and that the scientific associations are more involved in the partnerships for implementation of the GPA. 7.5.4 Capacity Building

The 3rd meeting decided that a Plan of Work on capacity building should be prepared by UNU and UNESCO for discussion at next meeting. No plan of work was presented at the 4th Meeting, the discussion on this matter was subsumed by the deliberations related to the Bonn initiative.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP 7.6 Linking the thematic initiatives to the

Decade Water for Life Morning of 28 Feb The Chair recalled that the 3rd meeting agreed that the UN-Water support to Decade implementation should be in the areas of:

• Mobilizing actors towards achieving the goals; • Thematic activities should be oriented to

provide the substantive basis for the Decade; • Rolling links thematic initiatives and

communication; • Themes for public relations, awareness raising

and communications should emanate from within the different initiatives;

• Selection of champions for each theme; • Regional celebrations of the Decade’s

benchmarks; • Ensuring that implementation and achievement

of MDGs take place.

The meeting discussed a document prepared by a UNESCO consultant with a proposal for promotion of the Decade along the lines described above. The paper presented by UNESCO is called “UN Leadership in the Water for Life Decade”. The meeting also discussed the linkages of the Decade’s themes and the World Water Days during the Decade. It was stressed that it is very important to identify strategically important activities, order them, center them for each World Water Day and thus have a plan of actions for the World Water Days of the next years. Among the points discussed was the need to take the thematic activities and lay them out in the form of a plan of work. For this it is necessary to invest on its preparation and sell it as a long term plan of work for UN-Water and the Decade. While this is being done it is necessary to include not only the activities jointly implemented but also those that agencies do as part of their normal work load in order to have a detailed mapping of system wide activities.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP The meeting recalled that the idea of the thematic initiatives was to focus and not to include all the activities by all agencies in water. The document of the programme of work should include an inventory of agencies’ activities, those that are executed by more than 2 agencies, as per the concept of thematic activities. Include a mapping of all system activities. It was pointed out that WWDR is in essence an inventory and shows what the different agencies are doing in the different areas. Important that it is shown that UN-Water has a plan of work that includes a priority topic for each year. On the paper presented by UNESCO, the meeting decided that since the paper is very much a communications paper, each agency interested on this matter should prepare comments on the paper and send them to UNESCO for their compilation. Eventually the paper and the compiled comments are to be sent to the directors of the Zaragoza and/or Bonn centers. Capacity Building plan needs to be worked on as a full initiative. Connecting it to UNDG work. Before the end of this year, all the work reflected in the reports to be integrated in a way that we bring it together as a plan of work. Format for work plan should be based on that of the Scarcity paper. 7.7 Partners plans for the Decade Partners presented some of their plans and ideas for the Decade. GWP expressed their interest on the follow-up of the monitoring of the IWRM targets and how to utilize the WWDR to this effect. They indicated that they want to work closely with UN Water /WWAP until 2009. They consider WWDR is a prime publication and are happy with the results of the cooperation to date. IAHS indicated their willingness to cooperate and that their community would be informed of the discussions and decisions of this meeting. Mr. Struckmeir, representing IAH indicated the need to appropriately reflect in the discussion on trans-

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP boundary waters the importance of groundwater. He presented a publication on trans-boundary aquifers. They produce publications based on the information in their geo-information system showing snapshots of a certain moment in time that show information gaps. He indicated that there scope for further cooperation on investigation and data needs, important for evaluation of large aquifer systems. The Chair thanked all partners for their interventions and cooperation, indicating that their presence was crucial for improving the results of the UN-Water meetings.

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8. UN-Water and the Global Policy Agenda

8.1 Fourth Meeting of the SG’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation2.

K. Hiroki (UNDESA) reported on the results of the 4th Meeting of the above board. He indicated that in the discussions there were a number of items directly related to UN-Water. United Nations system response to recommendations of the Board must be coordinated by UN-Water He explained that 1st and 2nd meeting were more agreeing method of work and discussing priorities for their action. The 4th meeting, February 2006 concentrated on financing, sanitation and water related disasters. The 5th meeting will take place in Mexico prior to the WWF 4 and the 6th in Paris in July 2006. The 4th Meeting in Mexico will finalize their first product: the Compendium of Actions (COA), that will be announced and presented at the WWF 4. A draft version of the COA was distributed to the participants in the Bonn meeting. In the COA (included as an Annex to this report) there are several calls that directly or indirectly imply UN-Water to take action, below in bold letter you will find the main points of the COA and under each of them the connections to UN-Water: Water Operators Partnerships UN-Water should coordinate support for WOPs among UN agencies. Sanitation The “Water for Life Decade”should be used to build political will to reach the sanitation targets. The year 2008 should be designated as “International Year of Sanitation”. The United Nations should award a prize for

Recommendations on sanitation, like the Global Conferences, without resources are difficult to do. What is value added Not very fair that an emerging program such as Wand to be so prominent in WWF4. It should be under the monitoring group. Possibility of providing a feed-back, what added value. .

2 Paragraph 9 of the ToR of UN-Water calls for “collaboration with other initiatives, including the SG Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation”.

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP sanitation. A UN “Global Sanitation Conference” should be held towards the end of the “Water for Life Decade”. Monitoring and Reporting The JMP needs greater attention. UN-Water needs adequate funding so that it can lead ongoing efforts to obtain a clear picture of progress or lack of it in water issues. The Secretary-General should work with UN agency heads to increase priority accorded to JMP.in resource allocation. UN-Water should play a high profile role at the global level in coordinating monitoring and reporting systems. The Board will collaborate with the international community and financial institutions to support the UN and others in implementing the proposed enhancements and changes. Integrated Water Resource Management. UN-Water and interested donors are requested to support trans-boundary organizations and promote cooperation between them. Water and Disasters The Board requests ISDR to compile available knowledge, among other things, to incorporate into national IWRM and water efficiency plans disaster prevention elements. United Nations Water Prize. The meeting decided that UN Water should give a response to the proposed COA after careful analysis.

9. Other matters

10. Next meeting

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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP After a short discussion the meting decided that the next meeting would be in Addis during the week of 15 January 2007

Fifth Meeting of UN-Water Stockholm, 21 August 2006

Folkets Hus, Room 513, 09:00 – 12:30


Introductory remarks The meeting took place in Stockholm on 21 August 2006. It is with this meeting that UN-Water begins the modality of having two formal meetings each year, one at the beginning of the year in the headquarters of one of its member organizations and a second one in Stockholm, on occasion of the World Water Week. Because of the time constraints there was no review of the minutes of the previous session in Bonn.

Progress on thematic initiative on transboundary waters

ECE presented an annotated outline for the policy brief on transboundary waters. It was indicated that there is need to agree on several of the criteria presented in Bonn for which ECE has not received any feedback from the rest of the group: ( Role of UN-Water, what activities?, what time frame? , who is the paper intended for? , who is involved?) The representative of the International Association of Hydrogeology indicated the importance to include aspects of transboundary aquifers in the paper. In the course of the discussion it was also pointed out the need to include case studies that show the importance for beneficial cooperation. It was also mentioned that reference should be made to transboundary lakes, and twining examples should be also shown. ECE indicated the need to get all the ideas discussed as part of the feed-back material to finalize the policy brief. Ms. Bernardini, ECE, insisted that she did not want a shopping list, but rather a series of elements that help to understand the priority of this issue for inter-agency activity. Chair recalled the purpose and objectives of the policy brief papers.

Decisions

Send comments and description of activities to ECE in the next 2 to 3 weeks in order to allow sufficient time for a new draft to be ready by the beginning of October. The policy brief should be finished in the immediate future. Should include a mapping of activities of different agencies. Should also indications on how policy makers can make use of this paper. Policy briefs should be posted in the website as important elements of the plan of work. The 6th meeting in January must look at the plan of work.

Fifth Meeting of UN-Water

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Future World Water Days.

The meeting discussed several proposals for themes for the future World Water Days, recalling the principles of the resolution of the GA, namely to help and support local action, and to be celebrated at the country level. The meeting discussed several options among the thematic priorities already established, as well as modalities for carrying the work needed for a successful World Water Day campaign. The meeting agreed to the following list of themes for the coming World Water Days: 2007: Coping with Scarcity, lead by FAO. Several members offered support material like the WHO Advocacy Guidelines as well as possible linkages to the Intenational Year of Desertification. 2008: Sanitation, further discussions will be held in Geneva as part of the work of the Sanitation sub-group (26 – 27 September 2006), key agencies for this theme would be WHO, UNICEF, UN-HABITAT, UNEP and WSSCC. 2009: Transboundary water resources, (tentative); GWP suggested having a theme that links well with the theme for the 5th World Water Forum. The proper denomination should be still discussed and better defined. 2010: Pollution (tentative) to be lead by UNEP and ESCWA 2011: Financing (suggested, to be defined at a later stage)

FAO to work on the preparations for the 2007 World Water Day and inform at the next meeting of UN-Water of the progress made. UN-Water members that have offered to contribute material for WWD 2007 should coordinate this with FAO. The Sanitation group, during its meeting in Geneva, should start brainstorming on the elements for WWD 2008 and the possible declaration of 2008 as International Year of Sanitation, as proposed by the SG’s Advisory Board.

1. Overall framework for support to UN-Water

Status of progress of different initiatives to support UN-Water was discussed.

Review of progress on DFID proposal. Decisions


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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP The Chair informed that good progress had been made in this regard. DFID has responded in a very positive manner to the objectives of the proposal and requested more detailed information in order to make the final decision. The order of magnitude of this contribution to the work of UN-Water is 2 million pounds for a period of 3 years. These resources would be used to support the functions of the Chair and the secretariat plus activities related to maintaining the website, carrying out the “mapping exercise” and other support consultancies. The resources allow for hiring 2 professionals: one technical adviser at the p4/p5 level to work with the Chair plus a p4/p3 assistant to the secretary. Chair. A trust fund will be established to this effect, DESA is a potential host for the trust fund because of its role in terms of inter-agency activities. Chair is carrying out consultations in this regard. Concerns were expressed regarding the flexibility of the trust fund arrangement and level of oversight. The terms of reference for recruitment.

Chair to finalize the process with DFID and continue exploring best location for the Trust Fund.

Review of progress on WWAP/WWDR process. After a brief retrospective analysis of the successful development of the World Water Assessment Programme, UNESCO informed the meeting on the status of the recruitment process for the Coordinator of the World Water Assessment Programme and on progress of the negotiations for the installation of the WWAP office in Perugia. The Italian contribution for this purpose is of the order of $3,000,000 per year for a period of 3 years. The WWAP office will be installed in an ancient villa in the city of Perugia, close to the University and will consist of 12 to 14 staff plus the Coordinator. At this moment the final elements of the host country agreement are being finalized. It is expected that the offices will be ready to start functioning in October 2006. In July 2007 Perugia eill host a meeting of the International Union of Geophysical Sciences (IUGG), this can be a good occasion to inaugurate the office.

UNESCO to continue work on establishing the office in Perugia and Recruitment of WWAP Coordinator.


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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP Regarding the recruitment process, the meeting was informed that there were 298 applications, among which there were excellent candidates. After the initial screening by UNESCO a short list will be analyzed and select the candidates to be interviewed. The selection group is formed by WHO, UNU, ESCWA and UNESCO. It is expected that by end of November the process will be completed.

1. Review of progress on Zaragoza. DESA informed that there was good but slow progress in the negotiations for establishment of the trust fund and the expectations were to have it signed at the end of the summer. The progress on the Host Country Agreement was occurring at a slower pace since this is the first time a UN office is established in Spain, it is expected that before the end of the year the two agreements will be finalized.

DESA to continue working with the Spanish authorities and the Legal Office of the UN to finalize the process as soon as possible.

Review of progress on Bonn. The meeting welcomed Mr Manfred Konukiewitz from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany. Mr. Konukiewitz informed the meeting on behalf of the German Government that they were ready to provide a positive response to the proposal presented by the UNU. In this initiative, two other Federal Ministries are involved, the Ministry for Research and Education and the Ministry of Environment. He indicated that the German Government fully agrees with the terms of reference for the office and that they are sure this is a good addition to the UN entities already resident in Bonn. Mr. Konukiewitz informed that the commitment is for the whole duration of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life” 2005 – 2015. The initial allocation, shared among the three Ministries, will cover a period of 3 years at the rate of 1 million euros per year. The Chair thanked Mr Konukiewitz and through him the German Government for the support to the work of

UNU to continue working with the German government to finalize process as soon as possible.


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DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP UN-Water. The discussion following the presentation centered on the synergies to be developed among the three centers and the excellent potential that they provide for enhancing the role and delivery capacity of the UN System. Election of Chair Pasquale Steduto (FAO) was proposed as candidate for Chair of UN-Water. He was elected by acclamation. The new Chair will initiate his mandate in early 2007 at the end of the meeting in Addis.

It was also agreed that Max Donkor will continue as Vice-Chair for one year.

Other Matters UNEP presented a proposal for closer collaboration between UN-Water and UN-Oceans, oriented mostly to issues related to GPA. The Chair indicated that this needed to be put in the form of a “thematic initiative” including a policy brief paper, as it has been done for similar exercises. The Vice-Chair of UN-Oceans, Anne Rogers (DESA) will be attending the GPA review meeting in China and could work on this with UNEP.

DESA to brief A. Rogers, Vice Chair of UN-Oceans, on this matter for the GPA meeting in Beijing. UNEP to prepare draft for discussion along the lines of the discussion.

Next Meeting It was agreed that there would be two face to face meetings in 2007. The first one will take place at ECA Hqs the week of 15 January, as agreed at the Fourth Meeting. The second will take place in Stockholm in August during the World Water Week. In adjourning the meeting the Chair expressed the satisfaction with the results of the meeting and thanked SIWI and SIDA for the support and facilities provided to host this 5th Meeting of UN-Water in the margins of the World Water Week.

Chair and secretary to work with SIWI for the preparations and necessary logistical arrangements for the 2007 meeting. The rational for the two yearly meetings was established as follows: - The annual UN-Water meeting covers the whole breath of issues UN-Water is dealing with - The Stockholm meeting, in connection with the World Water Week discusses specific substantive issues

21 August (Afternoon) Special Session on Monitoring and Reporting.

The task force on IWRM (UNDP. UNEP,


6

DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP (Consistency – relevance – measurability) This thematic session is a result of the decisions made during the Fourth Meeting in Bonn, when it was agreed that the meetings in Stockholm would be used for discussion of specific priority issues. The session was opened by Pasquale Steduto who defined the objective and scope of the discussion. The following intervention was by Mr. Walter Radermacher, Vice-President of the Federal Statistics Office of Germany and Chair of the UN Committee of Experts on Environmental and Economic Accounting participated in this session as special guest, who made a detailed presentation on the work of the Committee. Roberto Lenton made a presentation of the meeting on water accounting held in Voorberg, and introducing this methodology as an important support element to the implementation of IWRM. The meeting welcomed the work of the above mentioned committee and Jean-Marc Faures, coordinator of the group on monitoring made a presentation based on a document prepared by FAO for this session to orient the discussion. The discussion covered a wide spectrum of issues, among them: capacities to monitor, monitoring implementation capacity, regional views, ownership, data quality, how to integrate and take advantage of the work of the UN Statistics Division, as well as the preparations for CSD-16. Strategic approaches were discussed in order to be able to meet the short term reporting requirements like those for CSD-16 and also the longer term aspects of improving the different monitoring processes. The establishment of a task force for monitoring IWRM was proposed to work on development of indicators was proposed. To this effect the paper presented by FAO should be used as discussion platform. The meeting concluded that:

UNSD, DESA, GWP, UNESCO, WHO) and coordinated by J. Harlin (UNDP) must prepare a proposal to be discussed at the next meeting that includes short term elements to meet the needs for CSD-16 and the longer term issues in the manner of a plan of work to be endorsed by UN-Water. Among the issues tobe tackled are the development of indicators for target 9 and JPOI decision on IWRM. also The Statistics Division of the UN to develop a framework for data quality and elements to harmonize different data bases worldwide. The proposal of an approach working under the principle of “federation” must be further developed.


7

DISCUSSION AND AGREEMENT ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP The work on water accounting by the UN Committee of Experts on Environmental and Economic Accounting was an important contribution and very welcomed step in the efforts for monitoring IWRM. It was indicated that there was a great need to harmonize the statistical data and that there is an urgent need to have a data quality framework, as was indicated by the UNSD. To this effect the Division of Statistics should continue to actively participate in the work of UN-Water on monitoring. The report presented by FAO is a good paper and should be used as discussion platform. It is needed to develop indicators for IWRM, in particular for implementation of target 9 of the MDGs and the JPOI decision on IWRM. Important to link MDG Goal 1 on Poverty reduction to the water and sanitation indicators. There is consensus on improving country level monitoring. The work on monitoring must include particular emphasis on ways to strengthening national capacities. The coordinator of the Gender and Water Task Force submitted its report to UN-Water. The chair expressed on behalf of UN-Water his appreciation for the work of the coordinator of Gender and Water Task Force, Marcia Brewster, who will be retiring.

UN-Water Sixth Meeting Report Page 1 of 19

UN-Water Sixth Meeting Report

17 – 19 January 2007 at UNU/EHS Headquarters in Bonn

DISCUSSION ACTION Mr. James Bartram, Chair of UN-Water opened the meeting at 10:30 and in his opening remarks thanked ECA for their efforts in the plans for organization of the meeting in Addis and for giving notice of the problems encountered just on time to change the venue. Thanks and congratulations to UNU for its quick reaction in providing an alternative venue and for securing a conference room and hotel accommodation for all participants.

Adoption of Agenda The agenda was adopted with some minor changes, as reflected in Annex II of this report.

Minutes of previous sessions Before proceeding to the discussion of the minutes of previous meetings, the Chair asked the Secretary to ensure the minutes of this meeting and meetings thereafter are circulated in a timely manner. The meeting discussed the manner in which adopted minutes of UN-Water meetings are to be handled as a tool or instrument of transparency of procedures. Among the options discussed were: Edited minutes to be posted on the website in a more user- friendly format and layout. Need to make reference to meeting background documents when putting minutes in public domain, so that there is a better understanding of the discussion. Relation to objectives set for UN transparency should be reflected in the process. IWA, SIWI, GWP and several of the participants commented on these issues at the end of the discussion, it was concluded that a short summary report on the main results coming out of the meetings is all what is needed. A substantive and synthetic summary, retaining the spirit of the discussions and including the main outcomes and list of participating agencies and their representatives at each meeting. The meeting also reviewed the issue of the master mailing list. In this regard it was recalled that the mailing list consists of one main contact per UN-Water member plus a secondary contact. In some cases agencies have more than one secondary contact. The following conclusions were agreed:

• To edit the minutes of all previous sessions in the form of a summary for public domain keeping agreement and actions, with the minimum introductory wording for each item. Include list of agencies present including individuals present.

• To keep full minutes for internal work. • For future meetings include as first item list of

agencies/partners present. Annex I list of participants. • Development of an internal website, intranet or equivalent for

Secretariat to circulate lists of members and secondary contacts for updating.

UN-Water Sixth Meeting Report Page 2 of 19 DISCUSSION ACTION

the communication and exchange of views of the members is urgent.

• To circulate list of members for update. World Water Week 2007 Preparations The SIWI representative indicated that the participation of UN-Water in the Stockholm World Water Week (SWWW) started in 2005 with one event, then with more effort in 2006, the result was very positively received by participants. For the 2006 UN-Water seminar the room assigned was small and could not host all participants. This year a larger room will be provided. The results of the SWWW evaluation in general were very good and those related to the UN-Water seminar in particular were extremely good. For the 2008 Stockholm World Water Week the theme is “Progress and Prospects”. The Progress concept is linked to the preparations for CSD-16. The idea is that these discussions will contribute to the preparations for the CSD-16. The meeting was informed that there have been important changes in preparation of the SWWW, new people have been recruited, among them A. Hall and J. Moss. The SIWI representative informed that the Swedish Government offers UN-Water space to organize its meetings there and a small budget to bring contributors to the UN-Water seminar. The idea is that the public understands what UN-Water is doing, what UN-Water is planning, etc. SIWI is very interested in having UN-Water as co-convener of a workshop on international targets and national implementation The meeting was informed that the Executive Director of UN Habitat will be a keynote speaker of the SWWW and that former UN S-G K. Annan has also been invited. The Chair indicated that the UN-Water meeting in August should discuss substantive matters in depth and that at least 2 days would be needed. The items to be discussed will include: work on sanitation and presentations of the plans of work by the 3 Directors of Perugia, Bonn and Zaragoza. In the course of the discussion the issue of using the SWWW UN-Water seminar to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Mar del Plata Conference, was brought about. In order to avoid an overloaded agenda during SWWW and in order to not interfere with other activities that UN-Water members have during the week, it was suggested to have the UN-Water closed meeting either before SWWW or immediately after it ends. The meeting agreed:

• To have the closed UN-Water meeting on the Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th August 2007, prior to the start of the SWWW. The issues for discussion would be four: Sanitation, POW director of Bonn, POW director of Zaragoza

Secretary to follow-up with SIWI in order to obtain block booking in the hotel adjacent to the conference center in Stockholm. Secretary to ensure texts referring to UN-Water for the second announcement of SWWW are submitted by mid February.


and POW director of Perugia. • There would be 2 seminars on monitoring, one on drinking

water and sanitation lead by WHO and UNICEF and another one on IWRM, organized by the Task Force on IWRM and the monitoring group.

• One half day session on UN-Water activities, organized by the Chair and Secretary. This session will include a paper and a presentation looking at Mar del Plata and its impact, among other papers and presentations.

• UN-Water will co-convene with SIWI and others a workshop on International Targets and National Implementation.

UN-Water/Africa, progress report ECA on behalf of UN-Water/Africa emphasized the need to develop joint inter-agency programmes for the four thematic priorities areas identified: a) transboundary water resources; b) water for food and eco-systems; c) water scarcity; and d) water supply and sanitation. Key activities were defined within each area, among them:

• In the area of transboundary water resources, the Congo River Basin was given as an example for multiple agency contributions particularly for the mapping out of prospective activities (i.e. ECA, UNESCO, FAO, WMO, UNDP and UNEP).

• In January 2007 a meeting with stakeholders and partners will be held: preparation of a comprehensive assessment and capacity building assistance to basin countries.

• Inter-Basin Water Transfer: it was pointed out that in this area; there was a need for guidelines to be developed to help decision and policy makers. The ECA representative noted that a feasibility study on the Lake Chad basin transfer was also identified as a priority activity to be co-developed by relevant agencies.

• Water sharing as an instrument of regional integration: In this area, a regional framework is being developed

In the course of the discussion the role and work of Habitat together with other agencies on water supply and sanitation was recognized; WHO indicated that it is committed to increase their support to Africa on water and sanitation. UNDP mentioned the programmes and projects the World Bank and UNDP have for many river basins in Africa (linkages could be made). FAO informed about their programme on Water for Food and Ecosystems, one of its main areas of work is the establishment of a network for action on how to manage wetlands and ecosystems. This programme started 3 years ago, but resources are dwindling a new approach/strategy with donors is under consideration. ECA pointed out that there is a need to mainstream activities in Africa as part of the UN agencies regular programme budget, in order to reduce the dependence on extra-budgetary resources is reduced. ECA asked, in this regard, internal support from UN-Water members


when the budgets for their respective agencies are being prepared. UN-Water/Africa requested through ECA that UN-Water, within its general efforts to mobilize resources, could also include components for regional activities. UNDP stressed the importance of GEF resources as sources of funding for water activities; not only those for international waters, but also the ones in the areas of land degradation and climate change (adaptation fund + Least Developed Countries fund). THEMATIC INITIATIVES: Scarcity Water scarcity was the theme of the SIWI/UN Water seminar at the Stockholm World Water Week in August 2006. A plan of action on water scarcity has been prepared and scarcity is now the confirmed theme for WWD 2007. The policy brief document presented in Stockholm is currently being reviewed. The document addresses the need for improvement of knowledge and understanding of water scarcity and identifies areas of action at all levels (international, national, sub-national and local). Within the UN System effort in streamlining initiatives is needed for major water scarcity programmes among UN water partners. The document includes a matrix showing areas of action and intervening agencies. The discussion was divided into two elements, the contents of the scarcity paper and the scope of areas for coordinated action. On the water scarcity policy brief, IFAD indicated that the issue of financing should be added to the policy brief as well as the need for making clear linkages with other UN-Water policy briefs like those on gender and water related disasters. The meeting discussed issues related to target audience and the need for indicating priorities of actions, where the regional level should also be included. It was found important to indicate clusters of agencies working in the different areas. UNU signaled the need to include trends in water scarcity within the context of increasing population and changing climate conditions. GWP suggested that the issue of water use efficiency plans as indicated in JPOI should be added. UNEP added that the issue of scarcity should be linked with other sub-sectors indicating that agencies have different focus on same issues. It should include strategic directions to address the problem. Need to integrate water management aspects and also include how to deal with different types of cross-cutting issues (i.e. water scarcity and IWRM). On the matter of scoping areas for coordinated action, the external message that the matrix as presented sends is that the UN should address the issue of rationalization. GWP remarked that the way the matrix is built is misleading, since under a single topic there is a factor of multi dimensionality: agencies do different things, not necessary duplicate what others are doing. The meeting felt that UN-Water needs to respond to the issue of rationalization of action in a credible manner. In this regard, UNDP remarked that the issue was

FAO to review the policy brief on scarcity taking into account the inputs from the 6th Meeting. Incoming Chair to circulate an outline with the main elements for the document on rationalization as per the discussions in Bonn.


not only at the thematic level but rather more important at the operational one. FAO, as incoming Chair noted that rationalization is and important part of his work plan as new Chair of UN-Water and that it was important to produce a short document on who does what (publication+ analysis). Habitat suggested that the document should look at the aspects of “unity and diversity”. Meeting agreed to:

• Perform a mapping and analysis exercise • Prepare and publish the results on a “selling document” that

shows that the strength of UN-Water is given by its unity of purpose and its diversity of approaches.

• Revise the Scarcity Brief on the basis of the inputs provided during the discussion.

Water Related Disasters ISDR made a presentation of general aspects related to the Hyogo Framework but did not refer to the work plan that ISDR was requested to prepare at the last meeting. Chair reminded the meeting that one of the objectives of the policy papers was to use them in the follow-up of the implementation of the different thematic initiatives. The meeting concluded that ISDR should distribute the draft work plan among the UN-Water membership, since many agencies are interested in collaborating on this thematic initiative.

ISDR to provide a clarification on the status of development of the policy brief and the programme of work for the thematic initiative on water related disasters.

Gender, Task force on Gender and Water The new Task Manager of the Gender and Water Task-Force, Ms. Kenza Robinson from DESA, made a short presentation noting that there is a need to re-orient the work of the task force to make it more effective, and in this regard she requested UN-Water for ideas. She stressed the need for collaboration and serious commitment from agencies for the task force to produce a meaningful outcome. The meeting noted that UN Water recognizes the importance of the Task Force but has not been successful in dealing with the issue. It is necessary to go beyond the policy brief and see the way in which the TF could contribute to the thematic initiatives. There was a consensus that the TF needed to identify outputs, come up with proposals and call on UN Water agencies for collaboration including at the region level. Regarding the regional level action ECA suggested that the Task Force could be involved in the follow up of the Pretoria gender and water plan for African region action plan. The meeting concluded that:

• All, as institutions, are dealing with it, but not successfully enough. It has been difficult to identify added value issues.

Task force to report to UN-Water on progress made including an outline of programme of work with tangible objectives of value adding actions.


• The Task-Force needs a concrete task. • The Task-Force should prepare a programme of tangible

outputs and present it to UN-Water. • The Task-Force should be practical and prepare a mapping

exercise indicating who is doing what. • The programme of work needs to concentrate on upstream

policy issues. Capacity building strategy This agenda item was integrated with the discussion about the Review of Progress and Planning of Next Steps on Bonn.

Human Development Report In presenting an overview of the 2006 HDR on Water, the representative of UNDP noted that the Human Development Report Office is a quasi independent ‘think tank’ within UNDP. Some members of UN-Water were part of the preparation of the report. The objective of the presentation was to find ways in which to take advantage of the momentum generated by the HDR in 3 broad areas:

1. Contributions/additionally of HDR-Water to existing assessments and reports.

2. Impact of HDR-Water on UN-Water work plan/activities. 3. Agency response and follow-up at global, regional and

national levels. The HDR refers, among other issues, to the sanitation deficit as a stigma and poverty barrier. It claims that global water insecurity is being transformed by climate change and thus the need for adaptation strategies. It calls for stop treating WS&S deficit as a ‘problem’ but rather as a ‘crisis’ and also for Governments to legislate to make water a human right legislatively. Among the ideas for solutions presented in the report are that countries should allocate at least 1% of GDP to water supply and sanitation and a plan of action for additional USD 3 to 4 billion per year (doubling of ODA). Other points that the HDR discusses are aspects of trans-boundary water resources and it links them to interdependence, water governance, conflict avoidance, benefit sharing and scope for wider cooperation. Also the HDR raises equity concerns, it points out that the poor will lose out on all fronts as competition for water increases (urban, industry, agriculture) unless governments deliberately incorporate equity considerations in allocation and management decisions. IFAD expressed the opinion that the HDR does not get a right balance but that its added value is the widespread dissemination. The important point is to determine how to take advantage of the interest developed by this report. The HDR is short on IWRM; in operational terms all emphasis was on drinking water supply and sanitation. The most important fact is that the report put water in the minds of many people who are not the usual water crowd. The report points the


finger towards the need to really improve in sanitation, in particular it requests for development plans for sanitation. The meeting agreed to the following actions:

• Officially welcome it, link to what we are doing and build upon it.

• There are important lessons to be learned from the observations and recommendations of HDR that can help improve the WWDR. WWDR can help to bring back the balance and establish links with climate change. Several advocacy lessons from HDR can be useful for WWDR3

• All aspects related to implementation should be part of the work and standing discussions of UN-Water on actions at country level.

• Very important to take advantage of the HDR statements on sanitation to promote scale-up in implementation and to be used for WWD-2008 and the International Year of Sanitation. HDR provides the opportunity to drive the political will.

• Identify a few areas of the UN-Water programme of work and put them in the context of the HDR recommendations. Consider the possibility of having a communications note that reaches all those that were reached by the HDR.

• Use the HDR information and conclusions for capacity development exercises.

World Water Day 2007 Preparations FAO presented the key elements of the public awareness campaign for WWD 2007. These include posters and banners to be placed at prominent public places such as in buses and metros, messages to be published in newspapers and magazines, video clips to be broadcasted by major television networks, and using sports personalities to deliver key messages etc. The main theme, as agreed in Stockholm is “water scarcity”, and the slogan “every drop counts”, the general message is “saving of water”. In addition to preparing a brochure providing baseline information and statistics about different dimensions of water scarcity, a webpage is being set-up to provide details about the activities and calendar of events planned for the WWD. Globally, the campaign will be launched using 132 contact points provided by UNESCO, 87 FAO Country Representatives, 80 NGOs and 200 Government organizations. A mockup of the brochure was presented. FAO informed that technical documents are being finalized and can be used for local events. Posters are also ready to be distributed. The meeting was informed that on 22 March FAO will host at its headquarters a special event with the participation of the Director General, important personalities of Italian and international origin, artists, Nobel Prize laureates, to commemorate the WWD 2007. The web page address is www.worldwaterday07.org or contact [email protected] The discussion focused on the need to link this global initiative to national level awareness efforts, clarifying different dimensions of

UN-Water members to confirm with corresponding webmasters that all websites have links to the UN-Water website and vice-versa. The contact point for UN-Water and World Water Day websites is [email protected] Secretariat to circulate FAO’s presentation on WWD. WHO, UNICEF and WSSCC as the lead agencies for organizing the WWD 2008, should prepare their plans to be presented at the UN-Water meeting in Stockholm in August 2007.




water scarcity, making use of other global level networks to enhance the impact of this campaign, and linking the WWD website to those of other UN agencies. In case of several requests from national level entities, FAO could consider providing awareness material depending upon the merit of each request. The SIWI representative informed the meeting that SIWI would be launching a policy brief on the WWD. Linking scarcity to water governance was stated to be the new idea behind this brief. Aquafed offered to distribute the awareness material through its network of water operators. The discussion led to the following decisions:

• FAO should reach out to all networks and institutions, including the IRDC, in launching of the WWD.

• At the country level, the FAO Representatives should involve relevant agencies, as well as government and non-government partners in launching the WWD.

• The group of communication officers of the different UN Agencies, that meets on a regular basis, should be used for enhancing the campaign’s impact.

• Continuity and connectivity among the WWDs in future should be maintained since substantial investments have already been made in developing the website.

• Preparatory work for WWD 2008 should be organized during the Stockholm meeting in August. WHO, UNICEF and WSSCC will be the lead agencies for organizing the WWD 2008.

• The UN-Water website presently provides links to the websites of various member agencies, but steps should be taken by the agencies as well to link their websites to the UN-Water website.

• The meeting congratulated FAO for the excellent work in the preparations for WWD 2007.

Review of progress and planning of next steps on DFID proposal. The Chair briefed the meeting on the current status of the DFID proposal for supporting UN-Water. More recently and in light of the DFID Call for Action on Water and Sanitation, the discussion had been about the nature and scope of reports required to be submitted by UN-Water. In this regard, WHO offered to prepare an annual report with information on progress in providing access to water and sanitation. Requirements for other reports are not very clear and clarification is needed from the donor on this matter. DIFD agreed to provide resources in the amount of 2 million pound for a three-year project. This support, inter-alia, will cover two professionals (L-5 to support the Chair) and L-4 or 3 to support the Secretary. The proposal needs to be resubmitted to DFID together with the TOR for these posts. The meeting was informed that the trust fund will be administered by FAO. An inter-agency agreement between FAO and DESA will allow hiring of the staff to be deployed in DESA to support the work of UN-Water’s secretary. The discussion led to the following decisions.

Proposal to DFID, as agreed in Stockholm, will be re-circulated. Chair to send revised proposal with TOR for both positions. WHO to prepare concept note on the proposed publication.


• Clarifications should be sought from DFID about the nature and scope of reports to be submitted as part of the trust fund agreement. WHO agreed to lead and coordinate an annual report on progress of implementation.

• Revised proposal covering TOR for both positions should be prepared and submitted to the donor.

Review of progress and planning of next steps on WWAP/WWDR process, UNESCO UNESCO briefed the meeting telephonically about the status of transferring the offices of WWAP Paris to Perugia. Two years ago Italians approached UNESCO to offer to support with 3 million USD and the premises in Perugia. Also negotiations with the city of Perugia and the government of Umbria were held. The villa includes 30 offices plus 2 conference rooms plus rooms for guests. The meeting was informed that the Italian Government has agreed to provide $3 million per year for this programme. Three inter-connected agreements in the process of signing include: the trust fund agreement, the host country agreement and the premises/facilities agreement. UNESCO also informed that the search for the new Programme Coordinator was launched sometimes ago, and that the selected candidate is expected to be on board by mid-April 2007. The meeting was informed that the opening ceremony of the office by the Italian Prime Minister and the Director General of UNESCO is scheduled for 8 May 2007. The XXIV General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics that will take place in Perugia in July 2007 is a good opportunity for the inauguration of the new premises. Recognizing the importance of the Mar del Plata conference on the evolution and shaping of present day water and sanitation agenda, the meeting considered it to be a good idea to hold a special session to commemorate the way forward shown by the Mar del Plata conference. This will be done as part of the UN-Water Seminar to be organized during SWW in August 2007. Such a session, however, as cautioned by some participants, need to be forward-looking drawing upon the lessons-learned so far. The issue of format of WWDR-III also came under discussion, and participants highlighted the need for a brief annual report as well, while indicating the need for shortening the standard WWDR report. The meeting also discussed the frequency of publication and questions were raised as to the advantage of launching it at the World Water Forum. No formal evaluation has been carried out to determine as how the report was received, but many believe that it serves as a valuable reference document. At this stage, the meeting agreed on the need to flag only important issues (such as format and frequency of the report, process of its evaluation etc.) so that the in-coming head of the WWAP office in Perugia could examine these and report back.

UNESCO to keep UN-Water informed of the progress of the establishment of the office in Perugia and of the plans for its formal inauguration. UNESCO to inform UN-Water of the person selected as Coordinator of WWAP and of the date of entry on duty.


The meeting suggested the need to adapt a common framework for labeling the ownership of three offices and their products/reports.

• The meeting agreed to record UN-Water’s appreciation to Italy for their important contribution.

Review of Progress and Planning of Next Steps on Bonn UNU presented a proposal for the establishment of the UN-Water Decade Office on Capacity Development (UN-WADOC) in Bonn. Funding for this project is provided by the German Government. The proposal outlines the UN-Water strategy for capacity development, the various capacity building challenges in the water and sanitation sector that would be addressed by this office in Bonn. These challenges and corresponding activities were finalized in a scoping workshop that took place in Bonn on 13-14 December 2006 with participation of several members of UN-Water and other important actors in the area of capacity development. The meeting was also briefed on the status of the recruitment process of the Director of the Bonn office. The discussion touched upon many issues such as establishing proper working linkages among the Bonn, Perugia and Zaragoza offices; identifying and involving other UN and non-UN partners who are already engaged in capacity development efforts; and using this office for scaling up of capacity building efforts. The meeting was of the opinion that this office/initiative serves as a mechanism to clarify and deliver a UN-Water thematic initiative on Capacity Development through appropriate mapping of efforts being undertaken by various agencies. In terms of its added value, the meeting was of the opinion that this initiative would not only help in filling the gaps and scaling up of efforts being undertaken by individual agencies, but would provide a more coherent voice to UN-Water’s thematic initiatives. It should serve as a single entry point for capacity development. GWP suggested that this initiative should also include the activities UN-Water partner organizations. The main concept behind the Capacity Development initiative is not to overlap but to add value, to address gaps and to monitor the impact of capacity development and thus to take capacity building to a higher level. Logo should be that of UN-Water. Aquafed noted that a link should be established with the Water Operators Partnerships. Resources available under the project, after meeting the staff costs, will be directed to implement and coordinate activities related to capacity development. The meeting considered the merit of having a smaller scientific or advisory committee for advising and over-seeing the development and implementation of the plan of work. It was considered useful not to add formal administrative layers in the institutional structure. The Chair reminded the meeting of the agreed principles for UN-Water intervention in the broad management of these centers

UNU to send the revised submission of the final project proposal to the donor Ministries including the comments made during this session. UNU to keep UN-Water informed of the progress of the establishment of the office in Bonn and of the plans for its entering in full operation. UNU to inform UN-Water of the person selected as Coordinator and of the date of entry on duty.


developed on the basis of the experience with WWAP/WWDR, and for the sake of consistency the following principles should apply to all centers:

• Director of the center to participate in UN-Water meetings. • Present plan of work to the meeting for discussion and if

necessary, amend it accordingly. • Execute plan.

The discussion led to the following decisions.

• For consistency purposes the office name should include the word “Programme” and the logo used should be that of UN-Water.

• Project proposal should be revised in the light of comments made to the document prepared during the December workshop, prior to its submission to donor.

• If any advisory or scientific committee is set up for advising the Director, the Chair of UN-Water or its representative should be included in it for securing interface with the rest of the UN-Water members. It is understood that it is not a management group.

• The Director, once in place, should present its work plan and implementation strategy in the next UN-Water meeting in Stockholm.

• The meeting agreed to express its sincere thanks to the German Authorities for their support.

• The meeting agreed that this was a major achievement and to express its sincere thanks to UNU and all the persons involved in bringing this project to fruition.

In closing the session the UNU representative thanked UN-Water members for their support and suggested that the official name for the Bonn office could be: UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC). Review of progress and planning of next steps on Zaragoza UN DESA briefed the meeting on developments concerning the Zaragoza Office. The trust fund and host country agreements to establish in Zaragoza the United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action: “Water for Life”, 2005 -2015 were signed between DESA and the Government of Spain in September and December 2006, respectively. This was followed by the preparation of a vacancy announcement for the post of the head of the Office which was circulated through the UN galaxy system with a deadline for application set for the end of December 2006. The Chair had in December brought to the attention of DESA that the announcement had not been reviewed by UN-Water nor brought to the attention of UN-Water Members nor partners. In response DESA had then added to it a summary highlighting the role of UN-Water vis-à-vis the project, and re-advertised it with a new deadline for

UN DESA to provide written response to the Chair on the requests made by UN-Water at this meeting.


submission of applications set for 11 February 2007. A message to the Chair from an Assistant Secretary-General in UNDESA had asked that the revised vacancy be widely circulated through the UN-Water network and had conveyed the Department’s assurances that DESA’s collaboration with UN-Water will be absolutely essential to the success of the project and the implementation of the programme for the Decade. The communication also indicated the Department’s intention to seek the participation of the Chair or his designated representative in screening applications for the post. There was extensive discussion on the process that had been followed and the adequacy of measures undertaken to reflect the relationship of the office to UN-WATER. In discussion it was recalled that for both the Bonn and Perugia Offices, a group from within UN-Water had prepared the ToRs for the post of Coordinator. These were then translated in vacancy announcements that were sent to the respective agencies for circulation. The selection processes for both Offices were currently being finalized, with the full participation of UN-Water members. Participants questioned why the process for the recruitment process followed by DESA for Zaragoza had departed from the model followed by UNESCO and UNU for the Bonn and Perugia Centers, and noted that this was contrary to the understandings reached on the subject at earlier UN-Water meetings. DESA explained the difference in procedure by pointing to the very strict rules that govern, within the UN Secretariat, the recruitment of senior project personnel and the purpose, use and management of trust funds—all of which call for clear identification of ultimate responsibility and accountability within the Secretariat itself. DESA also referred to the host country’s concern to conclude as rapidly as possible the recruitment process. While UN rules may perhaps be not as flexible as those of UNESCO and UNU, the subsequent revision and recirculation of the vacancy was intended to dispel any misperception that DESA intended to purposefully exclude UN-Water from the process.

The meeting noted that UN-Water’s work has been getting very positive support and that it was an integral part of its responsibilities to ensure coordination, coherence and transparency also in its internal processes. Several agencies reiterated their understanding that the Zaragoza Centre was entrusted to UNDESA to manage as a UN-Water programme, and that this clearly implied the engagement of UN-Water in the elaboration of the terms of reference for the Office and the recruitment of the Coordinator. The Chair suggested that three basic principles should apply to all Centers. They require:

1) UN-Water’s full involvement in recruitment of the Director/Coordinator

2) UN-Water’s involvement in the definition of the programme


of work - using the approach of full technical oversight without micromanagement.

3) The projection of the office as a UN-Water initiative/activity (i.e. as opposed to an activity/initiative of the host institution).

The Chair added that the negotiations between DESA and the host country on the legal instruments governing the establishment of the Office in Zaragoza had been completed and were irreversible. He urged, therefore, that, in order to be productive, the discussions should focus on achieving reconciliation based on these three principles. DESA reiterated its intention to seek the participation of UN-Water’s through its Chair in the recruitment process. It further indicated that, once the Coordinator is in place, a “scoping meeting” to define the programme of work of the Office will be organized with the participation of all interested agencies, as had been done for the Office in Bonn. The meeting agreed with the arrangement proposed by the Chair and urged a formal communication from DESA confirming acceptance of the above principles and of the identity of the Office projecting the concept of “UN-Water Communication Programme for the Decade”. In agreeing with this approach participants reiterated that the Zaragoza Office should not be oriented to serve only UNDESA’s purposes, but should be recognized as a UN-Water office. Whilst some would have preferred the vacancy announcement to be withdrawn, re-drafted and re-published there was recognition that this would introduce further delay and would provide limited further benefit were the above principles accepted. The Chair urged UNDESA to provide a written response to the above way forward in order that UN-WATER could continue to move ahead effectively. UNU, FAO, UNEP, UNDP, WHO, ECA and the Chair were selected to form a task group to follow up on the elaboration of the terms of reference for the Office. Outgoing Chair final remarks Because of the imminent arrival of a wind storm, it was agreed that the outgoing Chair, Mr. James Bartram from WHO, made his final remarks before the evacuation of the meeting room in case the meeting could not re-convene. Mr. J. Bartram addressed the meeting and made a retrospective analysis of his three years of tenure as UN-Water’s Chair. UN-Water unanimously thanked Mr. Bartram for the excellent manner he had discharged his functions as Chair and provided him with a sincere and warm round of applause.


Incoming Chair initial remarks For the same reasons indicated above, the Chair-elect, Mr. Pasquale Steduto from FAO, addressed UN-Water and indicated his gratitude to the outgoing chair. He stated that he was aware of the implications of his new responsibilities and for that purpose he prepared a plan of action for the period of his tenure as Chair. He stressed that he wanted to be very operative on implementing the activities in the plan of work.

Emergency evacuation of UN premises The Meeting was suspended because of storm alert. Following instructions of UN Security, the UN campus offices were evacuated because of an incoming wind storm.

The meeting reconvened at the Hotel. This emergency situation forced changes in the agenda of the meeting.

DFID “ Call for Action” and relevance to UN-Water This agenda item was canceled because the DFID representative was not able to come to Bonn because of the wind storm alarm

UN at EXPO 2008: the UN Pavilion The meeting was informed that “Water for Sustainable Development” is the main theme of the Expo. The organizers of Expo Zaragoza 2008 have offered the UN to cover all costs related to setting up the pavilion assigned to UN. The organizers requested UN-Water to select a theme from among a long list of alternatives. The meeting analyzed all options and felt that each of the sub-themes could be looked at from different perspectives, such as global, regional and national. The organizers have suggested that the UN pavilion/stand should project something interesting rather different to displaying posters and publications. This was brought forward because of the type of audience of the Expo not foreseen to be the technical or scientific community. During the course of the Expo, there will also be some lecture series. Among the ideas discussed for the Expo, organizing a “slum” or “agricultural farm” received greater attention and interest. The meeting decided that the head of the Zaragoza office, once on board, should put together a plan in consultations with the local authorities and submit it for discussion in the next UN-Water meeting. The meeting accepted the proposal by ECA that the theme for the UN Pavilion should be “Water for Life”. It was recognized that while it is not a scientific exercise, very good science and technological aspects could be projected. Poverty and gender angles should also be brought up. The UN pavilion should be fun and very interactive

Secretary to contact Expo Zaragoza and communicate decision on UN-Water on theme: “Water for Life”. Also request them an indication of the area/space allotted to the UN Pavilion.

Country level coherence and coordination (UNDP) The meeting agreed with UNDP’s proposal to address this issue by forming a task force to look at country level coherence and

UNDP to provide the list of “Pilot countries for One UN”.


coordination on water resources management, water supply and sanitation (all UN Water activities). In the course of the discussion it was suggested that this should be considered under the light of the ongoing process for UN reform and some of the concepts included in the report by the Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on System-wide Coherence, “Delivering as One” and the “One UN” Plan. It was agreed that the task-force be formed by UNDP, UNICEF, World Bank, WHO, UNHABITAT, DESA, UNEP and ECA. In the discussion the most important issues that surfaced as elements for consideration by the task force were:

• The aim is to scale up coordination where there are gaps, as is the case for water and sanitation.

• Participation of the 3 UN-Water centers once the initiative is underway is very important.

• Important to know what countries are involved in the pilot in order to take into account their priorities,

• Some countries have volunteered to be part of the exercise. • What do we want? UN-Water a pilot within a pilot? • Need to look at the donor alignment as part of the work of the

Donor Platform. • Look for partnerships. • UN-Water is not implementing, it is promoting coherence of

action at country level. • The aim is to work on a unified programme at country level. • The outcome of the task-force should be a strategy for

coordination at country level in order to scale up impact of UN System action on water and sanitation at country level.

UNDP to convene as soon as possible first meeting of the task force.

Preparations for CSD-16 The participants were informed that CSD-16 will concentrate its discussion on the following themes: agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa. The CSD-16 will review the status of implementations of the outcomes of CSD-13 on water and sanitation. The organization of work and agenda will be finalized once the new Bureau is in place. DESA will inform UN-Water once these details are known and will request UN-Water inputs for reports and participation in the session. The CSD Secretariat will be preparing a SG report on the implementation of the CSD-13 decisions for which the information and data will be sought from different sources such as: (i) national information provided by countries; (ii) latest JMP report; (iii) a survey to be carried out in several countries under one of the DSD projects; and (iv) HDR and other miscellaneous sources. The meeting noted that IWRM taskforce of UN-Water will develop a questionnaire to be sent to the countries by the Secretariat to assess the status of implementation of IWRM plans. For the country level survey to be carried out by DESA, concerning the implementation of CSD-13 decisions, participants were informed that work will involve developing survey methodology, identifying

DESA is developing a list of information inputs that will be required from the UN-Water membership for the report of the S-G on Water and Sanitation for CSD-16. DESA to finalize concept paper on survey and circulate it to interested agencies.


and developing suitable indicators to monitor decisions, and executing the actual survey. Many participants expressed interest in contributing to the discussions of methodology and survey work. DESA will invite relevant experts for discussion once a concept note is finalized. MONITORING IWRM Task Force (UNDP) The leader of the Task Force on IWRM presented the partial results of their work. As agreed in Stockholm, the two objectives of the task force were 1) provide support to the CSD secretariat by providing contributions for the CSD-16 report on water and sanitation, and 2) prepare a proposal for a formal mechanism for monitoring on the implementation of the IWRM targets. This mechanism should have connections with the WWDR. The meeting was informed that the questionnaire produced for the CSD-16 report has been field tested with good results and important feed-back. DESA will be sending out this questionnaire to all Member States for them to prepare their information inputs to CSD-16 on IWRM. The meeting noted that an important issue that needs to be solved is the funding for analysis of the country data when the questionnaire gets back. It was stressed that the analysis of the information is not an easy task and that the final details on the structure and language of the questionnaire were being finalized by the WWAP office in Paris. The request by the leader of the Task Force to raise funds for its work using the UN-Water name was approved.

Task force will inform of progress. DESA to circulate questionnaire to Member States as part of the request for National Information in preparation for CSD-16.

Conference in Copenhagen on implementing IWRM. UNEP (Denmark) presented a draft paper “Managing Water Resources Towards 2015” explaining the rationale for the Road Map for IWRM and the objectives of having the conference in Copenhagen. The meeting will have one day duration with one day pre-meeting. The meeting is financed by the Danish government and will take place at the end of March or beginning of April 2006. The discussion centered on the 4 objectives of the Conference. The UN-Water task force on IWRM supports the meeting and recommends that it should be co-convened by UN-Water. After reviewing UN-Water’s programme of work on IWRM and monitoring of IWRM targets, it was agreed that the Conference was a part of this programme element and as such it would be co-sponsored.

UN-Water members, in particular those forming the TF on IWRM, should provide comments on the ideas presented in the paper and on the road map for IWRM. UNEP (Denmark) will inform about the new dates for the Conference and distribute the updated document.

JMP (WHO/UNICEF) WHO reported on progress and indicated there is a statistical update report in the website. Work is being done on revising the role of the Advisory Committee. One of the major outputs is to provide a contribution with updated information to CSD-16.

Sanitation


The existing task force includes: UNEP, Habitat, WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, and the Collaborative Council. This group should also include DESA as focal point for the International Year of Sanitation (IYS) 2008. In the course of the discussion it was pointed out that sanitation is stagnating and that there is a need for a good communication campaign and a good report to be produced. FAO noted that a new indicator relating water use to renewable water resources was accepted by the inter-agency MDGs expert group meeting on indicators. This indicator can be used for measuring sanitation policies. DESA informed that the focal point for the International Year of Sanitation is Ms. Kenza Robinson. It was agreed that:

• UNEP, Habitat, UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, WSSCC and DESA to meet to brainstorm on the issues relating to sanitation and prepare a programme of work for the IYS and for the 2008 World Water Day. The group should meet and bring concrete elements for final discussion in Stockholm.

• Their activities should be synchronized with the UNSGAB and the work should be open to all the UN-Water partners.

DESA as focal point for IYS to convene the planning meeting.

SG’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation DESA, as provider of secretariat services to UNSGAB reported in the recent activities of this advisory body. Among the matters reported was that the new Chair of the Board is HRH Willem-Alexander the Prince of Orange. The meeting took note of the agreements of the Board with OECD and the African Development Bank. It was also informed of the launching of the Water Operators Partnerships and of the participation of DESA and Habitat in the implementation of this concept. The secretary of the Board informed that a meeting for developing a target for water related disasters, hosted by ISDR and with the financial support of Japan, would take place on 27 January in Geneva. DESA reported on the work towards the approval of the GA Resolution declaring 2008 as the International year of Sanitation, as a direct result of one of the recommendations of the Hashimoto Plan of Action. To this effect the Board is looking at organizing a brainstorming meeting to obtain ideas for the IYS. It was concluded that:

• Connection / communications between the UNSGAB and UN-Water needs to be strengthened and better synchronized. Role of DESA is crucial for this purpose.

• The added value of the work of this high level group of persons can contribute to the work of UN-Water.

• The UNSGAB is not an implementing mechanism, it is a facilitator.

• All actions regarding the IYS should be coordinated with the group that UN-Water has set up for the implementation of actions with this specific purpose.


Review of progress and planning of next steps on UN-Water visibility The UN-Water website has been operated by FAO initially on a voluntary basis. FAO cannot manage and maintain the website on a regular basis without additional resources. It is expected that through the funds that will be provided by DFID this could be done. In this manner the website will be converted into a fully operational and dynamic website that meets the needs of UN-Water members and informs the general public.

Presentation by Mr. P. Steduto new Chair of UN-Water on planning work for next 2 years The new Chairman of UN-Water Mr. Pasquale Steduto from FAO reflecting over his incoming responsibilities, stressed that in the spirit of the work towards UN reform, he called upon UN-Water to cooperate together in synergy, to be effective and to look for those areas where there is progress in implementation of the water and sanitation agenda to boost this progress. Mr. Steduto presented his main ideas for a plan of work for UN-Water that was developed using as reference three main documents: the ToR for UN-Water, the Hashimoto Action Plan and the proposal to DFID. The main areas of action of the work plan include:

• Map water/sanitation related responsibilities of UN-agencies. • Continue to develop and strengthen the concept of single

point of entry. • Further development of the idea of a “federated” information

system. • Continue UN-Water work on a system-wide monitoring and

reporting mechanism on water-related MDGs & JPOI. This would mainly focus on WSS, JMP, IWRM and preparations for short interval report.

• Methods, standards, coordination, etc. • Strengthening national capacity (policies, investments,

resources, etc.) • Strategy for strengthening inter-agency work at country level. • UN-Water main documents. • Publication of the background document on “mapping global

monitoring initiatives”. • Policy briefs for thematic initiatives • Action plans for thematic initiatives (proposals & initial

actions) • Coordination Perugia – Zaragoza – Bonn • Water Operators Partnerships. • Workshops on: • Monitoring • Transboundary • UN-Water should participate actively in:

CSD-16 World Water Forum 5 (Istanbul, March 2009). Chair

The final and updated version of the plan will be circulated by the new Chair, including a revised task assignment list. All presentations made at the 6th Meeting of UN-Water must be sent to the Secretariat to be circulated to all the membership.


will participate in kick-off meeting in Turkey later this year Stockholm World Water Weeks IWRM meeting in Denmark

Mr. Steduto provided a task assignment for the different topics included in his plan of work. In closing his remarks the incoming Chair indicated that all UN-Water efforts should be propagated at the national level. The meeting welcomed the general ideas in the plan. The ensuing discussion was mainly based on initial reactions to the plan and suggestions were made in order to include a few elements missing. Among the matters discussed was the selection of the 3 reference documents rather than using documents produced by intergovernmental processes like Agenda 21 or the JPOI. Mr. Steduto clarified that these category of documentation was part of the general background for all work of UN-Water, and that among the 3 selected two were based in the decisions coming out of intergovernmental processes and their calls for action by UN-Water. The third one includes a series of calls for intervention by UN-Water by the S-G’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. It was agreed that the document would be updated on the basis of comments received, among them the inclusion of a series of events, in which UN-Water should be present and visible including non-water events e.g. the World Economic Forum in Davos. Habitat indicated that it would be good to have a tour d’horizon of all the membership as a complement to the plan. This will also include an updated allocation of tasks and the two workshops proposed by the Hashimoto Action Plan Next meeting The meeting discussed the alternatives for the venue of the next meeting. It was decided to accept the offer by UNEP to host it in Nairobi the week of 14 January 2008. The meeting will have 3 day duration in order to allow for preparations for participation in the OAU African Summit on water and sanitation (under consideration).

UNEP to provide logistic information as soon as possible.

Other matters. The Vice-Chair, Mr. S. M. Donkor from ECA, closed the meeting thanking MB Dengo (DESA) for the services he has provided as Secretary of UN-Water in view of his retirement later this year.

UN-Water Seventh Meeting Report Page 1 of 11

UN-Water Seventh Meeting Report

11 – 12 August 2007 at Stockholm

DISCUSSION ACTION Saturday, 11 August; Morning Session (9:00 – 13:00)

Opening & Briefing by the Chair The Chair of UN-Water, Pasquale Steduto, FAO, opened the meeting welcoming the large number of participants and thanking SIWI for the support provided in organizing the 7th meeting in the eve of the World Water Week. The Chair informed on the status of the multi-donor trust fund and indicated that the process to fill the post of the assistant to the chair was in the final stages and that the candidate will be nominated in a week’s time. It was indicated that in the future the resources available to provide support to the chair will be transferred to the incoming Chair’s agency. Work on the UN-Water website is continuing. Discussions are ongoing on how to best design the website to establish a single entry point for water related information. A careful consideration of what information is already available in different places and how information can be consolidated is being carried out. The website should be used as a space to display the work of every UN-Water Task Force. Members of UN-Water were reminded to link their website to the UN-Water website, as agreed during the 6th UN-Water meeting. The chair highlighted the increasing importance given to UN-Water by member states and important stakeholders, and that there were a series of opportunities for UN-Water to demonstrate its value linked to the concept of “One UN”. UN-Water should look for an appropriate moment to report to HLCP as was done by UN-Oceans last year. The need and importance to ensure an effective information flow on UN-Water activities to the high level management within UN-Water member organizations was reiterated and the strong endorsement and support to UN-Water at the highest level within FAO was stated. The Chair highlighted also the strong recommendation by the FAO’s DG to have UN-Water looking into producing a “paper” on “Water and Climate Change”.

Create a space on website, where task forces can display information

Adoption of Agenda The agenda was adopted with some minor changes, as reflected in Annex II of this report.

The Multi-Donor Trust Fund for UN-Water A working group will prepare


DISCUSSION ACTION The chair briefed the meeting on the multi-donor trust fund, hosted by FAO. Through this trust fund UN-Water will be able to accept funds from several donors by pooling them in one fund. The funds from DFID are the first transferred to the trust fund. The continuity of this mechanism depends on members of UN-Water to acquire funds and advocate on behalf of UN-Water. The meeting was also briefed on the informal meetings, held by the chair in this regard during the World Bank’s Water Week 2007, where discussions with several donors were started. These efforts will continue during the Stockholm World Water Week 2007. The donor community seems to welcome the development of creating a single point of access to the UN system (via the UN-Water web site). During the discussion, a proposal was made to create a UN-Water task force on the multi-donor trust fund to follow up on activities related to it. Decision A working group to establish Terms of Reference for the task force to manage the trust fund for the support of project implementation include UNU, UNEP, UNESCO, WWAP, WHO, UNDP and remains open for other UN-Water members and partners to join.

Terms of Reference to establish a Task Force for managing the multi-donor trust fund.

Annual Global Monitoring Report on WSS Jamie Bartram, WHO, informed the meeting on a planned global report on water and sanitation, which will add to the existing initiatives and will be carefully tuned in order to avoid duplication with the JMP and WWDR. The report, proposed to be published annually, will provide a sharp assessment of the sector, linking status with international development targets, evaluating needs, capacity and responses. The focus of the report will be on the national level, where a good representation of countries is sought to avoid reporting only on LDCs. The efforts of external support agencies (international donors) will also be targeted by the report. WHO is committed to lead this initiative in cooperation with other UN-Water members. It will be an ongoing, continuous process. Draft reporting sheets have been sent to external support agencies and countries. The issue of reporting burden has been thoroughly considered; a mid-level management person can be expected to fill out the questionnaire within half a day. The initiative will be introduced to the public during the UN-Water Seminar within the Stockholm World Water Week. The first report will report on a limited number of countries and is expected to be released in time for CSD-16. During the discussion it was voiced that the meaningfulness of the frequency of the report should be evaluated. In particular the relation to the CSD-13 review survey and relation to the WWDR, which were both discussed later in the meeting, needs to be carefully considered.


DISCUSSION ACTION The need for a strategic discussion on monitoring initiatives was raised, in order to avoid the perception of duplication and competition among different monitoring exercises. Decision The meeting called for the necessity to define missions and role of each of the members of UN Water with respect to monitoring. A discussion on what will be the target and overall vision on monitoring by UN-Water is needed and should be a topic for the next UN-Water meeting. The Chair indicated that the institutional mapping of roles and responsibilities with UN-Water is the 1st task to be done by the Chair assistant. Results and follow up on the IWRM work carried out by the Task Force The task force coordinator, Joakim Harlin, UNDP, reported on the progress of the IWRM task force of UN-Water. The objectives of the TF are to

1) Support the CSD Secretariat to prepare input for the synthesis report of the Secretary General on the status of countries on the preparation and implementation of IWRM.

2) Prepare a proposal for the establishment of a formal monitoring and reporting mechanism on IWRM, including milestones and a set of robust indicators.

Questionnaires were developed by the members of the task force. WWAP provided assistance in the field testing. UN DESA informed the meeting that the CSD secretariat sent the questionnaire to the member states on 27 February, both through their missions to the UN in New York and the CSD focal points in the countries. GWP and many others helped in updating names of the water focal points in some countries. After two additional reminders, to date questionnaires from over 50 countries have been received so far. The response from Africa and South Asia has been extremely poor. Some have requested an extension of the deadline. The next step for the task force is to engage a consultant for preparing the conference room paper. DESA prepared the ToR for this consultancy and has forwarded it to the Coordinator of the task force. Joakim Harlin briefed the meeting on the Conference on IWRM, convened by the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN-Water and GWP. The conference established an IWRM roadmap. In addition, the meeting was informed that the United Nations Statistics Division is preparing scoping workshop, to be held in September/October 2007, on the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for Water (SEEAW). The TF is discussing the follow-up on both initiatives.

UN DESA to send list of countries that have not yet replied to all members so that UN-Water members can help to get more responses through their contacts.


DISCUSSION ACTION During the discussion the idea to engage the regional commissions to facilitate the return of the questionnaire was voiced. The need to achieve coherence and reduce the burden of reporting on countries has been taken up by UN Water’s work on country coherence. It was proposed to look at barriers in countries that cause a lack of reporting and develop a strategy to overcome the reluctance to report. Task Force on Country Level Coherence and Coordination The task force coordinator, Joakim Harlin, UNDP, gave an overview of the background of the task force specifying the aim of the TF to establish a unified programme at country level to produce a strategy for coordination in order to scale up the impact of UN System action on water resources management, water supply and sanitation at country level. The three new programs of UN-Water will be members of the task force once they are operational. As established in the 6th UN Water meeting in Bonn, the entry point for the work of the task force will be the 8 One UN pilot countries, where several teleconferences were held with the UNDP country offices and an inventory of the TF members’ activities was carried out on the IWRM status, progress towards MDG target 10 and relevant actors. A briefing note on current activities towards delivering as One for the 8 countries and a document on lessons learned were prepared by the TF. Next Steps of the TF include a teleconference with Resident Representatives in the 8 pilot countries to solicit feed back on ongoing coordination, needs, roles and what could UN Water do to add value. Information material on the TF activities will be produced, the scope will be broadened by including actors outside the UN system and work in additional countries. UN DESA will include the 8 One UN pilot countries in the survey of its technical cooperation project, GIRWI (Global Initiative for Rationalizing Water Information) to assess the status of implementation of CSD-13 decisions on water and sanitation in those countries. This information will be shared with UN-Water to help the TF design its future interventions in these countries. The UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Building could play an important role in building capacity in the 8 One UN Pilot countries Decisions: The meeting also recommended to the TF to cooperate closely with the IWRM task force. Andy Garner, IAEA, will join the task force.

The documents on work of task force and the 8 One UN Pilot countries will be sent to members and partners of UN-Water: Comprehensive “briefing note” on current activities toward delivering as one, Compilation of lessons learnt from the 8 countries and questionnaire.

Inputs for the CSD-16 Manuel Dengo, UN DESA, gave the background on CSD-16, which

UN Water members are requested to give their input and feedback to


DISCUSSION ACTION will take place 5-16 May 2008. The most likely scenario is that there will be parallel sessions to review water and sanitation decisions taken during CSD-13, along with the themes of the CSD 16/17 cycle, Agriculture, Rural development, Land, Drought, Desertification, and Africa. The outline of the SG report on water and sanitation was sent to all UN-Water members together with a request for inputs last June. To date limited feedback has been received from UN-Water members. UN DESA has developed in cooperation with SIWI a methodology to review the implementation of CSD-13 decisions under the Global Initiative for Rationalizing Water Information (GIRWI). This will be a supplemental report to the SG report on water and sanitation and complementary to the Global Report on water and sanitation. The review study has developed qualitative indicators to analyze actions taken on implementing policy options put forward by CSD-13. The survey will be carried out by consultants in about 30 countries, including the 8 One UN Pilot Countries. This report will be supplemented by using existing indicators to establish the context within the countries and the performance of the water and sanitation sector (HDI, GDP, etc.). During the discussion the meeting recognized that CSD-16 represents a key opportunity for policy makers to discuss this issue. A number of openings exist to take advantage of this opportunity to send clear messages to policy makers, such as inputs to the SG Report, organization of side events, and the circulation of background papers, such as the discussed report on the follow-up of CSD-13 decisions, IWRM, the Global Report on Water and Sanitation and the JMP report. The link to sanitation and the occasion of the International Year of Sanitation, 2008, were considered. The main themes of CSD-16, land, drought, desertification, rural development and agriculture provide a strong link to highlight water resource issues. To take advantage of CSD-16, the discussion touched on two main aspects: The content of the message to be delivered (UN-Water White Paper) and the most effective form of delivery of the message.

the outline of the SG Report, sent on 21 June 2007, as soon as possible to Aslam Chaudhry, UN DESA.

Saturday, 11 August; Afternoon Session (14:30-19:00)

Proposed action plan for the WWAP/WWDR, Office of Perugia Andras Szollosi-Nagy, UNESCO, gave a brief overview of the history of the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) and its main product, the World Water Development Report (WWDR). The Funds in Trust (FiT) agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, and the facilities agreement for the premises in Perugia have been signed. An external Evaluation on the previous WWDR has been carried out and the report on the results is forthcoming.


DISCUSSION ACTION The new coordinator of the WWAP, Olcay Ünver, was officially introduced to the meeting. Mr. Ünver presented the previously circulated plan for the WWDR-3. The planning for the production of the report needed to take into account the challenge to produce the report within 20 months, 8 months less than allotted to the 2nd edition of the WWDR. An overview of the WWAP Secreatariat premises in Perugia (Villa La Colombella) was given. The facilities will be managed and financed by the Umbria region. Discussion on the structure, content and process of the WWDR The meeting discussed the structure, content, target audience, release date as well as the future direction of the report. On the structure and content several proposals were made to reorganize and streamline the report in order to reduce the size and make it as relevant as possible for the target group. It was pointed out that confusion might arise between the proposed WWDR “Policy Briefs” and the policy briefs produced by UN-Water. A “Summary for decision makers” was proposed as an alternative title for these WWDR side publications. Several participants highlighted the risk for UN-Water to lose its credibility and relevance if only minor changes are done to the structure of the report with regard to the previous two WWDRs. The timeline was perceived as very tight and the proposal to launch the WWDR-3 at the WWF was brought forward. Due to contractual arrangements this is not possible. Some members stated that there would be increased visibility, if launched outside the WWF, either joint with another event or as a standalone event, and that this should be considered for the next editions of the WWDR. There was a general recognition that WWAP must produce solid science in order to create a relevant document. The report should give a clear signal of innovation. It was proposed that WWDR-3 could mark the start of the transition phase, which can be continued with the WWDR-4. It is however important to produce a high-quality report to maintain credibility. The Italian government will consider continuation of funding based on WWDR-3 delivery. A working group was established to continue the discussion in the late evening to develop a compromise proposal. The meeting discussed the proposal on the following day and an agreement was reached on a final structure (Annex III, distributed by

WWAP Secretariat will circulate chapter description, in order for UN-Water members to consider their involvement in detail. Agencies interest to contribute are asked to indicate to the WWAP secretariat their availability for a 4 day conception meeting between the 10th of October and the beginning of November.


DISCUSSION ACTION WWAP secretariat, around 300 pages, cross-cutting issues kept in mind) Decisions: - The meeting welcomed the proposal for WWDR-3’s structure with the understanding that participation of UN-Water members in the production of the chapters is subject to change. Chapter names and content can be modified by the contributing agencies. - A reform is needed for the WWDR, early planning for WWDR-4 should actively seek the response from UN-Water members in this respect. - The proposal for the general structure of the WWDR-3 in Annex III was agreed upon. Chapter names and content can be modified by the contributing agencies. - WWDR will produce “Summary for decision makers”, to avoid confusion with regard to UN-Water policy briefs. - A Conception meeting will be called soon for authors, contributors and coordinators at the premises of UNESCO in Paris (7 -11 November 2007). Sunday, 12 August; Morning Session (9:00 – 13:00)

Proposed action plan of the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development in Bonn: Discussion and Approval Janos Bogardi, UNU, gave a brief review on capacity building in the UN System on Water and the establishment of the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) in Bonn. The UN-Water Decade Program on Capacity Development aims to add value and provide a general entry point to the UN system on capacity building in water. The role of the Programme is to be a facilitator and a clearinghouse to add value where there are gaps and needs. The meeting was briefed that the initial funding period from the German government is for 3 years. A scoping workshop with participation from UN-Water Members became the basis for the funding agreement with the German government. By June the agreement was finalized and a decision on the coordinator completed. The director of the Programme, Reza Arkadian, was officially introduced to the meeting. He gave an overview of the envisioned work plan of the UNW-DPC: The programme will work on issues related to capacity development, including the CSD and WWDR. To analyze and assess further needs and develop an adequate response a questionnaire was distributed and will be sent electronically to identify current activities, needs and future plans by members and partners of UN Water. The programme will produce a work plan with deliverables for the

UNW-DPC will send the questionnaire via email along with the request for proposals for a voluntary member of UN-Water on the advisory committee. Draft work plan to be circulated to UN-Water before submission to the German government.


DISCUSSION ACTION next 3 years by the end of Sept 2007, in which general lines of its work will be delineated. A kick-off workshop will be held in December 2007 and advisory committee established. Further staff will be recruited and a website with a link to the UN-Water website established. The development of indicators and monitoring as a common need will be taken up by UNW-DPC. During the discussion it was clarified that UN-Water holds authority of the content of the work and the Advisory Committee will have a consultative role. A request for a voluntary member from UN-Water for the Advisory Committee will be made by email. It was indicated that a review of the name of the office was important since the translation into other UN languages was difficult and at times misleading. The scoping document and questionnaire will be circulated, and summarized into a generic work plan. The work plan will be distributed to UN-Water members for comments before submitting it to the German government at the end of September. The need to develop a clear mission of the objectives of UNW-DPC was highlighted. The importance that UN-Water does not micro manage the process, but addresses wider issue, was reiterated. The importance to also capture efforts on capacity building outside the UN system was voiced. Update on the Water-Decade, office of ZARAGOZA Manuel Dengo, UN DESA, informed the meeting that, as communicated in a previous email message, Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui was appointed by DESA as the coordinator of the United Nations Office to support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 in Zaragoza. He will be starting on 1 September 2007. Arrangements for the facilities are being finalized. The office will be based in a villa, called “Casa Solans” on a temporary basis before transferring it to the Expo Complex, where the office will be established permanently. The workshop to develop the Terms of Reference is envisioned to take place in October 2007, further details will be communicated by DESA once the new coordinator is in place. The UN Pavilion, designed around the theme “Water for Life”, as decided in the last meeting, is being allocated 500m2 by the organizers of the Expo. The new coordinator, once in office, is requested to follow up on the decision of the last meeting on the development of the pavilion. The financial agreement for 2 years has been finalized with the government of Spain, the government of Aragon and the city of Zaragoza. Decision: Progress on the establishment of all three new offices along with the development of an Action Plan for the Water for Life Decade will be put on the agenda of the next meeting.


DISCUSSION ACTION Update on the progress by the working groups of the various “Thematic Initiatives”

Gender and Water Task Force The task force coordinator, Kenza Robinson, UN DESA, gave an overview of the activities planned in response to the request articulated in the last UN Water meeting to develop a work plan and identify areas where the task force can add value to the work of UN-Water. The work plan is closely linked to the thematic areas established by UN Water, identifying relevant actions and defining added value where the Gender and Water Task Force can contribute to the advancement of the themes identified by UN-Water. The Task Force is focusing on global advocacy and is depending on the active engagement of its members. During the International Year of Sanitation the TF will seek an active engagement on a number of events. During the discussion the difficulty to measure progress on achieving gender equality was raised. The need for indicator development was articulated during the discussion. The GWTF has been establishing links on this issue to a workshop planned by the government of Italy in coordination with the UN Statistics Division. The exploration of the involvement of the Gender and Water Alliance on this issue was proposed. Strengthening the strategic direction of the task force, due to its importance, was voiced. ISDR indicated its interest to contribute to the task force’s work on disaster prevention and risk reduction.

The TF was asked to request members of UN-Water for an overview of existing efforts on gender and water. The task force can focus in its work on scaling up positive efforts.

Sanitation Task Force The task force coordinator, Clarissa Borcklehurst, UNICEF, informed that the International Year of Sanitation (IYS) in 2008 is the current focus of the task force, with the objectives of the IYS being the guiding objectives. Activities of the task force include:

- An Inventory prepared of all IYS activities of TF members, now being expanded to include other agencies

- Brief country profiles being prepared to identify gaps - A Communication strategy is being finalized

DESA is currently developing the website for IYS (http://esa.un.org/iys), the most relevant sanitation related publications are being prepared for web access in addition to a 12 page publication on key sanitation issues.

http://esa.un.org/iys


DISCUSSION ACTION Future Activities include support to country, regional and global launches and resource material will be prepared and made available through the website. In the discussion it was pointed out that experiences from World Water Day 2007 could be very useful for the year. The importance that the activities need to go beyond the International Year of Sanitation was raised. The IYS will help to strengthen advocacy for long-term activities. Zafar Adeel, UNU, expressed his interest in joining the task force. Regional and national launchings are an obvious opportunity for UN Water Members to get involved and are highly encouraged to contribute to the success of the year. Transboundary Waters Task Force The task force coordinator, Francesca Bernardini, UN ECE, informed the meeting that the publication titled “Recommendations on Payment for Ecosystem Services in Integrated Water Resources Management” produced by UNECE will be released during the World Water Week. On the policy brief on transboundary water issues, there is a need to achieve consensus on what message should be communicated; Terms of Reference for the policy brief need to be established, in which the outcome and impact of the policy brief should be well defined. As previously decided, World Water Day 2009 will be on transboundary water issues. It was proposed to release the policy brief on this occasion. Decision: A UN Water Seminar during the World Water Week 2008 will be, as is common practice, on the theme for World Water Day of the following year, in this case for WWD 2009 transboundary water issues.

Coordinator will develop ToR for the policy brief on transboundary water issues and distribute it to UN-Water members for comments.

Task Force on Indicators, Monitoring and reporting for the whole water sector The task force coordinator, Pasquale Steduto, FAO, and Vahid Alavian, World Bank, introduced the topic. A comprehensive list of indicators was distributed, which were taken from existing sources, such as the WWDR and the ideas articulated in the UN-Water background document on monitoring prepared by FAO. The task force is working on identifying key indicators in order to provide a useful information base. The list of indicators proposes grouping of indicators into themes in

Task force will distribute list of indicators to UN-Water members to revise and add to the list.


DISCUSSION ACTION order to consolidate existing efforts and develop a coherent response from the UN system on indicators. Input from UN-Water members will be sought via email. The exercise is aiming to lead to a continuous accounting of progress in all aspects on water. A representative of the donor community was invited on the occasion of the presentation by the task force. The representative stated the importance of key indicators for the donor community, as a way to prioritize interventions and justify investments. During the discussion a recommendation was made to reference data geospatially for use within a GIS. Representing the indicators in the WWDR-4, as well as a close link to the chapters of the WWDR was proposed. The importance to harmonize work with other exercises like the Annual Report on Water Supply and Sanitation was put forward. The WWAP would also help in the development of indicators. The use of five colour traffic lights was also recommended to illustrate indicators without available figures. The Water Poverty Index was indicated as missing in section 1. Other business M. Gopalakrishnan from the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), a UN-Water Partner organization, indicated that ICID is committed to continue its support to UN Water. A contribution through FAO’s input to the World Water Development Report was put forward.

The chair expressed on behalf of UN-Water his deep appreciation to the service of the secretary, Manuel Dengo, who will be retiring at the end of September.

Next meeting As decided in the 6th UN-Water meeting in Bonn, the next meeting will take place in Nairobi, hosted by UNEP, from 15-17 January 2008.

The background briefing material needs to be sent in advance in order to focus during the meeting on critical strategic issues.

Closure

Report – 8th UN-Water Meeting, Rome

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Meeting Report 8th UN-Water Meeting

15-17 January 2008, Rome

Summary of Decisions

Develop a two-years work plan; define responsibilities of UN-Water Chair and Secretariat; establish clear criteria for being associated as a partner or member; and consolidate notes of past meetings to identify agreements previously reached. UN-Water Office and Programmes: The work plan of UNW-DPC was approved, subject to ensuring that synergies with other offices are sought, particularly the harmonization of activities in relation to the Water for Life Decade. A time-bound advisory group was established to guide and support the Head of the Zaragoza Office for developing Office’s work plan. Title of the 3rd edition of the World Water Development Report will be “Water in a Changing World”. The WWAP Secretariat should provide clear timeline, indicating specifically when UN-Water members will have the opportunity to discuss and clear contents internally. Heads of Offices should develop a joint strategy for harmonizing their work plans, ensuring synergies and coordinating their activities to demonstrate better impact of UN-Water activities. Planning for Ongoing and Future Events: The FAO Legal Office representative will follow-up with the Expo Zaragoza authorities to finalize the legal agreement. The general design concept presented for the pavilion was approved. A UN-Water subcommittee shall be established to coordinate UN-Water’s input to the WWF. The UN-Water Monitoring Task Force was tasked to ensure that no duplication occurs in the reporting of UN-Water, and take steps to clarify how the information should flow among different monitoring initiatives and reports (GLAAS, WWDR, JMP, IWRM etc). UNICEF and WHO were tasked to reconcile the existing world water day sites of UN-Water and the IRC’s. The WWD 2008 site should follow similar format as of the 2007 WWD site. UNICEF, WHO and WSSCC will provide the necessary material for the site. UN-Water Task Forces: A strategy of UN-Water’s involvement at the country level should be prepared by the Country Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force, and submitted to UN-Water for review and further action. The Task Force on Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting will replace the following two existing task forces: (i) IWRM (after CSD-16), and (ii) Monitoring and Reporting. The idea to establish a task force on climate change was agreed in principle. Its membership has not yet been decided. Mr. Avinash Tyagi was asked to develop and distribute the ToR of the Task Force.


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Morning 15 Jan. - Opening Session

In his opening remarks, the Chair of UN-Water, Mr. Pasquale Steduto welcomed the participants and introduced senior FAO staff : - Mr. Alexander Müller, Assistant Director-General, Natural Resources Department; - Ms Annika Söder, Assistant Director-General in charge of the FAO Office of UN Coordination and Millennium Development Goals Follow-up; and - Mr.Parviz Koohafkan, Director, Land and water Division In his comments, Mr. Alexander Müller emphasised the importance of UN-Water as a model for working in a collaborative fashion and achieving coherence within the United Nations. He also welcomed the setting up of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund and the newly established Programmes and Offices. Ms. Annika Söder emphasised that initiatives such as UN-Water should focus on delivering better results and avoiding duplication, while Mr. Parviz Koohafkan highlighted the importance of the coordinating role of UN-Water at country level.

Morning 15 Jan. - 1st Session: General Briefing 1.1 Adoption of the Agenda Mr Pasquale Steduto presented the draft agenda and invited suggestions and comments. The draft agenda was adopted with minor changes as reflected in Annex 1. 1.2. Briefing on progress Mr. Pasquale Steduto briefed the meeting on the status of UN-Water activities and recent developments. These include: Multi Donor Trust Fund (operational since April 2007):

• Of the initial envisaged amount of 4 million Dollars of which half was provided by DfID;

USD165,093 was spent in 2007. • Priorities of UN-Water were taken as the basis for the discussions and agreement with DfID. • The process of selection of the assistant to the chair has been finalized, and Mr. Johan

Kuylenstierna was recruited in November 2007. • Transfer of funds from Multi Donor Trust Fund to UN-DESA and WHO is near completion. • The Trust Fund may need to be moved with the chair or ideally be kept permanently with the

Secretariat. • Sweden and Norway have expressed their interest in contributing to the Fund. (Joakim Harlin

of UNDP briefed on his meeting with the Nordic donors who also requested a detailed work plan from UN Water.

In general, a consolidated work plan is required to actively seek further funding to support the implementation of important UN-Water initiatives. Monitoring and Reporting:

• IWRM Report will be ready for CSD-16. • The Global Annual Assessment on Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS) pilot report will

be ready for CSD-16.


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UN-Water Web Site: The Website continues to be maintained by FAO. Plans are underway to develop it into an entry portal for the UN system on water. World Water Day 2007: WWD 2007 was successfully coordinated by FAO. UN-Water working mechanism: Task Forces remain the mechanism to conduct work on priority thematic issues identified as part of the UN-Water work programme. Cooperation with the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB): Cooperation between UN-Water and UNSGAB continued to remain active, leading to the co-organization of a UN-Water seminar during the World Water Week in Stockholm 2007 and other joint activities within the framework of the International Year of Sanitation. Representatives of UN-Water also participated in the UNSGAB meetings in Shanghai and Bogotá in 2007. The two Programmes (Perugia, Bonn) and the Office of Zaragoza: Two established Programmes and Zaragoza Office are now operational and the following tasks have been completed with the support from UN-Water:

• Bonn: selection process of the Head of Office & opening of the Office. • Zaragoza: selection process of the Head of Office, opening of the Office and preparations for

Expo 2008. • Perugia: Steering of Third edition of World Water Development Report.

Meetings/events attended by UN-Water to strengthen advocacy, visibility and communication:

• Donor meetings (February and April, Washington World Bank; September in Stockholm). • UNSGAB Meetings (June in Shanghai, November in Bogotá). • 5th World Water Forum preparatory meetings (March and November in Istanbul). • UN-Water seminar at World Water Week in Stockholm 2007. • EUWI (May, Brussels; December, Paris). • High Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) (September, NY). • International Year of Sanitation launch (November, NY). • United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali (December).

The Chair concluded his briefing that there was an element of non-transparency and non-clarity for external observers regarding UN-Water role and its current activities. Mr. Steduto also stated that a mapping exercise will be conducted this year to create a better understanding of the scope of the work of each UN-Water member, and that particular attention will be given to the identification of additional relevant indicators, coordination at national level, and to a single water information entry point on the internet. Decision 1: An overall communication strategy and a clear visual identity will be developed to promote the visibility of activities being undertaken by UN-Water.


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1.3 Monitoring and Reporting 1.3.1 Global Annual Assessment on Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS): Jamie Bartram, WHO Mr. Jamie Bartram, WHO, briefed the meeting on the purpose of the report on ”Global Annual Assessment on Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS)”. He stated that the report aims at developing a comprehensive platform to assess and analyze countries’ as well as external support agencies’ capacity to contribute to the MDG 7 target 10, at harmonizing efforts and avoiding duplication. GLAAS has been developed due to a perceived need for comprehensiveness (including access to service, available financial resources for the sector, and institutional capacity) and consistency of information for global comparability. Existing monitoring initiatives will be taken as sources for information. GLAAS outputs will include:

• A global annual report on sanitation and drinking water. • A library of country snapshots. • Monitoring of trends over time in countries and for external support agencies.

A pilot study will be presented during CSD-16 and critical appraisal of results will be carried out at the next UN-Water meeting. Mr. Bartram added that this report will become the UN-Water annual progress report on MDGs requested by DfID. He also noted the need for a fact sheet on each report produced under the UN-Water umbrella. Decision 2: The UN-Water “Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting” Task Force should ensure that no duplication occurs, and take steps to clarify how the information should flow among different monitoring initiatives and reports (GLAAS, WWDR, JMP, IWRM etc). Decision 3: A fact sheet shall be compiled that will present the three, major reports (JMP, WWDR, GLAAS). 1.3.2 Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP): Jamie Bartram, WHO; Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF Mr. Jamie Bartram informed the meeting that the next JMP report will be available during the 2nd quarter of 2008. The JMP team has examined how assessment methodology should account for intermediate solutions, such as public access to water supply and sanitation. JMP will also concentrate on the achievement of the water and sanitation targets post 2015. It was noted during the discussion that no gender disaggregated data is currently included in the JMP. The discussion also highlighted the difficulty and substantive time lag to introduce new questions or alter existing ones. Mr. Bert Diphoorn (UN-Habitat) informed the meeting of a UN-Habitat’s project at Lake Victoria, where water supply and sanitation coverage is monitored at the household level and for water utilities using spatial information. A GIS is being developed for the project which is undertaken in partnership with Google. 1.3.3 IWRM Reporting: Joakim Harlin, UNDP The IWRM task force coordinator, Mr. Joakim Harlin, briefed the meeting on progress of the IWRM status report to be presented during CSD-16. So far, 41 responses were received from developing


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countries by UN-DESA. This led to the decision to draw on other surveys including a UNEP survey of 59 countries. A team of 3 consultants has been recruited under the UN-Water Trust Fund to analyze the responses and prepare a report on status of implementation of IWRM plans. The IWRM task force will review the first draft of this report and a teleconference will be held with all UN-Water members to solicit inputs in due course of time. Data collected for the IWRM survey will also feed into the WWDR and a side publication on the outcome of this exercise will be added to the WWDR. (Mr. Olcay Ünver, coordinator of WWAP, informed that WWAP is in the process of developing IWRM indicators). A need for further discussions was pointed out as how to advance the process of IWRM planning and implementation, and how to position this process during CSD-16. The issue was further discussed under agenda item 3.2 IWRM Task Force. Decision 4: The Task Force Coordinator will send the IWRM Report to all UN-Water members in due course to seek their inputs and comments. 1.3.4 World Water Development Report (WWDR): Olcay Ünver, WWAP Mr. Olcay Ünver, Coordinator of the WWAP, reported on developments regarding WWAP since August 2007. He informed the meeting that:

• facilitators were hired; • structures for chapters were developed; • an inception meeting was held in November in Paris; • the findings of an external evaluation of WWDR2 were taken into account; • inputs from 50 partners and UN organizations have been sought; and • in addition to chapter facilitators, 6 professional writers were hired to integrate contributions

from 150 individuals. The timeline was clarified, highlighting that the first draft chapters are due in February 2008; the integration meeting will be held in April 2008; and the report will be launched on the first day of WWF5 to maximize visibility. Mr. Ünver suggested that the policy recommendations of the WWDR could serve as an input to the WWF ministerial segment. The meeting flagged the importance of discussing the executive summary with UN-Water members. The WWDR was further discussed under agenda item 2.3. Decision 5: WWAP should distribute the annotated table of contents and post it on the website in an effort to solicit further comments and feedback. In addition, the overview of contents of the report should be distributed. 1.4 UN-Water Work Plan 2008: Johan Kuylenstierna, UN-Water Mr Pasquale Steduto officially introduced Mr. Johan Kuylenstierna, as the new assistant to the UN-Water Chair. Mr. Kuylenstierna presented a first draft of a UN-Water work plan tentatively structured into six Operational Goals (OG):

• OG1: Arrangements for a single point of entry for agencies, member states and external bodies

• OG2: A single mechanism and format for monitoring and reporting progress towards water related MDGs and JPOI targets


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• OG3: Efficient UN-Water operational arrangements • OG4: Enhance coordination and coherence among UN-Water members and partners • OG5: Efficient information exchange arrangement within UN-Water, proactive external

communication and advocacy • OG6: Strengthened inter-agency work at the country level

The meeting proposed that the work plan should articulate clear results and include an external evaluation mechanism. It was also suggested to revisit the earlier decision of UN-Water to bring out policy papers on 9 priority areas. Other matters concerning UN-Water were discussed and the chair clarified that the Trust Fund is supporting the issues that were identified previously as priorities. He also reiterated that the legal office of the United Nations ruled that the UN-Water emblem is not a logo. It was also stated that UN-Water is not a legal entity but rather an inter-agency coordination mechanism. SIWI also raised the importance for UN-Water to decide on how to engage partners in its activities. Decision 6: a. Produce a brochure to clarify what UN-Water is all about, including making it clear on the UN-

Water website. b. Consolidate notes of past meetings – need to identify if there are clear criteria on partnership,

and other decisions, such as use of emblem. c. Draw up and distribute a work plan, covering two years with a clear introduction to UN-Water. d. Define responsibilities of UN-Water Chair’s Office and Secretariat. e. Establish clear criteria for being associated as a partner or member to UN-Water.

Afternoon 15 Jan. - 2nd Session: Work Programmes of UN-Water Offices

2.1 UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC), Bonn: Reza Ardakanian, Coordinator Reza Ardakanian, Coordinator of UNW-DPC, reported on progress since the official inauguration of the Programme on 31 August 2007. He noted that a draft version of the work plan was distributed in September 2007 to all UN-Water members for their suggestions, and all comments received have been incorporated in the revised version. Mr. Ardakanian briefed the meeting on main developments and activities carried out under the Programme, mainly:

• Creation of a Capacity Development Observatory with the ultimate aim of improving capacity development worldwide;

• Strengthening policy guidance; • Collaboration with other UN-Water members and partners on issues relating to capacity

development; • Promotion of capacity development including resource mobilization as part of water plans;

and • Development of instruments and materials using knowledge management and e-learning.

A draft report on the current state of the survey of UN organization’s capacity development activities was distributed, while noting that some organizations did not respond. It was decided that in the future, the chair and/or the Secretariat of UN-Water will intervene to ensure that required responses are provided in time. During the discussion, the need for circulating all publications to be produced under UN-Water to all members for their comments was emphasized, prior to their actual publishing.


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M. Reza Ardakanian requested UN-Water members and partners to review activities contained in the online repository on the UNW-DPC website (www.unwdpc.unu.edu) and propose adjustments, if necessary It was clarified during the discussion that the outside Advisory Committee, established for UNW-DPC, has neither a supervisory role nor a mandate to take decisions; its purpose is solely to provide advice. Decision 7:

a. UN-Water members should provide information on their capacity building activities by completing the questionnaire.

b. Themes identified in the survey of UN-Water members’ capacity building programs should be further elaborated.

c. The work plan of UNW-DPC was approved subject to ensuring that synergies with other offices are sought, particularly the harmonization of activities in relation to the Water for Life Decade.

2.2 UN Office to Support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 Zaragoza: Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui The coordinator of the Office in Zaragoza, Mr. Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui informed the meeting that the office was officially opened in October 2007, and it will be fully operational by the end of March 2008. He further laid out the main components and objectives of the work plan for the Office which are tied to the host-country agreement with the Government of Spain, mainly:

• Institutional Development; • Advocacy and Outreach; • Capacity-Building in communication; and • Research and Communication.

During the discussion, several issues on the work plan were raised. These included an overlap on the issue of capacity building with UNW-DPC; little reflection on communication, advocacy, outreach in the planned events; and the need to interface with the other two programmes. It was concluded that the work plan needed to be revisited while taking account of the formal agreement between the Government of Spain and UN DESA. Towards this aim, a time-bound advisory group was formed to support and guide the Office in the formulation of a work plan. Particular attention shall be given to the wording of the activities to avoid confusion or the perception of overlap of activities with the other two Programmes/Offices. However, the Office does not need to wait to have the finalized/approved work plan in place to move forward—there are certain priority activities, for example, Expo Zaragoza, on which work should continue. The meeting was informed that the name of the Office cannot be changed to include the term ‘programme’ as the signed trust fund agreement refers to the “Office” and not “Programme”. Decision 8: It was decided to create a time-bound advisory group to guide and support the Head of the Office for developing a work plan. The advisory group will consist of: Mr. Rudolph Cleveringa (IFAD), Mr. Alan Hall (GWP), Mr. Janos Bogardi (UNU), Mr. Bert Diphoorn (UN-Habitat), Mr. Avinash Tyagi (WMO), Mr. Joakim Harlin(UNDP), Mr. M. Aslam Chaudhry (UNDESA), Mr. Johan Kuylenstierna (UN-Water). 2.3 World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), World Water Development Report (WWDR) , Perugia: Olcay Ünver

http://www.unwdpc.unu.edu/


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Mr.Olcay Ünver, WWAP Coordinator recalled the decisions for the third edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR3) taken at the 7th UN-Water meeting in Stockholm in 2007 and outlined the organizational structure for the production of WWDR3. The external evaluation of WWDR2, available on the WWAP website, was taken into consideration for WWDR3. Mr Ünver gave a short briefing on progress on the production of the chapters and presented a timeline for the report. Mr Ünver also gave an update on the transfer of the WWAP to Perugia. He stated that a Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and the Government of Italy had been signed on November 22, 2007 in Rome, which completed the formalities for the transfer. It was reported that the WWAP Secretariat would officially move to the new facility when the UN security requirements were met; tentatively this move will take place in late Spring 2008. He added that an inception meeting was held from 7 – 11 November 2007 in Paris; the meeting developed a draft Table of Contents (ToC), identified major indicators and main contributors, identified gaps and overlaps, debated on emerging issues and identified several side publications. Progress since the inception meeting include a review of the ToC by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), a draft story line and an annotated ToC prepared with input from the chapters’ facilitators and writers. A DELPHI exercise is being prepared to get feedback on selected emerging and debated issues. The indicators elaborated in WWDR2 are being revisited and will take into account development of new indicators. The contents of the different chapters of the WWDR3 will be consolidated during the integration meeting in April 2008. UN-Water members and partners may contribute further through the web based tool and via emails. In addition UN-Water members and partners were invited to contribute to the side publication series of the WWDR3. The meeting was also informed of a WWAP group, consisting of scientists that investigates existing indicators and provides advice on the robustness of existing indicators. It was clarified that this group was invited by WWAP, which will report to UN-Water. The discussion emphasized the need for a coordinated response to the work on indicators, and the need to coordinate with and actively seek a response from the UN-Water Monitoring Task Force. Mr. Ünver stressed the importance of contributing to the WWDR preparatory process. He urged UN Water members to respond to the requests from WWAP for text, information, and data. He reminded the UN Water members that the agencies that provided indicators to WWDR2 had been requested to update these for WWDR3 and underlined its urgency. It was observed that WWAP is hosted by UNESCO’s Unit on Global Water Assessment (GWA) and GWA’s activities and programs –other than those under WWAP- are reported to/steered by UNESCO. During the discussion, the importance of communicating and marketing the findings of the report was stressed, highlighting for that purpose, the importance of an executive summary and the need for the production of a 1-2 page condensed brief of the whole report to disseminate the main message. It was also clarified that climate change will be significantly reflected in the report and the proposal that other drivers, such as population growth and resource depletion should be similarly reflected under the overall theme of “change”. The meeting reiterated the decision of the 7th UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm that the side product “policy brief” of the WWDR should not be confused with the “UN-Water policy briefs” which could be termed “briefs for policy makers” or “Summaries for decision-makers” in order to avoid miscommunication.


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Decision 9: a. Title of the WWDR3 will be “Water in a Changing World”. b. The WWAP Secretariat should provide clear time line, indicating specifically when UN-Water

members will have the opportunity to discuss and approve contents internally. The time allocation for internal review need to be sufficient for members to properly review and approve the contents and main messages of the report.

c. The section/title on “emerging, debated and cross-cutting issues” should be deleted, since there was no agreement among members.

2.4 UN-Water Programmes and Office Coordination: Mr. Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui, Mr. Olcay Ünver, and Mr. Reza Ardakanian The three Coordinators highlighted that regular meetings among the two Programmes and the Zaragoza Office will be held in order to harmonize their work plans and explore synergies. Jointly organized capacity building events during the Expo Zaragoza and a film series on best practices were mentioned as ideas for possible cooperation projects. In addition to the steering function of UN-Water there could also be a mechanism to trigger a dialogue among the two programmes and the Zaragoza office to identify further synergies. As WWAP and UNW-DPC have both created an Advisory Committee with mainly external members, the need to communicate to both Advisory Committees that their role is purely a consultative one was emphasized. However, the two Advisory Committees will be encouraged to communicate any concern or advice about the respective Programmes to UN-Water. While some members emphasized the need to create steering committee(s) to guide the activities of each office, others felt that this function should be performed by the whole UN-Water group, and there is no need to create and extra layer. Moreover, there was a consensus that UN-Water need not to involve itself into micro management of these offices/programmes. However, if absolutely required, the UN-Water can take special actions to support these offices/programmes, such as the establishment of an advisory group to assist the Head of Zaragoza Office in the development of a work plan. Decision 10:

a. Overall UN-Water’s work plan should reflect and embed the work plans of the two programmes and the Zaragoza Office.

b. The three Heads of Programmes/Office should develop a joint strategy on how they can harmonize their work plans, ensure synergies and coordinate their activities to demonstrate better impact of UN-Water activities.

c. The offices of the Chair and the Secretariat should produce a brief explanatory note on the main line of activity and principle orientation of each of the two Programmes and of the Zaragoza office.

d. Advisory committees to the Programmes should have the opportunity to present their recommendations to UN-Water.

Morning 16 Jan. - 3rd Session: Reporting by Various UN-Water Task Forces

3.1 Gender and Water Task Force: Ms. Kenza Robinson, UN DESA The coordinator of the Gender and Water Task Force, Ms. Kenza Robinson, UN DESA, briefed the meeting that the task force held two brainstorming sessions among its members, which concluded that the work of the task force should concentrate on advocacy and capacity building. Towards this aim, the following activities are planned: Advocacy


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• Steps are taken to ensure that the gender component is included in the Ministerial Declaration and the final outcomes of the remaining two regional sanitation meetings.

• A CSD-16 side event will be organized under the theme “Gender sensitive national sanitation policies - success stories and challenges in implementation”.

Capacity Building

• A workshop on the challenges of sanitation and its links to girls education in Jamaica in Spring 2008.

• An Expert Group Meeting on gender disaggregated data. The change of the task force’s name was proposed to “Gender Sanitation and Water Task Force”. A decision on this item was postponed as confusion with the name of the Sanitation Task Force was raised. It was also proposed to translate the need for funding of the task force into a proposal that can be taken up by the UN-Water Multi-Donor Trust Fund. 3.2 IWRM Task Force: Joakim Harlin, UNDP The UN-Water meeting was reminded by the task force coordinator, Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP) of the two main objectives of this task force were to:

• Prepare a report on the state of implementation of IWRM target for CSD-16, including inputs to the CSD Secretariat for preparing SG Report for CSD-16;

• Prepare a proposal for the establishment of a formal monitoring and reporting (WWDR) mechanism on IWRM, including milestones and a set of robust indicators (both process and outcome/impact).

After briefing the meeting on the progress of the task force, the meeting was requested to accept:

• The document circulated prior to the meeting titled: “Roadmap for Advancing Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) – A statement based on the Copenhagen Initiative on Water and Development prepared by UN-Water and Global Water Partnership (GWP)” and;

• Launching of the initiative on Roadmaps for IWRM at CSD-16. The ensuing discussion reflected the following concerns:

• Some of the statements in the document concerning UN-Water with reference to the decisions taken during CSD-13 are not correct;

• Rationale for proposed time-line (as to what should a country do by such and such date) may be questionable;

• Language of the statement may not be prescriptive; and • UN-Water does not have the authority to formally endorse this initiative, and implications of

formally accepting this paper by UN-Water are not clear.

On the last issue of the implications of formally accepting this paper, it was inferred that UN-Water would urge countries to take actions for roadmaps and measure/monitor progress against the proposed IWRM process and outcome indicators. The initiative would provide a structured framework for reporting on IWRM. It would at large be viewed as an advocacy tool--promoting transition from planning to implementation. It was also suggested to add to the document a disclaimer on what UN-Water’s association with the statement means. There was a general consensus to include indicators-related activity of the IWRM Task Force into the ToR of the Monitoring and Reporting Task Force to form one single Task Force on Indicators,


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Monitoring and Reporting. Its principle tasks would be to: (i) coordinate and harmonize actions on indicators, monitoring and reporting on the whole water sector; (ii) minimize reporting requirements for countries and UN agencies; and (iii) present indicators to policy makers more effectively, recognizing that at present there is a confusingly large number of indicators. Decision 11:

a. Members should provide feedback to the roadmap document by 31 January 2008. Comments are to be sent to the coordinator of the task force, Joakim Harlin (UNDP) with copy to the Secretariat of UN-Water ([email protected]).

b. The IWRM task force will cease its activities after CSD-16. c. Task Force on Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting will replace the two existing task forces

(i) IWRM and (ii) Monitoring and Reporting. 3.3 Monitoring and Reporting Task Force: Mr. Pasquale Steduto; Mr. Vahid Alavian, World Bank; Mr. Joakim Harlin, UNDP The meeting was reminded of activities on monitoring and reporting that started in August 2007, presented at the Stockholm meeting and further developed with inputs from the side event held during the Stockholm World Water Week, 2007. It was proposed to engage the services of a consultant to consolidate existing indicators and draft ToR for a TF to accommodate the work on IWRM indicators (as discussed under agenda item 3.2 above). The name of this Task Force was changed to: Task Force on Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting (see also decision under 3.2). 3.4 Sanitation Task Force, Action Plan for IYS: Ms. Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF The coordinator of the UN-Water Sanitation Task Force, Ms Clarissa Brocklehurst (UNICEF) briefed the meeting on the activities completed and currently carried out by the task force related to the International Year of Sanitation. These include the completed communications strategy, successful funding requests to the DfID and Gates foundation, support to the development of the logo and support to the regional launches and the global launch organized by UN DESA Current Activities include:

• completion of flagship publication • advocacy kit in preparation by WSSCC • media support being provided by UNICEF • support to TVE/BBC crew • Development of list of spokesperson and advocates (including Gareth Thomas) • Maintenance of IYS website by DESA

During the discussion it was clarified that press releases need to be released by agencies, but the role of UN-Water could be highlighted Decision 12: The task force coordinator was asked to periodically send updates to the whole UN-Water membership through the Chair and Secretariat. Due to a lack of time the presentation of the other task forces were postponed to the next morning.

Afternoon 16 Jan. – 4th Session: Planning for Ongoing and Future Events 4.1 Expo Zaragoza: Mr. Pasquale Steduto, Mr. M. Aslam Chaudhry, Mr. Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui, Ms. Nicoletta Forlano (FAO) and Mr. Scott Grove ( FAO)


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The Expo in Zaragoza (14 June – 14 September 2008) will be organized under the theme “water and sustainable development”. Over 100 countries, the UN and the EU are exhibiting ideas, resources, projects and experiences in pavilions. The Government of Spain invited the UN to participate in Expo Zaragoza. In response, the Under-Secretary-General of DESA informed that the UN-Water will represent the UN system in the expo. Actions are underway to have the Chair of UN-Water nominated as UN Representative—so that legal agreement could be signed between UN-Water and Expo Zaragoza. The process so far had faced some legal complications, and thus the delays in signing of the agreement. A representative of the FAO Legal Office briefed the meeting that the legal content of the contract needs amendment, particularly the text stating that Spanish law is guiding the process may infringe on FAO’s immunities and privileges as an UN organization. The meeting suggested that the representative of the FAO Legal Office should discuss these issues with the Expo Commissioner to reach an agreement on the contract for the pavilion as soon as possible. The meeting was informed that, despite legal constraints, the work is progressing on the design of the pavilion. Ms. Nicoletta Forlano and Mr. Scott Grove (both from FAO) reported on the budgetary and timescale requirements. The Expo is expected to be visited by 85% Spanish nationals and predominantly young people. The UN-water proposal for the pavilion will focus on key water related issues, such as food, environment and energy with the help of gigantic three-dimensional objects. In addition, it was noted that the existing walls and screens could be used to portray the work of UN-Water. Fact cards, with information collected from UN-Water members will be distributed at the end of the exhibit as take-home tokens. Each pavilion has been requested to keep its exhibit dynamic and change some of its contents during the course of Expo. Agencies would be given a 3-4 day time slot to present their respective work. During the period of Expo 27 August 2008 has been designated as UN Day. It will include an official reception hosted by the Spanish Government and the Expo Commissioner. The Expo authorities expect the UN to arrange/organize a special event on this day. The meeting also discussed UN-Water participation in events sponsored by a single entity/ Government. The meeting suggested the need to evaluate these invitations carefully with the objective to see if such requests are in line with the work plan and activities of UN-Water. If an event had no relevance to the work of UN-Water, the invitation could be passed on to the UN-Water’s membership and individual UN-agencies who may wish to participate in the event in their individual capacity. In this regard, Item 2.3 from the 2nd UN-Water meeting in Rome was recalled in which a balanced approach, ensuring neutrality of UN-Water and the possibility to delegate individual UN-Water members to represent UN-Water in events, was reaffirmed. Decision 13:

a. FAO Legal Office representative will follow-up with the Expo authorities to finalize the legal agreement.

b. The general design concept presented for the pavilion was approved, although some of the 3D objects presented need to be reconsidered.

c. The Zaragoza Office will engage a consultant, using funds provided by the Expo, to draft a proposal on how UN organizations may contribute to the Expo. This proposal will be circulated to all agencies to seek their comments and then submitted to the Expo administration.

d. UN-Water members are encouraged to provide facts or factoids to designers of UN-Water pavilion.


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4.2 Fifth World Water Forum, Istanbul 2009: Mr. Daniel Zimmer, WWC; Mr.Andras Szollosi-Nagy, UNESCO; Mr. Pasquale Steduto Mr. Daniel Zimmer, Executive Director of the World Water Council (WWC) briefed the meeting on the programmatic framework of the 5th World Water Forum (WWF), which will be held in Istanbul, 16-22 March 2009 under the overarching theme “Bridging divides for Water”. UN-Water was requested to lead theme number two of the six themes, “Advancing Human development and the MDGs”. UN-Water was also requested contribute to the call for 100 key questions around which the sessions in the forum will be designed. The questionnaire is available at: http://www.worldwaterforum5.org/index.php?id=2090 Mr Andras Szollosi-Nagy briefed the meeting in his capacity as Governor of the WWC on the political process. The WWF is governed by a steering committee, which is composed in equal numbers of members of the WWC and the Turkish Government. The UN was invited to play an important role in the stakeholder dialogue of the Forum. Mr. Szollosi-Nagy also noted that the Ministerial Declaration has in the past been decoupled from the thematic process. This has been reversed in the preparations to this WWF. Four regional preparatory meetings will be held during 2008, which will produce inputs for the WWF Ministerial Declaration. The Turkish Government will invite other Governments to take part in these preparatory regional meetings. UNESCO will host the first of the four meetings, and other UN organizations were asked whether they would consider hosting other regional preparatory meetings. It was clarified that this would mean to simply provide the facilities and that these meetings would not be a UN process. The meeting welcomed the request for a serious involvement of the UN in the WWF, in which UN-Water has a strong role in shaping the agenda especially as requested for the 2nd theme. The consideration of the thematic discussion in Ministerial Declarations was also positively noted. The WWF was seen as a good opportunity for UN-Water to advance the implementation of its mandate. A discussion on the principle of participating in the event and the role of UN-Water as a coordination mechanism led to the conclusion that it could mean either delegate authority to one agency (with the support of the Chair and the Secretariat office and possibly the two Programmes and the Zaragoza Office), or for UN- Water to decide jointly during its meetings and via email. Decision 14:

a. The WWF Secretariat should send a formal request/invitation to UN-Water explaining expected inputs and role of UN-Water in the WWF.

b. A UN-Water subcommittee, consisting of agencies who work on the topics related to Theme 2 of the WWF Programme Framework, shall be established to coordinate UN-Water’s input to the WWF.

c. Requirements in terms of time and financial resources shall be clearly delineated in order to include it in the UN-Water work plan and allocate funds from the Multi-Donor Trust Fund.

4.3 16th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-16): Mr. M. Aslam Chaudhry, UN DESA Mr. M. Aslam Chaudhry (UN DESA) briefed the meeting on the progress in the planning of CSD-16 (5-16 May 2008) in relation to the review of Water and Sanitation related Decisions of CSD-13 and noted that the review is tentatively programmed for the 12 and 13 May 2008. He added that several opportunities exist for the UN-Water to feature itself during CSD-16:

http://www.worldwaterforum5.org/index.php?id=2090


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• UN-Water members could be part of panels. • UN-Water representative could make statements in the plenary session. • UN-Water could participate in side events and learning centre activities (guidelines and

request forms are available on the website) The meeting agreed that UN-Water shall feature itself in the following side events and activities:

• IWRM (UNSGAB expressed interest in participating) • Water and Sanitation with focus on JMP and GLAAS • National sanitation policies (organized by DESA with UNSGAB and Habitat‘s

participation.)

UNW-DPC will consider offering a course on capacity building under the learning centre modality. (Mr. Zafar Adeel and Mr. Reza Ardakanian will revert with a proposal). Taking advantage of the presence of many Heads of Agencies during the CSD, FAO in its capacity as chairing agency of UN-Water is planning to host a strategic meeting on the enhancement of UN-Water role to internalize the relevance and prominence of UN-Water at the highest level within the UN system. Decision 15: The Office of the chair will co-ordinate the application process to organize the side-events on IWRM, Water and Sanitation, and the Heads of Agencies meeting. 4.4 World Water Day (WWD) 2008 on Sanitation: Mr.Jamie Bartram, Ms.Clarissa Brocklehurst, Mr. Jon Lane, WSSCC Mr. Bartram reported that WWD 2008 celebrations will be held on Friday, March 14, in Geneva and New York due to the Easter holiday around the official day 22 March. The day aims to encourage actions at all levels by issuing guidelines on how to organize events for the day. A website, taking the work done for WWD 2007 as a base will serve as the front page to enter the official IYS website (www.sanitation2008.org). He added that a joint press release by UNICEF and WHO as well as plays for children were planned. The day will also mark the launch of the 12 page flagship publication for the IYS. Decision 16: UNICEF and WHO were tasked to reconcile the existing world water day site of UN-Water and the IRC’s. A WWD 2008 site will be developed and follow similar format as of the 2007 WWD site. UNICEF, WHO and WSSCC will provide the necessary material for the site. Due to a lack of time the presentation of the other items of session four were postponed to the Morning of 17 January.

Afternoon 16 Jan. – 5th Session: Other Business 5.1 The Right to Water; Mr. Jack Moss, AquaFed Mr. Jack Moss, Aquafed, gave a presentation on the issue of the Right to Water and referred to the UN General Comment No. 15 on the Right to Water, adopted in 2002 by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which is not legally binding. In the discussion it was clarified that UN-Water does not have the authority to formally endorse a position on this matter and that a political endorsement would need to come from the governing bodies of agencies and/or other inter-governmental fora.


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The meeting was further reminded of an email sent on 27 March 2007 from the UN-Water Secretariat to all UN-Water members bringing to their attention the letter from the High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding Human Rights and Access to Water. The letter requested UN members to submit their inputs for inclusion into a detailed study on the scope and content of relevant human rights obligations relating to equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation under international human rights instruments. 5.2 Water Wiki: Mr. Andrew Hudson, UNDP Due the lack of time this item could not be discussed. The UN-Water Secretariat will send out the updated Water Wiki presentation.

Morning, 17 Jan. continued 3rd and 4th Session 3.5 Country Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force: Mr. Joakim Harlin, UNDP The Country Level Coherence and Coordination task force coordinator Mr. Joakim Harlin mentioned that the objective of the task force was to develop a strategy for coordination at country level in order to scale up the impact of the UN System action on water resources management, water supply and sanitation. Preliminary findings from Pakistan, Rwanda and Uruguay were presented including challenges facing UN-Water’s engagement in this exercise. The following future activities were proposed:

• Expanding the inventory of on-going coordination to approximately 20 countries, including more in-depth analysis of 3 to 4 countries.

• Compiling of win-win examples, as well as challenges for scaling up. • Seeking feedback from countries as to their expectations from UN-Water (added value). • Mapping of activities carried out by each agency, including the ones without a country

presence and NGOs. The recently conducted donor mapping on transboundary issues in Africa could serve as an example for such an exercise.

Decision 17: A strategy of UN-Water’s involvement at the country level should be prepared, and submitted to UN-Water for review and further action. Financial implications, if any, should be included. 3.6 Transboundary Water Task Force: World Water Day 2009 on Transboundary Water, Policy Brief, Preparations for World Water Week in Stockholm. Ms. Francesca Bernardini, UN-ECE; Mr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy. The coordinator of the Transboundary Water Task Force, Ms Francesca Bernardini, gave an overview of the current state of the UN-Water Transboundary Policy Brief. UN-Water members were invited to join the drafting group meeting on 27-28 March 2008 in Geneva. The brief will focus on the facts and will give an overview of the activities of UN-Water on the topic as well as provide political guidance. The importance to liaise with partners regarding their stance on relevant conventions was emphasized. FAO, UNDP, UNEP, UNU, UNW-DPC, WMO and the World Bank expressed interest to join the drafting group meeting. Some members also requested the holding of a video conference. The meeting was also briefed on WWD 2009, which will coincide with the 5th World Water Forum. It presents an excellent opportunity to showcase what the UN is doing collectively on the issue of transboundary waters. Several ideas involving transboundary basins were voiced.


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Decision 18:

a. Francesca Bernardini will circulate the report via the UN-Water Secretariat. All UN-Water members and partners are invited to contribute to the policy brief until 20 February 2008.

b. The Zaragoza Office will support the layout, translation and printing of the policy brief which will be reflected in its work plan.

4.5 Preparations for World Water Week in Stockholm: Ms. Francesca Bernardini, Mr Andras Szollosi-Nagy, Mr. Johan Kuylenstierna The meeting was informed that preparations for the World Water Week in Stockholm and the UN-Water seminar on transboundary waters were underway. It was also noted that the transboundary policy brief may be included in each conference bag at the Stockholm World Water Week 2008 if SIWI is contacted well in advance. 4.6 UN-Water and Climate Change Events: Pasquale Steduto, FAO The work on climate change is gaining importance in the overall UN development agenda. The meeting discussed how UN-Water could make contributions to this process. In this context, a need to create a new Task Force on Climate Change was proposed. Mr. Avinash Tyagi (WMO) briefed the meeting on a planned conference on adaptation to climate change, and requested UN-Water members to participate. Decision 19: The idea to establish a Task Force on climate change was agreed in principle. Its membership has not yet been decided. Mr. Avinash Tyagi was asked to develop and distribute the ToR of the Task Force. 4.7 Themes for World Water Days The meeting was reminded that World Water Day 2010 will feature the theme “Pollution/ Water Quality” with UNEP and ESCWA being the lead agencies. Decision 20. The theme for World Water Day 2011 will be decided at the next meeting in Stockholm.

5. Next Meetings and Closure The 9th UN-Water meeting will take place in Stockholm from 16-17 August 2008. The discussion in this meeting will focus on substantive issues and less on UN-Water organizational and process related issues. Sufficient time, however, will be allocated to discuss the two Programmes and the Zaragoza Office. Partners will be notified about the specific agenda items in which their participation is required. The 10th UN-Water meeting will be hosted by one of the 3 UN-Water Offices. Mr. Pasquale Steduto thanked the members for their participation.

Report 9th UN-Water Meeting

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Report 9th UN-Water Meeting Report

Stockholm, Sweden 16-17 August 2008

Summary of Key Decisions • The Operational Guidelines were approved in principle. The Communication Officers of the UN-

Water Programmes will develop a coherent visual identity for the UN-Water Programmes. • Communication between UN-Water and UN-Water/Africa needs to be strengthened. Potential

future regional UN-Water arrangements need to be aligned and consistent with UN-Water at the global level.

• The partnership criteria were approved, in principle. UN-Water partners will be invited to one of the two annual UN-Water meetings that will be devoted to discuss the substantive issues.

• The meeting agreed to grant membership status to the UN World Tourism Organization. The meeting reaffirmed the special partner status of entities connected to the United Nations system (e.g., UNSGAB, WSSCC.).

• It was agreed to establish a light steering group to provide overall strategic guidance to the offices/programmes in advancing the implementation of UN-Water work programme.

• Future work programmes should adequately capture and reflect the expected outcome of increased coordination of the UN system in terms of the improved management of water resources, and support to the achievement of internationally agreed goals and targets, etc.

• Each UN-Water Task Force was asked to provide their work plan and budget to the Chair’s Office and the Secretariat for inclusion in overall UN-Water programme of work.

• The Chair’s Office and the Secretariat will develop a proposal for a governance mechanism for the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for discussion and approval by UN-Water members.

• The meeting adopted the UN-Water Annual Report. • The final version of the 3rd World Water Development Report will be circulated among UN-

Water members to seek their clearance. • The UN-Water visual identifier will not be used on the side publications, which are relatively

technical/scientific in nature and do not reflect the breadth of UN-Water’s mandate. • The Coordinator of the United Nations Office to support the International Decade for Action

“Water for Life” 2005-2015 should work closely with the Chair’s office (UN-Water CTA) and DESA’s substantive office to finalize the work plan.

• The theme for the World Water Day 2010 will be “Water Quality” with UNEP designated as the lead agency and UN ESCWA as supporting agency for making necessary arrangements to commemorate the Day.

• The general mandate, TOR and direction of the work of the three Task Forces (Water and Climate Change Task Force, Indicator, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force, Country Level Co-ordination Task Force) were approved, in principle. Respective Coordinators were asked to take on board the comments made in the meeting.

• UN-Water expressed full support to the international conference of Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa.

• The next UN-Water meeting will take place from 3 – 4/5 February 2009. Venue and exact dates will be decided at a later point.

• The TOR and Work Programmes of Task Forces will be shared with the UN-Water partners to seek their participation and contributions to the work of the Task Forces.


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1. UN-Water Governance and Administrative Issues

1.1 Governance of UN-Water 1.1.1 Follow-up on decisions from past meetings (a brief update) Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 1.1.1 a Background Document: Follow-up on decisions from 8th UN-Water meeting - 1.1.1 b Background Document: Summary of UN-Water Meetings The above two background documents. The purpose was just to inform the meeting that these documents in future could serve as useful reference material. No decisions were required or made. 1.1.2 UN-Water operational guidelines Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 1.1.2 Background Document: UN-Water Operational Guidelines The UN-Water operational guidelines were introduced as a guiding document to provide a modus operandi for the Senior Programme Managers (SPM) of UN-Water. More recently, besides its coordinating role, UN-Water has also engaged into a dialogue with processes such as the World Water Forum. In this regard, it was discussed how UN-Water could engage with the ongoing dialogue on the political process. The meeting also highlighted the need to reflect upon the following issues in the Operational Guidelines: (a) the role of UN-Water Programmes/ Offices, (b) the role of regional mechanisms, (c) reference and relationship to HLCP, (d) seeking balance in the membership of partners, and (e) participation in UN-Water SPM meetings through telecommunication. In response to a suggestion to establish “standing committees”, the meeting was of the view to avoid additional bureaucratic layers. Instead, “standing items” was considered a better term to take up issues that require constant follow up. Decision 1:

a) The Operational Guidelines were approved in principle subject to their revision based on the points raised in the meeting (as captured above).

b) The UN-Water Chair’s office in cooperation with the UN-Water Secretariat will reflect the comments made and circulate the final document to UN-Water members.

1.1.3 UN-Water visual identity Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 1.1.3 Background Document: Visual Identity for the 3 Offices/Programmes The proposal to achieve coherence of the visual identity of the UN-Water programmes was generally seen as a major improvement vis-à-vis the current practice. While welcoming this proposal, the meeting suggested that the communication officers of the programmes/offices should use it as a guide to further improve the notion of visual identity. The meeting noted that it is impractical and it does not make sense for the programmes to have a combination of emblems. Decision 2:

a) UN-Water Secretariat will circulate the memo received from the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs on the UN-Water visual identifier.

b) The Communication Officers of the UN-Water Programmes will develop a coherent visual identity for the UN-Water Programmes building on the proposal that was discussed in the meeting. This proposal will be circulated among UN-Water members for a final decision.


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1.1.4 Status of regional UN-Water chapters (focus on UN-Water Africa) Mr. Johnson Oguntola, UN ECA, Secretariat of UN-Water/Africa gave a presentation on the activities of UN-Water/Africa (Annex 3.1). He also mentioned that next meeting of UN-Water Africa is scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa on 7-9 October. He extended an invitation to UN-Water to attend this meeting. It was recognized that UN-Water/Africa is evolving—more or less in the same manner as UN-Water is evolving. There was a strong sense of agreement for achieving greater coherence and maintaining close links between UN-Water and UN-Water/Africa. It was noted that regional mechanisms need to comply and operate under the TOR established by the HLCP and approved by the CEB in 2003 for UN-Water. While noting that UN-Water Africa has established its own priorities without any reference to the work programme of UN-Water, some participants articulated the need for a more effective communication between the two mechanisms. Mr. LeHuu Ti, UN ESCAP, provided an overview of activities of UN ESCAP on water, highlighting the Asia Pacific Summit and the South-East Asian Water Forum and the close ties of the Economic Commission with other UN agencies in the region. Mr. Youssef Al-Mooji, UN ESCWA, gave an overview of the activities of UN ESCWA on water, highlighting that the chief executives need to be closely involved in harmonizing the work undertaken by UN-Water. Ms. Francesca Bernardini, UN ECE, pointed out that the Central Asian region is taking a prominent role in the work of UN ECE and explained the regional commission’s work on transboundary waters. The meeting noted that the regional structure needs to be a lean mechanism in order to avoid the notion that UN-Water is formally becoming institutionalized. Indeed, the need for two-ways communication and interaction was strongly felt. The UN-Water Task Force on country level coordination offered to engage with the regional mechanisms to explore potential for future cooperation between regional chapters and country level activities. Decision 3:

a) Communication between UN-Water and UN-Water/Africa needs to be strengthened and the status of UN-Water/Africa vis-à-vis UN-Water clarified.

b) Potential future regional UN-Water arrangements need to be aligned and consistent with UN-Water at the global level.

c) UN-Water/Africa was requested to present its Work Programme for 2008/2009 at the 10th UN-Water meeting to be held in the beginning of 2009..

1.2 Engagement with the Partners 1.2.1 Partnership criteria Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 1.2.1 Background Document: Partnership criteria The draft partnership criteria were introduced. UN-Water members provided the following comments on the partnership criteria:

- A clear statement on the objective, role and purpose of UN-Water partners, highlighting that partners’ primary role in UN-Water is to support the work of UN-Water.

- UN-Water Partners shall be called upon to contribute to the thematic initatives of UN-Water, including participation in relevant time-bound task forces.

- Brief and unbureaucratic reporting mechanism on planned activities, including an indication on how partners intend to contribute to UN-Water, should be added.

- Mandate and objectives of partners needs to be in line with UN-Water. - Only organizations, which advance global good, may become partners, thus excluding

organizations, which advance the interest of their members.


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- An indication on how partners can engage in the work of UN-Water. - Criteria for selecting partners need to be spelled out. - Care should be used when granting rights to display the UN-Water visual identifier.

Decision 4:

a) The partnership criteria were approved, in principle, subject to its revision based on above comments. The Secretariat was asked to circulate the final document by the end of September 2008.

b) UN-Water partners will be invited to one of the two annual UN-Water meetings—the meeting which normally is organized in conjunction with the World Water Week in Stockholm. The meeting including partners will primarily focus on substantive issues.

1.2.2 Decision on current partner and member applications Applications have been received from: Aquafed, WaterAid and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to become partner of UN-Water. Also, the World Tourism Organization has requested to become member. The meeting also took note of the fact that many current partners did not go through the formal mechanism to become partner, and their status needs to be legitimized. Decision 5:

a) The Secretariat will send the approved partnership criteria to organizations that have requested to become partner to obtain information needed as per the criterion established for this purpose. Decision on their applications will be communicated to the requesting entities in due course.

b) The Secretariat will also circulate the partnership criteria to current UN-Water partners to request the information from current partners and present the results in the next UN-Water meeting to legitimize their partnership status.

c) The meeting agreed to grant membership status to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The Secretariat will communicate this decision to the UNWTO.

d) The meeting reaffirmed the special partner status of entities connected to the United Nations system (e.g., UNSGAB, WSSCC.) with UN-Water. Accordingly, these entities will be invited to relevant sessions of the UN-Water meetings.

1.3 Coordination and Governance of the 4 Programmes Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 1.3 Background Document: Coordination of Programmes/ Offices The meeting reaffirmed its intent expressed in several previous meeting that UN-Water’s role is to steer the programmes and provide strategic guidance. UN-Water will not engage in the micromanagement of the programmes. However, UN-Water needs to ensure that Programmes and/or their activities are not overlapping but complement each other to better serve the mandates and functions of UN-Water. Among the options discussed to secure strong coordination between the UN-Water Programmes, the participants were relatively more in favour of the proposal to establish a light steering group. This group will: (a) advise the Heads of Offices on issues requiring coordination, (b) take steps to avoid duplication of activities—rather it will identify avenues to promote synergies, and (c) provide guidance on the general strategic direction to the UN-Water programmes. This group by no means will interfere in the administration and management of the offices/programmes. Representative of the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) indicated his/her willingness to participate in the steering group. Decision 6:

a) A steering group, consisting of Senior Programme Managers, should be established. This steering group will provide overall strategic guidance to the offices/programmes in advancing the implementation of UN-Water work programme.


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b) The Chair’s office and the Secretariat were asked to: (i) develop Terms of Reference for this steering group, (ii) propose how it is going to operate to deliver on its TOR, and (iii) seek members’ approval to above two items and expression of interest to participate in the steering group.

1.4 UN-Water’s New Web-site Nicoletta Forlano from FAO/UN-Water introduced the new elements of the 2nd generation of the UN-Water website. UN-Water members expressed their appreciation to FAO for the development of this important tool to promote and enhance visibility of UN-Water. The issues such as how many hits this website is receiving and translation of the website into other languages also came under discussion. To sustain website efforts in the long-term, some members suggested the need to secure close collaboration with the Zaragoza office—especially in the light of this office’s mandate for outreach and communication related to the Water Decade. Decision 7:

a) The Chair’s office will circulate the web statistics for the website to UN-Water members for information.

b) UN-Water members were asked to provide feedback and inputs to the new UN-Water website, when requested.

c) Close collaboration with the Office in Zaragoza will be sought in the further development and improvement of both the UN-Water website as well as the Decade website.

2. Programming Activities, Reports, Outreach

2.1 UN-Water Work Program and Donor’s Support Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 2.1 Background Document: UN-Water Work Programme 2008-2009 The work plan for 2008-2009 has been placed on the UN-Water website. It will be annually updated as the implementation moves along. Although it does not provide detailed information on activities, it provides a general overview of UN-Water and key activity areas. A more internal document, providing a higher level of detail, has been elaborated and forms the basis for the discussions with the donors. The meeting was informed that the Governments of Sweden and Norway will provide support to UN-Water for 2-3 years, which brings total financial support to UN-Water for the 2007-2010 time period to approximately USD 6 million. Decision 8:

a) Future work programmes should capture the expected outcome of increased coordination of the UN system, including possibly the improved management of water resources, support to the achievement of internationally agreed goals and targets, etc.

b) Each UN-Water Task Force was asked to provide their work plan and budget to the Chair’s Office and the Secretariat for inclusion in overall UN-Water programme of work.

c) The Chair’s Office and the Secretariat will develop a proposal for a governance mechanism for the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for discussion and approval by UN-Water members at the 10th UN-Water meeting.

2.2 UN-Water Annual Report Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 2.2 Background Document: UN-Water Annual Report (unedited version) Decision 9:


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The meeting adopted the UN-Water Annual Report and expressed satisfaction with its format. The same format could be used for the next report due in March 2009.

2.3 World Water Assessment Programme Mr. Olcay Ünver, Coordinator of the WWAP briefed the meeting about the activities undertaken and those planned for implementation in the coming months (Annex 3.2). 2.3.1 Status of World Water Development Report Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 2.3.1 Background Document: Revised Presentation of the WWDR3 The WWAP Secretariat organized two major preparatory meetings in November 2007 and April 2008, respectively, with the participation of the representatives of the UN entities, NGOs and renowned individuals. The chapter facilitators returned the first version of the full chapter drafts in mid June 2008 for review by the WWAP Secretariat. UN-Water members were provided access to the full report to undertake a substantive/technical review of the full report before the first week of September. Given the pressing timeline, the 3rd edition of the WWDR will be edited and published by a professional company, CDI, based in Washington DC. The initial discussions with CDI resulted in a revised structure of the WWDR3--where the contents are grouped in 16 Chapters under 4 main Sections. Decision 10:

a) The draft World Water Development Report has already been provided to UN-Water members. The deadline for receiving substantive comments on the draft report is the first week of September. After taking these comments on board, UN-Water members will be provided the complete report to seek their clearance.

2.3.2 Side Publications Background documents provided prior to the meeting:

- 2.3.2 a Background Document: WWAP Suggested Side Publications - 2.3.2 b Background Document: WWAP Suggested Side Publications - 2.3.2 c Background Document: WWAP Suggested Side Publications

The WWAP Secretariat provided the UN-Water members the synopsis of 17 side publications (9 scientific papers, 4 in dialogue series, 4 insights) that are complementary to the contents of the WWDR3. These side publications are expected to be published in cooperation with the UN-Water members as well as external partners. The discussion focused on various aspects of these publications, including the use of visual identifier to portray if these publications have UN-Water endorsement or not. Decision 11:

a) The UN-Water visual identifier will not be used on the side publications, which are relatively technical/scientific in nature and do not reflect the breadth of UN-Water’s mandate.

b) The UN-Water visual identifier will only be used on side publications, which are relevant to UN-Water work programme. The WWAP coordinator was asked to work with the Chair’s Office and Secretariat to determine which publications to use the UN-Water visual identifier.

c) In future, the title and synopsis of potential side publications should be shared with the members as early as possible in the production process to identify possibilities for cooperation among members and partners.

2.3.3 Future directions for WWDR4 (a short brainstorming session) A session will be organized by the WWAP Secretariat in early 2009 to evaluate the WWDR-3 process and decide on the way forward. The results of this session will be presented at the next UN-Water


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meeting. The evaluation will include the lessons learned in the production of the current and previous World Water Development Reports. This brainstorming session will also consider the integration of regional efforts into the WWDR process and vice-versa. 2.4 Status of Decade Programme, Zaragoza Background documents provided prior to the meeting for items 2.4, 2.4.1 and 2.4.2:

- 2.4 Background Document: Zaragoza Office Mr. Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui, Coordinator of the United Nations Office to support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 gave an update on the activities of the office/programme (Annex 3.3). Major thrust of the discussion was on two issues. First, the meeting felt that the revised work plan as it stands now has failed to take into account the comments made by the members at large during the 8th UN-Water meeting, as well as comments made by some members of the advisory group (established as per decision 8 of 8th UN-Water meeting). The Coordinator explained who had provided feedback and how it was included in the work plan. Second, some members felt that the quality of the UN-Water pavilion established at the Expo Zaragoza could have been better in view of the resources provided for this purpose. The UN-Water Chairperson explained the criteria and procedure that were employed by the Expo Zaragoza to design and construct the UN-Water Pavilion. In view of the limited input received from UN-Water members the United Nations Office to support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 faced several challenges in sustaining the pavilion’s activities over the Expo’s duration. In response to a question about the details of expenditure incurred on the pavilion, the Coordinator suggested that the UN-Water Chair should seek this information from the Expo authorities—because the contract for constructing UN-Water pavilion was signed between Expo and FAO. The Coordinator also pointed out that over the last four months or so the staff of office had been extremely busy in running the UN-Water pavilion, justifying why some of the activities planned in the work plan were not implemented. Decision 12:

a) The Coordinator of the United Nations Office to support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 should work closely with the Chair’s office (UN-Water Adviser) and DESA’s substantive office to finalize the work plan—ensuring that the comments already made by the advisory group have been taken on board.

b) The Chair should send a letter to Expo Zaragoza requesting budget breakdown of the amount allocated for and spent on UN-Water pavilion.

c) The revised work programme should be circulated to UN-Water members for approval. 2.4.1 Work plan and implementation strategy See discussion and decisions under 2.4.1 immediately above. 2.4.2 Expo Zaragoza – UN Day August 27 The Secretariat informed the meeting that the Secretary-General would visit the Expo Zaragoza on 1 September 2008. Accordingly, the UN day at Expo Zaragoza originally scheduled for 27 August will now be convened on 1 September. Other than the official visit of the Secretary-General, no specific activities for that day seem to have been scheduled. 2.5 UNW-DPC Mr. Reza Ardakanian, Coordinator of the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) provided information on the activities of the programme. The meeting was informed that the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany (BMBF) together with UNESCO will convene an event on education and sustainable development with about 700 participants on the


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occasion of the United Nations Literacy Decade - Education for All (2003-2012) in April 2009. UNW-DPC will circulate a draft proposal to UN-Water members to include the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005 – 2015 in this event. 2.6 5th World Water Forum At the request of the Secretariat of the 5th World Water Forum, UN-Water will lead the organization and implementation of theme 2 dealing with: “Advancing Human development and the MDGs”. Various members of UN-Water will also be participating in other themes. Mr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy (UNESCO) briefed the meeting about the political process launched by the Forum organizers to enrich the political and technical profile of Forum. The process entails participation and dialogue at four levels: heads of states, ministers, parliamentarians, and local authorities. A total of four Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meetings will be convened to lead up to the World Water Forum and culminate in the Ministerial Agenda at the Forum as per the following schedule: first meeting at UNESCO, Paris on 11-12 September 2008; second meeting at UN, Geneva on 04-05 December 2008; third meeting at FAO, Rome on 22-23 January 2009; and fourth meeting, if required, in February 2009 in Istanbul. The UN will provide the facilities and the framework to facilitate the meeting. Since these meetings are not United Nations meetings, interested UN entities may wish to attend as observers. These meetings will be attended by the Governments and relevant stakeholders—the later more or less defined under the framework of CSD. The Ministerial Agenda finalized through these meetings will be brought to the attention of relevant intergovernmental meetings through the host country of the 5th World Water Forum, Turkey. There are several ways UN-Water members may get involved with this process. These include (a) providing inputs to the document for the regional meetings, (b) participating as an observer in the regional meetings and (c) being involved in the World Water Forum, through sessions or for example the web space. The World Water Development Report will be released on the opening day of the Forum, 16 March 2009. This will allow the report to gain more visibility since its results could be subject to discussion and attention throughout the week. 2.7 Update World Water Day 2009 Preparations Background documents provided prior to the meeting:

- 2.7 a Background Document: Update World Water Day 2009 Preparation - 2.7 b Background Document: Update World Water Day 2009 Preparation

Ms. Francesca Bernardini (UN ECE) and Mr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy (UNESCO) briefed the meeting on the activities planned for World Water Day 2009, as outlined in the above referred background documents. While UN-Water members were invited to contribute to the preparations for the World Water Day 2009, the lead organizing agencies will keep the members informed of the developments and progress in this regard. 2.8 World Water Day for 2011 [2010 theme “Pollution/ Water Quality”] The meeting discussed the appropriateness of an earlier decided theme for the World Water Day in 2010: “Pollution/Water Quality”. Various members felt that the theme “pollution” does not adequately capture the essence of what UN-Water work programme is attempting to promote. While it may be evident to various members attending the meeting, it is indeed be not clear to the outside world—as to what do we mean by pollution. The meeting favoured the idea of having “water quality” as the theme for 2010. In addition, since theme for each year’s World Water Day is selected well in


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advance to enable the lead agencies to make necessary preparations, the meeting emphasized the importance of making an early decision with regard to the theme for 2011. Decision 13:

a) The theme for the World Water Day 2010 will be “Water Quality”. In line with the decision reached at the 5th UN-Water meeting, UNEP will be the lead agency with UN ESCWA as supporting agency for making necessary arrangements to commemorate the World Water Day 2010. Several UN-Water members and partners indicated their willingness to contribute.

b) The meeting requested the Secretariat to prepare a proposal in collaboration with the Chair’s office to select the theme for World Water Day 2011, including proposal for lead and cooperating agencies for decision making in the 11th UN-Water meeting.

3. Responding to Strategic Issues

3.1 Water and Climate Change Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 3.1 Background Document: Water and Climate Change Task Force

TOR and work plan of the Task Force The Coordinator of the Water and Climate Change Task Force, Mr. Avinash Tyagi (WMO) briefed the meeting with regard to the discussions took place in Task Force’s first meeting held in Stockholm on 15 August 2008 in which 16 participants, representing 8 UN agencies participated. Main purpose of the Task Force meeting was to discuss its draft TOR and work plan. The meeting made a number of observations on the TOR and work plan. For practical reasons, the meeting suggested that the Task Force membership should be kept to a small number—including only those members who have interest and mandate in the subject matter--but it will be good idea to share its progress and results with rest of the UN-Water members. In terms of general guidance, the Task Force was advised to focus its work on addressing issues that will add value to the many existing initiatives. In this regard, it should consider working on response options to climate change, especially within the context of water resources management. The Coordinator of the Task Force informed the meeting that the 3rd World Climate Conference, focusing on prediction and information for decision-making, will take place from 31 August to 4 September 2009 in Geneva. In due course, decision will be made whether or not the Task Force should participate in this conference. Decision 14:

a) The general mandate and direction of the work of the Water and Climate Change Task Force, as presented in the background document, was approved. However, the TF’s Coordinator was asked to further develop the TOR and work plan taking into account the comments made in the meeting.

b) Upon receipt of the TOR and work plan from the TF’s Coordinator, the Secretariat will circulate the documents to all members and partners to seek their endorsement.

c) The TF’s Coordinator after consultations/communication with various agencies will submit the list of core members and CC members to the Chair’s office and Secretariat. In this regard, representatives of WHO and UNEP attending the meeting informed that they will provide the names and coordinates of contact persons who will represent their respective agencies in the Task Force.

3.2 Indicator, Monitoring and Reporting TOR and work plan of the Task Force Background documents provided prior to the meeting:


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- 3.2a Background Document: Terms of Reference and Draft Work Plan Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force

- 3.2b Background Document: Draft Work Plan Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force

The Coordinator of the Indicator, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force, Mr. Olcay Ünver (WWAP) introduced the TOR and the work plan which were circulated prior to the meeting. Recognizing that a number of monitoring initiatives are currently on the scene, the meeting emphasized the importance of reaching out to key stakeholders in order to build consensus on key indicators and to avoid duplication of efforts. In this regard, it was foreseen that the Task Force on behalf of UN-Water could play an important coordinating role. The Task Force was asked to especially build on and consolidate the work already done by UN-Water members and other entities. The participants were informed that another meeting of the Task Force has been scheduled later in the week to seek additional inputs and comments on the TOR and the work plan from various stakeholders. The meeting also discussed the idea of creating a separate group which is not formally part of the Task Force to follow up on the work of the IWRM Task Force in relation to providing a periodical report on the status of IWRM. Decision 15:

a) While approving the TOR of the Indicator, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force in principle, the Coordinator was asked to finalize the TOR and the work plan based on inputs and comments made by members. The members were reminded to provide written comments, if any, to the TF’s Coordinator. In due course, the final TOR and the work plan will be circulated to all UN-Water members to seek their endorsement.

b) The Task Force Coordinator should communicate with the members and partners to determine their interest in becoming either core or CC members of the Task Force, and list should be sent to the Secretariat for record purposes.

c) The membership of the Task Force will include a representative from the Joint Monitoring Programme.

3.3 Country Level Co-ordination TOR and work plan of the Task Force Background documents provided prior to the meeting: - 3.3 Background Document: Country Level Co-ordination Task Force The Coordinator of the Country Level Co-ordination Task Force, Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP) introduced the TOR and the Work Plan which were circulated prior to the meeting. In order to effectively discharge Task Force’s mandate, the Coordinator suggested the idea of dividing the TF membership into two groups: (i) a core group: members of this group are expected to actively contribute to the work of the Task Force, and (ii) a cc group: members of this group will be informed of activities and progress of the Task Force. Members of this later group are not expected to actively contribute to the work of the Task Force but their inputs will be most welcomed and appreciated. Decision 16:

a) The TOR and the work plan of the Country Level Co-ordination Task Force were approved in principle. The Coordinator was asked to finalize the TOR and the work plan based on inputs and comments made by members. In due course, the final TOR and the work plan will be circulated to all UN-Water members to seek their endorsement.

b) The Task Force will consist of the following core members: UNDP, UNDESA, UNICEF, UNECA, UNEP and, FAO. The cc group will consist of WHO, WMO, UNECE, ESCAP, WWAP, UNW-DPC, World Bank and GWP.

4. Potential Activities for Future Cooperation


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4.1 WaterWiki Background documents provided prior to the meeting:

- 4.1 Background Document: WaterWiki The concept of the WaterWiki was introduced by Messrs. Andrew Hudson, Juerg Staudenmann, and Joakim Harlin, UNDP (Annex 3.4). Several UN-Water members (UNESCO, WHO, UNEP, IAEA, WWAP) expressed support for the innovative Wiki approach to water (and sanitation)-related knowledge management and their willingness to explore modalities for cooperation in utilizing the WaterWiki. Decision 17:

UNDP will solicit UN-Water members’ interest in participation in the WaterWiki, form a sub-group of interested members, initiate pilot activities, and present results as a basis for a decision on creating a common UN-Water WaterWiki at the next UN-Water meeting

4.2 GEMS Water Program: Recent Developments and the Way Forward This agenda item will be included in the next UN-Water meeting. 4.3 UNEP Proposal for GEF Funded Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme Background document provided prior to the meeting:

- 4.3 Background Document: UNEP Proposal for GEF Funded Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme

Mr. Thomas Chiramba, UNEP, briefed the meeting on the latest developments of the GEF funded Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme to promote real investment in management and development of transboundary water systems through strong stakeholder engagement. Decision 18:

UNEP will keep UN-Water members updated on the further development of the Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme project to enable UN-Water members to contribute to the project.

5. Other Issues

5.1 High-Level Meetings – Implications/Possibilities for UN-Water 5.1.1 Contributions to CSD (16th and 17th Sessions) Mr. M. Aslam Chaudhry (UN DESA) informed the meeting that UN-Water played an active role during CSD-16 (5-16 May 2008) and gained high visibility. A statement was given by the Chair of UN-Water at the opening of the two day review on water and sanitation. UN-Water members and partners were engaged in various activities, including side events, learning centres, partnership fair presentations and press conferences. In addition a UN-Water and International Year of Sanitation booth informed the CSD stakeholders about the work being done by UN-Water through dissemination of a number of documents prepared for the occasion. UN-Water was directly referenced in the CSD chairman’s summary: 229. “While noting successful efforts of UN-Water, there was a call for its increased role in monitoring the progress of water, sanitation and IWRM commitments.” and in the Chair’s summary of the Ministerial Session: 255. (ppp) “The need to strengthen UN-Water was highlighted.” CSD-17 (4-15 May 2009) will be the policy session covering the following thematic issues: Agriculture, Rural Development, Land, Drought, Desertification, and Africa. There will be no special segment on water supply and sanitation, but the topic will feature prominently under the theme of


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rural development. Water resources management will form an important part of the discussions covering the themes of agriculture, land, drought and desertification. 5.1.2 High level event at the General Assembly session Mr. M. Aslam Chaudhry (UN DESA) briefed the meeting on the high level event at the General Assembly. The Secretary-General jointly with the President of the General Assembly will convene a high-level meeting on 25 September to review the progress made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The review will be organized in the form of three high level roundtables: (1) Poverty and Hunger; (2) Health and Education [including water and sanitation services]; (3) Environmental Sustainability [including water as a resource]. 5.1.3 Briefing of the President-elect of the 63rd session of the General Assembly Mr. M. Aslam Chaudhry (UN DESA) informed the meeting that at the request of the president-elect of the 63rd session of the General Assembly, Mr. Miguel D'Escoto Brockman of Nicaragua, UNDESA organized a briefing for him on water-related issues on 08 August 2008 in New York. The President –Elect has expressed strong interest in placing water supply and sanitation high on the agenda of the 63rd G.A. All representatives of UN-Water member agencies present in New York were invited to the briefing and made brief presentations on their respective water programmes. The President-elect was also given a briefing on how the UN-Water mechanism is organized and how it works. The President-elect expressed his satisfaction with the briefing and pledged to organize future such meetings to open up opportunities for more informal dialogue on strategies to maintain water and sanitation high on the international agenda. 5.1.4 Conference on Water for Food and Energy in Africa The UN-Water welcomed the forthcoming realization of the International Conference of Water for Agriculture and Energy in Africa, in Sirte, Libya, from 15-17 December 2008. UN-Water noted that the Conference was being convened by FAO with assistance from Libya that invitations had already been issued and that preparatory work was under way. Decision 19:

UN-Water expressed full support to this important and timely initiative, which was likely make a major contribution to a coordinated African response to a number of challenges to which the continent is confronted. All partners involved in the conference expressed their willingness and commitment to support the conference, within available means, so that the initiative could achieve fully its objectives.

5.2 Mapping of UN-Water Members’ Activities (brief discussion about next steps) Background documents provided prior to the meeting:

- 5.2 Background Document: Draft Overview of UN-Water Members’ Mandates and Activity Profiles (internal document for discussion)

- 5.2b Background Document: Final Draft UNW-DPC: Water-Related Capacity Development: A Survey of Activities from the UN-Water Perspective

Decision 20:

The Chair’s Office and the Secretariat will inform the members on the status of the mapping exercise in due course in order to solicit a reaction on the way forward.

5.3 Next UN-Water Meeting For the next meeting, several proposals came under discussion--including scheduling UN-Water meetings in close proximity to international events/meetings in an effort to reduce travel costs and achieve regional balance. Decision 21:


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a) The next UN-Water meeting will take place from 3 – 4 February 2009 (depending on the agenda possibly 3-5 February 2009).

b) The Secretariat in consultations with the Chair’s office will prepare a proposal and circulate among the members to seek their views about the duration and venue of the meeting.

5.4. Other issues 5.4.1 GEF Project on Groundwater Governance Mr. Vahid Alavian (World Bank) informed the meeting that a revised proposal for a project on groundwater governance will be presented to GEF for approval by the Board in their November meeting. The Bank will implement this project on behalf of GEF along with a number of the UN-Water members as partners. The project scope has expanded and will now be a full-size project. The World Bank will keep UN-Water members who have indicated their interest to be part of the project activities, informed and solicit reconfirmation of their interest in participating in project activities. 5.4.2 Formal review of UN-Water: In the past few years the scope of activities and tasks of UN-Water have increased substantially. This, in part, has been a result of increased donor interest and financing. In order to exercise adequate oversight of the activities and resources deployed in support of UN-Water, a formal review process of UN-Water was considered important. The review will reflect upon efficiency of coordination, use of resources and accountability, and provide guidance on the way forward. A TOR for the review process will be prepared and shared with the members to seek their inputs. Decision 22:

The Secretariat and Chair’s Office in due course will prepare a proposal to undertake a comprehensive review of UN-Water activities with the objective to exercise adequate oversight of on-going and planned activities and the resources to be deployed for these activities.


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Meeting of UN-Water Members and Partners

Sunday, 17 August 2008, 2:00 pm – 5:30 pm 1. Briefing on the Work-Programme and Donors’ Support Mr. Pasquale Steduto, UN-Water Chairperson, introduced the work programme and gave an overview of donors’ support to UN-Water. The meeting was informed that the Norwegian and the Swedish Governments have agreed to make contributions to the UN-Water multi-donor trust fund. He also informed the partners of opportunities and ways they can engage in the work of UN-Water. 2. UN-Water Operational Guidelines and Partnership Criteria While introducing the Operational Guidelines and Partnership Criteria, the Chair informed the partners that in future only one of the two annual UN-Water meetings (Stockholm) will be open to partners. This meeting will be devoted to discussion on substantive issues which are of common interest to both members and partners. Since the other meeting will deal purely with the housekeeping matters and issues related to internal UN-Water governance, it will be open only to UN-Water members. The partners were also informed that they would soon receive the final partnership criteria together with a request to provide information on their future engagement with UN-Water. 3. Collaboration with the UNSGAB Background documents provided prior to the meeting to UN-Water members:

- Background Document: Brief Report on the 10th Meeting of UNSGAB (the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation)

- Annex a African Union: Sharm El-Sheikh Commitments for Accelerating the Achievement of Water and Sanitation Goals in Africa

- Annex b Excerpt of the G8 Summit Statement Mr. Francois Guerquin, Coordinator of the Secretariat of the UN SG's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB), provided an update of the activities being undertaken and planned by the UNSGAB. The meeting was informed that UNSGAB is in the process of updating its work plan for the next 2 years. While the Hashimoto Action Plan will continue to remain the main strategic document to guide UNSGAB’s actions, the work plan for the next 2 years will highlight and promote interventions crucial for achieving the water and sanitation targets. 4. Partners Engagement in Task Forces and Programmes Partners were encouraged to participate in and contribute to the activities being undertaken by several UN-Water Task Forces. In addition, Coordinators of the Task Forces briefed the Partners about the scope of work and activities being undertaken by the Task Forces. The Task Force on Transboundary Waters invited partners to contribute actively in the preparations for World Water Day 2009. Decision 23:

- The TOR and Work Programmes of Task Forces will be shared with the UN-Water partners to seek their participation and contributions to the work of the Task Forces.

5. Partners’ Views on Role of UN-Water on Emerging Issues In an effort to point out what are the emerging issues and how UN-Water should engage in these issues, many partners and members pointed out a variety of issues. On the question of what UN-Water can do in addressing these issues, the following suggestions were made by the partners:

- A common voice and coherent messages from the UN system can give clear directions and are useful for partners including media and businesses to advance the water and sanitation agenda.


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- Develop answers/responses through a dialogue process on fundamental questions such as ‘is there enough water to produce food?’ or ‘how shall we develop infrastructure in the light of climate change?’

- UN-Water can provide a one-stop solution to provide access to essential data and information to support decision-making.

Decision 24:

- The Chair’s Office and the Secretariat will develop a proposal for a mechanism on how emerging issues may be identified and addressed by UN-Water. The proposal will be shared with members and partners to seek their inputs.

6. UN-Water Members + Partners Collaboration at Major Events Mr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy (UNESCO) briefed the meeting on the preparations of political process of the 5th World Water Forum and invited the partners to actively contribute to the preparatory process, which is open to any interested organization and individual through the forum’s website. UN entities may wish to observe the ministerial process. The partners were provided an overview of the events in which UN-Water members and partners will participate.


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Perugia, Italy; 03-05 February 2009

Summary of Key Decisions

• To improve the collaboration between UN-Water and UN-Water/Africa, a more systematic approach that reinforces each other capacities and work program will be developed.

• A common visual identity of the UN-Water Programmes and other UN-Water related activities and products was agreed.

• Options to address emerging trends and challenges will be elaborated and a dialogue on emerging issues will be organized at the forthcoming World Water Week in Stockholm.

• The work programme will follow a results-based approach and include concrete deliverables. • The progress of all six UN-Water Task Forces was evaluated in consideration of established

criteria. Task Force coordinators were asked to accelerate the implementation of their work plans. The Work Programme and Budget of the Sanitation Task Force was approved. The Gender and Water Task Force was asked to resubmit its work plan.

• UNCCD was invited to present a proposal on the establishment of a UN-Water Task Force on Land and Water at the next UN-Water meeting.

• UN-Water should be engaged in the recruitment process for the Coordinator of the Office in Zaragoza.

• Prior to the 11th UN-Water SPM Meeting, a session will be held to discuss the future direction of the 4th World Water Development Report, with a decision to be reached at the 11th UN-Water meeting.

• The TOR of the UN-Water Programme Advisory Group were approved; a first virtual meeting will be organized.

• A specific proposal will be sought from IISD for a new UN-Water outreach mechanism. • WWF was granted the status of a partner to UN-Water. The UN Global Compact may apply

to UN-Water for partnership status. • The mapping exercise of UN-Water members’ mandates and activities will be finalized with

the input from members and the addition of an analytical section. • The theme of the World Water Day 2010 will be “Water Quality”. A working group under

the lead of UNEP was established, which will inter alia decide on the day’s “key message”. • The Multi Donor Trust Fund should be permanently hosted by one entity. • The Chair and Secretariat with support from UN-Water members will lead a process to

evaluate the different options for the MDTF, guided by criteria established at the meeting. • A decision on the long term arrangements for UN-Water staff will be made at the next UN-

Water meeting. • The selection of the new Chair will be organized by the Secretariat along guidelines

established in the meeting. The results of the vote will be disclosed at the next UN-Water meeting.

• The present Vice-Chair will terminate her term with the present Chair and candidates will be sought along established criteria by the Secretariat

• The external review of UN-Water will be carried out according to the agreed TOR. • The potential usefulness of the WaterWiki in the UN-Water context will be investigated. • UN-Water will participate in the Advisory Committee of the World Water Week in

Stockholm through some of its members. • The 11th UN-Water meeting will be held in Stockholm, on 15 and 16 August 2009, before

the Stockholm World Water Week.


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Tuesday, 03 February 2009 (0900 – 1230) 1.1.1 Welcoming Remarks The UN-Water Chair, Pasquale Steduto, opened the meeting at the premises of the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) at Villa La Colombella in Perguia. Andras Szollosi-Nagy, UNESCO, welcomed the meeting on behalf of WWAP. 1.1.2 Brief update on the follow-up on decisions from past meetings Background documents provided prior to the meeting for information: 1_1_2_Follow-up_of_Decisions_9th_UN-Water Meeting.doc 1_1_2a_UNW_Operational_Guidelines.pdf 1_1_2b_UNWater_Partner_Criteria.pdf 1_1_2c_UNW_Brochure_EN_inside.pdf 1_1_2c_UNW_Brochure_EN_outside.pdf Decision 1: The Secretariat will follow-up with those UN-Water partners who have not yet responded to the request to legitimize their partnership status. If no response is provided within one month from the date of reminder, the UN-Water may consider terminating their partnership status in line with the provisions made in partnership criteria. This potential action will be clearly indicated in the reminder. 1.2 Status of regional UN-Water chapters with particular focus on UN-Water Africa Johan Kuylenstierna, CTA of UN-Water briefed the meeting on his participation to the UN-Water/Africa meeting in fall 2008. Bert Diphoorn, UN-Habitat, Vice Chair of UN-Water Africa, informed the meeting of the plans to hold a Water Week in Nairobi in March 2010 to advance the implementation of water and sanitation MDGs. While noting the importance of regional chapters of UN-Water, the meeting noted the need for a stronger interface and coordination between the regional and global mechanisms. It was also noted that there is a need for regional mechanisms to comply and operate under the TOR established by the HLCP and approved by the CEB in 2003 for UN-Water. Decision 2: To improve the collaboration between UN-Water and UN-Water/Africa, a more systematic approach that reinforces each other capacities and work program is needed. Towards this aim, the Chair’s office/Secretariat in collaboration with the Chair of UN-Water/Africa should develop a note defining how such coordination could be improved. 1.3 UN-Water visual identity Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 1_3_UNW_Programmes_BusinessCard-LetterHead.pdf 1_3_common_id.pdf Decision 3: a) The proposal contained in Annex 3 was approved as the basis for a common visual identity of the UN-Water Programmes and other UN-Water related activities. b) The UN-Water Programme Coordinators/Directors were advised to use the approved proposal on their business cards and letterheads. They were also asked to use the approved proposal as a basis to design a common visual identity to be used in publications, events, websites etc. where appropriate. c) The Chairs Office/Secretariat will use the same Visual Identity when preparing new business cards, letter heads etc.


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d) The implement of the visual identity in the respective web-pages (UN-Water Programmes and the UN-Water web-page) is expected to occur within a reasonable timeframe. Some further discussions on such matters will take place at the next UN-Water SPM meeting. 1.4 Addressing emerging trends and challenges Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 1_4_Proposal_Mechanism_Addressing_Emerging_trends-challenges.doc The meeting discussed the proposal as how the UN-Water mechanism should address the emerging issues and challenges and their impact on achieving the water and sanitation agenda. The discussion focussed on both technical and organizational aspects, including questions such as: what would be the best way to address this issue within UN-Water mechanism, what should be its scope, how shall we select the issue, and how to disseminate the findings of this process? The meeting supported the idea of establishing a working group that should examine these and other similar questions and come up with a proposal for consideration by the meeting of SPMs. The meeting however agreed that the outcome of this process should not be production of policy briefs (like the ones produced by UN-Water), but rather an analysis highlighting the potential impact of emerging issues on water and sanitation agenda in a forward looking manner. It will make sense if such analyses reach out to the groups beyond the water community—because such issues often emerge outside the water sector. The World Water Assessment Programme offered to coordinate this activity but no decision was made at this point. Some participants proposed the idea of organizing a dialogue on emerging issues at the margins of high-level meetings in which UN-Water participates. Decision 4: a) The Chairs office and the Secretariat will elaborate on a set of ideas, based on the discussions at the meeting, and present new options at the next UN-Water SPM meeting in August. b) A dialogue on emerging issues will also be organized in the forthcoming World Water Week in Stockholm. The outcome of this dialogue will be evaluated and shared with the UN-Water members to determine how this issue to be dealt with in future. This dialogue will be jointly prepared by the Chairs office and the Secretariat. 1.5 2009-2010 UN-Water Work Program Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 1_5_Draft_2009-2010_UN-Water_Work_Program.doc The two-year work programme, which is updated on an annual basis, was introduced. It was proposed to translate the existing work programme into a more results based framework, while recognizing the difficulty to have output indicators for all UN-Water activities. Section 3 on Advocacy and Communication needed a more coherent direction. The section on UN-Water task forces shall include the key outputs and other necessary benchmarks. Decision 5: The work programme should follow a results-based approach and include concrete deliverables, where possible, emphasizing the added value of UN-Water. A new draft will be circulated electronically for approval. 1.6 Status of donor’s support Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 1_6_Status_of_Donor_Support_to_UN-Water.doc The total financial support received so far has been around 3.4 million USD. There are potential new donors interested in contributing to the Multi-Donor Trust Fund. Further discussions on the Multi-Donor Trust Fund are reflected under agenda item 4.1 below.


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1.7 UN-Water Annual Report 2008 Sufficient input to the preparation of Annual Report has been received. The draft is under preparation. Once the first draft is finalized, the report will be sent to all UN-Water members for comments and approval. 1.8 Task Force Updates (5 minutes each) 1.8.1 Indicators Monitoring and Reporting Task Force – Outcomes of Workshop Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 1_8_1_WWAP_IMR-TF_status_report.doc Mr. Engin Koncagul reported on behalf of the coordinator of the Task Force Mr. Olcay Unver on the progress of the task force. A list of basic indicators has been developed and will be finalized to gather feedback in Istanbul. The findings will be presented in Stockholm. WWAP was advised to avoid potential overlap in the work of its Expert Group on Indicators and the Task Force work. 1.8.2 Gender and Water Task Force Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 1_8_2_DESA_Gender_Water-TF_WorkPlan2008-2009.doc The major activities of 2008 and the planned activities for 2009 were introduced by M. Aslam Chaudhry, UN DESA, on behalf of the Task Force coordinator Kenza Robinson. The meeting noted the need for better coordination between this task force and the sanitation task force, as well as among the members of this task force. The meeting noted with concern the very low level of interest among UN agencies concerning the work of this task force. For example, in recent past only 2 UN related organizations have actively participated in task force activities. The task force was requested to revise its work plan along the general guidance provided under item 1.8.7. Allocation of funds from UN-Water to support task force activities can be considered, if the task force work plan will demonstrate value added to UN-Water activities on gender issues. Decision 6: The meeting asked the Task Force to submit a revised work plan in line with above guidance. 1.8.3 Sanitation Task Force Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 1_8_3_UNICEF_Sanitation_TF_Workplan_2009.doc The Task Force Coordinator, Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF, highlighted the key activities of the task force during the International Year of Sanitation (IYS), 2008. A 2 year work programme was proposed, which focuses on capitalizing on the momentum gained during 2008 and follow up on the regional commitments made during the year. The task force will update the material produced for IYS and build on its cooperation within the UN and with external partners. Again, the meeting emphasized the need for stronger coordination with other task forces, for example, gender and water task force that is also engaged in working on sanitation issues. Decision 7: The meeting cleared the submitted Work Programme and budget, but added that the Task Force should consider the above guidance. 1.8.4 Water and Climate Change Task Force Background documents provided prior to the meeting:


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1_8_4_WMO_Water_Climate-Change_TF.doc The task force will be operational in 2009. The meeting expressed some concern about the slow progress made by the task force. In view of the urgency of the issue, and the importance this issue is gaining in the global debate, the task force needs to come up with a strategy on how UN-Water an add value to the debate on climate change and water. It was noted that the issue is already being treated by many UN organizations in their respective work programmes. Some agencies expressed the interest to become member of the taskforce. The meeting noted the need to strengthen information exchange with regard to the activities being planned and implemented by this task force. Decision 8: a) UNCCD will join the Task Force on Water and Climate Change. b) The Task Force Coordinator should take immediate actions to start the planned activities in order to be able to provide UN-Water inputs to the high-level meeting during 2009, particularly the UNFCCC COP-15 in Copenhagen. 1.8.5 Transboundary Waters Task Force Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 1_8_5_ECE_UNESCO_Transboundary-waters_TF.doc The policy brief on Transboundary Waters has been published by the Task Force with support of UNW-DPAC and was distributed at the 2008 Stockholm World Water Week. The Task Force has been invited to coordinate a Workshop at the Stockholm World Water Week in 2009, and is moving according to schedule for organizing the World Water Day 2009. It aims to undertake a mapping exercise among UN-Water members on the gaps and overlaps on activities related to transboundary waters. 1.8.6 Country Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 1_8_6_UNDP_Country_Level_Coherence-Coordination_TF.doc The coordinator of the Task Force, Joakim Harlin, briefed the meeting on the task force’s activities and preliminary findings. Three country visits to Tanzania, Albania and Mozambique and an overview mapping of UN entities country presence have been completed. The review of the application process for water related projects submitted and approved by the Spanish MDG achievement fund has been initiated The Task Force will utilize the WaterWiki as a tool to keep the collected information in one place and facilitate the sharing of the information. The work of the Task Force benefitted from having a dedicated person to support it. The Task Force will elaborate on a strategy document which will focus on how UN-Water members can strengthen collaboration at the country level, based on the experiences from the country visits. A draft document will be prepared for the 11th UN-Water SPM meeting in August. Decision 9: Various task forces aiming to carry out a mapping exercise which may include the collection of data form UN-Water members at the country level should liaise with the Country-Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force. 1.8.7 General discussion on Task Forces Following the brief progress report presented by each task force, the meeting discussed common issues facing various task forces. The meeting reminded itself that the task forces should be seen as technical arms of UN-Water to advance the progress on strategically important themes. They are time bound and need to deliver concrete outputs. The task forces cannot succeed in delivering planned or


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agreed outputs without strong commitment of its members. The task forces may approach the UN-Water Programmes to seek support in implementing planned activities. Moreover, task forces can be supported by the MDTF for specific activities--for example, providing a resource person through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund can be very helpful in speeding up progress of the task forces. Based upon the arguments made by the representative of UNCCD, the meeting discussed the possibility of establishing a new task force on land and water. After some discussion, the meeting agreed on a broad set of criteria to guide the work of existing and future task forces. Key elements of the criteria may include: (i) the task force objectives should complement the work of UN-Water; (ii) the deliverables shall be concrete and demonstrate an impact on the issue; (iii) outputs should add value to the work, which is carried out by individual agencies; (iv) the task force must have commitment from more than 2 UN-Water members to collaborate; and (v) funding to the task force can be provided if the pace of delivery of planned outputs could be accelerated. Decision 10:

a) The criteria outlined above should guide the work of the Task Forces. b) Task Force coordinators should come up with recommendations to accelerate the

implementation of their work plans. c) UNCCD was invited to present a proposal on the establishment of a UN-Water Task Force

on Land and Water at the next UN-Water meeting.

Tuesday, 03 February 2009 (1400 – 1730) 2.1 United Nations Office to Support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 in Zaragoza Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 2_1_UNWDPAC.doc 2.1.1 Status The restructuring of the office is underway, the TOR for the coordinator of the office have been shared with UN-Water. Once the new coordinator is in place the staffing profile of the office will be reviewed. DESA will keep the UN-Water fully informed about the progress being made in terms of advertising the vacancy, receipt of applications and interview process. The meeting asked the UN-Water Chair to request the concerned authorities in DESA to engage the UN-Water in the recruitment process. Decision 11: UN-Water should be engaged in the recruitment process for the Coordinator of the Office in Zaragoza. The Chair will write a letter to UNDESA shortly after the vacancy announcement has been posted expressing such a wish. The link to the vacancy announcement will be widely disseminated. 2.1.2 Final Report UN-Water Pavilion at Expo Zaragoza 2008 and 2.1.3 Workplan 2009 Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 2_1Annex1_Report_UNWater_Pavilion_ExpoZaragoza2008.pdf and 2_1Annex2_UNO_IDfA_workplan_2009.doc In 2008 the Expo has been the main activity of work for the office. The work plan incorporated the comments from the last UN-Water meeting. Planned activities for 2009 include, among others:

- Establishment of website - Quarterly newsletter to be launched in March (to be coordinated with UN-Water’s potential

cooperation with IISD, please refer to item 3.2)


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- Documentary film on climate change and water, on which the Office is in contact with the Climate Change and Water Task Force and various UN-Water members

- Capacity building workshop for journalists on health and poverty aspects related to water and sanitation will take place at the 5th World Water Forum.

- Seminar in collaboration with the Government of Spain on international development cooperation in Africa under the main themes “Water, Sanitation and Water Governance”

- Seminar on Climate Change will take place in Zaragoza June 2009 A survey was distributed by the office to help consolidate the office’s communication strategies and related work plan and to identify where the Office can support UN-Water members. Decision 12: UN-Water members are requested to fill the survey distributed by the office in the meeting via email until 10 March 2009. 2.2 UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development 2.2.1 Report on activities in 2008 (completed) Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 2_2_1_UNW-DPC.doc The director of UNW-DPC, Reza Ardakanian, briefed the meeting on the activities carried out and outputs produced (presentation in Annex 5). Background material has been provided to the meeting, including the UNW-DPC Annual Report and a Survey of UN-Water members’ and partners’ water related capacity development activities. UN-Water members were invited to submit suggestions/comments to UNW-DPAC to further strengthen its work. 2.2.2 Report on activities for 2009 (ongoing and committed) Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 2_2_2_UNW-DPC.doc Forthcoming activities were highlighted. These include the online UNW-DPC Repository of Capacity Development Activities, several workshops, publications and the involvement in several sessions at the 5th World Water Forum (for further information please see presentation in Annex 5) 2.2.3 Assessment and Lesson Learnt Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 2_2_3_UNW-DPC.doc The establishment of the office has taken time, but it is now in a good position to move forward. UN-Water members were invited to provide advice to UNW-DPC to be more visible and make use of present networks. The Programme’s Advisory Board has held one meeting in June 2008. UNW-DPC has organized joint activities in a first phase, mainly on bilateral basis. The office will move to a next phase to work multilaterally to support the whole membership of UN-Water. UN-Water expressed its appreciation to the work done by UNW-DPC 2.3 World Water Assessment Programme 2.3.1 World Water Development Report 3 (Status, Launch, Distribution) An overview of the process to produce the 3rd edition of the World Water Development Report was provided. The slow process of approval by some UN-Water members has substantially delayed the production process. Despite these challenges, the report is on track for its launch on 16 March, with the press launch 4 days prior to this date. The report will be launched at the beginning of the 5th World Water Forum to have higher visibility during the forum. Concerning the future directions of


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the next report, the meeting felt the need to organize a brainstorming session with proper preparations. It was felt that this could only be done during the next Stockholm World Water Week in a half-day session. Decision 13: A dedicated session will be held prior to the 11th UN-Water SPM Meeting, (in conjunction with the World Water Week in Stockholm) to discuss the future direction of the 4th World Water Development Report. The outcome of that meeting should serve as a basis for a decision during the 11th UN-Water SPM meeting on the format and preparation process of the 4th World Water Development report. The WWAP Secretariat could initiate preparatory discussions beforehand through electronic means and will also make the necessary preparations and arrangements for the dedicated session. 2.4 Brief Update on JMP Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 2_4_JMP_activities_2008.doc The different products of the JMP released during 2008 were introduced. UNICEF and WHO are discussing potential coordination and collaboration between the JMP and the WSP’s Country Status Overviews. Integration with the GLAAS report and the contributions to the monitoring components of the Global Framework for Action (GF4A) are also under discussion. 2.5 Coordination and Governance of the 4 Programmes Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 2_5_UN-Water_Programmes_Advisory_Group_draft.doc The meeting discussed the draft TOR, and reached on an agreement on the final TOR (Annex 5). Decision 14: The TOR of the UN-Water Programme Advisory Group has been agreed. The Secretariat will circulate the TOR, and seek members for the Advisory Group and organize its first virtual meeting. Wednesday, 04 February 2009 (0900 – 1230) 3.1 Global Compact – CEO Water Mandate Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 3_1_CEO_Water_Mandate.doc Mr. Gavin Powers, Deputy Director of the Global Compact, briefed the meeting on the Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate. The Global Compact reflects the convergence of interest and new spirit of cooperation between the UN and business community. The CEO Water Mandate is currently endorsed by 45 companies. The Global Compact provides UN-Water with the opportunity to partner with businesses, identify emerging issues and engage in a policy debate with the business community. The CEO Water Mandate applied for membership status with UN-Water. The meeting discussed that the Global Compact’s institutional nature is more akin to that of a partner with special status. Decision 15: An individual programme/project cannot become a member/partner to UN-Water, but the organization or agency it represents can. Hence, in this case, it will be the Global Compact which may apply to UN-Water for partnership status. 3.2 Potential cooperation with IISD reporting service Discussions with the IISD reporting service have been initiated to develop a new outreach mechanism employing the successful tools of IISD, including their email list-servers and periodic publications on global policy processes.


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Decision 16: a) A specific proposal will be sought from IISD outlining specifically the services they can provide and the financial commitment required. b) The Zaragoza office should be closely involved in taking the IISD proposal further. 3.3 Partnership Requests The World Wide Fund for Nature had sent an application for Partnership Status with UN-Water. The application was discussed by the meeting. Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 3_3_WWF_UN-Water_Partner_application_form.pdf Decision 17: WWF was granted the status of a partner to UN-Water. 3.4 Mapping of UN-Water Members’ Mandates and Activities A mapping exercise concerning higher level strategic areas of activity and on policies being implemented various UN-Water members has been started. This activity is related to the core mandate of UN-Water, and is important for securing donor support. The objectives of this exercise are two fold: First, to improve coordination internally among the UN-Water members on issues of strategic importance. Second, to communicate a clear picture to the non UN world especially donors on what the UN is doing to improve coordination. Decision 18: a) UN-Water members should provide response to the draft text reflecting the role of their agencies already sent out by the Chair’s Office. A reminder with a deadline will be sent. b) Based on the responses received, the text will be finalized and an analysis section added. The analysis section shall highlight the crosscutting nature of water within the mandates of the UN system and elucidate how the UN system is responding collectively. c) The final text will be sent out to all UN-Water members for immediate approval and will be published subsequently. 3.5 Update World Water Day 2009 Preparations Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 3_5_WWD-2009_activities.doc The slogan “Shared Waters, Shared Opportunities” has been chosen and a website with ample resource material, including a brochure developed (http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/). Activities being planned for the World Water Day by various members and partners should be sent for website posting to [email protected]. The meeting asked the members of the Transboundary Task Force to produce fact sheets on their activities on transboundary waters. A seminar on World Water Day, 22 March 2009, will be held at the last day of the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul. Decision 19: UN-Water members should propose high-level speakers for the main event on the last day of the World Water Forum to Lena Salame ([email protected]) and should support the further promotion of the Day through their own networks. 3.6 World Water Day 2010 theme “Pollution/ Water Quality”

http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/




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A background paper was distributed to the meeting that included a number of activities proposed by UNEP. Decision 20: The theme of the day will be “Water Quality”. A working group under the lead of UNEP was formed with following members expressing interest to participate in the preparatory process for WWD 2010: UN-Habitat, UNDP, FAO, WHO, UNESCO and UNW-DPAC. The working group will decide the “key message” for the World Water Day. Wednesday, 04 February 2009 (1400 – 1730) 4 Governance of UN-Water The Chair of UN-Water gave an overview of the experiences gained so far. He discussed the progressive development of UN-Water, the increasing expectations and demand from members, partners and outside actors and highlighted issues of effectiveness and efficiency in the way UN-Water operates. Based on the experiences gained and lessons learnt the Chair proposed some changes in the governance of UN-Water, including (a) the need for a permanent location of the Multi Donor Trust Fund (discussed under item 4.1) and (b) the potential for a joint office of the UN-Water support staff in a permanent location (discussed under item 4.2). The consideration behind these proposals would be that the UN-Water support staff would take “operative” roles, while the Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary would take “supervisory” and “strategic” roles. The Chair stressed that there is a need for the existing governance mechanism to be modified and its reflection in the ToR of UN-Water. A new vision might emerge and a more consolidated configuration be developed after the “Review” of UN-Water, which will soon be initiated (see item 4.4). A proposal for “changes” will eventually be submitted to HLCP. 4.1 Multi-Donor Trust Fund Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 4_UNOPS_offer-UNWater_MDTF.doc An overview of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund budget was given to the meeting. The preliminary options that were identified as hosts for the MDTF are: UNOPS, UNOG, UNDP MDTF, UNFIP (UN Foundation). Decision 21: a) The Multi Donor Trust Fund should be permanently hosted by one entity. b) The Chair and Secretariat will lead a process to evaluate the different options for the MDTF, and will present the results in the next UN-Water meeting. An informal advisory group, consisting particularly of individuals with experience in managing various trust fund arrangements, will support this task. c) The criteria for the selection of the hosting agency should be based on:

• Cost effectiveness • Flexibility • Efficiency • Existence of a pass-through mechanism • Coherence with UN rules and regulations • Possibility to change the budget holder • Hosting entity should not be a direct beneficiary of the Trust Fund

4.2 Location of the UN-Water CTA and UN-Water Advisor


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The term of current Chair will come to an end at the end of this year. It has thus become important to discuss arrangements for relocating the current CTA who is currently based in FAO. The meeting recognized the difficulties in rotating the CTA every two years—once the Chair is changed. Various options were discussed keeping both the short-term and long-term perspectives. Decision 22: Until there is an agreement on the long-term arrangements, the current CTA may stay at FAO. A decision on the long term arrangements for UN-Water staff will be made at the next UN-Water meeting in Stockholm. The decision points for Stockholm meeting include: Decision point 1: CTA position should be in a permanent physical location? Decision point 2: CTA and Advisor should be merged into one single team? Decision point 3: Location of the CTA (and Advisor)?

Option a: UN-Water Secretariat at UN DESA in New York Option b: In one of the UN-Water Programmes Option c: In a UN office (e.g. UN Office in Geneva)

4.3 Next Chair: The Secretariat received the candidacy for the position of the next UN-Water Chair from Andy Hudson (UNDP), Tim Kasten (UNEP), Bert Diphoorn (UN Habitat) and Adeel Zafar (UNU). The Guiding criteria for the selection process have been agreed at the meeting as follows:

- Institutional commitment/ support to the position of the Chair by incumbent’s agency - Institutional balance between the role of the agency and responsibilities within the UN-Water - Commitment of the individual candidate to UN-Water - Leadership skills of the individual - Sufficient time to dedicate for the responsibilities of the UN-Water chairmanship

Decision 23: a) The Secretariat will send out a message with selection criteria and candidates’ statement in response to these criteria to all UN-Water members. b) The vote will be carried out electronically by the Secretariat and will be concluded prior to the Stockholm meeting, where the results will be disclosed. c) Present Vice-Chair will terminate her term with the present Chair. d) Criteria for Vice Chair will be developed and candidates sought by the Secretariat. 4.4 Review of UN-Water Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 4_DRAFT_ToR_External Review_UN-Water.doc The review has been requested by the donors supporting UN-Water to evaluate how to further strengthen the UN-Water mechanism in meeting its mandates and functions. The donors would like to see timely conclusion of this exercise, so that decisions with regard to future commitments could be made. The review is also a good opportunity to revisit the TOR of UN-Water. The HLCP should be involved in the review process to reflect its views on UN-Water and to start a dialogue on the future of UN-Water. Comparisons with other similar mechanisms, such as UN-Energy and UN-Oceans, will also be made.


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Decision 24: a) The review will proceed according to the TOR developed (Annex 6). The Chair’s Office in cooperation with the Secretariat will initiate the process. b) UN-Water members are requested to submit names of potential consultants to the Chair’s office. Thursday, 05 February 2009 (0900 – 1200) UNSGAB A letter from UNSGAB to the Chair of UN-Water was received on the day of the meeting with a request to establish a “Sanitation-2 Task Force” to focus on integrated approaches to sanitation, wastewater treatment and related capacity building measures. The meeting noted that it is too short a notice to take decision on this matter. The meeting emphasized the special relationship with UNSGAB and the importance to collaborate with them particularly on high-level events. Decision 25: The Chair will respond to the letter after consulting the coordinator of the sanitation task force, and encourage them to develop a proposal for a Task Force addressing waste water management and water quality to be submitted to the 11th UN-Water SPM meeting. 5.1 WaterWiki Recent Developments and the Way Forward Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 5_1_UNDP_WaterWiki.doc A presentation on the new functionalities of the WaterWiki was made. Following the recommendation from the 9th UN-Water meeting, the WaterWiki is a collaboration of a subset of agencies. It was considered to be a good idea to establish an informal WaterWiki working group to investigate the potential usefulness in the UN-Water context. UN-Water members interested to collaborate or to be part of this group were asked to contact Juerg Staudemann. The group should also explore the possibility of conducting a study to investigate WaterWiki’s current, anticipated and potential added value for UN-Water. Decision 26: a) The meeting decided that some financial support from the MDTF could be used to support the proposed investigation on the potential usefulness of the WaterWiki in the UN-Water context. b) The WaterWiki working group shall present the results of their study at the next UN-Water meeting in Stockholm in August 2009 as a basis for discussions on potential next steps. 5.2 GEF-funded global initiative to gather scientific information from the GEF International Waters portfolio Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 5_2_UNU_GEF_IW_Science_Project_Summary.doc Interested members are invited to express their interest to collaborate on this initiative. The initiative is welcomed by UN-Water, but it is not officially endorsed by UN-Water. Decision 27: UN-Water recognizes the relevance of this GEF-funded project on international waters and may engage with UN-Water activities where appropriate. For further engagement with UN-Water the initiative is requested to continue its liaison with the UN-Water Task Force on Transboundary Waters.


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5.3 High-Level Meetings/ Initiatives– Implications/Possibilities for UN-Water

5.3.1 5th World Water Forum – Status of Preparations Andras Szollosi-Nagy, UNESCO reported on the political process of the World Water Forum. A 30 page summary document is emerging from the preparatory process, which mirrors the 6 themes of the Forum. A separate planning meeting on the UN-Water Pavilion at the World Water Forum was held immediately after the UN-Water meeting to explore options how to best work together on this activity. 5.3.2 Contributions to CSD-17 Background documents provided prior to the meeting: 5_3_2_CSD-17.doc Water-related issues will feature throughout CSD-17 as a crosscutting issue within the context of the themes of the current CSD cycle: Agriculture, Land, Rural Development, Drought, Desertification and the special focus on Africa. There are opportunities for UN-Water to organize side events and learning centres. The highest visibility for side events could be achieved during the last three days of the CSD, when the High-Level Event will take place. 5.3.3 G8 The G8 Presidency is in 2009 with Italy. The Italian Government has contacted UN-Water to contribute to the G8 process. The G8 will focus in 2009 on climate change, nuclear non-proliferation, Africa and regional crises. Within the theme of Africa there are four focus areas: health, education, water, food security. For the focus area on water, UN-Water has been approached. UN-Water will be asked to review certain documents on the focus areas together with the World Bank, the African Development Bank, AMCOW and UNSGAB. The meeting noted that this opportunity will lead to greater visibility of UN-Water. The next Presidency will be with Canada, and the Canadian Government has already approached UNU in an effort to reach out to UN-Water. Decision 28: The Chair will coordinate the review process and contact relevant UN-Water members when documents are made available from the G8 Secretariat. All substantive inputs will be sent to all UN-Water members for comments (with a short dead-line) before submission. Some small financial resources may be used for the liaison. 5.3.4 2009 World Water Week Background documents provided prior to the meeting 5_3_4_SIWI_WorldWaterWeek.doc UN-Water was invited to participate in the Advisory Committee of the week to discuss the overarching strategy and the objectives for the week. Initial interest to represent UN-Water in this Advisory Committee was expressed by UNESCO, UNU, WHO, UNDESA and FAO. A proposal was made by SIWI that the Advisory Committee of the Stockholm World Water Week together with UN-Water could take a lead in the discussions of the future themes of World Water Day. UN-Water responded to the proposal of a stakeholder dialogue with the proposed seminar on emerging issues, as outlined under item 1.4.


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Decision 29: a) UN-Water will participate in the Advisory Committee of the World Water Week in Stockholm through some of its members. Information on the Advisory Committee will be requested from SIWI and a consensus on who shall represent UN-Water in the Committee will be sought in due course. b) UN-Water will organize a seminar on emerging issues at the 2009 World Water Week in Stockholm. 5.3.5 Global Framework for Action Proposal The Global Framework for Action is a non-UN initiative to accelerate progress to achieve the drinking water and sanitation MDG targets. The proposal principally targets financing institutions. The UN-Water Chair and CTA will be in Washington at the World Bank Water Week to gather further information on the GFA. UN-Water will be informed on the findings.

6. Other issues The meeting expressed its appreciation to the work of Jamie Bartram to UN-Water, who is leaving the WHO and will be taking up new responsibilities outside the UN system. Next UN-Water Meeting The 11th UN-Water meeting, open to the UN-Water Partners according to the agreement reached in the 9th UN-Water meeting, will be held in Stockholm, on 15 and 16 August 2009, before the Stockholm World Water Week. The structure of the meeting with partners will be elaborated by the Chairs office and the Secretariat in order to give it a more dynamic structure.


Draft Report

11th UN-Water Meeting 15 and 16 August 2009

Stockholm, Sweden Summary of Key Decisions - The full External Review will serve as an important reference document in the further

development of UN-Water and widely disseminated among UN-Water stakeholders. A management response formulated to jointly take action on the findings of the report.

- The proposal to select UNOPS, a non-member of UN-Water, as the administrative agent for the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, on behalf of the signatory agencies, was approved. Detailed arrangements with UNOPS will be made.

- CTA, the Advisor, and potential additional advisory staff, the UN-Water Secretary, Vice-Chair to UN-Water and the Chair to UN-Water should constitute a single virtual team operating under the leadership of the UN-Water Chair. The CTA position does not need to rotate with the Chair.

- The UN-Water technical support office will be based in Geneva to take advantage of the synergies with the entities based there, its institutional arrangements will be clarified.

- The CTA will be based in the technical support office and the Advisor to the Secretary will continue to be based in New York to take advantage of the entities and political processes there.

- The UN-Water Indicative Work Programme and Budget 2010 – 2012 was agreed in principle and donors will be approached through the Chair and Secretary with this Work Programme to secure funding for the proposed activities.

- Considering the availability of funding, the Chair’s office and the Secretariat will start the process to develop the 2010-2011 UN-Water Work Programme. A draft, which should follow the result based structure developed for the 2009-2010 Work Programme, will be circulated to members for consultation and submitted to the 12th UN-Water meeting for final agreement.

- UN-Water members agreed in principle that the issues: Land and water scarce ecosystem; Regional coherence and coordination; Wastewater management; and Water and disaster are important subject areas to look into for UN-Water members jointly with its partners. The outputs and value added of some of these areas need to be further developed in order to create UN-Water task forces along the criteria established at the 10th UN-Water meeting in Perugia.

- The work of the UN-Water Programmes Advisory Group shall continue under its ToR. The Advisory Group will prepare draft decisions for the next UN-Water meeting.

- During the next three years a group of UN-Water members will be formed by WWAP to discuss the production frequencies, content and structure of future WWDR’s, including the option for a combination of annual and longer term reports.

- UN-Water approves the proposed structure for the 4th edition of the World Water Development Report and gives the mandate to the WWAP Secretariat for taking the necessary action to have it ready for publication by March 2012. UN-Water members agreed with the proposed WWDR4 general idea for the theme “Managing Water for Uncertainty and Risk”.

- The Country Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force was given the green light to continue with its work, as foreseen in its ToR and budget.

- The outputs of the Indicator, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force will be further discussed. WWAP was requested to seek inputs from the UN-Water membership by email.

- Following the increasing number of application for partner status a light mechanism that would be tasked to review incoming partner applications.

- Mr. Zafar Adeel, UNU, was elected as Chair to UN-Water. Mr. Zafar Adeel will serve as the Chair to UN-Water from the beginning of the UN-Water spring meeting in 2010 until the first UN-Water meeting in 2012.

- The 12th UN-Water meeting, will take place in Hamilton, Canada hosted by UNU for 3 days from 02-04 February 2010.


All background documents mentioned in this Report can be accessed at http://www.unwater.org/undocs/login/en using the password provided to you. Should you need the password please contact [email protected]

1. Welcoming remarks and overview of current status and key decisions that need to be taken at the 11th UN-Water meeting and 2. Short follow-up of decisions from the 10th UN-Water meeting The 11th UN-Water Meeting was opened by the Chair to UN-Water, Mr. Pasquale Steduto, providing an overview of the progress and achievements in the last 7 months since the last UN-Water meeting, including an overview of follow-up actions taken since the last meeting. The issues on which key decisions need to be taken in the meeting were introduced. The following background document was provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 2_Follow-up_of_Decisions_10thUNW_Meeting.doc 3. External review of UN-Water An external review has been commissioned by UN-Water following decision 24a of the 11th UN-Water meeting. 3.1. Presentation of findings Findings of the external review of UN-Water were presented by Mr. Mark Keen from IOD Ltd., the consultancy which was contracted to carry out the review. Annex 3 contains the presentation of the external review. The following background document with the main findings at the date of the review was provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 3_1_External_Review_Briefing_Note.doc (Briefing Note), 3_1Annex_ToR_External_Review_UN-Water.pdf Mark Keen from International Organisation Development (IOD) Ltd. provided an overview of the findings of the external review that has been undertaken since May 2009 and provided preliminary results and draft recommendations as a basis for discussions at the meeting. The main findings are detailed in the background note provided to the meeting and will be made available in a final report that will be submitted after the meeting. The preliminary recommendations were summarized as follows:

- Establish a permanent UN-Water base with a core team of 4-6 staff tentatively being suggested

- Trust fund management should be carried out by a non-member administrative agency - A clear framework of competencies is required for the role of Chair and Technical

Advisory function and needs to be formulated - Continue to develop the role of the Programme Advisory Group

3.2. Discussions of result from External Review Discussions of the results of the external review and implications on the way forward for UN-Water followed the presentation of the main preliminary findings. The central guiding questions for the discussion were; (1) how can UN-Water do the things it does even better? (2) How to

Saturday, 15 August 2009 [Closed UN-Water Member only Meeting]

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build a consensus most efficiently while retaining and enhancing the values, ownership and recognition and weight UN-Water has built recently? Options for answering these questions will also be provided in the final report the consultancy intends to submit early September to the UN-Water Chair and Secretariat. The discussion focused on the importance of UN-Water to build consensus among the different UN-Water members, the need to improve communication of the UN-Water programmes and their relationship to UN-Water, the idea of forming an executive committee to enhance the governance capabilities of UN-Water. The consultant highlighted the positive steps taken in this direction with the establishment of the UN-Water Programmes Advisory Group. The need to form a stronger link of UN-Water to political process was also emphasized. A recommendation was made to the consultant to identify the views of the different “stakeholder groups” in an anonymous way in the final report to clearly identify the different views on UN-Water. Decision 1a: The full External Review will serve as an important reference document in the further development of UN-Water. Decision 1b: The External Review will be circulated to all members, partners and other key stakeholders with a request to provide comments. Decision 1c: The Chair’s office and Secretariat will develop a “management response” which will contain proposals to prepare for relevant follow-up actions, including a discussion at the 12th UN-Water meeting to take further action on the findings of the report. 4. UN-Water governance The following discussion followed the findings of the external review of UN-Water. 4.1. Future structure, including the location and function of UN-Water support staff and 4.2. Housing and set-up of the UN-Water Multi Donor Trust Fund The following background document containing a draft proposal for a MoU with UNOPS on the housing of the UN-Water Multi Donor Trust Fund was provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 4_1_Draft_Proposal_UNOPS_for_UNW-MDTF.doc Following decision 21 a) - c) from the 10th UN-Water meeting, prior to this meeting and in consultations with various UN-Water members, three options for the housing and set-up of the UN-Water Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) were explored: UNDP Trust Fund, UNOG and UNOPS. The responsible entities were approached and the feasibility of hosting the MDTF assessed following the criteria agreed upon in the 10th UN-Water meeting. The UNDP Trust Fund and UNOG could not provide the services required. Extensive discussions were held with UNOPS and they verified that they could fulfil the requirements set for the Trust Fund, which would also require one or more UN-Water agencies to sign on, as per current UNOPS and UN system common financial and operating procedures. A proposal, with UNOPS as the Administrative Agent, was provided as a background document. The discussion highlighted that the trust fund needs to be managed by a small group to be transparent with an executive committee of a small number of UN-Water members, preferably a number of signatory agencies to the Trust Fund agreement, fulfilling this function. It was further


clarified that UNOPS, headquartered in Copenhagen, operates virtually and that physical connection is not a requirement. Decision 2a: The proposal to select UNOPS, a non-member of UN-Water, as the administrative agent for the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, on behalf of the signatory agencies, was approved. Decision 2b: Based on the expectation of a positive outcome of the negotiations, the CTA and Advisor will in future be contracted through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund administrative agent, in cooperation with the relevant signatory agencies. Decision 2c: The Chair’s office and Secretariat are tasked to discuss the detailed arrangements with UNOPS, in keeping with current UN system policies regarding collaboration with UNOPS as an administrative agent to the UN system, and report back to the UNW membership Decision 3: CTA Position need not rotate with the chair Decision 4: CTA, the Advisor, and potential additional advisory staff, the UN-Water Secretary, Vice-Chair to UN-Water and the Chair to UN-Water should constitute a single virtual team operating under the leadership of the UN-Water Chair. Decision 5: The existing technical support office will be based in Geneva to take advantage of the synergies with members, partners and constituents based there. The Chair’s office and Secretariat will investigate the institutional arrangements for the establishment of the technical support office and report back to the UN-Water membership. Decision 6: The CTA will be based in the technical support office (flexible arrangements can be made with the UN-Water Chair). Decision 7: The Advisor to the Secretary will continue to be based in New York to take advantage of the synergies with the many members, partners, constituents and United Nations governing bodies and respective secretariats based there. 5. UN-Water Indicative Work Programme and Budget 2010 – 2012, including decision on potential new activities The following background documents were provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: - 5_2010-2012_Draft_Indicative_Work_Programme.doc - 5_Annex1_and_5_2_Draft_ToR_UNESCAP_UNW_Regional_Level_Activities.doc - 5_Annex2_Draft_ToR_CBD_Water_and_Disasters.doc - 5_Annex3_and_5_1_Draft_TOR_UNCCD_UNW_Land_Water_TF.doc - 5_Annex4_and_5_3_Draft_ToR_UNEP_UNHABITAT_WasteWater_TF.doc - 5_Annex4_and_5_3_Attachment_Note_teleconference_Wastewater.doc - 5_Annex5_UNW-DPC_MeetingTool.doc - 5_Annex6_WWAP_proposal_shared_contact_databases.doc - 5_Annex7_WWAP_proposal_Development_of_WaterScenarios.doc - 5_Annex8_UNW-DPC_manual_increase_efficiency_water_mgmt_instit.doc The UN-Water Indicative Work Programme and Budget 2010 – 2012 has been prepared by the Chair’s office and Secretariat after extensive consultation with UN-Water members, programmes and donors supporting UN-Water. It reflects all proposals that were received in response to several calls made for proposals of activities in May and June 2009.


The discussion highlighted the clear distinction between Task Forces and Priority Areas. It was proposed that thematic priority areas should not have automatically any budgetary allocations. In the process of translating the Indicative Work Programme and Budget 2010-2012 to the UN-Water Work Programme 2010-2011 the recommendations from the external review should be taken into account. It was further pointed out that the work programme and budget reflects the need for some resources to deliver on “regular” UN-Water activities such as World Water Day. Decision 8: The UN-Water Indicative Work Programme and Budget 2010 – 2012 was agreed in principle and donors will be approached through the Chair and Secretary with this Work Programme as a basis to secure funding for the proposed activities. Decision 9: Considering the availability of funding, the Chair’s office and the Secretariat will start the process to develop the 2010-2011 UN-Water Work Programme. A draft, which should follow the result based structure developed for the 2009-2010 Work Programme, will be circulated to members for consultation and submitted to the 12th UN-Water meeting for final agreement. Decision 10: UN-Water members agreed in principle that the issues:

- Land and water scarce ecosystem - Regional coherence and coordination - Wastewater management - Water and disaster

are important subject areas to look into for UN-Water members jointly with its partners. It was however suggested that the outputs and value added of some of these areas need to be further developed in order to create UN-Water task forces along the criteria established at the 10th UN-Water meeting in Perugia. Further details on these proposals and specific decisions and follow-up items are provided below. Proposal for Land and Water Task Force The following background document was provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 5_Annex3_and_5_1_Draft_TOR_UNCCD_UNW_Land_Water_TF.doc Mr. Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu, UNCCD, introduced the rationale and objectives of the proposed UN-Water Task Force on land and water and highlighted that its objective is to produce “actionable” and policy-relevant outputs that effectively support decision-making on sustainable land and water resources management. In the discussion the general topic was considered important. It was proposed to refine the scope of the task force further and focus the objectives and outputs more sharply on water management in drylands. Furthermore it was suggested that the proposed name of the task force should be changed, possibly to “UN-Water Task Force on Land and Water Scarce Ecosystem”. Further ideas for the work of the task force were brought forward, such as the Task Force to focus on the UNCCD COP process and deleting references to the Ten-Year Strategic Programme for the UNCCD. Decision 11: UNCCD was asked to fine tune the proposal taking the discussions into account and reach out to UN-Water members in order for UN-Water to reach a final decision on the establishment of such a task force at its next meeting in early 2010. Proposal for Task Force on Regional Level Coherence and Coordination


The following background document was provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 5_Annex1_and_5_2_Draft_ToR_UNESCAP_UNW_Regional_Level_Activities.doc Mr. LeHuu Ti, UNESCAP, introduced the rationale and objectives of the proposed UN-Water Task Force on Regional Level Coherence and Coordination and highlighted that its objective is to strengthen the regional component of UN-Water and develop a strategy to deliver coordinated response to meet the water resources management, water supply and sanitation goals at the regional level (presentation available in Annex 4) In the discussion the idea for the establishment of a UN-Water Task Force on Regional Level Coherence and Coordination was viewed positively. It was pointed out that it could provide a crucial link to the UN-Water Task Force on Country Level Coherence and Coordination and the regional dimension of other UN-Water Task Forces. It can furthermore provide inputs to the envisioned regional perspective of the 4th World Water Development Report and provides an opportunity to strengthen the dialogue with UN-Water/Africa. A suggestion was made to first focus its effort on one region as a pilot and then in a second step focus on other regions. Decision 12: The UN-Water focal points of the regional commissions are asked to have further discussions with UN-Water members and partners to prepare final ToR and work plan in order for UN-Water to reach a final decision on the establishment of such a task force at its next meeting in early 2010. Proposal for Task Force on Wastewater Management The following background documents were provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: - 5_Annex4_and_5_3_Draft_ToR_UNEP_UNHABITAT_WasteWater_TF.doc - 5_Annex4_and_5_3_Attachment_Note_teleconference_Wastewater.doc Mr. David Osborne, UNEP, and Mr. Bert Diphoorn, UN-Habitat, introduced the rationale and objectives of the proposed UN-Water Task Force on Wastewater Management and highlighted that its objectives are to strengthen the UN systems work on wastewater management issues and highlight the issues surrounding wastewater management. Concrete activities are being developed including a rapid assessment on wastewater management, of which a final output will be launched on World Water Day 2010. This rapid assessment will also form the basis to develop an interagency work plan on wastewater management. In the ensuing discussion it was highlighted that the topic is of crucial importance to UN-Water. A recommendation was made to link closely with the UN-Water Task Force on Sanitation and to provide an input on behalf of UN-Water to the CSD-18/19 cycle in May 2010 and 2011, which includes waste. Decision 13: The task force was requested to prepare a final ToR and a separate work plan taking the suggestions made at the UN-Water meeting into account. The ToR and work plan will then be circulated for a final comments and decision by the UN-Water membership. A decision on any resources for the activities of the Task Force will be taken at the next UN-Water meeting with the Work Plan and Budget for 2010-2011. Proposal for Working Group on Water and Disasters


The following background document was provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 5_Annex2_and_5_4_Draft_ToR_CBD_Water_and_Disasters.doc Mr. David Coates, UN CBD, provided the rationale for the proposal for UN-Water to focus on the critical link to focus on water and disasters, by highlighting the crucial importance of the issue for water management and water related disasters for achieving sustainable development and reduce poverty. The link to climate change and the opportunity to raise the profile of water issues in the “disaster community”. The possibility to work jointly with UNSGAB’s High Level Expert Panel on water and disaster and support its main messages to focus on prevention and to provide water and sanitation as an urgent and effective response to disasters. A possibility could also be to review the existing UN-Water policy brief on disaster. The 3rd World Water Development Report covered water and disaster and a side publication on the topic is currently produced. Decision 14: ISDR in collaboration with other UN-Water members was tasked to investigate the possible added value of UN-Water’s engagement on the topic along the lines suggested in the discussion. 6. UN-Water Programmes Advisory Group Report: Report back from first meeting The UN-Water Programmes Advisory Group, established in the 10th UN-Water meeting, held its first teleconference, with all its members and the Coordinators/Director of the three UN-Water Programmes. The following background documents were provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 6__Report_UNW_Prog_AG_June_2009.doc 6_Annex_1_1_UNWDPC.pdf 6_Annex_1_2_UNWDPC.pdf 6_Annex_UNW-DPAC_progress_report_2009.doc 6_Annex_WWAP_MidTermReport.pdf 6_Annex_WWAP_Premises_Perugia.pdf The work of the UN-Water Programmes Advisory Group was seen as crucial in strengthening the coherence and relationship of the programmes amongst each other and with UN-Water members and partners. Decision 15a: The work of the UN-Water Programmes Advisory Group shall for now continue under its ToR established at the 10th UN-Water meeting. The TORs will be reconsidered by the UN-Water membership in light of the findings of the external review of UN-Water. Decision 15b: The advisory group will consider the preparation of a number of potential draft decisions for the next UN-Water meeting. 7. Final decision on overarching focus and structure of the 4th World Water Development Report The discussions from the workshop held on the day prior to the UN-Water meeting were recapitulated by Olcay Ünver, Coordinator of WWAP, and the proposal for the 4th World Water Development Report made. In the ensuing discussion it was suggested to separate the three flagship reports of UN-Water (WWDR, GLAAS and JMP) more clearly and provide a box in each report to explain the scope and differences of each report.


It was suggested to establish a working group with UN-Water members and interested partners to discuss and present different options for the World Water Development Report, both regarding its content as well as structure and periodicity. WWAP was requested to facilitate the organization of such a group and propose the ToR for its establishment. It should also be carefully considered who is using the report and for what purpose. It was proposed that the report should be structured so as to facilitate interaction with and action from intergovernmental processes and not only primarily to raise awareness. In the discussion of the title of the next report it was pointed out that there is a need to have a forward looking report which combine both of the proposed titles: “Water and Human Well Being after 2015” and “Managing Water for Uncertainty and Risk”. It was also suggested to WWAP to carefully consider new challenge areas and revisit them and possibly establish alternate ones. Decision 16a: UN-Water agreed that the 4th World Water Development Report will be published in March 2012. During the next three years a group of UN-Water members will be formed by WWAP to discuss the production frequencies, content and structure of future WWDR’s, including the option for a combination of annual and longer term reports. WWAP will draft the ToR of this group and submit them to UN-Water members for their comments and decision at the next UN-Water meeting. Decision 16b: UN-Water approves the proposed structure for the 4th edition of the World Water Development Report and gives the mandate to the WWAP Secretariat for taking the necessary action to have it ready for publication by March 2012. Decision 16c: WWAP has been tasked to reflect on the items raised in the discussion, particularly on the compatibility of the themes for WWDR4. UN-Water members agreed with the proposed WWDR4 theme “Managing Water for Uncertainty and Risk” although it was pointed out that a reformulation of this title would be necessary. 8. World Water Day 2011, 2012 A virtual brainstorming was conducted to solicit ideas for the themes of World Water Day 2011 and 2012. A summary of the results are included in the following background document: 8_WorldWaterDay_2011_2012.doc A decision on the item was postponed to the next day of the meeting to allow for consultation with other processes that may relevant for the selection of the theme. 9. UNSGAB - overview and potential for cooperation with UN-Water Please refer to the background document: 9_UNSGAB_overview.doc Francois Guerquin, UNSGAB Secretariat, gave a presentation on the future development of UNSGAB (Annex 4) detailing that UNSGAB is reviewing its activities and is drawing up a new work plan. The new work plan focuses on: 1) follow-up on the International Year of Sanitation with a particular focus on wastewater treatment and reuse, 2) follow-up on IWRM planning with integration of climate change adaption issues, and 3) national strategic financial planning. A priority for UNSGAB in the future will be the post-MDG discussion. 10. Progress on UN-Water Mapping


The following background document was provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 10_Mapping_of_UN-Water.doc A presentation (Annex 6) was given on the mapping exercise that is currently carried out by the consultant Mr. Falk Schmidt hired through the UN-Water MDTF supervised by UNW-DPC. The presentation introduced the preliminary findings from the first few weeks of this exercise. A report will be circulated in October 11. Reporting back from selected Task Forces 11.1 Country Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force The following background documents were provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 11_1_UNW_Country_Level_CoordCoherence_TF_Report.doc 11_1Annexes_UNW_Country_Level_CoordCoherence_TF.zip Joakim Harlin, UNDP, coordinator of the UN-Water Country Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force, briefly presented the main findings of the Task Force. Due to time limitation in this part of the meeting he was provided with the opportunity to present the work of the Task Force in further detail on the next day. The relevance of the rich amount of findings of the task force clearly go beyond the scope of the task force. The general direction given to the Task Force remains to produce a UN-Water strategy for improving country level coordination and scaling up delivery and impact. All suggested activities will feed in towards this output. Decision 17a: The Country Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force was given the green light to continue with its work, as foreseen in its ToR and budget. The budget for its next cycle of work will be considered with the 2010-2011 work plan. Decision 17b: The outputs of the task force will be discussed at the UN-Water member and partner meeting on 16 August 2009 and in further detail at the 12th UN-Water meeting. The task force was also requested to seek inputs from the UN-Water membership by email, immediately following this meeting. 11.2 Indicator, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force The following background documents were provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 11_2_UNW_IMR_TF.doc 11_2Annex_UNW_IMR_TF.zip (contains the main reports of the Task Force) Olcay Unver, WWAP, coordinator of the UN-Water Indicator Monitoring and Reporting Task Force, briefly presented the main findings of the Task Force. Due to time limitation he was provided with the opportunity to present the work of the Task Force in further detail on the next day and was encouraged to seek further inputs on the way forward from UN-Water members by email. The Task Force has produced a set of basic indicators for their relevance and measurability aiming to communicate the status and progress in the water sector. The task force proposes to work on the following areas:


- Building the basis for a joint monitoring approach and a functional federated information system for the overarching goal of harmonization and standardization,

- Working on an overall performance framework for the water sector –context, functioning and governance,

- Building the global compilation of key data sets in cooperation with countries, - Supporting country efforts in developing water statistics, and reviewing governance

performance, in particular legal and regulatory framework. As highlighted in the UN-Water Report on “Water Monitoring: Mapping Existing Global Systems and Initiatives” in 2006 and reaffirmed by the WWAP Expert Group on Indicators, Monitoring and Data/Metadata bases (WWAP EG-IMD) many of the data items are not reliably or systematically collected, which makes it difficult to generate indicators on a regular and comparable basis. This constrains the monitoring of significant dimensions of performance and of trends in the sector. A discussion on how to address this need has to be conducted. Decision 18: The outputs of the task force will be discussed at the UN-Water member and partner meeting on 16 August 2009 and in further detail at the 12th UN-Water meeting. The task force was also requested to seek inputs from the UN-Water membership by email, immediately following this UN-Water meeting. 12. Decision on UN-Water Partnership Applications The following background document, containing the partnership application received since the 10th UN-Water meeting, was provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 12_Partnership_Applications.zip The partnership applications have been received by the UN-Water Secretariat by the following six Organizations since the 10th UN-Water Meeting:

a) Arab Water Council (AWC) b) Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE) c) International Hydropower Association (IHA) d) Women for Water Partnership (WfWP) e) Gender and Water Alliance (GWA) f) Stakeholder Forum

Key points to base the decision on, are as detailed in the UN-Water Partnership criteria (also available in the file 0_UNW_institutional_memory.zip):

2. [...] In granting partner status, preference will be given to organizations that fulfil the below criteria:

a. Extensive global networks of members or partners or a high global presence or visibility, through regional or country offices, on ground project activities or globally recognized events/publications; b. Specific expertise with a strong emphasis on water related issues in their organizational mandate; c. Focus on the improvement of global welfare, rather than primarily the advancement and interests of their members (if a member’s organization).

3. UN-Water will seek a balance among partners from various major groups. 5. Partner status will not be granted to organizations dominated by single-issue advocacy or single country focus.

Decision 19: Following the increasing number of application for partner status to UN-Water the Chair’s Office and the Secretariat were tasked to consider the creation of a light mechanism that


would be tasked to review incoming partner applications and present its recommendations (approval or non approval) to the UN-Water meeting as a basis for a final decision. This mechanism could also have a role to look more strategically on long term partner related issues linked to UN-Water. Decision 20: The applications received for this meeting will be evaluated by the Secretariat and the Chair’s office and a recommendation on approval/disapproval made to the UN-Water members. If a decision on their application cannot be reached by email the applications will be discussed at the 12th UN-Water meeting. 13. Any other business The following background documents were provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 13__other_items.doc 13_Annex_GF4A-flyer.pdf A briefing was provided by Nikhil Chandavarkar, UN DESA, Secretary to UN-Water on the UN General Assembly Second Committee, Tajikistan’s proposal for an event for the review of progress and way forward on the Water for Life Decade; the General Assembly High-Level Plenary Meeting on the MDGs 2010; Rio+20; CSD-18; Strategic collaboration with UN-Oceans and UN-Energy; and Strengthened links with HLCP and CEB. A brief update on the Global Framework for Action, the contribution of UN-Water to the G8 process and the World Water Forum 2012 were also given as detailed in the background documents. The wider consideration of this agenda item focused on a general discussion on how UN-Water should engage with political processes. Due to time limitations at this meeting a more in-depth discussion will also be taken up at the 12th UN-Water meeting. 14. Election of the Chair of UN-Water for 2010-2011 A ballot was provided at the UN-Water meeting and the voting carried out by the Senior Programme Managers with one vote for each UN-Water member entity. Four UN-Water member entities submitted their votes remotely. The 18 UN-Water member entities present submitted their votes via an anonymous ballot. Decision 21: Mr. Zafar Adeel, UNU, was elected as Chair to UN-Water. In accordance with the ToR of UN-Water, stating that the term of the chair should normally last for 2 years, Mr. Zafar Adeel will serve as the Chair to UN-Water from the beginning of the UN-Water spring meeting in 2010 until the first UN-Water meeting in 2012. 15. Procedure on selecting a Vice Chair to UN-Water for 2010-2011 The 10th UN-Water meeting decided that the present Vice-Chair, Ms. Francesca Bernardini, UN ECE, will terminate her term with the present Chair. The following background document was provided to the meeting participants prior to the meeting: 15_UN-Water_ViceChair.doc Decision 22: The UN-Water Secretariat will seek proposals for the position of the UN-Water Vice-Chair and the process of deciding on a new UN-Water Vice Chair.


16. Decision on next UN-Water Meeting Decision 23: The 12th UN-Water meeting, will take place in Hamilton, Canada hosted by UNU for 3 days from 02-04 February 2010.


1. UN-Water recent developments and key decisions from the 11th UN-Water meeting, general discussion Pasquale Steduto, FAO, Chair to UN-Water opened the UN-Water member, partner and key stakeholder meeting and provided an overview of recent developments within UN-Water as well as a briefing on the decisions reached in the closed UN-Water meeting on the previous day. 2. Substantive discussions on collaboration between UN-Water and Partners: Ideas and proposals from all UN-Water Partners were sought for strategic areas for collaboration, which included a discussion on the integration of UN-Water Partners into the work of UN-Water The inclusion of partners’ perspective into the Work Programme and collaboration on major events were proposed. Key issues also include the collaboration on the work of right to water and sanitation. UN-Water should was also recommended to facilitate a discussion and bring out clearly the different positions on key issues that have evolved over the last years, also through, for example, the World Water Development Report. The idea of setting up a forum to discuss strategic issues and possibly a yearly report that goes beyond GLAAS was voiced. A follow-up on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and its recommendations of water issues could be issues discussed in such a forum. UN-Water could thus be a platform to bring out issues and go beyond the challenge of reverting to the common lowest denominator. UN-Water role could also be to be more actively involved in political processes through the UN system (e.g. UN Chief Executive Board, UN General Assembly and its functional commissions, such as the Commission for Sustainable Development) and outside of the UN system, such as G8 and G20. The active involvement of UN-Water partners in the work of UN-Water is seen as important; several partners mentioned their meaningful involvement in the work of the UN-Water Task Forces and UN-Water Programmes. A discussion on post 2015 targets for the water community and the integration of water issues into international high-level processes, such as the UN General Assembly was seen as important. A more general call for developing a vision for the whole water sector through an inclusive dialogue initiated by UN-Water was voiced. At the same time UN-Water needs to be responsive and live up to the expectation placed on it. A strong endorsement from some of the current donors to UN-Water on the progress and importance of UN-Water was voiced. 3. Detailed update from selected UN-Water Task Forces 3.1 Country Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force Mr. Joakim Harlin, UNDP, coordination of the Country Level Coherence and coordination Task Force gave a presentation on the key findings and priority areas identified by the Task Force (Annex 7).

Sunday, 16 August 2009; [UN-Water Member, Partner and key Stakeholder Meeting]


The priority areas can be summarized as: - Strengthening coordination of UN Country Teams (UNCT) on water related issues - Strengthening UN programmes and activities at country level - Strengthening collaboration with national counterparts - Developing collaboration with UN Development Group (UNDG) It was highlighted that particularly at the country level there is often not a clearly delineated role of the different agencies, and thus a strong need for the clarification of the mandate. Some of the proposals made by UNCT, where a potential role for UN-Water would be useful from their perspective, would be to facilitate a more coordinated and strategic way of acquiring funds, inter-country knowledge sharing on coordination, mainstreaming the water and sanitation agenda and facilitate transboundary water resources management. The Task Force, however, also noted the often limited understanding of the UNCT of the role of UN-Water as defined in UN-Water’s ToR. The country visits conducted and the discussions held are forming an important part of the input to the work of the Task Force and in the operationalization of the priority areas and delivering results according to its work plan. While there are obviously considerable differences among countries the findings suggest among other things that there is often a sectoral approach to water issues, where sub-sectors such as irrigation, drinking water supply and sanitation are insufficiently linked to water resources management considerations. The Task Forces was congratulated on their good work and will continue to work under its current work plan and present its findings at the next UN-Water meeting. 3.2 Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force Olcay Unver, WWAP, coordinator of the UN-Water Indicator Monitoring and Reporting Task Force, presented the main findings of the Task Force (Annex 8) The Task Force has produced a set of basic indicators and tested them for their relevance and measurability with the aim to communicate the status and progress in the water sector with the overall objective to support decision-making processes. The harmonization of reporting progress and supporting potentially differing priority areas among countries. In the discussion it was pointed out that there needs to be a clear understanding of what the final objective of monitoring efforts should be in order to ensure the success of these activities. The Task Force received praise for its achievements to date. 3. UN-Water Task Forces Break-Out session The Task Force Breakout session was organized by the UN-Water Task Force Coordinators with the aim to (i) introduce the work of the UN-Water Task Forces, (ii) provide clarification on their work and future activities, and (iii) solicit inputs and ideas for the work of the Task Forces in a brief brainstorming session. These discussions were also intended to provide an entry point for UN-Water partners and members to participate in (certain activities of) task forces in the future. Prior to the meeting a background document introducing each Task Force has been provided to the participants: P3_UNW_TaskForce_Session.doc A summary of the discussions of each Task Force, is included in Annex 8. 4. WaterWiki


A study is currently study is currently carried out to investigate WaterWiki’s current, anticipated and potential added value for UN-Water and a presentation was made to introduce the study by Gordon Young. Please refer to the background documents: P5_WaterWiki.doc P5_WaterWiki_Responses_to_initial_survey.doc The following major points emerged from discussion of this presentation: 1. It is clear that a better justification of why UN-Water should take leadership of the

WaterWiki needs to be made; 2. While most respondents to the initial survey of members of UN-Water and Partners were

keen to pursue the possible development of the WaterWiki under some degree of endorsement or leadership to be provided by UN-Water, there was agreement that considerably more discussion needs to be made before decisions on how to go ahead are made; the approach should be thoroughly considered and consultations should continue as long as is needed before final decisions are made;

3. Some respondents to the initial survey, while impressed by the content and potentials of the present UNDP WaterWiki, found navigation within the WaterWiki somewhat difficult; there is a perceived need to reorganize the UNDP WaterWiki so that navigation is made more easy – options for such a reorganization should be considered;

4. The costs of restructuring and maintaining the WaterWiki need to be carefully considered: a cost-benefit analysis should be made;

5. Legal implications for UN-Water leadership should be thoroughly investigated; 6. Other WaterWikis are already under construction by partner agencies; these should be

encouraged by UN-Water and ways of linking these to a potential UN-Water WaterWiki should be investigated;

7. While there were more than 20 responses by members of UN-Water and Partners to the initial survey and while more responses were received during the meeting on 16 August and in subsequent days, all members and partners should still be encouraged to make their comments, or to extend comments that they have already made; while there is a need to conclude the study in a timely manner and within the ToR of the current consultant, the process of consultation should be as wide as possible and everyone should have the chance to be engaged in the discussions.

8. If UN-Water does decide to endorse or take a leadership role in WaterWiki it would most likely be best if a single agency or entity would take responsibility for WaterWiki development and maintenance; the most suitable agency could be UNDP as it now has considerable knowledge and experience in developing the current WaterWiki. The way forward:

1. UN-Water members and partners who wish to make initial comments or additional comments are requested to do so by 14 September 2009;

2. The consultant, in discussion with the advisory group for the WaterWiki, will: • develop the justification of UN-Water providing leadership for the WaterWiki; • investigate the options for reorganizing the current WaterWiki structure to make it

more easy to navigate; • present the steps needed to ensure quality control of information entered into the

WaterWiki; • investigate the possible legal implications for UN-Water taking leadership in the

WaterWiki; • develop the outline of a strategic concept (niche / concept ) of WaterWiki.net vis-à-

vis the UN-Water website and other key websites, and investigate options to link to them in a complementary way.


3. These considerations will be presented to UN-Water members and partners by early October; 4. Thereafter there will be a further set of discussions primarily through the Advisory Group,

but considering inputs from all members and partners who wish to be involved. 5. A Final Report with recommendations for how best to proceed will be delivered by end of

November. 5. UN-Water web-based federated information system A mock-up version for a web-based federated information system was presented by Nicoletta Forlano, FAO and the functionality of this mock-up version demonstrated (presentation available in Annex 10). The general premise of the proposed system is to pull data from different sources, which can be viewed by country, region and globally. Collaboration with the UN-Water Task Force on Country Level Coordination and Coherence, FAO Aquastat, the Joint Monitoring Programme made this mock-up version a reality. In the ensuing discussion it was emphasised that this is work in progress and the actual name of the service would need to be reconsidered as federated information system may be too complicated and not necessarily accurate. The suggested interface was very positively received. 6. World Water Day 2010 UNEP is taking the lead within UN-Water to organize activities for World Water Day 2010 und the theme “Water Quality”. The following background document has been provided to the participants prior to the meeting: P7_UNEP_WWD2010_UN-Water.doc Thomas Chiramba and Renate Fleiner, UNEP, gave a presentation on the progress in the planning of the World Water Day 2010 on the theme of Water Quality for which currently slogans are being developed. The main approach of the organizers, which was very much welcomed by UN-Water members and partners is to make the day a collaborative effort to highlight the manifold relevance of water quality aspects and provide a platform for action on improving water quality. The idea is to highlight Water Quality issues at relevant events and actions throughout 2010, through broad based efforts and innovative ideas. A seminar was held after the UN-Water meeting during the World Water Week in Stockholm to develop key messages. 7. World Water Day themes 2011 and 2012 Prior to the meeting a brainstorming among UN-Water members has been by the UN-Water Secretariat to solicit ideas for the themes of World Water Day 2011 and 2012. It was highlighted that one needs to come up with one clear message. A consensus emerged around the ideas of 1) Water and Urbanization: Consequences of population growth for urbanization and growing cities around the world 2) Water and Food Security: Focus on food production side linking population growth and consumption patterns The idea was voiced to integrate World Water Day with the international years declared by the United Nations General Assembly. Need to have a study of the impact of the announcement of the themes by different actors. For example it may be useful to approach the research community to stimulate new research in certain areas.


A strong call emerged that World Water Days should not only address crises but focus on solutions, i.e. instead of food crisis focus on water productivity. Work in other fora can feed into the World Water Development Report (WWDR). The contents of the WWDR can provide the substance for World Water Days. This would also add to the visibility of the WWDR. 8. Brief update on the UN-Water Programmes The UN-Water Programmes gave a brief overview of their activities: - UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) based in Bonn, Germany The UNW-DPC has been established two years ago and participated in various activities. It has taken major steps recently to increase its collaboration with UN-Water as a whole from the collaboration it has carried out with individual UN-Water members and partners in its first phase. Mr. Reza Ardakanian, Director UNW-DPC, gave an overview of past and ongoing activities (Annex 11), including its capacity development repository and the mapping activities it provides support to. - World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) based in Perugia, Italy The Coordinator of WWAP, Mr. Olcay Unver, reported on the launch and strong interest in the World Water Development Report, mirrored in the 600,000 hits on its website in March 2009, the month the third World Water Development Report was launched. An overview of the other publications that were launched and will be launched in the near future was detailed (see Annex 12). It was further highlighted that the premises of WWAP in Perugia lend themselves for meetings. - UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) in Zaragoza, Spain Ms. Helena Caballero, Officer in Charge of UNW-DPAC, provided an overview of the activities and programmatic approach taken by the programme (see Annex 13). The process of hiring a coordinator for the programme is closed to finalization. In the ensuing discussion it was highlighted that an in-depth discussion in the 12th UN-Water member meeting on will take place. 9. Presentation of status of 4th World Water Development Report (WWDR4), discussion on substantive support to the preparation process Mr. Olcay Unver, Coordinator WWAP, presented the status on WWDR4 (see Annex 14). The structure and the work plan for the WWDR4 were approved by the SPM during the 11th UN-Water Meeting on August 15, 2009. The structure will be formed around 3 modules: (1) Status and possible futures; (2) overarching topic (“Managing under uncertainty and risk”); and (3) knowledge base and supporting documents. An overview of the preliminary status of contributors was presented and UN-Water partners and members invited to the “Issues Workshop” on 16 and 17 November 2009 in Perugia.


Annex 1 – Agenda of the 11th UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm Annex 2 – Participants List of the 11th UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm Annex 3 – Presentation of the External Review of UN-Water Annex 4 – Presentation of Proposal for Task Force on Regional Level Coherence and Coordination Annex 5 - Presentation of UNSGAB Annex 6 – Presentation on the UN-Water Mapping Annex 7 – Presentation of the Country Level Coherence and Coordination Task Force Annex 8 – Presentation of the Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force Annex 9 - Summary of Task Force Break Out Session Roundtable Discussions Annex 10 – Presentation of UN-Water web-based federated information system Annex 11 – Presentation of UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) Annex 12 – Presentation of World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) Annex 13 – Presentation of UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) Annex 14 - Presentation of status of 4th World Water Development Report

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- Report - 12th UN-Water Meeting

02 – 04 February 2010; Hamilton, Canada

Summary of Key Decisions: - Agreement was reached on the three broad directions for UN-Water. (i) Horizontal coordination needs to remain in the focus of UN-Water, relating to its core mandate and demonstrating that the UN system can speak with one voice and act concertedly on water issues. (ii) UN-Water needs to link up with global policy debate and provide clear messages of the UN system’s view on water issues, not only on the environmental side, but also in relation to the social and economic arena. (iii) Delivering at the country level remains crucial to demonstrate how UN-Water is relevant to the challenges member states are facing. - UN-Water recognizes that enhanced coordination is at the core of the mechanism and requests that all UN-Water Programmes, Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas identify ways on how such enhanced coordination can be achieved. In particular, the country level dimension of such enhanced coordination needs to be considered. - UN-Water will seek to strengthen the engagement with the CEB/HLCP. UN-Water further encourages more active engagement with key actors, events and processes, such as UN General Assembly, CSD, the COP of the conventions and UNDG. - The UN-Water SPMs accepted the 2010-2011 Work Programme and Indicative Budget. - UN-Water endorses the draft programme for the World Water Day 2010 event in Nairobi. - World Water Day 2011 will focus on the topic Water and Urbanization coordinated by UN-Habitat. World Water Day 2012 will focus on the topic Water and Food Security coordinated by FAO. - The conclusions and responses of the Management Response to the External Review are accepted subject to additional comments and suggestions. - UN-Water will move forward and formalize the MoU with UNOPS to manage its trust fund. - UN-Water establishes a Joint Steering Group with the permanent members being the Chair, the Vice Chair and the Secretary. Additional members are FAO, UNESCO, UN CBD and UN ISDR. - UN-Water welcomes a stronger and more active support from the UN-Water programmes in the implementation of the UN-Water Work Programme, focusing specifically on how they can add value and services within their respective area of competence. - UN-Water encourages the three programme directors to continue their efforts to strengthen joint programming and to collaborate on specific activities and events, through regular consultations. - The Vice Chair of UN-Water for the period 2010-2011 will be Tim Kasten, UNEP. - UN-Water encourages the harmonization of the three reporting mechanism GLAAS, JMP and WWDR, and for GLAAS and WWDR on the development of key policy recommendations in order to deliver more coordinated and consolidated messages to policy and decision makers. - UN-Water decides to establish a more permanent structure for follow-up and reporting on how the management of water resources is advancing. A first report will be produced for UNCSD 2012. - UN-Water accepts the membership request of ILO as well as the partnership applications of IHA, GWA, WfWP and the Stakeholder Forum were accepted. The application of CEDARE, AWC and Nile Basin Society were not accepted due to the regional focus of these organizations. - The UN-Water SPMs propose that regular meetings are organized between the Chairs of UN-Energy, UN-Oceans and UN-Water by invitation of the Secretariat of the CEB. - UN-Water members decide to channel any technical cooperation responses from them to support the international conference in Tajikistan, through the UN Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan, in the spirit of “delivering as one” and decide to constitute an ad hoc open-ended working group to determine support.

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Opening Session Welcome Remarks The welcoming remarks of the UNU rector, Konrad Osterwalder, were delivered by Fabrice Renaud, UNU-EHS. (Please see annex 3) Remarks by Outgoing Chair The outgoing UN-Water chair, Pasquale Steduto, FAO, gave an overview of the developments of UN-Water under his three year tenure, describing UN-Water as a positive and concrete model on how the UN system can combine its strength and work together with shared vision and conviction. He emphasised that UN-Water’s fundamental objective is that ultimately global actions should always reflect in improved conditions at the country level. In achieving a change on the ground it is important for UN-Water to work closely together with many different actors, such as the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, UN-Energy, UN-Oceans, member states and civil society. He thanked the previous Secretary, Aslam Chaudhry and the current, Nikhil Chandavarkar for their work. He also thanked the Chief Technical Advisor, Johan Kuylenstierna, and Advisor, Frederik Pischke, for their dedication and support and proposed to the membership a promotion of the CTA to the D1 level and the Advisor to P4. Mr Steduto concluded his remarks with a call to UN-Water members: “Ask not what UN-Water can do for you, ask what you can do for UN-Water.” Handing over of Chairmanship from FAO to UNU The Secretary to UN-Water, Nikhil Chandavarkar, UN DESA, formally handed over the chairmanship from Pasquale Steduto, FAO, to Zafar Adeel, UNU, expressing on behalf of the UN-Water membership the gratitude to Mr. Steduto for three years of outstanding service to UN-Water. Welcome Remarks by Incoming Chair The incoming chair to UN-Water, Zafar Adeel, UNU, outlined his vision for UN-Water. UN-Water needs to demonstrate the added value its coordinating role is bringing to the member states, and bring its collective expertise into the policy discussions inside and outside the UN system. With its increased visibility there is an increased expectation for the UN system as a whole to deliver and for UN-Water to provide tangible and measurable support. Segment 1 – Discussion on Strategic Directions for UN-Water: 1.0 Follow-up of decisions from 11th UN-Water SPM Meeting Please refer to the document: _Overview_of_Follow-up_Actions_of_11thUNW_Meeting_Decisions.doc An overview of the decisions taken at the 11th UN-Water Meeting in August 2009 was presented along with the actions taken to follow-up on these decisions. The following pending decisions on the theme and lead of the World Water Days in 2011 and 2012 were taken. Decisions:

1a) World Water Day 2011 will focus on the topic Water and Urbanization (Consequences of population growth for urbanization and growing cities around the world) and will be coordinated by UN-Habitat. 1b) World Water Day 2012 will focus on the topic Water and Food Security (Focus on food production side linking population growth and consumption patterns) and will be coordinated by FAO.

1.1 Presentation of ideas for future UN-Water directions; 1.1.1 Discussion on direction setting; and 1.1.2 Roles for UN-Water 1.2 Discussion on implementation of strategy 1.2.1 Achieving results, demonstrating added-value

Tuesday, 02. February 2010

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1.2.2 Building alliances, partnerships and strategic relationships Please refer to the background document for agenda item 1.2.5: 1_2_5_ExternalReview_Management_Response.doc Agreement was reached on the three broad directions for UN-Water, which were indicated to the meeting in the Management Response to the external review:

1) Horizontal coordination needs to remain the focus of UN-Water, relating to its core mandate and demonstrating that the UN system can speak with one voice and act concertedly on water issues. The interaction with the high-level UN management through internal communications within the UN-Water member organizations and the CEB and HLCP needs to be advanced to introduce a consistent message in all levels of UN communication on water issues. This is also an effective way to reach member states through all channels available. UN-Water products and activities, designed to provide the UN system’s view to the outside is the practical way around which these discussions can be carried out and achieve a consistent approach internally. The need for collaboration from all UN-Water members is seen crucial, in order to demonstrate how UN-Water can add value to the mandates of the individual UN-Water member agencies. In addition, there is a recognized need to strengthen the alignment of UN-Water programmes with the purpose to help achieve coherence within the UN system. 2) Link up with global policy debate and provide clear messages of the UN system’s view on water issues, not only on the environmental side, but also in relation to the social and economic arena (response to the economic crisis, retooling of economies, food security, energy). Processes where the interface shall be further strengthened to highlight water issues include processes inside the UN system, such as the General Assembly and outside the UN system, such as the G8 and G20 processes. 3) Delivering at the country level remains crucial to demonstrate how UN-Water is relevant to the challenges member states are facing. Deciding on an appropriate type of intervention is crucial. The delivering as One initiative of the Secretary-General offers some opportunities for UN-Water to highlight its role and its unique issue focused approach. Regional capacities of the UN system offer important routes of strengthening this response. A dialogue with the heads of the regional commissions, highlighting to them how UN-Water in its core mission aligns with what the regional commissions are tasked to do, is an important building block to realize this potential within UN-Water.

An improved UN-Water branding is important to highlight the fact that a UN-Water output signifies an output of the whole UN system on water. It is thus important to recognize that UN-Water shall not advocate UN-Water as an entity but rather water issues from a UN system perspective. The UN-Water brand shall thus signify an agreed consensus of the UN system. This is of particular importance for the UN-Water programmes whose activities are carried out for UN-Water and its membership. They need to make a concerted effort to reflect the stance or common position of the UN system in all of their outputs. Setting the boundaries on what UN-Water can and should achieve is vital. By making clear the strategic direction on UN-Water can help explain its function, as the common UN system’s voice on water and help to set an appropriate level of expectations among both internal and external stakeholders. There is a general recognition that the demands on UN-Water members and the Senior Programme Managers and their staff need to remain manageable. This needs to be reflected in the decisions taken by the Senior Programme Managers, in particular related to the Work Programme. The decisions taken by UN-Water at the SPM meetings have to focus on the strategic items of importance where UN-Water can add value. It is also essential to recognize that there is an ambition to maintain the Technical Secretariat small and flexible which also impacts on the capacity of UN-Water to implement activities.

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1.2.3 Action at the country-level Please see Background document: 1_2_3_Country-level_engagement.doc and its Annexes: 1_2_3_Country-level_engagement_Annex1_TFReport.doc 1_2_3_Country-level_engagement_Annex2_SummaryOfBrainstormSession.doc The coordinator of the Country-Level Coherence Task Force, Joakim Harlin, presented a summary of the work of and experiences from the Task Force on Country Level Coordination. The Task Force decided to stop additional work until a clear direction on how UN-Water shall engage at the country level could be discussed and agreed upon by UN-Water members. The Task Force had presented a number of recommendations already at the 11th UN-water SPM meeting. Mr. Harlin emphasized that an agreed way forward related to the possible engagement of UN-Water at the country level needs to be backed up with a commitment by UN-Water members to contribute to the process and involve their agency. The three entry points, which can make up the strategy for country-level engagement of UN-Water, in order to add value at the country level identified by the Task Force provide a good starting point and shall be pursued, while making sure that UN-Water members are actively contributing and supporting these lines of action through the Task Force and within their agencies. The three priority activities are:

- With support of UNW-DPAC produce information material to raise awareness on the findings of the UN-Water Task Force at the country level as well as at headquarter level. This material shall be disseminated to a broader range of actors including donors and partners. A first step would be to produce a report for the Sanitation and Water For All - a Global Framework for Action Initiative. - Create an email/web-based global knowledge-sharing mechanism that could enable UN Country Teams (UNCT) to access other country teams’ and all network member’s information and experiences. The UN-Water knowledge sharing mechanism should deal with water issues and eventually be open to a wide constituency, i.e. all UN-Water members and partners, UNCTs, NGOs, Government counterparts, donors etc. Reponses would need to be facilitated and later consolidated into a searchable database (e.g. on the WaterWiki). It is suggested that all three UN-Water Programmes collaborate in setting up this knowledge sharing mechanism. Setting up this mechanism would entail evaluating what mechanisms we have in place, building on these capacities, launching it, inviting members and managing the responses. - Take steps towards producing a UN-Water strategy for improving country level coordination and scaling up delivery and impact and in so doing liaise with UNDG on how best to communicate and disseminate the strategy guidance.

Note: The Task Force and decisions were further discussed under item 3.1.4, 4.4.5 and segment 5. 1.2.4 Monitoring progress Please see Background document: 1_2_4_IndicatorsMonRep.doc and its Annexes: 1_2_4_IndicatorsMonRep_Annex1_findings_UNW-TF-IMR.doc 1_2_4_IndicatorsMonRep_Annex2_TFIMR_FinalReport.doc 1_2_4_IndicatorsMonRep_Annex2_TFIMR_FinalReportAnnex.doc The Indicator, Monitoring and Reporting Task Force Coordinator, Olcay Unver, joined via telephone and explained that the Task Force started with the main objective to propose a set of key indicators to contribute to public information and provide support to decision-making. A main challenge for the task force was not a lack of ideas for indicators but a lack of data to populate these indicators. A trade-off between data availability and comprehensive indicators had to be made. UN-Water, through existing resources among members and partners, is currently not in a position to present the 15 core indicators suggested by the Task Force, because of a lack of data. The original idea of the work on the core indicators was to produce them in order to facilitate a quick yet comprehensive overview on water issues. The next step would be to share the 15 indicators and generate ownership with countries and donors to realize the data needs. This would, hopefully, also result in financial commitments to further develop data collection to populate the indicators.

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After the Task Force completed the task of identifying the key indicators, WWAP carried out an analysis and established contacts able to provide data for the 15 core indicators. WWAP has already been working on some of the indicators. In the discussion it was pointed out that the core indicators should be based on what the future needs will be. It was also stressed that UN-Water needs to actively pursue ways to generate the needed data to populate the indicators. The World Water Development Report should report on a core set of indicators in order to track progress among countries, similar to the way the Human Development Report is prepared. Note: The Task Force and decisions were also discussed under item 4.4.6 and in segment 5. 1.1.8 Responding to the UN-Water External Review Please see Background document: 1_2_5_ExternalReview_Management_Response.doc A discussion on the Management Response to the External Review achieved a broad consensus on the directions proposed. Detailed comments made in the discussion on certain parts of the management response will be reflected in a revised version of the document. Decisions:

2a) The conclusions and responses contained in the Management Response to the External Review are accepted subject to additional comments and suggestions. The management response will be circulated for additional comments and finalized by the Technical Secretariat. 2b) After the Management Response has been accepted by the SPMs, it will be shared with other key stakeholders.

Segment 2 – Governance of UN-Water to Deliver Results: 2.1 Structure for Managing UN-Water 2.1.1 Management of Multi Donor Trust Fund The final draft version of the Memorandum of Understanding with UNOPS for the establishment of the new UN-Water Trust Fund was circulated to the Senior Programme Managers. Johan Kuylenstierna, Chief Technical Advisor to UN-Water, explained that this final draft version has been the outcome of a long dialogue of the UN-Water virtual team with UNOPS, as well as with the four members that have agreed to sign: UN DESA, FAO, WHO and UNU. UN-Water members were encouraged to review and respond no later than 28 Feb 2010. It would be beneficial to have many members sign on to it up front, although it will be possible for others to join in at any point in the future. Due to forthcoming fund transfers from donors to UN-Water the MoU will need to be signed in early March 2010. As decided at the 11th UN-Water meeting in Stockholm last year a sufficient number of signatures from a representative set of UN-Water members to activate the MoU are already secured. It was clarified that this MoU is well-aligned with the Standard MoU template developed by UNDG (which is designed to provide development assistance to member states). As the MoU for the UN-Water Trust Fund is entirely “internal” to the UN organizations, some of the terms of the standard MoU developed by the UNDG do not apply. Some other minor deviations were also clarified in the meeting: - The governance set-up is slightly different in this UN-Water MoU. The reason for this is that this MoU is between UN agencies and UNOPS only. - The fee structure is slightly different in this UN-Water MDTF MoU as UNOPS operates only as an administrative agent and thus without any other core funding for its activities. The fee for transfers (pass-through) is 1%, same as in standard MoU. The administrative fee when UNOPS carries out

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services on behalf of UN-Water is 8% (consultancy contracts, travel arrangements etc, which UNOPS carries out). In addition, UNOPS charges a 0,5% corporate fee on the total amount disbursed to the Trust Fund. The administrative fee depends, as stipulated in the standard UNDG template, on the rules and regulations of each agency. This figure currently ranges from 7% to 13% depending on agency and the UNOPS fee at 8% is therefore competitive. Decisions: 3a) The draft MoU will be sent out with a message by the Chair, highlighting the rationale behind the draft MoU and the level of agreement already reached. This will be done to support UN-Water members to seek approval within their organizations. 3b) UN-Water members will have the opportunity to review the draft MoU until the end of February 2010 to become a signatory. At the end of February UN-Water will move forward and formalize the MoU. 2.1.2 Terms of Reference for UN-Water management including the Joint Steering Group Please see Background documents: 2_1_2_ToR_Chair_ViceChair_Secretary_TechnicalSecretariat.doc; 2_1_2_ToR_JointSteeringGroup.doc The chair of UN-Water, Zafar Adeel, pointed out the rationale for establishing a Joint Steering Group. He detailed that there are more tasks to UN-Water and the SPM meetings of UN-Water do not lend themselves to detailed discussion that are needed to ensure that there is a broad ownership of UN-Water’s activities. Furthermore there is a need to oversee the allocation of UN-Water’s budget and be responsive in between UN-Water meetings. A broad consensus on the proposed ToR of the Joint Steering Group was achieved. Detailed comments made in the discussion on certain parts of the ToR will be reflected in a revised version of the document. The ToR for the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Technical Secretariat were accepted with minor changes, as they reflect the current working arrangements within UN-Water’s management, which were viewed positively by the meeting. Decisions:

4a) The ToR for the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Technical Secretariat as well as the Joint Steering Group are accepted, subject to inclusion of the changes suggested in the meeting. The updated versions will be circulated for approval by the UN-Water membership. 4b) The permanent members of the Joint Steering Group are the Chair, the Vice Chair and the Secretary. Additional members are FAO, UNESCO, UN CBD and UN ISDR.

2.1.3 Changes to UN-Water Operational Guidelines Please see Background document: 2_1_3_UNWater_Operation_Guidelines_New_Version.doc A consensus was reached on the update of the UN-Water Operational Guidelines. Detailed comments made in the discussion on certain parts of the Operational Guidelines will be reflected in a revised version of the document. Decision:

5) The revised UN-Water Operational Guidelines will incorporate the detailed comments made in the meeting, and be circulated for acceptance by the UN-Water membership.

2.2 Increasing coordination among UN-Water Programmes Please see Background document: 2_2_UNW_Prog_AG_teleconference_report.doc Joakim Harlin, UNDP, chair of the UN-Water Programmes Advisory Group provided an introduction of the outcomes of the UN-Water Programme Advisory Group meeting, which are reflected in the group’s

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report. It was noted that the tasks of the group will be subsumed under the newly created Joint Steering Group. Decision:

6) The SPMs of UN-Water note that the functions of the UN-Water Programmes Advisory Group will be assumed by the Joint Steering Group as outlined in the Terms of Reference of this group. Therefore the UN-Water Programmes Advisory Group is no longer needed and is disestablished with thanks to its Chair and members.

2.2.1 Short introduction by UNW-DPC, WWAP and UNW-DPAC UNW-DPAC: Josefina Maetsu detailed the focus of the Programme on advocacy and communication actions on all levels. UNW-DPAC’s objectives are to contribute to the efforts of UN-Water in coordinating and following-up the implementation of internationally agreed goals in the areas of drinking water, sanitation and integrated water resources management. Two key focus areas of the activities have been to (1) focus on outreach on the general public by working together with the media, water operators and local authorities through events and campaings; (2) replicate activities at the regional level. UNW-DPAC to establish three voluntary networks on information, communication and advocacy. It will be focusing during 2010 on Water Quality, in line with World Water Day 2010 and Biodiversity, in line with the International Year of Biodiversity 2010. In the discussion it was noted that it is currently difficult to see the overall orientation of UNW-DPAC, and it was proposed that UNW-DPAC should hold a workshop for UN-Water members, in which its strategy and the direction of its work will be decided on and its work plan discussed. UNW-DPC: Reza Ardakanian detailed that the office continues to work according to its approved work plan covering the period from August 2007 to August 2010 and that every activity the programme carries out is according to the approved work plan. Since the last meeting of the AG, ten activities have been completed jointly with UN-Water members (the so-called “bilateral support” to UN-Water members). UNW-DPC is now focusing on so-called “multi-lateral activities” to support UN-Water as a whole. UNW-DPC is involved on behalf of UN-Water in organizing a seminar at the African Water Congress in Uganda and the World Urban Forum. UN-Water members were asked to provide input to shape the second UNW-DPC work plan (mid 2010 – mid 2013). UN-Water agreed to give any possible input by the end of February 2010 in order for UNW-DPC to present its first draft by May to the UN-Water membership. In the discussion it was pointed out that UNW-DPC must always involve more than one UN-Water member in its activities. WWAP: Due to the absence of Olcay Unver, the meeting was referred to the note of the Programme Advisory Group meeting. The note details that WWAP is working towards the World Water Development Report 4 (WWDR4) and is engaged in other supporting activities as well, such as the formulation of an initial stage of water scenarios, moving forward with indicators. WWAP is working through its approved work plan for WWDR4. Its workshop in November has been useful to capitalize on support from the lead agencies and different contributors. The annotated table of contents of the WWDR4 has been distributed to all UN-Water members for comments. A second workshop with WWDR4 chapter coordinators is planned March 2010 to harmonize the different challenge area and regional reports. The discussion on WWDR4 was continued under agenda item 3.3.1. Please see Background documents:

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2_2_1_UNW-DPAC.pdf and its Annexes: 2_2_1_UNW-DPAC_ANNEX_1_SUMMARY_2009_REPORT.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPAC_ANNEX_2_RESULTS_OF_SURVEY_TO_UNW.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPAC_ANNEX_3_PARTICIPATION_IN_EVENTS_2010.doc 2_2_1_UNW-DPAC_ANNEX_4_TORS_OF_NETWORKS_PROPOSALS.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPAC_ANNEX_5_INFORMATION_ON_COMMUNICATION_CAMPAIGNS.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPAC_ANNEX_6_SUPPORT_TO_WWD2010.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPAC_ANNEX_7_CAMPAIGNS_COMMUNICATION_ISSUES.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPAC_ANNEX_8_LIST_OF_CONTENTS_OF_CD.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPC.pdf and its Annexes: 2_2_1_UNW-DPC_Annex1_AnnualReport09.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPC_Annex2_ProgressActivityReportAG.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPC_Annex3_Activities.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPC_Annex4_CDISVersion.pdf 2_2_1_UNW-DPC_Annex5_Proceedings.pdf 2.2.2 Joint development of strategies and delivery of “services” to UN-Water The SPM noted that a key consideration of all programmes need to be how they can best support UN-Water in all activities. All UN-Water Programmes need to be very careful with statements, because they reflect on all UN-Water members directly. Decisions:

7a) UN-Water welcomes a stronger and more active support from the UN-Water programmes in the implementation of the UN-Water Work Programme, focusing specifically on how they can add value and services within their respective mandated areas. 7b) UN-Water encourages the three programme directors to continue their efforts to strengthen joint programming and collaborate on specific activities and events, through regular consultation meetings. 7c) UN-Water requests the programme directors to work closely with the JSG in order to strengthen collaboration and alignment with UN-Water and its members and partners. 7d) UNW-DPAC hold a workshop for UN-Water members, in which its strategy and the direction of its work will be decided on and its work plan discussed.

Wednesday, 03 February 2010

Segment 3 – Decisions on Strategic Directions for UN-Water 3.1 Decisions on Direction Setting For background information please see inter alia: 1_2_5_ExternalReview_Management_Response.doc 3_1_Annex_UNWaterMapping-finaldraft.pdf 3.1.1 Strategic Directions for UN-Water The consensus reached in the discussion under agenda item 1.1 was brought to a conclusion with the focus on the following three strategic priority areas (i) enhanced UN system coordination on water issues; (ii) engagement with the global policy debate; (iii) impact at the country and regional level. Decisions:

8a) UN-Water endorses the strategic directions as outlined in the Management Response and requests the JSG to further elaborate on how this will influence UN-Water priority setting and activities within the UN-Water Work Programme.

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8b) While agreeing with the general directions of the management response options, comments on the management response will be solicited by the Technical Secretariat from all UN-Water members.

3.1.2 Enhanced coordination Interagency coordination needs to be UN-Water’s first priority. This should be reflected in both the management response to the external review and in the work programme. Decision:

9) UN-Water recognizes that enhanced coordination is at the core of the mechanism and requests that all UN-Water Programmes, Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas identify ways on how such enhanced coordination can be achieved. In particular the country level dimension of such enhanced coordination need to be considered.

3.1.3 Policy feedback roles UN-Water needs to proactively engage in the policy debate inside and outside the water arena and inside and outside the UN system. Decision:

10) UN-Water will seek to strengthen the engagement with the CEB/HLCP. UN-Water further encourages more active engagement with key actors, events and processes, such as UN General Assembly, CSD, the COP of the conventions and UNDG. Considering the limited resources, careful priority setting must be made by the JSG to identify to identify the processes where UN-Water can have the highest impact.

3.1.4 Enhanced responses “on the ground”. UN-Water needs to promote coordinated effort at the country level, but at the same time it needs to be clear about its role and what it can achieve to add value in country contexts. This will need to be reflected in a renewed commitment of UN-Water members to the Country Level Coordination Task Force and a push to bring the results from UN-Water discussion on for example IWRM and Indicator, Monitoring and Reporting to the country level in support of the UN Country Teams. Strategic entry points need to be identified that are realistic and focus on the areas where a positive impact by UN-Water can be achieved. Decision:

11) UN-Water requests the JSG to elaborate on how UN-Water can enhance UN actions on the ground related to water and present specific ideas at the 13th UN-Water meeting. The Country Level Coordination Task Force is requested to identify strategic actions and pilot countries where UN-Water support can be tested.

3.1.5 Selection of UN-Water Vice Chair The Secretary of UN-Water, Nikhil Chandavarkar, UN DESA, briefed the membership on the informal consultations that were held with all UN-Water members on the next Vice-Chair of UN-Water. The new Vice Chair of UN-Water, Tim Kasten, UNEP, was appointed by acclamation. Decision:

12) The Vice Chair of UN-Water for the period 2010-2011 will be Tim Kasten, UNEP. 3.2 Securing resources for delivering on strategies 3.2.1 Interactions with existing and potential donors

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The CTA briefed the meeting on the interaction with existing and potential donors to UN-Water. He clarified that donors are aware of the planning processes and that the decision making on the UN-Water work programme is exclusively with the UN-Water Senior Programme Managers. The donors have been provided with an indicative work programme and budget in order to facilitate discussions with them on their potential support. It was further clarified that core funding is for the core activities detailed in the work programme and target funding can be provided for specific activities that go beyond the core activities of UN-Water (such as the GLAAS report). The current donors to UN-Water are: - DFID/UK is the first donor to UN-Water since 2007. The initial support was for three years (UK£300,000 per year for core funding). DFID views funding to UN-Water for another three years positively (now indicative UK£450,000 per year for core funding). Targeted funding in addition to the funding will be provided for the GLAAS report and components of the SWA-GFA. Furthermore funds from DFID for JMP will be channelled through the UN-Water MDTF. - Sida/Sweden provided for the years 2008-2010 approximately USD400,000 per year for core funding. They have indicated an interest to continue support beyond 2010 but decisions will be made later this year. - Norway has provided for the years 2008/2009 approximately USD350,000 per year for core funding; discussions on support for the next two years are ongoing. - The US is giving favourable consideration to providing targeted funding of USD450,000 for the Water Country Briefs. - Discussions are ongoing with DGIS/the Netherlands for core support and targeted support for SWA-GFA - Discussions with Denmark, Finland, Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea and other delegations in New York are also ongoing. In total that core funding of UN-Water amounts so far to around USD1.2 – 1.5 million per year. It was pointed out in the discussion that it would be important to also count staff time resources given to UN-Water by members and partners. It is important to document in-kind and in-cash resources to UN-Water as part of the basis for a strong case to donors that the UN system is committed to UN-Water and that donor resources contributed would add further value. The same could be done by UN-Water partners. It may also be important to detail the funding of and human resources engaged in all UN-Water members’ water activities. It was pointed out that UN-Water needs to continue to be careful not to be driven by donors. On the other hand it was also noted that a dialogue with donors is often enriching, as they may have knowledge and often insights from different perspectives of what the country needs are. Establishing a UN-Water office in Geneva exists as a concept, as decided in the 11th UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm (decision 5). Such an expansion would need to go along with hiring additional staff members for UN-Water's technical secretariat, as also recommended in the external review of UN-Water. To implement this concept, UN-Water needs to have the necessary budgetary resources, with predictability and stability for the future. The discussions with current and potential donors are ongoing to see if the necessary financial resources can be mobilized. Meanwhile the UN-Water Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and the technical Secretariat will continue working as a virtual team. The UN-Water Programmes, in particular, need to follow careful procedures when they approach new donors and coordinate such approaches in close and regular consultation with the UN-Water Technical Secretariat. Decisions:

13a) UN-Water SPMs encourage the Technical Secretariat to explore support from potential new donors and have a donor dialogue to facilitate the donor support. 13b) Resource mobilizations for extra-budgetary support of the UN-Water Programmes should be (i) compatible with the UN-Water work programme; (ii) in consultation with the UN-Water Technical Secretariat.

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13c) UN-Water members and partners are encouraged to explore how they can provide direct support to UN-Water activities and quantify how much they are already providing (through in-kind and in-cash contributions).

3.3 Coordinating UN-Water’s reports and messaging 3.3.1 Short updates by WWDR4 [WWAP], GLAAS [WHO], JMP [UNICEF/WHO] Please see Background documents: 3_3_1_GLAAS.doc and its Annex: 3_3_1_GLAAS_Annex_Flyer.pdf 3_3_1_JMP.doc and its Annex: 3_3_1_JMP_Annex_Strategy_2010-2015.doc 3_3_1_WWDR4.doc and its Annexes: 3_3_1_WWDR4_Annex1_TOC.doc 3_3_1_WWDR4_Annex2_Storyline.doc 3_3_1_WWDR4_Annex3_Summary_WWDR4_Issues_meeting.doc 3_3_1_WWDR4_Annex4_RevisedToR_ChallengeAreas_Regional_Reports.doc WWDR4: The discussion on item 2.2.1 was continued with Olcay Unver, coordinator of WWAP, joining the meeting by telephone. Mr Unver briefed the meeting on the workshop held in November in Perugia and reminded UN-Water members to provide comments to the draft Table of Content, which will form the basis for the World Water Development Report. It was noted that decision 16a of the 11th UN-Water meeting needs to be followed up, a group was therefore established as detailed in decision 16a. It was highlighted in the discussion that WWAP should focus on the WWDR, support the contributing agencies, and address the indicator and underlying data issues. ESCAP pointed out the seriousness of the lack of resources in its efforts to prepare the regional report for an effective integration into WWDR-4 and called for more support in this task. The meeting pointed out that the original effort of the WWDR to track developments of water issues, along the model of the Human Development Report, remains. The ambition is to have a Human Development Report “type” of output for water. GLAAS: Federico Properzi, WHO Geneva, project manager of the Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-water (GLAAS), briefed the meeting on GLAAS, a UN-Water assessment report, along with the WWDR and JMP. The first GLAAS report will be published in April 2010. The actual assessment has been carried out during 2009 and the draft report has been sent for comments and clearance to all UN-Water members. The GLAAS 2010 report will cover at least 35 countries and 26 support agencies. The number of countries will increase further in the next reports. The GLAAS report is a resource input into the Sanitation and Water for All: a Global Framework for Action (SWA/GFA) and will be presented at the first SWA High Level Meeting in Washington DC, 23 April 2010. JMP: Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF and Robert Bos, WHO, briefed the meeting on progress in the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme on Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP). The JMP has developed a new five-year strategy. At its donor meeting in Paris positive feedback from donors was received on the strategy. Some of the funding for JMP will go through the UN-Water MDTF. The JMP is currently developing a communication strategy to (a) better disseminate the data compiled; and (b) further the ongoing “reconciliation process” to explain differences between datasets of different national institutions and the country datasets the JMP publishes. A Strategic Advisory Group, which advises the JMP and GLAAS on their general strategy, has been established and the establishment of a Technical Advisory Group, which can provide support on specific technical issues, will shortly follow. The JMP 2010 report is currently being finalized and will be launched on 15 March 2010. Data shows a stagnant picture on progress in access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation. There is a slight

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improvement on the drinking-water front, but progress in Africa South of the Sahara continues to lag behind. In the area of sanitation the total number of people globally without access to sanitation seems to be even increasing in absolute number (now up from 2.5 billion in 2008 JMP report to 2.6 billion in 2010 JMP report), but there is a slight progress in proportional terms. It was clarified that in line with established practice there is no UN-Water review mechanism for the JMP report as is with the case for the other reports, GLAAS and WWDR. Decisions:

14a) UN-Water members that are taking part in development of the WWDR4 are requested to follow the time schedule proposed by the WWAP Secretariat. 14b) UN-Water members are requested to provide comments and feedback on the GLAAS report following the time schedule provided by the GLAAS team.

3.3.2 Increasing coordination, data-sharing It was emphasized that the three reports published under the auspices of UN-Water (WWDR, JMP and GLAAS) should be harmonized so that all three support the perception that UN-Water sends out coherent messages. It was recognized however, that each of the three reports has its own specific target audience and covers complementary aspects of water development and management under different remits. Generic cross-referencing between the three reports, and the inclusion of a common box on the inside cover of each explaining the objectives and scope of the three reports was considered an option to start achieve such harmonization. Problems related to the staggered publication of the three reports (GLAAS annually, JMP biennially and WWDR triennially) make exchange of detailed datasets a challenge; in addition, such exchanges may create confusion with respect to the original source referencing by authors quoting the source of their information. Decisions:

15a) UN-Water encourages the three reporting mechanism to harmonize in relation to the development of key policy recommendations in order to deliver more coordinated and consolidated messages to policy and decision makers. 15b) UN-Water encourages the coordinators of the reporting mechanism to discuss how they can increase data and information sharing (when relevant) and report back to the 13th UN-Water SPM meeting on specific actions in this regard.

3.3.3 Future developments and synchronized delivery Decisions:

16a) UN-Water establishes an advisory group that takes a strategic look at UN-Waters publications with specific attention to the WWDR process. UNDP will lead the process of finalizing the ToR and coordinate this advisory group. Members of the AG will be IAEA, WMO, UNWDPAC, UNECE, WHO, UNESCO, UNEP, FAO. Partners will be invited. It would be in particular useful to involve SIWI and WWC. 16b) UN-Water encourages the coordinators of the three reporting mechanisms to hold regular meetings and discuss how they can strengthen coordination and further development of the reports. 16c) UN-Water asks the JSG to consider the report of the joint meeting of the three reporting mechanisms and provide support and guidance to the preparatory processes of the reporting mechanism in support of their further development and harmonization. 16d) UN-Water encourages the coordinators of the reports to further strengthen collaboration on conjunction with report/assessment delivery and to strengthen ties between report/assessment delivery and key events.

Segment 4 – Review of the UN-Water Work Programme 2010 – 2011: 4.1 Introduction to UN-Water Work Programme 2010-2011

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All items in the work programme were introduced according to the background documents referenced in this report. The record below only reflects the comments made in response to the presentations. The decisions on the items were made under segment five. Please see the Work Programme: 4_1_2010-2011_UN-Water_Work_Program.pdf and its Annexes: 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexA_ClimateChange.doc 4_1_WorkProgram_AnnexB_Transboundary_Waters.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexC_Sanitation.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexD_Gender.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexE_Regional-level.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexF_WaterLand.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexG_MultipleUsesWaterServices.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexH_Wastewater.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexI_CountryLevelCoordination.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexJ_meetings.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexKa_WaterWiki.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexKb_WaterWiki_Budget.doc 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexL_ScenarioDevelopment.doc 4.1.1 Outlining proposed new activities (not covered below) and budget implications as well as donor contributions The introduction of the 2010-2011 Draft Work Programme was made by the CTA, according to the background note. The meeting asked to work with the relevant UN-Water members and reporting mechanisms on further clarifying the Water Country Brief proposal (item 2.6 in the Work Programme). 4.2 Proposed New Activities - Questions and Answers on Background Documents (5 minutes each) 4.2.1 Water Scenarios The presentation was made by Olcay Unver, WWAP, according to the background note. UN-Water members noted that it is important to be consistent with other scenario exercises ongoing in the UN system and the storylines. Coordinating with the IPCC, MEA and the UNFCCC would be important. It would be important to link this exercise closely with the WWDR4 report. A useful exercise would be to examine to what extent the scenario exercise carried out 10 years ago has made an impact and was used by decision-makers, before embarking on a new exercise. Such an impact analysis is necessary in order to justify the large amount of funding needed for scenario development. Please see Background document: 4_2_1_Scenarios.doc and its Annex:4_2_1_Scenarios_Annex_Proposal.doc 4.2.2 WaterWiki Please see Background document: 4_2_2_WaterWiki.doc and its Annex: 4_2_2_Water_Annex_WikiFinalReport.doc Gordon Young, consultant for UN-Water on the WaterWiki, introduced the report submitted to the meeting. The meeting noted that there remains a risk on how to ensure high quality standards in a WaterWiki but endorsed the recommendations made by Gordon Young on how to mitigate these risks and develop the WaterWiki. It recommended that UNW-DPAC may wish to be involved in the WaterWiki’s development on behalf of UN-Water.

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Decisions: 17) UN-Water endorses the further development of the WaterWiki. Its development and maintenance rests with UNDP. The Joint Steering Group will determine the level of budget support pending on the targeted funding available.

4.3 New Proposals for Thematic Priority Areas/Task Forces - Questions and Answers on Background Documents 4.3.1 Land and Water Task Force Please see Background document: 4_3_1_LandWaterTF.doc The presentation was made by Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu, UNCCD according to the background note. 4.3.2 Regional Level Coherence and Coordination Please see Background document: 4_3_2_RegionalTF.doc and its Annex: 4_3_2_RegionalTF_Annex_proposalTF.doc The presentation was made by Le Huu Ti, UN ESCAP, according to the background note. 4.3.3 Wastewater Management Task Force Please see Background document: 4_3_3_WastewaterMgmtTF.doc The presentation was made by Thomas Chiramba, UNEP and Bert Diphoorn, UN-Habitat, on behalf of David Osborn, according to the background note. 4.3.4 Multiple Uses of Water Services Task Force Please see Background document: 4_3_4_MultipleUsesWaterServTF.doc The presentation was made by Pasquale Steduto, FAO, on behalf of Daniel Renault, FAO according to the background note. It was noted that such an activity would need to be linked with a follow-up on IWRM and would provide a useful way to connect the community level to higher administrative levels of water management. 4.4 Review of Existing Task Forces - Questions and Answers on Background 4.4.1 Water and Climate Change Task Force Please see Background document: 4_4_1_Water-ClimateChangeTF.doc and its Annex: 4_4_1_Water-ClimateChangeTF_Annex_ProgressReport.doc The presentation was made by Claudio Caponi, WMO, according to the background note. 4.4.2 Gender and Water Task Force Please see Background document: 4_1_WorkPorgram_AnnexD_Gender.doc The presentation was made by Nikhil Chandavarkar, UN DESA, on behalf of the Task Force coordinator, Kenza Robinson, UN DESA, according to the background note. 4.4.3 Sanitation Task Force Please see Background document: 4_4_3_SantiationTF.doc and its Annex: 4_4_3_SantiationTF_Annex1_Workplan.doc 4_4_3_SantiationTF_Annex2_CommStrategy.doc The presentation was made by Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF, according to the background note. 4.4.4 Transboundary Water Task Force

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Please see Background document: 4_4_4_TransboundaryWatersTF.doc and its Annex: 4_4_4_TransboundaryWatersTF_Annex_WorkPlan.doc The presentation was made by Francesca Bernardini, UN ECE, according to the background note. 4.4.5 Country Level Coordination Task Force Please see Background document: 1_2_3_Country-level_engagement.doc and its Annexes: 1_2_3_Country-level_engagement_Annex1_TFReport.doc 1_2_3_Country-level_engagement_Annex2_SummaryOfBrainstormSession.doc The presentation was made by Joakim Harlin, UNDP, according to the background note. 4.4.6 Indicators, monitoring and reporting Task Force Please see Background document: 1_2_4_IndicatorsMonRep.doc and its Annexes: 1_2_4_IndicatorsMonRep_Annex1_findings_UNW-TF-IMR.doc 1_2_4_IndicatorsMonRep_Annex2_TFIMR_FinalReport.doc 1_2_4_IndicatorsMonRep_Annex2_TFIMR_FinalReportAnnex.doc The presentation was made by Olcay Unver, WWAP, according to the background note.

Thursday, 04 February 2010

Segment 5- Adoption of Decisions for the UN-Water Work Programme 2010 – 2011: 5.1 Decisions on Priorities of Activities The meeting was guided step-by-step through the Work Programme and detailed comments were made, which will be reflected in an updated version of the Work Programme. This will be circulated to the UN-Water members for final approval, as detailed under item 5.4 in this report. 5.2 Decisions on Thematic Priority Areas Decisions:

17a) The UN-Water Task Force on Water and Climate Change is transformed from a Task Force to a thematic priority area of UN-Water. WMO will continue to lead the activity, the membership remains unchanged. 17b) The UN-Water Task Force on Gender and Water is transformed from a Task Force to a thematic priority area of UN-Water with the understanding that the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) Task Force on Gender and Water will continue to exist and operate in this substantive thematic priority area. DESA continues to be the focal point for the thematic area. 17c) The UN-Water Task Force on Sanitation will continue to run through the end of 2010 according to its agreed work plan with a focus on basic sanitation. 17d) The UN-Water Task Force on Transboundary Waters is transformed from a Task Force to a thematic priority area of UN-Water. It will continue with its work plan for 2010-2011 under the coordination of UN ECE and UNESCO.

5.3 Decisions on Task Forces Decisions

18) The formation of a joint Water and Land Scarcity thematic priority area will be further explored, FAO will take the lead in close cooperation with UNCCD. The integration of land and water issues will also be addressed in the newly formed task force on the advancement of water resources management.

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19) The formation of the UN-Water Task Force for Regional-Level Coordination was approved, subject to the changes proposed in the meeting (to include in the scope of work possible alignments of regional chapters within UN-Water and ensure synergy of the proposed mapping exercises by the Task Force with other mapping exercises of UN-Water). UN ESCAP will coordinate the task force. 20) UN-Water decides to establish the UN-Water Task Force on Wastewater Management under the joint coordination of UNEP and UN-Habitat and expresses its appreciation for the important preliminary work carried out by these organizations 21) UN-Water decided not to establish a Task Force on Multiple Uses of Water. The proposal will be linked to the activity on IWRM (2.5 in UN-Water work programme). 22) The UN-Water Task Force on Country Level Coordination represents a strong alignment with strategic direction. The Task Force will continue to be coordinated by UNDP. UN-Habitat, UNEP, IAEA, UNU, UNW-DPC, UNW-DPAC, FAO, UNFCCC and UN ESCAP will participate in the work of the Task Force. The Country-Level Coordination Task Force will engage in the following activities, which will be further detailed by the Task Force in a note to all UN-Water members: o Polish up reports already produced and publish an overview document on the future role of

UN-Water to support country level coordination and share it with appropriate mechanisms. o Develop a knowledge sharing mechanism in collaboration with UNW-DPC and WWAP o Develop the next steps for a strategy on how UN-Water can supports country level

coordination o Contribute to the Water Country Briefs (item 2.5 in Work Programme)

23) The UN-Water Task Force on Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting closes its work with the presentation of the 15 key indicators. 24) Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting will be a standing agenda item on emerging issues. Particularly with a view on providing the information needed to describe water issues (item 4.1 in UN-Water Work Programme) 25) Budget allocation for all new Task Forces will be done jointly by the JSG with the Task Force Coordinators. 26) UN-Water decides to establish a more permanent structure for follow-up and reporting on how the management of water resources is advancing, principally at the country level. A first report will be prepared for UNCSD 2012. UNEP will take the lead in developing plans for a UN-Water Task Force on the Management of Water Resources and present them at the next UN-Water meeting. UNDP, UNESCO, UNU, UNCCD, FAO, UN-Habitat, UN ESCAP, WHO, UNW-DPC, WWAP, UNSGAB and GWP will participate in this group, open to all UN-Water members and partners. The discussions of this group will be closely related the discussions on the WWDR and the other reporting mechanisms (decisions 16a-d).

5.4 Decisions on 2010-2011 Work Programme Decisions:

26a) The UN-Water SPMs accepted the 2010-2011 Work Programme and Indicative Budget, after reflecting the comments made in the meeting and circulating the Work Programme for final approval by UN-Water members until the end of February. 26b) The UN-Water SPMs requested the Joint Steering Group to support the implementation of the Work Programme, with due consideration to decisions made under item 5.1 and make the necessary budget allocations as funds become available. 26c) The budget allocation to all UN-Water activities, including Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas, will be further discussed by the Joint Steering Group and a final decision will be made pending the availability of financial resources.

Segment 6 – The Road Ahead - Upcoming Events, Political Processes and Collaboration: 6.1 Strategic Partnerships 6.1.1 UN-Water Partnership and Membership Applications Please see Background document: 6_1_1_PartnershipApplications.doc and its Annexes: 6_1_1_All_Partnership_Applications.zip

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6_1_1_ILO_letter_membership_request.pdf Nikhil Chandavarkar, UN DESA, Secretary to UN-Water, gave the rationale for the recommendation to the UN-Water members on the acceptance/rejection of UN-Water partner applications as explained in the background note. Decisions:

27) The Partnership Applications of IHA, GWA, WfWP and the Stakeholder Forum are accepted. The application of CEDARE, AWC and Nile Basin Society were not accepted due to the regional focus of these organizations. The Secretariat will inform the applicants of the rationale and outcome of the decisions. 28) UN-Water accepts the membership request of the ILO. The Secretary will communicate this decision to ILO and ensure ILO receives the necessary information.

6.1.2 Engagement with CEB and HLCP Adeel Zafar, UNU, UN-Water Chair, briefed the meeting on the constructive discussion the Secretary and Chair had with the CEB and HLCP Secretariat and the opportunities to strengthen linkages. Decisions

29a) UN-Water requests the Chair and Secretary to further discuss with the CEB/HLCP Secretariats on how further collaboration and engagement can be fostered between them and UN-Water. 29b) The UN-Water SPMs proposes that regular meetings are organized between the Chairs of UN-Energy, UN-Oceans and UN-Water by invitation of the Secretariat of the CEB.

6.1.3 Collaboration with UN-Energy and UN-Oceans Please see Background document:

6_1_3_UN-Oceans.doc and 6_1_3_UN-Energy.doc

and its Annexes: 6_1_3_UN-Energy_Annex1_review.pdf 6_1_3_UN-Energy_Annex2_KnowledgeNetwork.pdf 6_1_3_UN-Energy_Annex3_PPconceptnote.pdf The Secretary to UN-Energy, Andrew Yager, UN DESA, briefed the meeting on the work of UN-Energy as detailed in the background document. The Vice-Chair to UN-Oceans, Andy Hudson, UNDP, also provided an overview of the work of UN-Oceans to the UN-Water meeting. Decisions:

30a) UN-Water requests the Chair and the Secretary to further discuss with UN-Energy and UN-Oceans to explore potential areas for collaboration. 30b) UN-Water expresses that the internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs represent opportunities to explore how the three mechanisms could collaborate. One example could be the development of a joint statement, highlighting the linkages between water and energy and the interaction between freshwater and the oceans/coastal areas. 30c) UN-Water decides that representatives from UN-Energy and UN-Oceans shall be invited to each UN-Water meeting. 30d) The Secretary of UN-Water is requested to explore if similar agreements can be made with UN-Energy and UN-Oceans to invite UN-Water to their meetings. 30e) UN-Water takes note of the invitation to participate in the video conference of UN-Energy on 25 February 2010

6.1.4 Collaboration with UNSGAB Please see Background document: 6_1_4_UNSGAB.doc and its Annex: 6_1_4_UNSGAB_Annex_HAP2.pdf

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Francois Guerquin, Secretariat to UNSGAB based at UN DESA, provided an overview of the work of UNSGAB, including its newly released Hashimoto Action Plan II and detailed possible avenues of cooperation between UNSGAB and UN-Water. Margaret Catley-Carlson, member of UNSGAB, introduced to the UN-Water membership the decentralized wastewater management initiative, Omega Water, and mentioned the McKinsey Report, Charting Our Water Future. Decisions:

31a) UN-Water welcomes the proposal to produce joint communication tools (one-pager, event…) in preparation of and in COP 16, CSD as well as the MDG Summit 2010 31b) UN-Water requests the Chair and Secretary to continue the bilateral dialogue with UNSGAB on how to further strengthen collaboration between the two entities. 31c) UN-Water encourages UNSGAB members to become more directly involved in the Thematic Priority Areas and Task Forces.

6.2 Introduction on the road ahead and Briefing on Past Events Please see Background document: 6_2_Calendar_Events_2010_prepared_by_UNW-DPAC.doc Decision:

32) UNW-DPAC was asked to circulate the 2010 Calendar of Events again and ask for additions and comments, so that it can serve as a UN-Water calendar for 2010.

6.2.1 General Assembly Resolution on the Midterm Review of the Water for Life Decade Please see Background document: 6_2_1_GA_Res64-198.doc and its Annexes: 6_2_1_GA_Res64-198_Annex1_AC.2 64_L.22Rev.1.docx 6_2_1_GA_Res64-198_Annex2_Memo_reg_AC.2 64_L.22Rev.1.pdf UN-Water took note of the United Nations General Assembly resolution 64/198, which welcomes the generous offer of the Government of Tajikistan to host in June 2010 a high-level international conference on the midterm comprehensive review of the implementation of the international decade for action, “Water for Life”, 2005-2015; and the resolution’s invitation to the President of the General Assembly to convene a high-level interactive dialogue of the General Assembly on 22 March 2010, World Water Day, on the implementation of the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” – 2005-2015. The resolution furthermore requests the Secretary-General to prepare a note and invites agencies of the UN system to actively engage in preparation of the conference; and invites the Secretary-General, in cooperation with UN Water, to take appropriate actions to support Member States in the implementation of the second half of the Water for Life decade. UN-Water takes note that since the GA “welcomes the generous offer of Tajikistan to host the conference” rather than “decides to hold the conference,” as in the case, for example, of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development 2012, this is an international conference hosted by Tajikistan, and organized in cooperation with the United Nations, but is not a United Nations conference in the strict sense, such as UNCSD 2012 or the Doha Financing for Development Conference. UN-Water takes notes that all invitations to the conference are being signed by the host government alone and no host country agreement with the UN is to be prepared and that any support from UN agencies to the conference would be provided in the form of technical cooperation at the request of the host government. UN-Water takes note that the host government has begun actively approaching numerous agencies of the UN system for technical cooperation support for the conference and recognizes that such support requires coordination for coherence and avoiding duplication; Decisions:

33a) UN-Water members decide to channel any technical cooperation responses from them to support the international conference, through the UN Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan, in the spirit of “delivering as one”.

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33b) UN-Water decides to constitute an ad hoc open-ended working group, to be led by the UN-Water Secretariat, to coordinate support to be provided by members and partners to the international conference, through the UN Resident Coordinator, including speaker suggestions, agenda suggestions, outcome brief for dissemination, publications, and any communications and capacity-building support from UNW-DPAC and UNW-DPC. 33c) UN-Water requests UN DESA to take the lead on behalf of the UN-Water membership to advise the President of the General Assembly in the organization of the GA High Level Dialogue and to support the Photo Exhibition and invites members to provide specific advice and support, jointly with UN DESA, to these events.

6.2.2 World Water Day 2010 Please see Background document: 6_2_2_WWD2010.doc and its Annexes: 6_2_2_WWD2010_Annex_Event_draft_programme.doc 6_2_2_WWD2010_Annex_Statement_vers1_28January2010.doc Thomas Chiramba, UNEP, presented the work done to prepare for World Water Day 2010, as detailed in the background document. Decisions:

34a) UN-Water endorses the draft programme for the World Water Day 2010 event in Nairobi 34b) UN-Water members are asked to contribute to the draft UN-Water statement (see Annex 4) 34c) UN-Water endorses the participation of UNEP on behalf of UN-Water, in close collaboration with the UN-Water Secretariat at the CSD session, CBD COP 10, and World Water Week under the theme of World Water Day 2010.

6.2.3 Global Framework for Action Please see Background document: 6_2_3_SWA-GFA.doc and its Annexes: 6_2_3_SWA-GFA_Annex1_ConceptNote.doc 6_2_3_SWA-GFA_Annex2_HighLevelMtg_ConceptNote.doc Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF, presented the work done to prepare for the SWA-GFA, as detailed in the background document. Decisions:

35a) The Joint Steering Group will further liaise with the Interim Core Group (ICG) of the Sanitation and Water for All – A Global Framework for Action (SWA-GFA) in order to discuss and clarify the relationship between UN-Water and SWA-GFA. 35b) The CTA on behalf of the Chair shall continue to serve as a member of the ICG of the SWA-GFA in order to develop the operational link with UN-Water.

6.2.4 World Water Week in Stockholm 2010 – UN-Water events Please see Background document: 6_2_4_2010WorldWaterWeekStockholm.doc Adeel Zafar noted the agreement between SIWI and UN-Water and the support SIWI provides to UN-Water to organize the UN-Water SPM meeting in Stockholm and the support to two seminars, one on the World Water Day of the next year, and the other on a Stakeholder Dialogue Decisions:

36a) UN-Habitat is requested to take the lead to organize the UN-Water seminar under the theme of World Water Day 2011. 36b) UNW-DPAC, UNW-DPC and WWAP are requested to organize the UN-Water Stakeholder Dialogue on behalf of UN-Water.

6.2.5 Commission on Sustainable Development – fourth implementation cycle Please see Background document: 6_2_5_CSD18-19.doc

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Nikhil Chandavarkar briefed the meeting on CSD-18 and 19, as detailed in the background document. UNEP indicated its availability to follow-up on WWD2010 and the work of the UN-Water Task Force on Wastewater for CSD-18. Decisions in addition to decision 33c):

37a) UN-Water decides to prepare a background paper for the CSD on the linkages of water and the issues of focus of the fourth implementation cycle of the CSD, to highlight the cross-cutting nature of water issues. The Technical Secretariat takes the lead in doing this. 37b) UN-Water welcomes invitations to speaking roles in CSD related events.

6.2.6 MDG Review Summit Please see Background document: 6_2_6_MDG_Review_Summit.doc Nikhil Chandavarkar briefed the meeting on the current state of preparations for the MDG Review Summit, as detailed in the background document. Decision:

38) UN-Water requests the UN-Water Secretariat/UN DESA to identify entry points for UN-Water to this event, in particular in relation to events planned on the midterm review of the Water for Life Decade.

6.3 Decision on next UN-Water Meeting The possibility to hold the 15th UN-Water meeting in 2011 in conjunction with Singapore International Water Week was brought to the attention of the meeting, based on a communication from the Public Utility Board of Singapore to the WHO. The organizers had expressed willingness to match the arrangements offered by SIWI Stockholm. While there was a general interest to choose a meeting venue for a future UN-Water meeting outside of Europe and North-America, the timing of the Singapore International Water Week was considered a major obstacle, as end June/early July would be too soon after the spring meeting of UN-Water. WHO would communicate this to PUB and await a further response from the Singapore authorities. Decision:

39) The 13th UN-Water Meeting with Members only for one day and partners for another full day will be held in conjunction with the World Water Week in Stockholm on 04 and 05 September 2010.

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- Report -

13th UN-Water Meeting 04-05 September 2010; Stockholm, Sweden

Summary of Key Decisions of UN-Water member meeting, 04 September:

- The Senior Programme Managers approved the budget. A budgetary revision will be carried out for the next UN-Water meeting in 2011 when further clarity has been achieved on additional contributions from donors. - A list with needs for seconded technical personnel to strengthen UN-Water’s response will be developed with the UN-Water membership. - The UN-Water Mapping Report will be finalized, for release to the public, highlighting actions taken through which improved coordination has been achieved. - The guidelines and reporting format to quantify contributions/ investments will be finalized and UN-Water members commit to submit the requested information. - The Technical Secretariat will consult with all partners regarding their engagement in UN-Water and related activities and prepare a short analysis. - UN-Water accepts UNITAR as a member and also accepts UNOOSA as a partner with special status to UN-Water. UN-Water accepts the partner request by AIDA and IWRA - The process to select the new Chief Technical Advisor to UN-Water was agreed. - UN-Water establishes a new thematic priority area on water quality with UNEP as the coordinating entity. - UN-Water establishes a Task Force on the Management of Water Resources with UNEP in a coordinating role, pending (i) a change in the name to reflect its purpose to report on progress in member states and (ii) close consultation with UN-Water members that have raised issues to be considered. - UN-Water approves the three year work plan of UNW-DPC for 2010-2013 subject to revisions. - UN-Habitat will submit a budget proposal to the Joint Steering Group for support to World Water Day 2011. - UN-Water will develop a working definition of the concept of water security based on an initial exchange of experiences on the concept with the outlook to contribute to enhancing water security in member states. - The Country-Level Coordination Task Force will present a proposal on the way forward at the next SPM meeting, while continuing to (i) develop a knowledge sharing mechanism in collaboration with UNW-DPC and WWAP; (ii) develop the next steps for a strategy on how UN-Water can supports country level coordination and (iii) contribute to the Water Country Briefs. - The meeting took note of the positive development of a greater alignment of interest and the strategic direction of UN-Water/Africa and UN-Water and encourages the continuation of this process and asks UN-Water/Africa to engage with the JSG in follow-up discussion to understand how the four areas can be practically implemented. - The Global Water Operators Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA) will be an associated activity in the UN-Water Work Programme. - UN-Water takes note of the excellent progress by the UN-Water GLAAS report and asks the GLAAS team to take note of comments provided at the UN-Water meeting. - UN-Water approves that parts of the database, to be decided by the Transboundary Waters TPA, will be made publicly available. The meeting encourages other Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas to also use the UNW-DPC developed Capacity Development Information System (CDIS) as an online repository and transparent representation of their activities. - The 14th Senior Programme Manager Meeting of UN-Water will be held in the week of 17 January 2011 in Bangkok, hosted by UN ESCAP.

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Saturday, 04 September (UN-Water members only) Governance Documents for Reference: _UNW_Terms-of-reference.pdf _UNW_Operational_Guidelines.pdf _ToR_UNW_Chair_ViceChair_Secretary_TechnicalSecretariat_Final.doc _UNW_PartnerCriteria.pdf _UNW_external_review_management_response.pdf _UNW_WorkProgramme_2010_2011.pdf _UNW_JointSteeringGroup_ToR_REV.doc Opening Please refer to the document: _Follow-up_of_Decisions_12thUNW_Meeting.doc The Chair of UN-Water, Mr. Zafar Adeel, UNU, provided an update on progress in the implementation of decisions from the 12th UN-Water Meeting and on the five meetings the UN-Water Joint Steering Group (JSG) has held, including a meeting with the UN-Water Programmes. An update was given on the establishment of the UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund with UNOPS. Pending issues on the MoU of the Trust Fund have been resolved and indications have been received from several UN-Water members that are ready to sign the MoU. There has been a fruitful interaction with UNSGAB, including the UN-Water Chair’s participation in the UNSGAB meeting in Singapore and joint initiatives of the Secretariat of UNSGAB and UN-Water, with the production of the CSD background paper and close collaboration in the planning for the side event during the MDG Summit. The Chair also introduced two new members of the Technical Secretariat. Mr. Alex Bielak, Senior Advisor to the Chair, will be backstopping the CTA position until a new CTA has been hired. Ms. Nicoletta Forlano, UN-Water Communications Manager, has been in charge of the UN-Water website for some time but has now joined the Technical Secretariat formally. 1 UN-Water Strategic Direction: Coherence among UN-Water members and partners 1.1 Update on Progress on the Work Programme and budget Please refer to the document: 1_1_Annex1_UN-Water_budget_9Aug2010_only_IATF.xls 1_1_Annex2_Report_JSG_Meeting_March_2010.doc 1_1_Annex3_Report_JSG_Meeting_April_2010.doc 1_1_Annex4_Report_JSG_Meeting_May_2010.doc 1_1_Annex5_Report_JSG_UNWProgrammes_Meeting_May_2010.doc 1_1_Annex6_Report_JSG_Meeting_August_2010.doc The chair introduced the budget in the new UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund for 2010-2011, noting that the JSG had in depth discussions on the budget. An overview of the budgetary arrangements with the hiring of a new CTA and transitional matters for the technical Secretariat was given. Agreements for targeted funding are being finalized with Norway for the scenario exercise, the United States for the Water Country Briefs, and DfID for the GLAAS and Sanitation and Water for All initiative. Funds are projected to become available by the end of September. Discussions with the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Denmark and Finland are being held to acquire additional support for 2011. Beyond what is detailed in the budget, there are currently no additional resources available, although a number of donor countries have expressed a strong interest in supporting the work of UN-Water. Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas need to make budgetary requests to the JSG. The JSG can make additional fund allocations when/if

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additional financial resources become available, following the outline of the 2010/2011 UN-Water Work Programme and specific requests. A proposal for the Water Country Briefs has been developed under a very tight deadline based on the UN-Water Work Programme 2010-2011, (item 2.6), and in consultation with the JSG and FAO as the implementing agency. UN-Water members will be provided with further documentation on the proposal. UN-Water members noted that an additional overview table will be needed to detail the funds available in the UN-Water Trust Fund administered by FAO.

Decisions: 1) The proposal on the Water Country Briefs will be circulated to all members via email. 2) The Senior Programme Managers approved the budget. 3) A budgetary revision will be carried out for the next UN-Water meeting in 2011 when clarity has been achieved on additional contributions from donors.

1.2 Outcomes and follow up of UN-Water Donor Dialogue Please refer to the document: 1_2_UN-Water_Donor_Dialogue-Jun2010.doc The UN-Water donor dialogue was organized 23-24 June 2010 in London at the offices of DFID. Representatives from seven donor countries and the UN-Water Chair, Secretary and Technical Secretariat attended the dialogue. Participants were briefed on the strategic directions and recent developments of UN-Water, including the work of the thematic priority areas and task forces and the governance and financial management mechanisms. The external review and UN-Water’s management response were discussed. Furthermore progress on the implementation of the UN-Water Work Programme and the resource requirements were presented. Donors noted that there are many positive outputs generated by UN-Water. UN-Water needs to continue to strengthen the “storytelling” of the impacts of its work. Donors provided detailed comments including requests for an indication of UN-Water’s impact at the country level, particularly in Africa, the uptake of UN-Water’s work within the UN system, as well as quantifying the impact of UN-Water’s work with concrete examples. They indicated UN-Water needs to continue to advocate water issues for the wider water community inside and outside the UN system. Strengthening the communication function was raised, in order for UN-Water to ensure that its role is understood and help bring water issues to the fore. UN-Water is seen by donors as a low-cost, high-value mechanism. Providing a small amount of additional resources to kick-start collaborative action can leverage the existing capacity of the UN system. It was suggested that UN-Water should identify clearly where it has a comparative advantage and look strategically at which areas it aims to have an impact. New initiatives and upcoming events were discussed. The meeting was concluded with an outline of potential donor support to UN-Water in the future. During the dialogue it was pointed out that there is a high level of satisfaction with how UN-Water has performed. The contribution of UN-Water members to ensuring that coordination does take place in the UN system through UN-Water needs to be continuously reiterated in the discussions with the donors. Recording the value of the coordination mechanism for UN entities remains important.

Decisions: 4) A list with needs for seconded technical personnel to strengthen UN-Water’s response will be circulated among the UN-Water membership before its submission to donors. 5) The draft document of UN-Water achievements/ impacts will be circulated and will form the basis for eliciting inputs from UN-Water members to detail additional impacts of UN-Water.

1.3 Finalizing the UN-Water mapping Please refer to the document: 1_3_UN-Water_Mapping.doc

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1_3_Annex1_UN-Water_Mapping_Report.docx

UN-Water noted significant improvements in the mapping, since the last time members have provided comments. Some members expressed that the present product may not help UN-Water to better coordinate its activities; hence UN-Water needs to critically reflect on the way mapping exercises are commissioned and conducted. After a few changes are introduced to avoid misunderstanding, it will, however, be a valuable document for use with the general public to explain how water issues are handled in the United Nations system. The concluding section of the report contains good analysis of what UN-Water is doing collectively. The report should add the lessons learned and how UN-Water addresses them.

Decision: 6) UNW-DPC - as the entity coordinating this activity through the team of consultants in charge of this report - is requested to (i) edit the report for use with the public, (ii) highlight actions taken through which improved coordination has been achieved (this can be done by adding text boxes which include examples of strong coordination within the UN system such as the effort during the International Year of Sanitation) (iii) rephrase the purpose of the report as serving as an overview of the main strands of work of UN-Water members, (iv) delete Figure 1 (the Overview Graph) as well as Annex 2 and Annex 3.

1.4 Quantifying contribution to UN-Water by UN-Water members; Estimating water investments by UN-Water members Please refer to the document: 1_4_Guidelines_for_Financial_Estimates.doc 1_4_Annex1_Guidelines_for_Financial_Estimates.doc 1_4_Annex2_Computing_Leveraging.xls 1_4_Annex3_Estimating_Water_Investments.xls Two mechanisms were proposed to report on expenditures. 1. Demonstrate the investments by UN-Water members in UN-Water related activities. The rationale for carrying out this activity is to show the strong commitment of UN-Water members to UN-Water’s activities and the significant internal investments in the UN system. Specific information of this type has also been requested by UN-Water’s current donors in order to secure renewed support from them. 2. Compile information on the total expenditures related to water by UN-Water members. This is an essential part of the overall coordination function of UN-Water and would allow quantification of investments into different types of activities and identification of investment trends.. Member states have also expressed an interest in such calculations and it can become a powerful advocacy tool, bolstering arguments for the necessity of increased financial support to water related activities in the UN system. During the discussion it was clarified that both figures will have to be rough estimates. In some activities it is not straightforward to quantify how much staff time was contributed to UN-Water. It is difficult for agencies with operations at the regional and country level to quantify all expenditures on water related projects in a consistent way. Clear guidelines would be needed and the information requested should not be too detailed. Whenever the figures are used sufficient qualifiers should be given, detailing the source and purpose of the information obtained. The UN-Water Programmes will be included in this exercise, with their resources counted fully to UN-Water.

Decisions: 7a) The guidelines and reporting format to quantify contributions/ investments will be finalized by the Technical Secretariat according to the comments received in the meeting and sent to all members.

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7b) UN-Water members commit to submit the information requested in the modified guidelines on contributions/ investments to the Technical Secretariat within a one month time frame.

1.5 Engaging UN-Water Partners Please refer to the document: _UNW_PartnerCriteria.pdf The UN-Water Joint Steering Group noted that there is a need for an analysis of the input of UN-Water partners and ensuring that inactive partners are reminded that their engagement with UN-Water is a prerequisite for their partner status. If partners remain inactive the partnership can be discontinued, as detailed in the partner criteria. At the same time UN-Water needs to ensure that partners are provided with ample opportunities to contribute to the work of UN-Water, including in the UN-Water meeting with partners, and that expectations of partners and opportunities for them to engage are clearly communicated. Two proposals were discussed: 1) Ask a subgroup of UN-Water partners to undertake an analysis of how they are benefiting from the engagement, somewhat analogous to a peer review among partners, to be reported to technical secretariat. 2) The technical Secretariat to be in contact with each partner organization to elicit their views on collaboration with UN-Water. Including partners in both days of the Stockholm meeting was discussed. Some argued that the current set up with one of the two days only open to UN-Water partners is a more efficient use of the partners’ time and allows UN-Water members to progress in releasing funds and on pending items. Others argued that partners should be included in a majority of the discussions, since they are relevant for some. A proposal was made to only have substantive discussions and not internal business discussed in the UN-Water summer meeting.

Decisions: 8a) The Technical Secretariat will consult with all partners regarding their engagement in UN-Water and related activities. A short analysis will be compiled and be presented together with recommendations at the next UN-Water SPM meeting and be shared with partners. This should serve as a basis for increased interactions with partners. 8b) In the 14th SPM meeting UN-Water will review the tasks to be covered in the following (15th) meeting and review whether a UN-Water members’ only meeting is still needed.

1.6 Decision on UN-Water Member Applications Please refer to the document: 1_1_Annex6_Report_JSG_Meeting_August_2010.doc 1_6_Annex1_Unitar_Application.pdf 1_6_Annex2_UNOOSA_Application.pdf The Joint Steering Group discussed the partner applications received from two UN entities that have submitted their applications since the last UN-Water meeting. 1) The JSG noted UNITAR’s close links with UNU, recognizing that UNITAR is mainly doing training for UN personnel while UNU is a policy-oriented think tank. It was noted with concern that UNITAR does not mention UNW-DPC in its application to UN-Water. By accepting UNITAR’s membership request, disparities in action on water issues can be minimized and UN-Water fulfil its role. The JSG recommended to the UN-Water SPM meeting to accept the membership request of UNITAR. 2) The work of UNOOSA on providing information on extreme hydrological events was considered a valuable addition to the expertise present in UN-Water. The office was initially created as a small expert unit within the UN Secretariat by the General Assembly resolution 1348

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(XIII) in 1958. It later became a Division within a UN Secretariat Department and was transformed into the Office for Outer Space Affairs within the UN Secretariat’s Department for Political Affairs in 1992. In 1993 the OOSA was relocated to the United Nations Office at Vienna. The institutional nature of OOSA is more akin to a partner with special status, similar to the UN Global Compact’s status with UN-Water, rather than that of a UN agency, fund or programme. UN-Water partners with special status can participate in all UN-Water activities and meetings of the membership.

Decisions: 9) UN-Water accepts UNITAR as a member to UN-Water 10) UN-Water accepts UNOOSA as a partner with special status to UN-Water

1.7 Decision on UN-Water Partner Applications Please refer to the document: 1_1_Annex6_Report_JSG_Meeting_August_2010.doc 1_7_Annex1_AIDA_PartnerApplication.pdf 1_7_Annex2a_IWRA_PartnerApplication.doc 1_7_Annex2b_IWRA_PartnerApplication_supplement.doc 1_7_Annex2c_IWRA_brochure.pdf 1_7_Annex2d_IWRA_update.pdf The Joint Steering Group discussed the partner applications received from three organizations that have submitted their applications since the last UN-Water meeting. The 1) The JSG proposes to the UN-Water SPM meeting to accept the partner request of International Association for Water Law (AIDA). The JSG recognized that the dimension of water law is missing within UN-Water partners and UN-Water could benefit from AIDA’s expertise in this area. 2) The JSG noted that the contribution of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) to UN-Water was not very clear from the partner application submitted (1_7_Annex2a_IWRA_PartnerApplication.doc). The Technical Secretariat wrote to IWRA and requested further detail on their potential contribution to UN-Water particularly on questions 5, 6 and 7 in the partner form. The additional information has been submitted by IWRA and was included in the background material for the UN-Water meeting (1_7_Annex2b_IWRA_PartnerApplication_supplement.doc). 3) The Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) does not to meet the minimum standards of a UN-Water partner as stipulated in the UN-Water partner criteria. The JSG decided to screen the application out not submitting it to the SPM meeting. The Secretary will communicate the decision of the JSG to ARC encouraging ARC to deepen its existing relationship with the UN system and invite them to reapply as their engagement in water issues grows.

Decisions: 11) UN-Water decides to accept the partner request by AIDA 12) UN-Water decides to accept the partner request by IWRA

1.8 UN-Water CTA Selection Process, Arrangements for Technical Secretariat The meeting took note of the relevant decisions taken at the 11th UN-Water meeting:

Decision 3: CTA Position need not rotate with the chair Decision 4: CTA, the Advisor, and potential additional advisory staff, the UN-Water Secretary, Vice-Chair to UN-Water and the Chair to UN-Water should constitute a single virtual team operating under the leadership of the UN-Water Chair. Decision 5: The existing technical support office will be based in Geneva to take advantage of the synergies with members, partners and constituents based there.

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The Chair’s office and Secretariat will investigate the institutional arrangements for the establishment of the technical support office and report back to the UN-Water membership. Decision 6: The CTA will be based in the technical support office (flexible arrangements can be made with the UN-Water Chair). Decision 7: The Advisor to the Secretary will continue to be based in New York to take advantage of the synergies with the many members, partners, constituents and United Nations governing bodies and respective secretariats based there.

The Chair added that experience has shown that it has been useful for the CTA to spend two weeks every other month with the Chair. Points raised by the membership included that a requirement for selecting the CTA would be for the candidate to have a good knowledge of the regional commissions and that a representative from the regional commissions and one from the UN-Water programmes should be on the selection committee. The location of the CTA could be either with the High Level Committee on Management (HLCM) or at the offices of the WSSCC, which renewed its offer at the meeting.

Decisions:

13a) A selection committee under the leadership of the Chair of UN-Water, comprising 5 UN-Water members, including 2 JSG members (including the UN-Water Chair), and 3 other UN-Water members (Mr. Robert Bos, WHO; Ms. Josefina Maestu UNW-DPAC; and Mr. Le Huu Ti, ESCAP. (If Mr. Ti were not available Ms. Carol Chouchani Cherfane, ESCWA will take his place). 13b) The Vacancy Announcement will be prepared by the virtual team and shared with all UN-Water members for comments. 13c) The Selection committee will review these comments and finalize the Vacancy Announcement. 13d) The Vacancy Announcement should be posted as soon as possible by UNOPS. 13e) The Vacancy Announcement shall be shared as widely as possible and all members and partners will be requested to support its distribution.

1.9 Establishment of new Thematic Priority Area on Water Quality Please refer to the document: 1_9_TPA_Water_Quality.doc 1_9_Annex1_TPA_Water_Quality_Proposal.doc

1_9_Annex2_TPA_Water_Quality_Consultation_Meeting.doc Mr. Tim Kasten, UNEP, introduced the proposal for the new Thematic Priority Area on Water Quality, which is a proposal coming out of World Water Day 2010. The proposed TPA is intended to enhance interagency collaboration and coordination in water quality, and support governments and other stakeholders in addressing water quality challenges. It will advocate for the prevention and control of pollution of water bodies and in cases where water is already contaminated, promote safe reuse, appropriate treatment and restoration of ecosystems. The TPA will assist UN-Water to monitor and report on water quality, identify emerging water quality challenges and propose relevant responses. It can also help strengthen the working relation between UN-Water and UN-Oceans. Non-Human water quality needs/ uses could also be considered within water quality standards and guidelines. The meeting received the proposal very positively; UN-Water membership offered the following comments: WWAP suggested that work coming out of the TPA may be published within the WWDR process. WHO suggested looking closely at existing guidelines on water quality, also those for non-consumptive uses of water. UNICEF mentioned that household level water quality may be taken up by another Thematic Priority Area within UN-Water. FAO noted a general need for streamlining of Thematic Priority Areas and Task Forces within UN-Water, in particular pertaining to the discussion of the TPA on Water Quality, the Task Force on Wastewater and the Task Force on monitoring progress on water resources management. UNU suggested, before

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embarking on a mapping exercise, the TPA should have a close look at the lessons learned by other TPAs having undertaken these exercises. While the proposed long-term scope of work of the Thematic Priority Area on Water Quality, as detailed in the submitted proposal, is seen as very positive, the immediate activities proposed by the TPA need to ensure that they address this larger scope.

Decisions: 14a) UN-Water establishes a new thematic priority area on water quality with UNEP as the coordinating entity. UNEP is tasked to ensure that the comments provided are reflected in the proposal. 14b) UNDP, FAO, UNESCO, UN-Habitat, WHO, UN ESCAP, UNU, UNW-DPAC, WWAP and UNCCD will be part of the thematic priority area, coordinated by UNEP. 14c) UNEP will write to all partners and members to invite others interested to join the TPA. 14d) The TPA on Water Quality will clarify its relationship with the Wastewater TF, possibly providing an umbrella function. 14e) The JSG will review the budget for the Water Quality TPA and revert back to the SPM 14f) UN-Water members were reminded of the 30 September deadline to provide editorial comments, after which the Water Quality Policy Brief will be considered approved. 15) The next UN-Water meeting will include an update of all Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas.

1.10 Plans for Task Force on Water Resources Management Please refer to the document: 1_10_TF_Water_Resources_Management.doc 1_10_Annex1_TF_Water_Resources_Management_Draft_ToR.doc 1_10_Annex2_TF_Water_Resources_Management_Draft_ProjectPlan.doc 1_10_Annex3_TF_Water_Resources_Management_Draft_WRM_indicator_sources.doc Tim Kasten, UNEP, introduced the proposed task force on water resources management, detailing its purpose, in reference to chapter 18 of Agenda 21, “to assess progress and outcomes on the application of integrated approaches to the development, management and use of water resources”. As detailed in the background brief provided to the meeting the task force will have four main deliverables: i) The Rio+20 report on the status on the management of water resources; ii) A PowerPoint presentation of the progress in the management of water resources; iii) A visual and interactive presentation of the progress in management of water resources over time; iv) A proposal for the establishment of a framework for regular monitoring and reporting on the management of water resources. The substantive costs of the exercise, as detailed in the submitted budget, will need further consideration by the Joint Steering Group and support from the participating entities in the fundraising will be necessary. Meeting participants noted that the name of the Task Force would need to be changed to indicate that the Task Force aims to assess progress in the application of IWRM approaches. The tight schedule to produce a report by UNCSD 2012 (Rio+20) needs immediate action. It was noted however, that such a report was not specifically requested by member states, but could be a proactive input by UN-Water into the discussions as UNCSD 2012 and follow the

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recommendation made by the Commission on Sustainable Development in its 16th Session (paragraph 29):

“While noting the successful efforts of UN-Water, there was a call for its increased role in monitoring the progress made in regard to water, sanitation and commitments in regard to integrated water resources management.”

WWAP noted that assessing, monitoring and reporting on water issues by the UN system should take place through the World Water Development Report, if the aim is to develop a monitoring instrument a task force may not be the most appropriate way to do so. UNDP noted that the task force is an excellent example of what UN-Water could do to add value, noting the importance that besides reporting on the status on the management of water resources at Rio+20 it aims to provide a proposal for the establishment of a framework for regular monitoring and reporting. It should be complimentary with the World Water Development Report. UNESCAP noted that the inclusion of the IWRM principles into the political process represents an achievement of the water community, which this report may make use of. It was proposed to engage UN DESA to approach the sustainable development focal points in member states to support the reporting.

Decisions: 16a) The meeting endorsed in principle the TOR, project management and project plan for the Task Force on the Management of Water Resources, pending (i) a change in the name to be submitted by UNEP and (ii) close consultation with UN-Water members that have raised issues to be considered, such as WWAP to share resources. 16b) The activity is clearly reflected in the UN-Water Work Programme (item 2.5) and in the ToR that are agreed in principle. UNEP may lead the fundraising efforts in collaboration with the UN-Water Technical Secretariat. 16c) UNEP is tasked to find an appropriate name for the task force to indicate that the Task Force aims to assess progress in the application of water resources management approaches, including integrated water resources management (IWRM). 16d) UNEP will write to all partners and members to invite those interested to join the Task Force.

1.11 UNW-DPC – Adoption of three year work plan Please refer to the document: 1_12_UNW-DPC_Work_Plan-II_BriefingNote.doc. 1_11_Annex1_UNW-DPC_Activities_Work_Plan-I.pdf 1_11_Annex2_UNW-DPC_Work_Plan-II.doc The UNW-DPC 2010 – 2013 Work Plan has been reviewed prior to the meeting by the Joint Steering Group. The UNW-DPC Work Plan aligns closely with the UN-Water Work Programme, reflecting the previously made comment by the Senior Programme Managers. While the Work Plan was viewed very positively by the JSG, two changes to the Work Plan were suggested: 1) The results based framework should include a section on outcomes and intended impacts. 2) The three strategic directions of UN-Water, as detailed in the UN-Water Work Programme and UN-Water Management Response to the External Review should be explicitly reflected as the overall framework of the UNW-DPC work plan.

Decision: 17) UN-Water approves the three year work plan of UNW-DPC for 2010-2013 subject to the two revisions on (i) including outcomes and intended impacts in the results based framework and (ii) reflecting how the three strategic directions of UN-Water will be addressed by the work plan.

1.12 UNSGAB Please refer to the document: 1_12_UNSGAB.doc 1_12_Annex1_UNW-UNSGAB_briefing_note.doc

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1_12_Annex2_UNSGAB_Singapore_mtg_extracts.doc 1_12_Annex3_5YD_conceptnote.doc The Chair of UN-Water reported on his participation in the last UNSGAB meeting in Singapore and the discussions on how UN-Water and UNSGAB can engage more closely. Mr. Gerard Payen, UNSGAB, noted that UNSGAB counts on UN-Water to support its recommendations and highlighted four areas for engagement for UN-Water from UNSGAB’s perspective: 1) Sustainable Sanitation: Five-year drive to 2015: UN-Water is asked to support the initiative. 2) Wastewater Management: The creation of a task force on wastewater management by UN-Water is an excellent start, which should be built on further. 3) Urban challenges on water and sanitation: Via World Water Day, ensure powerful messaging on urban issues from the water community, to ensure that the world receives these messages. 4) Beyond 2015, new targets should be decided and appropriate decisions should be prepared. The water community needs to be prepared when this discussion arises at the intergovernmental level. The appropriateness of developing a new set of targets at this point was discussed, while it was acknowledged that the discussion for new targets needs to be well prepared. The importance to make water and sanitation issues more visible in processes not traditionally concerned with water issues was raised. UN-Water members noted the importance of effectively engaging with the Secretary-General. Working jointly, UNSGAB and UN-Water can increase the impact of the UN system as a whole, UNSGAB working from the outside and UN-Water from the inside of the system. 2 UN-Water Strategic Direction: Water issues in global policy debates 2.1 Roadmap for UN-Water’s engagement in global policy dialogues Please refer to the document: 2_1_Engagement_in_global_policy_dialogues.doc The discussion under this item was deferred to the discussion under item 2.1 on the next day due to time constraints. 2.2 World Water Day 2011 on Water and Urbanization Please refer to the document: 2_2_WWD2011.doc Mr. Bert Diphoorn, UN-Habitat, highlighted the UN-Water World Water Week Seminar focussing on the World Water Day. As decided at the 12th UN-Water meeting, World Water Day 2011 will focus on the topic of Water and Urbanization. A large media event will be organized in Cape Town. The event will seek to engage the public and the media, building on the success of the 2010 World Water Day and the successful cooperation established through it. As an outcome of seminars the UN-Water Statement for WWD 2011 will be developed, further discussed in teleconferences, and ultimately agreed upon in a conference on “Sustainable Water Management in Cities: engaging stakeholders for effective change” to be held 13-17 December 2010 in Zaragoza. The organizers are asked to submit a proposal requesting financial resources from the UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund to the JSG, according to which resources will be allocated, depending on the resources available in the trust fund. The importance of having a website, and communication and education material ready in time was raised, and using the website as a single point of entry for all World Water Day-related entries was stressed. Using various media channels was proposed to further strengthen the communication aspect and ensure that, as well as the main event, numerous other events around the world be further enhanced. Capturing lessons learned and the different channels that can be

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used to spread the message will be important. The communication manager and UNW-DPAC and will need to continue to work closely together to develop communication material for the event based on the messages developed by UN-Water.

Decision: 18) UN-Habitat will submit a budget proposal to the Joint Steering Group, based on which a decision on the financial support by UN-Water will be made, in the order of magnitude as for the last World Water Day of USD 50,000.

World Water Development Report Please refer to the document: WWAP_Progress_Report_2September2010 Olcay Unver, WWAP, briefed the meeting that only 4 out of a total of 19 Challenge Area Reports and Regional Reports were submitted by the deadline. The delay is affecting the WWDR4 production work plan, which was approved by UN-Water in August 2009. WWAP will revise the work plan accordingly once it has received confirmation from the Lead Agencies on the submission of the missing reports. Those Lead Agencies that have not submitted their reports were strongly urged to do so as soon as possible. 2.3 Common Definition of Water Security Please refer to the document: 2_3_Water_Security.doc 2_3_Annex1_Water_Security_COMWAP-Summary.pdf 2_3_Annex2_Water_Security_RES-63-281.pdf The meeting acknowledged that there are gaps in understanding what water security is, and once an understanding has been reached the actions that need to be taken to work towards “water security” need to be clarified. LeHuu Ti, UN ESCAP, highlighted that the lack of a commonly agreed definition has made it difficult to bring the concept to the highest political level and presented different definitions of water security. In the discussion it was highlighted that there exists expertise on the concept. It would be important to involve UN-Water partners in the discussions and look at past references to the concept, such as in the Ministerial Declaration in the 2nd World Water Forum. It was suggested to move stepwise, agree on a working definition within UN-Water that builds on the collective experiences within UN-Water. The importance of translating such a definition was also raised. As a second step it was deemed important to clearly delineate how UN-Water could respond to enhance “water security”. As calls for an international year of Water Diplomacy have been raised it may be a good opportunity to arrive with a common definition on water security by then.

Decisions: 19a) UN-Water agreed on the need to develop a working definition of the concept of water security as a first step for UN-Water’s internal use. UNU will be taking the lead in developing such a working definition. 19b) A three step approach to move forward was adopted: (1) Exchange of information and experiences among UN-Water members; (2) Building on existing uses, develop a working definition of water security; (3) Identify ways in which UN-Water can contribute to enhancing water security in member states. 19c) As an input to the first step an Analytical Water Brief on Water Security (as described in item 4.1 in the UN-Water work programme) will be commissioned with UN ESCAP and UNU taking the lead in contracting an expert in the area to prepare such a brief as a strategic planning and decision-making tool and to spur discussion on Water Security.

3 UN-Water Strategic Direction: Support at all levels, with an emphasis on the country level

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3.1 UN-Water Task Force on Country Level Coordination Joakim Harlin, UNDP, Coordinator of the Task Force on Country Level Coordination, briefed the meeting on the workshop focused on developing a knowledge sharing mechanism held by the task force in Bonn The meeting decided to use as a pilot initiative the NING platform (a service which allows the creation of customized social networks). After the workshop key elements of NING changed which made the NING platform no longer useful for the purposes of the Task Force. In the meantime UNDP launched “Team Works”, a UN-wide collaborative internet platform. A recommendation was made to keep the knowledge sharing mechanism as simple as possible. The Task Force also prepared a report for the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) initiative which details the experiences gathered during the country visits of the Task Force. Since the SWA working group on this issue has been disbanded, SWA is yet to provide feedback on the report. The new steering committee of SWA will take the issue up and discuss the engagement with the UN-Water Country Level Coordination Task Force.

Decisions: 20) The Country-Level Coordination Task Force will present a proposal on the way forward at the next SPM meeting, while continuing to develop the tasks agreed at the 12th UN-Water meeting, namely:

- Develop a knowledge sharing mechanism in collaboration with UNW-DPC and WWAP

- Develop the next steps for a strategy on how UN-Water can supports country level coordination

- Contribute to the Water Country Briefs (item 2.5 in Work Programme). 3.2 UN-Water Task Force on Regional Level Coordination Please refer to the document: 3_2_Regional_Level_TF.doc 3_2_Annex1_Regional_Level_TF_Proposal_Updated.doc 3_2_Annex2_Regional_Level_TF_Proposal_Activities-Budget_2011.doc Mr. LeHuu Ti presented the activities expected to be implemented in the Regional Level Task Force until 2013:

In collaboration with the five Regional Commissions, undertake a comprehensive assessment of coordination mechanisms within the water sector that exist in the five regions, to facilitate information exchange, access to information for better coherence in regional reporting, as well as to identify possible alignments of regional chapters within UN-Water.

Undertake in-depth surveys to identity priority areas for improvement in selected regions, while ensuring synergy of such proposed mapping exercises by the Task Force with other mapping exercises of UN-Water.

Develop strategies to deliver coordinated regional responses to meet the water resources management, water supply and sanitation goals, including MDGs, at the regional level.

Undertake inter-regional consultation to exchange lessons learned The allocation for the Task Force for 2010 is currently USD 65,000 pending the final availability of funds. In the discussion it was noted that WWAP relies on the analysis of regional level developments for the World Water Development report. Also strengthening the link between the country level and regional level Task Force to decide on sub-regions for piloting initiatives may be a useful way forward for the work of the Task Force. The approval of the full budget can only take place at the 14th UN-Water meeting and will need to be considered by the JSG beforehand. However, setting up processes to carry out the work and becoming a signatory to the interagency trust fund will help for the task force to start its work.

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3.3 UN-Water/Africa Please refer to the document: 3_3_UNWater-Africa.doc

3_3_Annex1_UNWater-Africa_Meeting.doc Mr. Zafar Adeel, the Chair of UN-Water and Mr. Max Donkor, the incoming Chair of UN-Water/Africa held discussions on strengthening the relation between UN-Water and UN-Water/Africa. It was pointed out that an alignment based on the strategic directions of UN-Water needs to occur. There is an agreement that the relationship needs to be clarified and reinforced. Mr. Daniel Adom, UN-Habitat, on behalf of UN-Water Africa, indicated that UN-Water/Africa works very closely with African political processes. Four areas of mutual engagement were proposed by UN-Water/Africa in the background brief, namely: 1. To support the AMCOW Secretariat, Technical Advisory Committee and the Executive Committee and their partners, in building capacity for reporting on the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh commitments 2. To support the Africa Water Week series, with the next one being scheduled from 22 to 26 November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 3. To support the work on Large Marine Ecosystems and strengthen its linkages of IWRM plans of major African River Basins. 4.To support the African Water Development Report, Africa Water Journal, Africa Water Information Clearing House Mechanism and the Atlas of Africa’s Water Resources. Comments included that the JMP snapshot on Africa presented a good type of collaboration between UN-Water/Africa and the work of the JMP. UN-Water/Africa’s input to the WWDR regional report on Africa is seen as crucial. The ECA should be closely involved in the discussion.

Decisions: 21a) The meeting took note of the positive development of a greater alignment of interest and the strategic direction of UN-Water/Africa and UN-Water and encourages the continuation of this process. 21b) The meeting encourages the development of joint products where there is a common interest 21c) The meeting took note of the four areas of mutual engagement proposed by UN-Water/Africa, but asks UN-Water/Africa to engage with the JSG in follow-up discussion to understand how the four areas can be practically implemented.

3.4 Water Operators Partnership Please refer to the document: 3_4_GWOPA.doc. Mr. Faraj El-Awar, Programme Manager Global Water Operators Partnerships Alliance, UN-Habitat, explained that the Global Water Operators’ Partnership Alliance (GWOPA) is a network of partners committed to helping water operators assist one another improve their collective capacity to provide access to water and sanitation services for all. The discussion in the meeting centred on internalizing the obvious connection between GWOPA and UN-Water. The GWOPA could be included in the UN-Water Work Programme as an activity so that UN-Water can provide further support to the activities undertaken by the alliance.

Decisions: 22a) UN-Water agrees to include GWOPA as an associated activity in the UN-Water Work Programme. 22b) UN-Water requests that UN-Water programmes and the Technical Secretariat support activities undertaken by the GWOPA.

3.5 Strategy for GLAAS Please refer to the document: 3_5_GLAAS_Strategy.doc

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3_5_Annex1_GLAAS_Strategy_draft.doc Mr. Federico Properzi, WHO, provided a briefing of the last six months of the work on the GLAAS report, which included receiving a peer review and the launch of the first GLAAS report at the SWA High Level Meeting. He thanked the UN-Water members involved in these activities. The key points of the strategy provided to the UN-Water membership prior to the meeting were presented, they comprise: The UN-Water GLAAS report is proposed to be published every two years. The new report would consisting of a data update section produced along the lines of the 2010 GLAAS report and a thematic section covering a selected subject in-depth, such as financial resource flows to the sub-national level, finance needs to reach and maintain universal coverage, human resource needs and gaps, gender equity, and the impact of WASH on development In the discussion UN-Water members stressed that it needs to be very clear that the GLAAS report is a UN-Water report and that there should not be any confusion as to its association. This needs to come out much stronger in the GLAAS strategy. The merit of having two reports on WASH with the JMP and the GLAAS was discussed. The rationale that the JMP provides the data and the GLAAS provides the policy relevant analysis is often seen as useful by governments. The meeting noted positively that GLAAS and JMP have one, joint strategic advisory board to strengthen its joint development. The need for coordination between the WWDR, JMP and GLAAS, as identified at the 12th UN-Water meeting was reiterated. It was noted that the three reporting functions had already convened twice, and a working-level coordination group needs to be established at the earliest.

Decisions: 23a) UN-Water takes note of the excellent progress by the UN-Water GLAAS report and asks the GLAAS team to take note of comments provided at the UN-Water meeting. 23b) The GLAAS team is asked to resubmit its draft strategy to the UN-Water membership to solicit further comments by email.

4 Decision on Next UN-Water Meeting

Decision: 24) UN-Water decides to hold the 14th Senior Programme Manager Meeting in the week of 17 January 2011 in Bangkok, hosted by UN ESCAP.

Other The UN-Water membership expressed their gratitude for the work and commitment of Mr. Johan Kuylenstierna, who will be leaving UN-Water as of 30 September 2010 to join the Stockholm Environment Institute.

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Sunday, 05 September

Summary of Meeting of UN-Water members, partners and key stakeholder: An update of recent developments within UN-Water was provided, as well as an update on the work of the UN-Water Thematic Priority Areas on Transboundary Water and Climate Change. The Capacity Development Information System was introduced. UN-Water’s engagement in upcoming events was discussed and two panel discussions held. The first panel on UN-Water’s engagement in global policy dialogues explored how UN-Water could further elaborate its strategy to engage with these processes and to identify priorities based on its comparative advantages. The second panel discussion focused on how UN-Water can best support and engage at the regional and country level. It also discussed what ‘delivering as one’ could mean in practice through an interagency mechanism.

Governance Documents for Reference: _UNW_Terms-of-reference.pdf _UNW_Operational_Guidelines.pdf _ToR_UNW_Chair_ViceChair_Secretary_TechnicalSecretariat_Final.doc _UNW_PartnerCriteria.pdf _UNW_external_review_management_response.pdf _UNW_WorkProgramme_2010_2011.pdf Opening Welcoming Remarks by the Chair and report on progress of UN-Water 1 UN-Water Strategic Direction: Coherence among UN-Water members and partners 1.1 Introduction on Progress of UN-Water Mr. Zafar Adeel, the Chair of UN-Water, opened the meeting and provided an update on the recent developments within UN-Water, including the three strategic directions that have been agreed by UN-Water to guide its work, i,e, (i) internal coordination, (ii) global processes, and (iii) regional and country level coordination. The successful and widely noted efforts to celebrate World Water Day 2010 were led on behalf of UN-Water by UNEP and supported by UN-Habitat. The establishment of Thematic Priority Areas (TPA) that will cover areas of continuing importance and the continuation of time-bound Task Forces created to deliver specific outputs were mentioned. A new Task Force on Regional Level Coordination and a new Thematic Priority Area on Water Quality were established. The government of Tajikistan – with substantive support from UN-Water – held an international conference on the midterm review of the Water for Life Decade in June 2010. UN-Water is very keen to enhance the interaction with its partners to ensure that UN-Water contributes to their needs and partners contribute to UN-Water. The Technical Secretariat will interact bilaterally over the coming months with its partners to develop an overview where cooperation between members and partners can be enhanced. 1.2 UN-Water Thematic Priority Area on Transboundary Waters: Results of Mapping, Capacity Development Information System Please refer to the document: 1_2_Transboundary_Waters_TPA.doc 1_2_Annex1_Transboundary_Waters_TPA_UNW-DPC_CDIS.pdf

1_2_Annex2_Transboundary_Waters_TPA_mapping_finalreport_August2010.doc Ms. Francesca Bernardini, UN ECE, gave an update of the recent work of the UN-Water Thematic Priority Area on Transboundary Waters. A focus of the TPA has been the mapping exercise that recorded projects on transboundary water projects of UN-Water members. Mr. Jan-Peter Mund, UNW-DPC, gave a demonstration of the Capacity Building Information System (CDIS), which has been deployed to record the information gathered in the mapping

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exercise. The information system can also be used for other mapping exercises and is used by the Water and Climate Change TPA. A regular request will go out regularly by the TPA to members to update it. Based on the mapping exercise, a key task for the Transboundary Waters TPA will be to analyze the gaps of the UN system in the area of transboundary waters. The general understanding that there should be a common visual identity of all UN-Water information systems was reiterated.

Decisions: 25a) UN-Water approves that parts of the database, to be decided by the Transboundary Waters TPA, will be made publicly available. UN-Water members and partners are encouraged to regularly check consistency and update their activities, with technical support from the CDIS team. 25b) UN-Water seeks to ensure, pending on availability of financial resources that a limited amount of financial resources are provided on an annual basis for the update of the data. 25c) The meeting encourages other Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas to also use the CDIS as an online repository and transparent representation of their activities.

1.3 UN-Water Thematic Priority Area on Water and Climate Change: Results of Workshop; Way forward; strategy towards COP-16 Please refer to the document: 1_3_WaterClimateChange_TPA.doc

1_3_Annex1_WCC_TPA_Report_4th_Meeting.pdf 1_3_Annex2_WCC_TPA_Mapping_DraftReport

1_3_Annex2a_Updated_WCC_TPA_Mapping_Results_FinalDraft.pdf 1_3_Annex2b_Updated_WCC_TPA_Annexes_to_Mapping_Results.pdf

1_3_Annex3_WCC_TPA_Policy_Brief.pdf 1_3_Annex4_WCC_TPA_CC_OnePager.pdf

Mr. Claudio Caponi, WMO, Coordinator of the UN-Water Thematic Priority Area on Water and Climate Change provided a brief overview of the work of the Thematic Priority Area. A policy brief on Water and Climate Change has been prepared by the TPA and is being distributed in Stockholm. A preliminary report prepared by the Consultant on the mapping of UN-Water members’ activities on Water and Climate Change has been distributed prior to the meeting. The work plan of the TPA for 2011-2012 will be discussed in the meeting of the TPA during the World Water Week. For the first week of COP-16 in Cancun, the Mexican National Water Commission, CONAGUA, has contacted WMO, WWAP and GWP along with several other UN-Water members to assist in organizing one thematic event as part of a five-day macro side event series. The results of these events would feed into a one-day Ministerial Panel the following week. The overall stated objective of these events is to get water included in the climate change debate. Since the initiative comes from the host country, the chances of success seem better than in the past. WMO accepted in principle, but suggested the two events should be coordinated by UN-Water as a whole rather than by individual agencies. GWP suggested that UN-Water should keep track of the 5-day event to facilitate co-ordination and information flow. The organizers have not yet reacted officially to further communication by the TPA. Partners stressed that the TPA is a very important initiative that may also look beyond COP-16 to COP-17 in South Africa and should continue to focus on how COP negotiations could refrain from treating water as a sector but as an underlying issue for many emerging challenges. Water security is an important element in the discussions on water and climate change. UN-Water is developing a working definition of the term and will involve its partners in the

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discussions. The TPA is invited to continue its involvement with the Water and Climate Coalition on behalf of UN-Water. 1.4 Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Please refer to the document: 1_4_SWA.doc 1_4_AnnexA_SWA.doc Mr. Jon Lane, WSSCC Chair of the Interim Core Group of Sanitation and Water for All presented the initiative as a network of like-minded partners. SWA is unified by the common vision to achieve universal and sustainable access to sanitation and drinking water, with an immediate focus on the countries most off-track countries in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. SWA will be supported by a few staff to ensure its operation. A steering committee will be selected among its partners, and will take over from the interim core group. The first meeting of the new Committee would be organized during the World Water Week. UN-Water has supported SWA both substantially and through trust fund management, and has offered to continue to support to SWA in four areas:

- UN-Water would contribute to the work of SWA through the UN-Water GLAAS report, which could provide a monitoring function for indicators of particular relevance for the SWA.

- UN-Water can function as a facilitator and portal through which UN member’s action and support to the SWA is discussed, channeled and coordinated. It can also support the cohesive mobilization of resources within the UN system, including the regional commissions, to improve delivery of outputs to the member states.

- UN-Water can provide direct organizational and administrative support through trust fund management, and secure, efficient distribution of financial resources to the UN-Water members involved in SWA.

- UN-Water can support SWA advocacy through its increasing efforts to link up to global policy processes (G8/G20, UNGA etc). This is an area where UN-Water would closely collaborate with UNSGAB

UN-Water is hesitant to subscribe to the category of becoming a partner for two reasons. First, since UN-Water members are already partners, partner status for UN-Water could easily confuse the coordinating role UN-Water plays in the UN system. Second, SWA partners are all organizations, whereas UN-Water is a mechanism. UN-Water remains open to some way of formally strengthening the relationship with SWA. UN-Water members stressed the need for the SWA to ensure that tangible progress is made at the country level and the commitments made at the HLM translate into progress on the ground. 2 UN-Water Strategic Direction: Water issues in global policy debates 2.1 Panel Discussion: UN-Water’s engagement in global policy dialogues A moderated discussion among a panel and with the audience was held to address UN-Water’s engagement in global policy dialogues. The discussion was moderated by Mr. Johan Kuylenstierna. Panel members were Mr. Zafar Adeel, UNU, Chair to UN-Water; Mr. Anders Berntell, SIWI; Ms. Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF; Ms. Ania Grobicki, GWP; and Mr. Sanjay Wijesekera, DfID. A record of the proceedings follows, together with the resulting action items. A strategic direction of UN-Water is to foster greater inclusion of critical water issues in global policy debates, processes and events/meetings. These dialogues cover a wide range of topics (including the global financial crisis, climate change, food security and international peace and security concerns), and UN-Water needs to prioritize its engagement. Examples of water-relevant dialogues include the UN General Assembly and Security Council, Commission on Sustainable Development, G8 and G20 Summits, COPs, meetings related to the MDGs, World Economic Fora, major water events (World Water Fora) and initiatives such as “Sanitation and Water for

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All”. In addition, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, commonly referred to as Rio+20, will require considerable attention and resources. The purpose of this panel discussion was to explore how UN-Water could further elaborate its strategy on how to engage with these processes and to identify priorities based on its comparative advantages. The discussion focused on a number of issues:

The role UN-Water can play in informing the global policy dialogues and processes The policy dialogues, processes, events and initiatives UN-Water should prioritize over

the next 5 years The way UN-Water can best contribute (policy briefs, substantive reports, analytical water

briefs, statements, events, exhibitions etc), considering the fundamental coordination function of UN-Water.

The best use of available resources of UN-Water, both internal to UN-Water as well as those available within members and partners.

With water issues being more prominently in the development debate, UN-Water needs to be in a position to provide information and leadership in responding to larger challenges, where water plays a role. There are clear indications of heightened expectations on UN-Water expressed also by the UN General Assembly. While this presents a significant achievement, UN-Water also needs to be aware of its own limitations. UN-Water’s unique positioning allows it to get inside the processes of the UN General Assembly and should be increasingly seen as an entry point to these processes. UN-Water’s role to address water issues at the highest political level is needed more than ever to address the intensifying challenges. The discussions in the business community around water can be seen as an early sign of the challenges that are being increasingly discussed beyond the water community. Increased collaboration between UN organizations and its partners through UN-Water can be noted. UN-Water member’s role to inform international processes is very valuable and UN-Water partners can provide support by active lobbying water issues within such processes. Partners, however, often have difficulties accessing formal UN processes. It is here where UN-Water can help its partners. The water community needs to come together to engage with sectors outside the water box. It is also here, when addressing agriculture or energy, where UN-Water members with a mandate in these areas can play a helpful role for the whole water community. The International Year of Sanitation provided an important opportunity for UN-Water to deliver a coordinated response and clear messages that are shared by the whole UN system. In the discussions on the Sanitation and Water for All initiative, UN-Water’s role is seen as very positive by contributing with the UN-Water GLAAS report, supporting the management of funds and the support through the chair. UN-Water can again help to open the door to bring the message to the General Assembly. It is also important that within the UN-Water member entities the messages emanating within UN-Water are brought up internally to the executives of UN entities. The water community as a whole needs to reinforce the messages of the different entities. UN-Water’s central role in bringing the water community together is crucial. In this regard UN-Water’s role to bring water into the climate change, green economy as well as into the health debates was raised. The role of governments is also important to put issues on the agenda, but UN-Water can play an important role in supporting governments in how they enter discussions. UN-Water’s role is not seen as developing evidence but rather identify how evidence can be most effectively deployed. Whether the UN-Water brand is used depends on the occasion, transmitting messages through one of UN-Water’s members can also be a logical step. A contribution by UN-Water can provide policy relevant information. There is a plethora of water related conferences. Some of these have made important contributions, while others have taken

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a step backwards. UN-Water is developing an information system, which provides an overview of outcomes of political processes to address the lack of a repository of agreements reached in the international arena. World Water Day provides an important opportunity to formulate joint messages and focus on areas where the water community seeks to have an impact. UN-Water’s task forces and thematic priority areas employ the collective strength of UN-Water’s member- and partnership to target specific processes and issues, with jointly released key messages and policy briefs. These joint messages provide particular weight, as they represent a joint message of the UN system and the main water related organizations as a whole. Potential benchmarks of UN-Water’s success where articulated at the end of the discussion by the panellists: - Water is seen as an essential factor in building a green economy in 2012 - In 2015 it is well recognized how water has contributed to progress on all Millennium Development Goals. - Water issues are well reflected in the discussion on progress in the MDGs. - The climate change adaptation fund and work programme address water management. - When MDGs are discussed in 2015 the heads of UN entities talk articulately about water and sanitation without the need for talking points. - By 2015 the G20 agrees to make political and financial commitments so that everybody has access to water and sanitation by 2025. Action Items emanating from the discussion:

- Determine criteria for UN-Water’s engagement in global policy processes. - Based on the criteria, draft a strategy and roadmap for UN-Water’s engagement in

global policy dialogues, processes, events and initiatives (based on current knowledge), with a time horizon of 2015 and indicative resources requirements.

- As part of the strategy, define how to engage members and partners to support the ambition to place water prominently in global policy processes.

- Develop clear messages on key water issues that can be used within the UN system and by the water community to reach the highest level of decision makers and reiterated in different fora.

- Strengthen the interaction with high-level UN management through internal communications within the UN-Water member organizations and the CEB and HLCP and introduce consistent messages in all levels of UN communication on water issues.

- Ensure that UN-Water contributes with its planned Information System on global resolutions, recommendations and targets to avoid that political processes take a step back from previous agreements.

2.2 MDG High Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the MDGs (MDG Summit) Please refer to the document: 2_2_MDG_Summit.doc References to water and sanitation are expected to be widely included in the pre-negotiated outcome document of the summit. UN-Water is engaged with UNICEF, UNSGAB, and WaterAid in supporting the co-sponsors of a 22nd September high-level breakfast meeting side event titled “Addressing the Global Water and Sanitation Challenge: The Key to the MDGs”. The co-sponsors of the event are Liberia, Japan, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Tajikistan and the United States. SIWI is preparing a Stockholm Statement - emanating from the World Water Week - to the HLPM on the MDGs. 2.3 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) (Rio +20)

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Please refer to the document: 2_3_UNCSD_(Rio+20).doc Mr. Nikhil Chandavarkar, UN DESA, provided an overview of opportunities to engage in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) (Rio +20) and in the process leading up to it. The Bonn conference in 2011, the World Water Forum and the three UN-Water reports to be released in 2012 all provide possible entry points for water issues. UN-Water will need to follow the developments closely in order to seek entry points and be able to make constructive contributions to the UNCSD. SIWI is planning to dedicate one full day to Rio+20 during the next World Water Week. It was however highlighted that it is important to stay ahead of the curve to be able to effectively engage. There are many civil society coalitions keen to engage in Rio+20: UN-Water can support these. The Joint Steering Group will discuss ways for UN-Water to effectively engage in the discussions for Rio+20. 2.4 Rio Convention COPs “Ecosystems and Climate Change Pavilion” 2.4.1 UNCBD COP-10, Nagoya, Japan, Oct. 2010

Mr. David Coates, CBD, was unable to participate in the meeting but had informed the UN-Water membership that the Rio Conventions are organising an ecosystems and climate change pavilion at CBD-COP. It will travel on to the subsequent COPs of UNCCD and UNFCCC, and possibly Rio+20. A water day will be organized jointly with partners on 22 October 2010. It was agreed that COP-10 is an important opportunity to synchronize UN-Water members’ action and agree on a common and very clear messaging. It provides an important entry point to elevate the vital role of water to sustain ecosystems and conserve biodiversity. Members and partners interested in participating are requested to contact Mr. David Coates ([email protected]) 2.4.2 UNFCCC COP-16, Cancun, Mexico, Nov./Dec. 2010 As detailed under item 1.3, the UN-Water Thematic Priority Area on Water and Climate Change as well as the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) have been approached by CONAGUA for a side event. It is important that UN-Water continues to seek to improve its effectiveness and learns from its experiences at previous events. The national organizers appear to be willing to take water issues up. With the recently produced policy brief and the one-pager on Water and Climate Change UN-Water will be in a good position to contribute to COP-16. It was pointed out that having a message does not necessarily translate into influence. 2.5 6th World Water Forum Please refer to the document: 2_5_6thWorldWaterForum.doc Mr. Ger Bergkamp, WWC, and Mr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy, UNESCO-IHE, briefed the meeting on the progress in preparations for the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille. The World Water Council has agreed on its strategy for 2010-2012, focusing on large water users, regional development, and media engagement. The forum will have four areas (1) political process; (2) thematic programme; (3) regional aspects and (4) a promotional and organizational aspect to make it much more of a citizen event. UN-Water members were invited to attend the stakeholder consultation planned for 18-19 November in France. Those interested may contact Danielle Gaillard ([email protected]) to receive an invitation. The political process will be thoroughly prepared and the decisions adopted in Istanbul will be the point of departure for the discussions in the political process. UN-Water members raised the question as to how they could be engaged. The WWC will propose different options to UN-Water so that it may clarify its involvement. 2.6 General Assembly Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation Please refer to the document: 2_6_WS_HumanRight_Background_Brief.doc


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2_6_AnnexA_GA_64_L.63_Rev.1_without_oral_ammendment.pdf 2_6_AnnexB_Vote_GA-RES-64-292.pdf By a vote of 122 in favour to none against, with 41 abstentions, the General Assembly adopted the General Assembly Resolution A/RES/64/292 introduced by Bolivia with an oral amendment and titled: “The human right to water and sanitation”.. The UN-Water membership recognized that the resolution strengthens the argument of including water and sanitation issues into global policy processes. UN-Water will continue to follow the process and provide technical advice when requested to do so. 3 UN-Water Strategic Direction: Support at all levels, with an emphasis on the country level 3.1 Introduction to engagement at the regional and country level: actions and examples 3.2 Panel Discussion: UN-Water’s Support at regional and country level A moderated discussion among a panel and with the audience was held to address UN-Water’s focus on country-level activities. The discussion was moderated by Mr. Joakim Harlin, UNDP. Panel members were Mr. Fritz Holzwarth, Germany; Mr. Tim Kasten, UNEP; Ms. Josefina Maestu, UNW-DPAC; Mr. Paul Reiter, IWA; and Mr. LeHuu Ti, UNESCAP. A record of the proceedings follows, together with the resulting action items. Many Member States, both recipient countries and donor countries, frequently express a desire to be better served by a coordinated and coherent delivery of water (both water supply and water resources) and sanitation services. Although the “One UN” initiative has made some inroads in this direction, its successes have been limited. This is duly recognized in a report of the UN Chief Executives Board (UN CEB 2005: One United Nations—Catalyst for Progress and Change. The report is available at: http://www.unsceb.org/ceb/publications/one-un-report). There is an opportunity for UN-Water to demonstrate what ‘delivering as one’ could mean in practice through an interagency mechanism. The Task Force on Country-Level Coordination has identified a number of ways in which UN-Water can operate, and there have been some limited opportunities to put these to test. Additionally, the recently established Task Force on Regional Level Coordination will explore ways to strengthen regional support to member states. The panel discussion focused on ways in which UN-Water can become a more proactive and facilitating mechanism to provide support at the country level. The discussion focused on the following issues:

Possibilities for UN-Water, through its members and partners, to contribute to making “One UN” a success.

Prioritization over the next 5 years of UN-Water’s country- and regional-level support. Options for UN-Water to best catalyze country-level action, taking into account available

financial and human resources. Use of strategic resources available through UN-Water members and partners, to provide

country level support, including Assessment Reports (WWDR, JMP, GLAAS), federated information system on key indicators (country level), Water Country Briefs, the Country Water Partnerships of GWP, etc.

Overarching these considerations is the need to lead to positive and tangible impacts at the regional and the country level. Discussions held by the UN-Water Task Force on Country Level Coordination with UN Country Teams (UNCT) suggested that UN-Water could provide support in the following areas: (1) Provide UNCTs with coordinated policies on water issues; (2) provide relevant and useful guidance and tools (analysis, assessment, coordination, programming etc.); (3) improve access to funding; (4) make UNCTs information on good practices, lessons learned and case studies available for wider distribution.

http://www.unsceb.org/ceb/publications/one-un-report

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Panellists noted that there are many good examples of work at the regional and country level by UN-Water and its members and partners, such as UNW-DPC’s work on reducing water losses in urban water supply systems and UN ECE’s work on transboundary waters. UN-Water’s engagement as a whole can help to strengthen the impact of certain areas of its members’ work, where value can be added by bringing actors inside and outside the UN system together. The coordination function is particularly important for the UN system to strengthen its impact, so that UN entities are sending out similar signals to contribute to coherent policies and approaches across regions. Non-UN system partners have many successful examples of collaboration, both with individual UN-Water members and with UN-Water as a whole, that helped strengthen their messages and gain further access to decision-making processes. Informal dialogues of UN and non-UN entities at the country level can help to develop country strategies. The UN system can increase its reach on the ground by engaging UN-Water partners. Clarifying roles and responsibilities is an important first step to bring different actors together. UN-Water can play a catalytic role connecting the global dimension with the regional and country level situation. In terms of funding the UN is a comparatively minor player at the national level. Engaging with Regional Development Banks was mentioned as an entry point to have a greater reach at the regional level. The UN regional commissions are keen to engage and are moving ahead within the framework of the UN-Water Task Force on Regional Level Coordination. The regional level is particularly important to identify emerging issues early; an example is the increased discussion on water security in the Asian region. A push from donors to provide funding for collaborative action, such as the MDG Achievement Fund, are concrete ways donors can support a coordinated response at the regional and country level. UNESCO briefed meeting participants on its response to the flood disaster in Pakistan, and highlighted that a joint response is needed with an effective linkage from headquarters to the field. UNESCO avails itself for any follow up actions. UN-Water can actively contribute to making the One UN initiative a success by providing a coherent message from the UN system on water issues. This can help address the often-fragmented situation on water issues of the national and local stakeholders. Since the UN is perceived as very remote from the general public, seeking ways to engage the general public on issues can lead to a greater understanding of the UN’s work and help translate the UN’s goals. The challenges the water community is facing are staggering: if resources are not used in the most effective way addressing the challenges will not be possible. The need for synergy was mentioned numerous times in the discussion. There is a need to employ existing resources available with country offices, existing partner arrangements and the coordination infrastructure to merge the knowledge from the national and global level. Repositioning water in the global debate as a fundamental is crucial to get the policy advice right on the regional and country level. Action Items emanating from the discussion:

- Provide opportunities for non-UN system actors to engage with the UN system by, for example, organizing an opportunity fair for UN-Water members and partners to brainstorm on joint initiatives.

- UN-Water products and reports need to be relevant for the regional and country level. - Products emanating from UN-Water for the country and regional level need to focus

on solutions and provide a platform for good practices, lessons learned and case studies.

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- Engaging UN-Water partners at the regional and country level is crucial to increase the reach of activities.

- The UN-Water Task Force on Country Level Coordination will continue to develop a knowledge sharing system.

Closing: The Chair of UN-Water closed the meeting by thanking all participants and particularly the partners present in the meeting for their strong interest in engaging with UN-Water. The feedback received during the panel discussions was particularly important to devise a clear way forward on the strategic directions.

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Annex 1 Participants on 04 September:

ORGANIZATION

NAME

PHONE

E-MAIL

FAO / UN-Water Nicoletta Forlano +390657054068 [email protected]

FAO Pasquale Steduto +390657054084 [email protected]

IAEA Brent Newman +41223649017 [email protected]

ILO Carlos R. Carriion-Crespo

+441227997348 [email protected]

UN DESA Nikhil Chandavarkar +1 212 963 8980 [email protected] .

UN ECE Francine Bernardini +41229172463 [email protected]

UN ESCAP Ti Le-Huu +66 2 2881450 [email protected]

UN ESCWA Carol Chouchani Cherfane

+961 1 981 301 ext. 1518

[email protected]

UNCCD Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu


UNDP Joakim Harlin +46 8 52213 995 [email protected]

UNEP Thomas Chiramba +254 20 762 4769 [email protected]

UNESCO J.Alberto Tejada-Guibert


UN-Habitat Pireh Otieno +254207623143 [email protected]

UN-Habitat Bert Diphoorn +254 20 7625420 [email protected]

UN-Habitat Daniel Adom +254721437951 [email protected]

UNICEF Clarissa Brocklehurst +19172165016 [email protected]

UNITAR Sara Castro +41 (0) 229178811 [email protected]

UNSGAB Koen Overkamp [email protected]

UNSGAB Gerard Payen [email protected]

UNU Fabrice Renaud +492288150211 [email protected]





















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ORGANIZATION

NAME

PHONE

E-MAIL

UNU Zafar Adeel +1 905 667 5492 [email protected]

UNU/ UN-Water

Alex Bielak +1 905 667 5876 [email protected]

UN-Water Johan Kuylenstierna +46 8 664 7027 [email protected]

UN-Water Frederik Pischke +1 212 963 1920 [email protected]

UNW-DPAC Josefina Maestu +34976478346 [email protected]

UNW-DPC Jan-Peter Mund +49 228 81500662 [email protected]

UNW-DPC Reza Ardakanian +49 228 8150 211 [email protected]

WHO Federico Properzi +41227912972 [email protected]

WHO Robert Bos +41227913555 [email protected]

WMO Sophia Sandstrom +41765451411 [email protected]

WMO Claudio Caponi +41227308407 [email protected]

WSSCC Jon Lane +41 22 560 8164 [email protected]

WSSCC Isobel Davidson +41225608161 [email protected]

WWAP Olcay Unver +390755911005 [email protected]















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Annex 2 Participants on 05 September:

ORGANIZATION

NAME

PHONE

E-MAIL

Piers Cross +27827960051 [email protected]

AQUAFED Jack Moss +33156605007 [email protected]

ESCWA Carol Chouchani Cherfane

+961 1 981 301 ext. 1518

[email protected]

EUROPEAN COM./EUWI

Maria Vink +32 (0) 2986824 [email protected]

FAO / UN-Water Nicoletta Forlano +390657054068 [email protected]

FAO Pasquale Steduto +390657054084 [email protected]

GENDER AND WATER ALLIANCE

Joke Muylwijk +31313427230 [email protected]

Germany (BMU) Fritz Holzwarth +49228305405 [email protected]

Germany (BMZ) Patrick Fallis +49228995353441 [email protected]

GWA Eva Rathgeber 6132342453 [email protected]

GWP Ania Grobicki +852212650 [email protected]

IAEA Brent Newman +41223649017 [email protected]

IAH Willi Struckmeier +491735152060 [email protected]

IAHS C.A. Onstad 979-255-0808 [email protected]

ILO Carlos R. Carriion-Crespo


Italy Embassy Piero Mazzinghi +46761085788 [email protected]

IWA Jonathan Parkinson +4402030048528 [email protected]

IWMI Joanna Kane-Potaka

+94 (0) 77 371 5075 [email protected]

SIWI Anders Berntell +46739143965 [email protected]

Stakeholder Forum

Felix Dodds +44207580094 [email protected]





















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ORGANIZATION

NAME PHONE E-MAIL

Stakeholder Forum

Hanna Stoddart +44 7866 660 510 [email protected]

UK DFID Sanjay Wijesekera +44 207 0230000 [email protected]

UNCCD Sergio A. Zelaya-Bonilla


UN-DESA Nikhil Chandavarkar

1-212-963-8980 [email protected]

UNDP Joakim Harlin +46 8 52213 995 [email protected]

UNECE Sonja Koeppel +41229171218 [email protected]

UNECE Francesca Bernardini


UNEP Tim Kasten +254-207624799 [email protected]

UN-ESCAP Ti Le-Huu +66 2 2881450 [email protected]

UNESCO Lena Salame +33145684180 [email protected]

UNESCO J.Alberto Tejada-Guibert


UNICEF Clarissa Brocklehurst


UNN-DPC Reza Ardakanian +49 228 8150 211 [email protected]

UNSGAB Kenzo Hiroki +813 3581-9260 [email protected]

UNSGAB Koen Overkamp [email protected]

UNU

Alex Bielak +1 905 667 5876 [email protected]

UNU-EHS Fabrice Renaud +49228 81 50 211 [email protected]

UN-Water Johan Kuylenstierna

+46 8 664 7027 [email protected]

UN-Water Frederik Pischke +1 212 963 1920 [email protected]

UNW-DPAC Ulrike Kelm +34 976478346 [email protected]

UNW-DPAC Josefina Maestu +34976478346 [email protected]

UNW-DPC Reza Ardakanian +49 228 8150 211 [email protected]























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ORGANIZATION

NAME PHONE E-MAIL

UNW-DPC Jan-Peter Mund +49 228 81500662 [email protected]

US Department of State

Dano Wilusz 1 202 647 6817 [email protected]

WBCSD Joppe Cramwinckel +41 79 79 37571 [email protected]

WBCSD V. Berger +41786031865 [email protected]

WBCSD Anne-Leonore Boffi +41228393193 [email protected]

WMO Sophia Sandstrom +41765451411 [email protected]

WMO Claudio Caponi +41227308407 [email protected]

World Water Council

Dani Gaillard-Picher +33591994100 [email protected]

WSSCC Isobel Davidson +41225608161 [email protected]

WSSCC Jon Lane +41 22 560 8164 [email protected]

WWAP Olcay Unver +390755911005 [email protected]

WWF Lifeng Li +41 223 64 9017 [email protected]













1

Report

14th UN-Water Senior Programme ManagersMeeting 18 – 20 January 2011; United Nations Conference Centre Bangkok

Summary of Key Decisions of UN-Water member meeting 18 and 19 January 2011:

- The UN-Water SPM decided to revisit the Terms of Reference of the JSG - UN-Water notes the achievements of its Gender and Water Task Force/ Thematic Priority Area, which ceases to exist and will follow up on the evolution of UN-Women to engage them. - The UN-Water Transboundary Waters TPA was invited to start planning for the implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution on the “International Year for Water Cooperation 2013” (IYWC). - A group comprised of the coordinators of the WWDR, JMP, UN-Water GLAAS, the UN-Water Water Resources Management Report for Rio+20, and the UN-Water Country Briefs will be formed in order to agree on a commonly agreed way forward on the common communication aspects of the reports. - The formation of the new UN-Water Drinking Water and Sanitation Thematic Priority Area was endorsed by the UN-Water membership and UNICEF tasked to take the coordinating role of the TPA, as well as to invite all UN-Water members and partners to actively participate in this important activity to follow up on the ‘Sustainable Sanitation: The 5 Year Drive to 2015’ resolution mandated by the UN General Assembly. - The INWRDAM and AKVO partner application were not accepted. - The partner application of Conservation International was accepted. - UN-Water members took note of the UN-Water communication strategy prepared by UNW-DPAC as a good way to start but also noted several areas for improvement. - UN-Water will be supportive of any requests for substantive or technical engagement from the WWF6 organizers, recognizing of course that many themes can be dealt with competently by single UN agencies and that the involvement of UN-Water as a whole in the organization of specific themes and sessions may thus not be necessary. - UN-Water will not engage in the political process of the World Water Forum. - UN-Water will launch the fourth World Water Development Report. - Guidelines for future World Water Day campaigns will be produced. - UN-Water forms an informal working group on Water Security, open to all members and partners - The UN-Water Secretary was tasked with initiating consultations on the next UN-Water Chair. The membership deemed it desirable for UN-Water to arrive, if possible, at a consensus on a candidate for Chair for the next term starting in 2012. - The UN-Water Secretary was tasked with soliciting comments from members on the Terms of The 15th UN-Water meeting will be held in Stockholm, Sweden, on the weekend before the World Water Week in Stockholm on Saturday, 20 August, and Sunday, 21 August 2011. - Based on the responses from UN-Water partners to a survey a proposal will be made on how to best engage partners in the meeting. - UN-Water members and programmes were invited to submit proposals for consultations on the margins of the 15th UN-Water meeting. - Water issues are strategical placed in the lead up to the Rio+20 conference with UN-Water having a unique opportunity to mobilize global opinion on the ways that water, as an overarching and cross-cutting issue, could integrate into the Rio+20 Conference. - Working Groups and an ensuing panel discussion detailed how water issue fit into the two themes and three objectives of the Rio+20 conference.

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Tuesday and Wednesday, 18 and 19 January 2011 Registration at UNCC between 8:00 – 8:45 Opening Session Welcoming Remarks were delivered by Nagesh Kumar, Acting Deputy Executive Secretary UN ESCAP, who provided an overview of water and sanitation issues in the Asia and Pacific region as well as ESCAP's efforts within the framework of the Water for Life Decade. ESCAP has been promoting actions on the local, national and regional level. In his opening remarks, Zafar Adeel, UN-Water Chair, stressed the engagement with the regional level and its importance and direct relevance to the strategic directions for UN-Water. He thanked UN ESCAP for providing excellent support for arranging the meeting. Rae Kwon Cheung, Director, Environment and Development Division, UN ESCAP, discussed some of the successes and challenges of the Asia and Pacific region in the areas of water and the environment. Segment 1: Strengthening Internal Coordination 1.1 Update: Implementation of past decision [UN-Water Technical Secretariat]

Background Document: 1_1_Overview_and_Follow-up_of_Decisions_13thUNW_Meeting - Update - Bangkok January 2011_to_Chair (2).doc

The Chair provided an overview of UN-Water's engagement in various processes and activities. 1.2 Update: Joint Steering Group Decisions [UN-Water Chair]

Background Document: 1_2_JSG_14th_UNW_meeting_Background_Brief.doc 1_2_JSG__Annex_Overview_of_JSG_Decision_Sept-Dec2010.doc 1_2_JSG_Annex1_Report_JSG_Meeting_Sept_2010.doc 1_2_JSG_Annex2_Report_JSG_Meeting_Oct_2010doc.doc 1_2_JSG_Annex3_Report_JSG_Meeting_Nov_2010.doc

Besides the overview provided prior to the meeting with the meeting reports, the Chair noted that the JSG is working well. UN-Water SPMs mentioned that it would be good practice in the interest of transparency to receive the JSG meeting reports. It was noted that the soon to be launched UN-Water Extranet will make it much easier to disseminate this kind of information, without sending too many email messages to the UN-Water members and partners. In the ensuing discussion, it was recalled that at the 12th SPM meeting, when JSG had been created, it was decided that its Terms of Reference would be regularly reviewed and updated if needed. In view of the experience gathered after one year of JSG functioning, several issues were raised. Among these, the capacity in which members of the JSG serve, whether personal or institutional, was discussed ant it was agreed that the issue should be given further thought in order to guarantee an efficient and just way of substituting JSG members in case of temporarary and/or permanent absences.

Decision: 1) The UN-Water SPM decided to revisit the Terms of Reference of the JSG. The Terms of Reference of the JSG will be circulated by the UN-Water Secretary and all comments received from the UN-Water SPM compiled for decision either by email or at the next UN-Water meeting by UN-Water SPM.

1.3 Budget of UN-Water Trust Fund / donor contributions [UN-Water Technical Secretariat]

Background Document: 1_3_UN-Water_Indicative_budget_7_January_2011.xls

3

The Chair introduced the budget of the UN-Water Interagency Trust Fund, which also included an update provided by FAO on the UN-Water Trust Fund that is in the process of being discontinued by FAO. It was noted that UNOPS can, on behalf of UN-Water as the Administrative Agent of the UN-Water Interagency Trust Fund, directly hire consultants for Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas or for other tasks, whenever a need arises. 1.4 Update UN-Water Programmes [UN-Water Chair]

Background Document: 1_4__Report_JSG_Meeting_Report_UNWProgrammes_Nov_2010.doc

UN-Water members and programmes were reminded of the agreed Annex A of the ToR of the JSG, which details the role of the Joint Steering Group in relation to the UN-Water Programmes: “The role of the UN-Water Joint Steering Group (JSG) in their meetings with the Coordinators/Directors of the UN-Water Programmes is primarily to support the work of the programmes by assisting the Programme Coordinators/Director in identifying concrete measures to increase collaboration between them and with UN-Water members and partners. It will also provide long-term strategic guidance on their operations. Functionally, the JSG will provide feedback to the UN-Water Senior Programme Managers in order to facilitate their decision-making.” The UN-Water Programme Coordinators/ (founding) Director(s) were invited to raise specific points to the UN-Water SPM meeting. Josefina Maestu, UNW-DPAC Coordinator and Director, raised the issue that the programme is committed by its mandate to hold a communications and advocacy meeting in Zaragoza each year related to promoting the goals of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life,” 2005-2015. The SPM advised UNW-DPAC to chose an audience and theme for its next meeting that is usually not addressed otherwise by UN-Water. WSSCC pointed out that it would be happy to share further ideas. UNDP noted that the UN-Water SPM meeting in Bangkok does not leave any room to discuss key messages of the 4th World Water Development Report (WWDR4) and that it would be important to focus on the main messages, so that they may have an impact in the crucial year of 2012 when the WWDR4 will be released. Olcay Unver, WWAP Coordinator, pointed out that the draft messages were contained in the report sent to all UN-Water members in December 2010 for comments and that all UN-Water members were invited to submit their comments to the WWAP Secretariat. Further background documents were provided by the UN-Water Programmes to the UN-Water SPM, as listed below:

UNW-DPAC 1_4_UNWDPAC__.doc 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex1_Summary_2010_Report.doc 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex2_workprogramme2011-2015.doc 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex3_issue_briefs_media.pdf 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex4_water_quality_and_sanitation.pdf 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex5_water_uncertainties.pdf 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex6_water_and_urbanisation.pdf 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex7_cities_and_rural_surroundings.pdf 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex8_facts_and_figures_long_final_eng.pdf 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex9_facts_and_figures_short_eng.pdf 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex10_documentation_centre.ppt 1_4_UNWDPAC_Annex11_water_for_life_award_eng.pdf 1_4_UNW-DPC_Progress-Activity_Report_Jan2011.pdf

4

UNW-DPC

1_4_UNW-DPC_Progress-Activity_Report_Jan2011.pdf 1_4_UNW-DPC_WorkPlan_2010-2013.pdf

WWAP:

1_4_WWAP_ProgressDocument-CARs_and_RRs_06Jan2011.docx 1_4_WWAP_ProgressReport_07Jan2011.docx 1_4_WWAP_revised_workplan_16Nov2010.xlsx

1.5 Update from selected existing Task Forces (TFs) and Thematic Priority Areas (TPAs) 1.5.1 Country Level Coordination Task Force [UNDP] Joakim Harlin, UNDP, Coordinator of the UN-Water Country Level Coordination Task Force, briefed the UN-Water memberships on discussions held with SIDA to raise funds for both the Task Force and WaterWiki. SIDA said it remained supportive to UN-Water but will only provide core support to UN-Water and that it is UN-Water’s responsibility to allocate the funds to specific uses jointly agreed by the SPM. UNDP also held discussions with the World Bank and the UN-Water Advisor based in New York to strategize on a way forward. 1.5.2 Wastewater Task Force [UNEP]

Background Document: 1_5_2__UNW_Wastewater_TF.doc 1_5_2_Annex_UNW_Wastewater_TF.doc

The background documents submitted were noted by the UN-Water membership. 1.5.3 Water Quality Thematic Priority Area [UNEP]

Background Document: 1_5_3__UNW_Water_Quality_TPA.doc 1_5_3_Annex_UNW_Water_Quality_TPA_DRAFT_TOR_MappingExercise.doc 1_5_3_Annex_UNW_Water_Quality_TPA_DRAFT_TOR_StandardsDevelopment.doc 1_5_3_Annex_UNW_Water_Quality_TPA_Members-FocalPoints.doc 1_5_3_Annex_UNW_Water_Quality_TPA_Teleconference_09122010.doc

The background documents submitted were noted by the UN-Water membership. 1.5.4 Water and Climate Change Thematic Priority Area [WMO]

Background Document: 1_5_4__TPA_Water_and_ClimateChange.doc 1_5_4_Annex_1_TPAWCC_Final_Report.pdf 1_5_4_Annex_3_TPAWCC_Work Plan_2011-2012.pdf

Claudio Caponi, WMO, on behalf of the Water and Climate Change TPA, reported on recent developments, as per the background documents. The TPA continued its promotion of the water-climate change nexus, with a notable and well attended and appreciated side event at the UNFCCC COP in Cancun. The policy brief on water and climate change has enjoyed wide circulation and has served to raise awareness of the nexus in the policy making community concerned with climate change adaptation. Moreover, the mapping exercise had been concluded in its first phase and the TPA was reviewing its findings. Finally, the Work Plan 2011-2012 as prepared and agreed upon by all members of the TPA was presented together with a proposed budget, and both were approved in principle by the SPM, provided the budget currency was changed to US $ and the budget requirements split between the two years. 1.5.5 Gender and Water Thematic Priority Area [UN DESA]

Background Document:

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1_5_5_UNW_GenderWater_TPA.doc The Gender and Water TF/TPA reported back that it had essentially fulfilled its mandate. UN-Women had been created, bringing together the two Gender divisions within UN DESA as well as UNIFEM and INSTRAW in the new entity. It was noted that during the last two years of the Gender and Water Task Force/ Thematic Priority Area DESA was the only UN-Water member active in this TF/TPA. The TF/TPA proposed to UN-Water to take up the gender issue in other TFs and TPAs in the spirit of mainstreaming the issue and to remain receptive to a possible application for membership from UN-Women, once the entity was fully operational. The USD25,000 previously allocated to the TF/TPA will be returned to the UN-Water core budget and allocated to other activities. WWAP noted that the WWDR is working to mainstream gender issues into the WWDR report. WWAP finds it difficult to find a consultant who can help in mainstreaming the issue. It was suggested to work even closer together with the two UN-Water partners GWA and WfWP, which have both promised in their application to UN-Water to support the WWDR report actively as it falls within their organizational mandate.

Decisions: 2a) UN-Water notes the achievements of the Gender and Water Task Force/ Thematic Priority Area, which ceases to exist, and thanks the past and present coordinators, Marcia Brewster and Kenza Robinson, for their work. 2b) WWAP is encouraged to reach out again to the two UN-Water partners GWA and WfWP encouraging them to fulfil their in the partner application form made proposal to support the World Water Development Report in addressing gender issues. 2c) The UN-Water Secretary would follow the evolution of UN-Women and, as appropriate and relevant, report back to the UN-Water membership.

1.5.6 Transboundary Waters Thematic Priority Area [UN ECE, UNESCO]

Background Document: 1_5_6__TPA_Transboundary_Waters.doc 1_5_6_Annex1_TPA_Transboundary_Waters_workplan_2011.doc 1_6_Annex_UNW-AIS_leaflet.pdf

Alice Aureli, UNESCO, on behalf of the UN-Water Transboundary Waters Thematic Priority Area reported on the activities of the TPA as recorded in the background documents.

Decision: 3) The UN-Water Transboundary Waters TPA was invited to start planning for the implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution on the “International Year for Water Cooperation 2013” (IYWC) and report back to the UN-Water membership on their ideas in due course for information and general endorsement by UN-Water members and involvement of UN-Water partners.

1.6 UN-Water Activity Information System [UNW-DPC]

Background Document: 1_6__UNW-AIS.doc 1_6_Annex_UNW-AIS_leaflet.pdf

Reza Ardakanian, Coordinator and first Director UNW-DPC, provided an overview of the functionality and potential of the UN-Water Activity Information System (AIS). Comments were requested to be provided via email or in person to UNW-DPC with copy to the UN-Water Communication Manager, Nicoletta Forlano. 1.7 Coherence and coordination among the UN-Water Reports [WWAP (WWDR), WHO (GLAAS), UNICEF (JMP)]

Background Document submitted by WWAP: 1_7_UNW_Reports_WWAP_070111.docx

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1_7_Annex_Minutes of the videoconference_01June2010.doc The meeting was provided with Decision 16a from the 12th UN-Water meeting in Hamilton: 16a) UN-Water establishes an advisory group that takes a strategic look at UN-Water’s publications with specific attention to the WWDR process. UNDP will lead the process of finalizing the ToR and coordinate this advisory group. Members of the AG will be IAEA, WMO, UNWDPAC, UNECE, WHO, UNESCO, UNEP, FAO. Partners will be invited. It would be in particular useful to involve SIWI and WWC.

Decision: 4) A group comprised of the coordinators of the WWDR, JMP, UN-Water GLAAS, the UN-Water Water Resources Management Report for Rio+20, and the UN-Water Country Briefs will be formed in order to agree on a commonly agreed way forward on the common communication aspects of the reports. This group is established pursuant to decision 16a taken in Hamilton with a view to coordinate first the communication aspects and in a second stage the messaging and contents of these UN-Water products. The lead and facilitation for the first step is to be taken by the UN-Water Communication Manager. The lead and facilitation of the above-mentioned second step is to be taken by a UN-Water member. UNDP and WMO were both proposed to co- lead the process. The UN-Water technical secretariat will follow up on the decision with all involved parties.

1.8 Proposals for new TFs/TPAs 1.8.1 Sanitation and Drinking Water Thematic Priority Area [UNICEF]

Background Document: 1_8_1_TPA_Drinking_Water_and_Sanitation_Proposal_Dec2010.docx

Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF, introduced the proposal for the new UN-Water Drinking Water and Sanitation Thematic Priority Area.

Decision: 5) The formation of the new UN-Water Drinking Water and Sanitation Thematic Priority Area was endorsed by the UN-Water membership and UNICEF tasked to take the coordinating role of the TPA, as well as to invite all UN-Water members and partners to actively participate in this important activity to follow up on the ‘Sustainable Sanitation: The 5 Year Drive to 2015’ resolution mandated by the UN General Assembly.

1.9 UN-Water engagement with its partners Background Document: 1_9_0__UN-Water_Partner_Survey.doc 1_9_0_Annex_UN-Water_Partners_Survey_verbatim_w_summary_table_11January2011.docx

UN-Water members noted the efforts to follow-up with partners in order to seek a more active engagement of UN-Water with its partners. 1.9.1 New Partner Application: Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM)

Background Document: 1_9_1_INWRDAM_application.DOC

Decision: 6) The JSG’s recommendation not to accept the INWRDAM partner application was endorsed by the SPM in view of the reasons provided by the JSG (exclusivity/ lack of universality in INWRDAM’s membership). The UN-Water Secretary was tasked with relaying this information to INWRDAM on behalf of UN-Water.

1.9.2 New Partner Application: Conservation International


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1_9_2_ConservationInternational_application1.docx 1_9_2_ConservationInternational_application2.pdf

Decision: 7) The JSG’s recommendation to accept the partner application of Conservation International was endorsed by the SPM. The UN-Water Secretary was tasked with relaying this information to Conservation International on behalf of UN-Water.

1.9.3 New Partner Application: Akvo

Background Document: 1_9_3__Akvo_application.pdf 1_9_3__Akvo_letter.pdf 1_9_3_Akvo_annual_report_2009.pdf

Decision: 8) The JSG’s recommendation not to accept Akvo’s partner application was endorsed by the SPM in view of the reasons provided by the JSG (lack of a significant global presence, insufficient institutional maturity). The UN-Water Secretary was tasked to send an encouraging note in response to the application to Akvo inviting Akvo to stay engaged with UN-Water, as Akvo is a budding member of the international water community.

1.10 Presentation of draft Communication Strategy [UNW-DPAC and UN-Water Chair] Discussion

Background Document: 1_10_Draft_UN-Water_Communication_Strategy_12_Jan_2011.doc

The draft communication strategy was introduced by Josefina Maestu, coordinator of UNW-DPAC. UNW-DPAC carried out this task pursuant to a decision taken at the 13th UN-Water meeting. The UN-Water membership recognized the importance of such a strategy and its value-added in clarifying roles and responsibilities and in putting UN-Water on a steady path with regards to its internal (with UN-Water members and partners, also within the respective organizations) and external communications (member states (including donors), the public, and other stakeholders). It was noted that the communications strategy should rely on and be informed by the UN-Water Policy Briefs, the decisions at the 2nd UN-Water meeting, the three agreed strategic priority areas of UN-Water, the UN-Water TPAs and TFs, the UN-Water Programmes as well as other agreed working arrangements that have been established by UN-Water for communicating its approaches, policies and impacts internally and externally. It was noted that the communication strategy/products should make an effort to increase awareness on the knowledge aspects of water resources management. Moreover the UN-Water brochure, the biannual UN-Water Work Programme (as detailed in the UN-Water Operational Guidelines), the Terms of Reference of UN-Water, as well as the UN-Water Annual Reports are all in their own right important communication tools. A proposal was made for preparing sets of talking points for senior UN officials and other policy makers on major issues, which are discussed within the UN-Water membership. It is these kinds of communications tools that help reinforce a consistent messaging on water issues within the UN system. It was noted by way of example that UNDESA regularly writes water-related briefs and Talking Points and speeches for the Secretary-General in his interaction with Member States and other stakeholders. SPMs from other agencies did likewise in support of their executive heads. Common sets of UN-Water endorsed talking points would help ensure a coherent voice across the UN system on key water subjects.

Decision: 9) UN-Water members took note of the UN-Water communication strategy as a good way to start but also noted several areas for improvement. UNW-DPAC is invited to come up with a revised version to be tabled before the UN-Water membership by 22 April 2010. To develop the revised version of the communication strategy UNW-DPAC will request comments from UN-

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Water members and also take into consideration the comments given before and during the 14th UN-Water SPM meeting.

Evening: Meet the GLAAS: Experience on data collection, analysis and presentation [WHO]

Background Document: 1_11_00_Meet_the_GLAAS_flyer.pdf 1_11_01_GLAAS_Timeline2011-2012.pdf 1_11_02_2009_survey_process_chart.pdf 1_11_03_GLAAS_Africa_Highlights_draft.pdf

Federico Properzi (WHO), project manager for the UN-Water GLAAS report, reported on progress of the report and solicited feedback on recent development and pivotal questions the UN-Water GLAAS team, based at WHO, faces. Segment 2: Strengthening Delivery at the Regional and Country Level 2.1 Update of progress of (a) Water Country Brief project [FAO] and (b) Federated Water Monitoring System and Key Water Indicator Portal (FWMS & KWIP) Project [FAO]

Background Document: a) 2_1_a_WCB.doc 2_1_a_Annex_WCB_diagnostic_workshop_draft_proceedings.doc b) 2_1_b__FWMS-KWIP.doc 2_1_b_Annex_FWMS-KWIP_Inception_report.rtf 2_1_b_Annex_UNW_IMR_TF.DOC

Karen Frenken (FAO), project manager for (a) the UN-Water Country Brief and also (b) the Federated Water Monitoring System and Key Water Indicator Portal (FWMS & KWIP) introduced these two separate UN-Water projects. She highlighted the status of both projects separately and detailed a discussion on the data availability for the 15 UN-Water key indicators, which were agreed upon by UN-Water at the 12th UN-Water meeting in Hamilton, accepting the proposal made by the WWAP-led UN-Water Task Force on Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting. In response to a query from the UN-Water membership, Karen Frenken highlighted the synergies between both projects as well as with the UN-Water Task Force on Country Level Coordination and with the political processes with which UN-Water interacts. 2.2 Focus on Regional Level Coordination 2.2.1 Presentation by Task Force on Regional Level Coordination on ways to strengthen regional component of UN-Water

Background Document: 2_2_1_UNW_TF_Regional_Coordination.doc LeHuu Ti, UN ESCAP, briefed the UN-Water membership on developments within the Task Force on Regional Level Coordination, noting that only ECLAC has signed the UN-Water Interagency Trust Fund MoU and therefore no funds have yet been transferred. All regional commissions, except for ECA, have been involved in the initial planning stages of the Task Force. The UN-Water membership recommended reaching out to ECA and UN-Water/Africa to see how they can be actively involved in the Task Force and support the Task Force in delivering its objectives. It was noted that UN-Water/Africa may have very important lessons and best practices to share with the Task Force and the other regional commissions. WWAP noted that such a regional coordination mechanism may also help with its own plans to produce on behalf of UN-Water regional reports as part of the World Water Development Report series. FAO noted that the UN system sometimes gives insufficient attention to the regional level. The focus on the country level by the UN system through the delivering as One initiative is helpful, but this approach often bypasses the regional level. Members voiced a hope that through this TF, UN-Water could develop concrete policy recommendations for better coordination at the regional level in its areas of interest.

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The UN Secretariat’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) offered to help support this process in liaison with the Regional Commissions New York Office. 2.2.2 Panel Discussion: Challenges and opportunities on water and sanitation in the Asia Pacific Region

Background Document: 2_2_2_BackgroundNote_PanelDiscussion_AsiaPacific.doc LeHuu Ti, UNESCAP moderated a panel discussion with Olivia Castillo (UNSGAB), Clarissa Brocklehurst (UNICEF), Federico Properzi (WHO, UN-Water GLAAS), Ermina Sokou (UN ESCAP) and Thierry Facon (FAO). Panelists highlighted challenges and opportunities in the region with regard to drinking water and sanitation, as well as water resources management (including, of course, irrigation). Segment 3: Interfacing with Global Processes 3.1 6th World Water Forum – UN-Water’s engagement

Background Document: 3_1__6thWorldWaterForum.doc 3_1_Annex_6thWorldWaterForum_Leaflet.pdf

UN-Water discussed its engagement with the World Water Forum 6 (WWF6) processes. The deliberations of the Joint Steering Group were shared and agreement emerged that full engagement with the substantive aspects of the process will be mutually beneficial to UN-Water, the World Water Council and the hosting French Government. The political process would be dealt with at arms length. While it was of course understood that individual UN-Water members were engaging with this process, UN-Water as a whole would not formally engage with it, since it was not a UN-mandated process and some member states have expressed reservations vis-à-vis previous World Water Forum political processes. As in the past, the host Government of WWF6 would convey the outcomes of the World Water Forum to the UN General Assembly and its relevant forums such as Rio 2012. UN-Water would consider launching the 4th World Water Development Report at the 6th World Water Forum, as previously decided. The launch of WWDR4 may also be discussed, along with the launch of the other four UN-Water products (mentioned under item 1.7) in the working group established for these coordination purposes, and facilitated by the UN-Water Communication Manager.

Decisions: 10a) UN-Water will be supportive of any requests for substantive or technical engagement from the WWF6 organizers, recognizing of course that many themes can be dealt with competently by single UN agencies and that the involvement of UN-Water as a whole in the organization of specific themes and sessions may thus not be necessary. 10b) UN-Water will not engage in the political process of the World Water Forum, for the reasons provided in the discussion at the present meeting. 10c) UN-Water will launch the fourth World Water Development Report, as previously decided, at the World Water Forum 6 in Marseille. WWAP will take the responsibility for making the necessary preparations for the report’s launch in close consultation with the other UN-Water products, facilitated by the UN-Water Communication Manager.

3.2 World Water Day 2011 [UN-Habitat]

Background Document: 3_3_WorldWaterDay2012.doc

Andre Dzikus, UN-Habitat, provided an update of the preparations for World Water Day, congratulating the UN-Water Communication Manager, UN-Water members and partners as well as UNW-DPAC for their important contributions for making this campaign the biggest so far. UN-Water members raised the issue of the purpose of World Water Day celebrations and highlighted that the idea is to get people involved around the world. Some UN-Water members mentioned that a huge event may not be in the spirit of World Water Day and that this should be taken into consideration when World Water Days are organized in the future.

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Decision: 11) UN-Water members requested the UN-Water technical secretariat to produce guidelines for future World Water Day campaigns to reflect the spirit of World Water Day and to ensure that roles and responsibilities as well as deadlines are clearly spelled out.

3.3 World Water Day 2012 [FAO]

Background Document: 3_3_WorldWaterDay2012.doc

Nicoletta Forlano, FAO and UN-Water Communication Manager gave an overview of the initial ideas discussed so far for the World Water Day 2012 and invited UN-Water members to contribute 3.4 World Water Day 2013-2014

Decision: 12) The UN-Water Technical Secretariat was tasked, in collaboration with members and partners (particularly SIWI) to make proposals for World Water Day 2013-2014 at the 15th UN-Water meeting in summer 2011.

3.5 Water Security [UNU]

Background Document: 3_5__WaterSecurity.doc 3_5_Annex_WaterSecurityDefinition.docx

In view of the interest of several members in this activity, it was decided to address the issue through a working group. Accordingly, UN ESCAP, CBD, UNU, UNESCO, UNW-DPC and WWAP are to form an informal working group, open to all members and partners, under the joint leadership of UN-ESCAP and UNU. The objective of this informal Water Security working group is to identify the issues around the use of the term Water Security and how the UN can respond to them.

Decision: 13) UN ESCAP, CBD, UNU, UNESCO, UNW-DPC and WWAP are to form an informal working group on Water Security, open to all members and partners, under the joint leadership of UN-ESCAP and UNU. The objective of this informal Water Security working group is to identify the issues around the use of the term Water Security and how the UN can respond to them.

3.6 Discussion on UN-Water Chairmanship 2012-2013 UN-Water members discussed the proposal made by the current Chair to remain incumbent for a third year in light of the reasons he had provided, as well as the range of issues raised by the members prior to the meeting via email in response to the proposal of the current Chair. Following their deliberations, the SPMs agreed that the UN-Water Chair would be thanked for his hard work and commitment to UN-Water during his present term. UN-Water members decided, however, to adhere to the current two-year term (2010-2011) of the incumbent Chair without extending his term for another year. UN-Water members would select the next Chair at the 15th SPM, either by consensus or election, as appropriate. UN-Water members noted that under the present distribution of work among the office bearers (Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary) and the Technical Secretariat (CTA, Water Adviser and Communications Manager) the Chair had reported that he was devoting some 60 per cent of his time to UN-Water matters. It was noted that the departure of the CTA had increased tremendously the burden on the remaining members of the Technical Secretariat, the Water Adviser and Communications Manager, who also were having to brief and bring up to speed the UNU staff temporarily assisting the Chair and the UN-Water members and partners, who are co-funded out of the UN-Water Interagency Trust Fund to support the UN-Water Chair, members and partners. UN-Water members called for the CTA post to be filled as soon as possible with an experienced candidate and also called for a more even distribution of tasks among the office bearers, the Technical Secretariat, and the UN-Water membership in large in keeping with their respective terms of reference. The terms of reference, themselves, would also be

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reviewed by the membership with a view to their revision, as appropriate, in the light of experience so far.

Decisions: 14a) The UN-Water Secretary was tasked with initiating consultations on the next UN-Water Chair. The membership deemed it desirable for UN-Water to arrive, if possible, at a consensus on a candidate for Chair, as in the past, rather than resorting to a vote, as occurred for the first time at the 11th UN-Water SPM meeting. It was noted, by way of example, that the incumbent Vice-Chair had been selected by consensus and acclamation at the 12th SPM. In the event of more than one candidate for Chair at the 15th SPM, however, elections would be held, as per the terms of reference, and the UN-Water Secretary would serve as ballot officer. It was recalled that the terms of reference called for a majority of more than 50% of the votes of the full membership for a candidate to be declared the winner. 14b) The UN-Water Secretary was tasked with soliciting comments from members on the Terms of Reference of the Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary (the office bearers) and the Technical Secretariat (CTA, Water Advisor, and Communications Manager) with a view to clarifying further their roles and responsibilities and avoiding in future the overburdening of the Chair and the technical secretariat, through the observance of a more even burden sharing of tasks. The Secretary would compile the responses for consideration by the SPMs for further action. 14c) The JSG was tasked with considering how the UN-Water technical secretariat could be strengthened while the hiring process of the CTA is ongoing, including through the possibility of hiring, through the UN-Water Interagency Trust Fund, a senior consultant based in New York or Nairobi or using the services of an Associate Expert or the services of an staff member experienced in finance, administration and donor relations from one of the UN-Water member entities who might temporarily assigned to assist the technical secretariat. 14d) The Chair of the Selection Committee for the CTA, Zafar Adeel was tasked with seeking, jointly with UNOPS, ways for speeding up the selection and recruitment process of the CTA.

3.7 Decision on date and place of 15th UN-Water meeting

Decisions: 15a) The 15th UN-Water meeting will be held in Stockholm, Sweden, on the weekend before the World Water Week in Stockholm on Saturday, 20 August, and Sunday, 21 August 2011. UN-Water members welcomed the offer from Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to extend its cooperation with UN-Water for another three years. 15b) Based on the responses from UN-Water partners to a survey, which is currently underway, a proposal will be made by the UN-Water Secretary on how to best engage them in the meeting. 15c) UN-Water members and programmes were invited to submit proposals for consultations before the meeting or in the evenings (as successfully practiced by the UN-Water GLAAS team at this, 14th UN-Water meeting) to the UN-Water technical secretariat.

Thursday, 20 January 2011 – UNCC Meeting Opening Session: Water and Rio 2012 – Key Issues at Stake Welcome remarks and introductory keynote statement by UN-Water Chair on the strategic placement of water in the lead up to Rio 2012 [UN-Water Secretariat]

Background Document: Rio+20___UN-WaterChair_Remarks.doc Zafar Adeel, UN-Water Chair, delivered, as detailed in the background document, welcoming remarks with an outline of the process for this meeting and its expected outcomes. He also highlighted the strategic placement of water issues in the lead up to the Rio 2012 conference and how UN-Water has a unique opportunity to mobilize global opinion on the ways that water, as an overarching and cross-

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cutting issue, could integrate into the Rio 2012 Conference. Briefing by UN-Water Secretary on the Rio 2012 preparatory process and opportunities for UN-Water [UN-Water Secretariat] Background Document: Rio+20__Secretariat_Update_for_UNW.doc Nikhil Chandavarkar, the UN-Water Secretary and Communications and Outreach Cluster Leader of the Rio 2012 Secretariat, address the political framework of Rio 2012 and discussed, in the context of UN-Water, the two themes (green economy and institutional framework) and three objectives (renewing political commitment, assessing progress and gaps, and new and emerging challenges) of Rio 2012. Following the background document provided, he also provided an update on the state of play of interagency and other preparations for the Conference and opportunities for UN-Water to influence them. Briefing by UN-Water Task Force on water resources management reporting and Rio+20 [UNEP] Background Document: Rio+20_UNW_TF_WRM-Rio+20.docx Joakim Harlin, UNDP, as a member of the UN-Water Task Force on water resources management reporting and Rio+20, and on behalf of UNEP detailed the work of the task force, including its report planned for 2012, and policy briefs planned for 2011. He highlighted that the report addresses the first objective of Rio+20 - assessment of progress and gaps, including on Agenda21, Chapter 18. The task force also addresses a call from the Commission on Sustainable Development for a report on water resources management in 2012. It was noted that the policy briefs can also serve as inputs and advocacy tools to influence the Rio-20 preparatory process. Initial Plenary Discussion The UN-Water Secretary and Communications and Outreach Cluster Leader of the Rio 2012 Secretariat was asked for further details on the political process leading up to Rio 2012. He detailed the various opportunities to contribute to the process and highlighted the information publicly available in the UN Secretary General Reports as well as encouraging participants to visit the official Rio 2012 website www.uncsd2012.org. Small Group Discussions were formed to discuss UN-Water’s engagement with UNCSD 2012 (Rio 2012) and UN-Water’s way forward, which should focus on the two themes and three objectives of Rio 2012 as mandated by UN member states. Working Groups on Rio 2012 Themes Working Group 1: Water as a Key Driver for a Green Economy and Poverty Reduction

Working Group 1 on the Rio 2012 theme “Water as a Key Driver for a Green Economy and Poverty Reduction” considered that a three-prong approach to sustainable development has been suggested by some UN member states. This approach would involve (i) developed countries taking the lead in changing consumption patterns; (ii) developing countries following sustainable development methods and pathways to meet the goals; and (iii) developed countries supporting sustainable development through finance, reforms and technology transfer. The following questions on “what is the water world's understanding of the Green Economy?” and “what role does the food, energy, water nexus play in this debate?” were considered. It was also noted that a call for a UN Green Economy Road Map had been made. While it is expected that such a road map would clarify the steps needed at the national and international level, and a toolbox of actions for transforming green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication into action the question was posed as to how the water community can contribute to such a road map and its toolbox. In the discussion it was noted that a framework to keep the specific focus of the “water communities’” within the green economy would be helpful. Working Group 2: Institutional Frameworks for Sustainable Water Management

The working group devoted to the second theme of Rio 2012, the Institutional Frameworks for Sustainable Water Management, addressed the following questions: - What are the major gaps in the existing architecture for sustainable water management and access to

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drinking water and sanitation? - What are the challenges in strengthening the institutional framework on water? What role may there be for UN-Water? Should there be new institutions? How can existing institutions and mechanisms be strengthened? - What can the intergovernmental process on institutional aspects from UN-Water as an efficient interagency mechanism? It was noted that it would be useful to achieve a formal input of UN-Water in UN processes and thus also, as a side effect, have more legitimacy of UN-Water in the UN system internally and to the outside. Putting a focus on what works at the national level could be very convincing to member states. The discussions were summarized by noting that action speaks louder than words. In the transition to a green economy, it would be important to seek institutions that go beyond the traditional remit of river basins and watersheds to encompass land use issues and the remits of other ministries, so as to strengthen the water-sustainable development nexus. Working Groups on Rio 2012 Objectives Working Group 3: Securing renewed political commitment for water and sustainable development

The Working Group related to the first Rio 2012 objective on Securing renewed political commitment for water and sustainable development discussed how renewed commitment to sustainable development could benefit mankind in addressing urgent water related issues. The working group noted that the report of the Secretary General found that there are several themes for action: (i) legislation, policies, and plans, the overall implementation of which was weak; (ii) institutions, which have had success with partnerships but remained fragmented; (iii) information, which had failed to change behavior; (vi) insufficient resources, regarded as the major obstacle to integrative goals; and (v) new and emerging challenges. The working group discussed how the ‘water community’ could ensure that renewed political commitment addresses also water in the context of sustainable development. As a way forward it was noted that addressing some of the water problems in economic terms may be a useful way forward to provide a framework for these discussions and to build bridges with development and finance ministries who control the resources. Working Group 4: Assessing the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the internationally-agreed water-related goals from the major summits on sustainable development

The Working Group on the objective of Rio 2012 of assessing the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of the internationally-agreed water-related goals from the major summits on sustainable development discussed questions relating to the report of the Secretary General and its finding that progress had been made in all three pillars of sustainable development but less so in their integration. It discussed how the “water community” may support progress in integration of the economic, environmental and social pillar of sustainable development. It was found that water could act as a unifier thus supporting true integration. By its nature, water was a cross-cutting issue across sectors, encompassing industry, agriculture and consumption.

It was also noted that many countries consider the social dimension of sustainable development to be the lithmus test for sustainable development. It was found that water management, as well as drinking water supply and sanitation, can play a pro-active and very supportive role in the sustainable development debate to ensure that not only the environmental and economic but also the social dimension of sustainable development is adequately addressed.

Working Group 5: Addressing new and emerging challenges for water as a cross-cutting sustainable development issue

The Working Group on the objective of Rio 2012 on addressing new and emerging challenges for water as a cross-cutting sustainable development issue discussed how the water community may play a helpful role in solving the problems caused by recent multiple crises as well as the institutional mechanisms to capture emerging issues. The discussions led to the conclusions that addressing water issues may be the foundation to solve many of the emerging problems. Portraying water as a “sector” in

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its own right has not worked and will never work. Leaders in the private sector are treating water not anymore as a simple input to production and a conduit for waste, as in the traditional approach. Water is rather seen as a key element of both production and labour, noting that businesses are highly dependent on productive people, who need as a most basic requirement clean water to drink and sanitary conditions to stay healthy and productive. The interconnectivity of water, its users and different outputs and inputs such as through the agricultural sector and energy issues was highlighted. To emphasize these values of water assigning economic metrics to it may be useful to highlight not only the high cultural but also its economic and social value. Session 2: Water and Rio 2012– Moving Forward 2.1 Debriefing by Small Groups on the way forward: UN-Water’s engagement with UNCSD 2012 (Rio+20) The Rapporteurs of all five working groups debriefed the plenary on the discussions in the working groups, as detailed above. 2.2 Plenary Discussion The plenary discussion clarified aspects as detailed above in the working group. 2.3 Panel Discussion with UNSGAB Representative, World Water Forum 6 and Bonn 2011 organizers and UN-Water Partners: Water and the Road to Rio 2012 and 2.4 Plenary Discussion A Panel discussion with Olivia Castillo, UNSGAB, Veronique Verdeil, France, Imke Thiem, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Sandrine Legrand, World Water Council, was moderated by Zafar Adeel, UN-Water Chair. The panel discussion detailed UN-Water’s approach to Rio 2012 focusing on the two themes and three objectives. This approach was endorsed by the participants as a constructive way of supporting the Rio 2012 process and interfacing both with the conference planned for November 2011 on the Water-Energy-Food nexus in Bonn, as well as for the 6th World Water Forum in March 2012 in Marseille. UN-Water’s role in ensuring the water community’s coherent and well coordinated response to these political processes was recognized while noting the continued need to engage with its members and partners, in particular UNSGAB and the World Water Council, as well as UN member states. Ensuring the presence of the water dimension in the outcome documents of Rio 2012 will require UN-Water’s continued engagement with the official preparatory process of the Conference, through its dedicated secretariat located in DESA, of which the UN-Water Secretary is part, as well as through the complementary landmark events of partners such as the Bonn Conference and the WWF6, which also seek to inform and influence the Rio 2012 process and outcome.

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Annex: Participants’ List UNITED NATIONS ENTITIES UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP) Mr. Joakim Harlin, Senior Water Resources Advisor, United Nations Development Programme, Drottninggatan 33, SE 111 51, Stockholm, Sweden, Tel: + 46 8 522 139 95, Fax: + 46 8 522 139 61, E-mail: [email protected] UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN’S FUND (UNICEF) Ms. Clarissa Brocklehurst, Chief, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), UNICEF 3 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, U.S.A. Tel: +1 212 326 7308, Fax: +1 212 735 4413, E-mail: [email protected] UNITED NATIONS Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Mr. Thierry Facon, Senior Water Management Officer, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Tel: +66 2 657 4156, Fax: +66 2 657 4445, E-mail: [email protected] International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal, Section Head, NAPC/Isotope Hydrology Section, Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Wagramer Str. 5, P.O.Box 100 A-1140 Vienna, Austria, Tel: +43 1 2600 21735 / 6, Fax: +43 1 26007, E-mail: [email protected] UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME (UN-HABITAT) Mr. Andre Dzikus, Chief, Water and Sanitation Section II, Water, Sanitation and Infrastructure Branch, UN-HABITAT, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel: +254 20 762 3060, E-mail: [email protected] INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO) Ms. Hilda Veronica Tidalgo, Programme Unit, ILO, 19th Floor, Tower I, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Avenue, Makati City, Philippines, Tel: +63 580 9900, E-mail: [email protected] World Health Organization (WHO) Mr. Federico Properzi, UN-Water GLAAS Project Manager, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health Unit, Department of Public Health and Environment, World Health Organization , Tel: +41 22 791 2972, E-mail: [email protected] United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Mr. Yang Youlin, Assistant Regional Coordinator, UNCCD Regional Coordinating Unit for Asia, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Ave., Pranakorn, Bangkok, 10200 Thailand, Tel: +66 2 288 2559, Fax: +66 2 288 3065, E-mail: [email protected] United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Mr. J. Alberto Tejada-Guibert, Director, a.i., Division of Water and Sciences, UNESCO, Division of Water Sciences, 1 rue Miollis 75015 Paris, France, Tel: +33 1 456 84002, Fax: +33 1 456 85811, E-mail: [email protected] Ms. Alice Aureli, Programme Specialist, UNESCO IHP, 1 rue Miollis,75015 Paris, France, Tel: +33 1 45









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68 39 11, Fax : +33 1 456 85811, E-mail: [email protected] United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Mr. David Coates, Environmental Affairs Officer, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 413 Rue St. Jacques, Suite 800, Montreal, H2Y 1N9, Canada, Tel: +1 514 287 8715, Fax: + 1 514 288 6588, E-mail: [email protected] UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY (UNU) Mr. Zafar Adeel, UN-Water Chair and Director, United Nations University, Institute for Water, Environment and Health, 175 Longwood Road South, Suite 204, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1, Canada, Tel: + 1 905 667 5511, Fax: + 1 905 667 5510, E-mail: [email protected] Dr. Fabrice Renaud, Head of the Environmental Vulnerability and Energy Security Section, United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), UN Campus, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10, 53113 Bonn, Germany, Tel + 49 228 815 0211, Fax + 49 228 815 0299, E-mail: [email protected] Mr. Alex Bielak, Senior Advisor to the UN-Water Chair and Senior Research Fellow and Knowledge Broker Freshwater Ecosystems Programme, United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment & Health (UNU-INWEH), 175 Longwood Road South, Suite 204 Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1, Canada, Tel: +1 905 667 5876, Fax: +1 905 667 5510, E-mail: [email protected] World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Mr. Claudio Caponi, Senior Scientific Officer, Climate and Water Department, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, Tel: +41 22 730 84 07, Fax: + 41 22 730 80 43, E-mail: [email protected] UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION (UNIDO) Ms. Sooksiri Chamsuk, Programme Officer, UNIDO Regional Office in Bangkok, 5th Floor, Department of Industrial Works Building, 57 Phrasumen Road, Banglamphoo, Bangkok 10200, Thailand, Tel: +66 2 280 8691, Fax: +66 2 280 8695, E-mail: [email protected] ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (UNESCAP) Mr. Le Huu Ti, Chief Energy Security and Water Resources Section, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, United Nations Building, Rajdamner Nok Avenue, Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200, Thailand, Tel: +66 2 288 1450, Fax: +66 2 288 1059, E-mail: [email protected] Ms. Ermina Sokou, Associate Environmental Affairs Officer, Energy Security and Water Resources Section, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, United Nations Building, Rajdamner Nok Avenue, Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200, Thailand, Tel: +66 2 288 2078, Fax: +66 2 288 1059, E-mail: [email protected] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) Mr. Nikhil Chandavarkar, UN-Water Secretary, Division of Sustainable Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), New York, U.S.A., Tel: +1 212 963 8980, Fax: +1 212 963 1267, E-mail: [email protected] UN-Water TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT











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Mr. Frederik Pischke, Interagency Water Advisor UN-Water Secretariat, Division for Sustainable Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), New York, U.S.A., Tel.: +1 212 963 1920, Fax: +1 212 963 9883, E-mail: [email protected] Ms. Nicoletta Forlano, Communications & Information Manager, Land & Water Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale Terme di Caracalla - 00153 Rome, Italy, Tel: +39 06 570 54068, Fax: + 39 06 570 56275, E-mail: [email protected] UN-WATER PROGRAMME Dr. Reza Ardakanian, Director, UNW-DPC, UN Campus, Hermann-Ehlers- Str. 10, D-53113, Bonn, Germany, Tel: +49 228 815 0651, Fax: +490 228 815 0299, E-mail: [email protected] Ms. Josefina Maestu, Director, UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication, Casa Sloans - Avda. Catalunya, 60 - 50014 Zaragoza, Spain, Tel: + 34 606 868 220, Fax: + 34 976 478 349, E-mail: [email protected] Mr. Olcay Unver, Coordinator United Nations World Water Assessment Programme and Director Programme Office for Global Water Assessment, Division of Water Sciences, UNESCO, Villa La Colombella - Località di Colombella Alta, 06134 Colombella, Perugia, Italy, Tel.:+ 39 075 591 10 50, Fax: +39 075 591 3323, E-mail: [email protected] ------------------------ PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board (UNSGAB) Dr. Olivia Castillo, Chair and Founding Member, Sustainable Development Solutions for Asia and Pacific (SDSAP) and Board Member of UNSGAB, Secretariat of United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, c/o Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2 UN Plaza DC2-2136, New York NY 10017, U.S.A., Tel: +632 636 4713, E-mail: [email protected] Mr. Koenraad Overkamp, Member of the Delegation, UN Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, c/o Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2 UN Plaza DC2-2136, New York NY 10017, U.S.A., Fax: +1 212 963 4340, E-mail: [email protected] MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, FRANCE Ms. Veronique Verdeil, Water Expert, Global Public Goods Directorate, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 27 rue de la Convention, CS 91533 - 75732 Paris Cedex 15, Tel: +33 1 43 17 70 52, Fax: +33 1 43 17 73 94, E-mail: [email protected] Deutsche Gesellschaft für, Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GERMANY Ms. Imke Thiem, Deutsche Gesellschaft für, Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Postfach 5180, Bonn 2011 Secretariat, c/o GIZ , Dag Hammarssold WEG 3, 65726 Eschborn, Germany, Tel: + 49 6196 79 1547 or 2171, Fax: + 49 6196 79 7291, E-mail: [email protected] Aquafed Mr. John Michael Moss, Senior Water Advisor, AquaFed - The International Federation of Private Water Operators, Paris Office: 54, Avenue Hoche – F75008 Paris, France, Tel: +33 1 56 60 50 07, Fax: +33 1 56 60 56 50; Brussels Office: 6 Rond Point Schuman Box 5, B1040 Brussels, Belgium, Tel: +32 2 234 78 07, Fax: +32 2 234 79 11, E-mail: [email protected]





mailto:o.unver@unesco






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INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR WATER LAW (AIDA) Mr. George Radosevich, Executive Council Member, AIDA, and International Water & Resources Law Consultant, Resources Administration and Development International, Inc. (RAD International), Bangkok, Thailand, Tel: +66 81 824 6790, Fax: +66 2 458 8276, E-mail: [email protected] Global Water Partnership (GWP) Mr. Tokil Jonch Clausen, Chief Water Policy & Senior Advisor, Global Water Partnership, DHI Group, Agern Alle 5, DK-2970 Horsholm, Denmark, Tel: +45 4516 9200, Fax: +45 4516 9292, Mobile: +45 2068 4812, E-mail: [email protected] INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE (ICID) Mr. Chaiwat Prechawit, Vice President, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), 29/419 Muangthongthani, Jaengwatana Road, Pakred, Nonthaburi 11120, Thailand, Tel: +66 86 776 5566, E-mail: [email protected] International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Mr. Ganesh Prangare, Programme Coordinator, Regional Water & Wetland Programme, IUCN, Asia Regional Office, 63 Sukhumvit Soi 39, Sukhumvit Rd., Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Tel: +66 2 662 4029 (ext. 402), Fax: +66 2 662 4387, Mobile: +66 81 875 1773 E-mail: [email protected] Ms. Lalita Rammont, Programme Officer, Regional Water & Wetland Programme, IUCN, Asia Regional Office, 63 Sukhumvit Soi 39, Sukhumvit Rd., Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Tel: +66 2 662 4029, Fax: +66 2 662 4387, Mobile: +66 86 309 9209, E-mail: [email protected] International Water Resources Association (IWRA) Dr. Chan Ngai Weng, Board Mamber, International Water Resources Association (IWRA), Association VerSeau Development, Domaine de Lavalette, 859 rue Jean-Francois Breton, 34093 Montpellier Cedex 5, France, Tel: +33 4 6761 2942, Fax: + 33 4 6752 2829, President, Water Watch Penang (WWP), 10 Brown Road, 10350 Penang, Malaysia, Tel : +604 228 3306, Fax : + 604 226 7042, E-mail : [email protected], [email protected] Ramsar Convention Secretariat (RAMSAR) Dr. Llewellyn Young, Senior Regional Advisor for Asia/Oceania, Ramsar Convention Secretariat, 28 rue Mauverney, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland, Tel: +41 22 999 01 77, Fax: +41 22 999 01 69, Mobile: +41 79 290 26 25, E-mail: [email protected] Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) Ms. Amanda Marlin, Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council, 15, chemin Louis-Dunant, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland, Tel: +41 22 560 81 79, Fax: +41 22 560 81 84, E-mail: [email protected] World Water Council (WWC) Ms. Sandrine Legrand, Politic Initiatives Coordinator, World Water Council, Espace Gaymard 2-4 Place d'Arvieux, 13002 Marseille, France, Tel: +33 4 91 99 41 00, +33 6 12 92 73 87; Fax: +33 4 91 99 41 01, E-mail: [email protected] ------------------------- UNESCAP SECRETARIAT










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Ms. Nawaporn Wanichkorn, Team Assistant, Energy Security and Water Resources Section, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200, Tel: +662 288 2174, Fax: +662 288 1059, E-mail: [email protected] Ms. Thiraya Tangkawattna, Team Assistant, Energy Security and Water Resources Section, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific, United Nations Building, Rajdamnern Nok Avenue, Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200, Tel: +662 288 2061 Fax: +662 288 1059, E-mail: [email protected]



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Report

15th UN-Water Meeting 19 – 21 August 2011; Stockholm, Sweden

Friday, 19 August 2011 (UN-Water Members only) Opening Remarks by Zafar Adeel, UN-Water Chair The UN-Water Chair communicated that there was a very good uptake of UN-Water engagement in the Rio+20 on the formal level and informal streams. At the CEB meeting in Nairobi, Water was recognized as one of the most important issues. Furthermore, there had been recent discussions that, in order to raise UN-Water’s political profile, its next Chair should be the head of a UN Agency. He added that in October 2011, UN-Water would hold a conference in Zaragoza, Spain on “Water in the Green Economy in Practice: Towards Rio+20”. UN-Water was also actively engaged in the Bonn Conference on “water-energy-food security nexus” which would be held in November 2011. The Chair provided an update on the recent developments within UN-Water, including the status of the candidates for UN-Water Chair, and the changes in its Secretariat. He noted that the Secretariat had been severely understaffed and welcomed the new Secretary Ms Kenza Kaouakib-Robinson and the new Chief Technical Adviser Mr Federico Properzi. Mr Properzi will be joining the technical secretariat on 1 September 2011. These personnel changes have caused some delays in the preparation of some background documents (e.g., the draft work programme for the next biennium could not be finalized on time for the UN-Water Meeting). Regarding operational matters, to enhance cooperation and coordination the Chair proposed to hold an annual or semi-annual meeting among coordinators of Task Forces (TF) and Thematic Priorities Areas (TPA). The main purpose of such a virtual meeting would be to enhance cross-linkages amongst the TFs and TPAs. This will indirectly also help revive and maintain activity levels of some dormant Task Forces. In this regard, he indicated that the UN-Water members should be able to enhance and modify the leadership of a TF or TPA if considered appropriate to sustain activity. The meetings will also be an opportunity to formalize the role of the three UN-Water Programmes in terms of planning, implementing and evaluating relevant activities. Mr Adeel requested UN-Water members to take note of SPM‘s decisions and offer feedback or suggestions for improvement, when the meeting minutes would be circulated. He requested that once the commenting period is over and final documents/decisions have been circulated, no post-facto requests for changes should be made or entertained. This would greatly facilitate the Secretariat’s action, which, presently was being subjected to changing opinions of individual members. Segment 1: Strengthening Internal Coordination 1.1 Update: Implementation of past Decisions

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Background Documents: 1_1_1_Overview_and_Follow-up_of_Decisions_14thUNW_Meeting 1_1_2_Meeting_minutes_on_Decision_4 1_1_3_Annex1_on_Decision_4

The UN-Water Secretary provided an overview of the state of implementation of the Decisions of the 14th SPM. The communication officer noted that guidelines for future World Water Day campaigns had been produced and circulated to World Water Day organizers and was waiting for feedback.

The SPM expressed satisfaction with the state of implementation of its previous decisions, while noting the human resource constraints in which the UN-Water Secretariat had been operating since the 14th meeting of the SPM.

1.2 Budget of UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund / donor contributions 1.2.1 UN-Water Indicative budget

Background Document: 1_2 _1_UN-Water_Indicative_budget_August_2011

The UN-Water Secretary gave an overview of the current financial situation. She indicated that the UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund (IATF) had been activated in December 2010. The first funds for 2010 were received in January 2011. Up to date, no funds for 2011 had been received, leading to a serious cash flow problem: consequently, some transfers requested by UN-Water could not take place. The income for 2010 was approximately $1.5 million of which $559,000 was received from DFID/UK; $590,000 from Norway and $300,000 from SIDA had been transferred to the FAO UN-Water Trust Fund.

The serious cash flow problem has had severe impact on implementation of TPAS and TFs activities, and on the process of preparing and producing the GLAAS Report. She indicated that discussions with some donors were leading to improving the current cash flow situation and had resulted in an agreement with SIDA for 2011-2014. SIDA will contribute 5 million SEK /year. The funds transfer for 2011 was expected for end of August 2011. Norway would provide $ 295,010 to support core activities and $126, 433 in support of WWDR4 and funds in the amount of $ 150,000 from the US State Department were forthcoming. BMZ had also recently transferred $ 448,800 to support the SWA initiative led by UNICEF. The Secretariat was in the process of negotiating with DFID funding for 2011 and beyond. The French Government had offered a secondment which was scheduled to start in January 2012. At the SPM meeting, the need to consider issues related to US$ fluctuations which affected certain agencies had been expressed. The Secretary went on to note that the UN-Water Secretariat has no control over the processing time and disbursement of requested funds for TPAs and TFs. Additionally, there had been a mixed operation of the IATF by UNOPS; some aspects were well-managed, whereas communications remained a weak point. This experience related to both budget management and the recent CTA

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appointment process. UNOPS allocates staff costs for a position with 2 year obligation (i.e. for the CTA position) resulting in cash flow shortages and consequent delays in UN-Water’s operational activities. It was noted Geneva-based agencies had seen their US$ budgets come under severe stress because of the rapid decline of the value of the US£ versus the CHF. WHO, for example, had increased its project salary costs for 2012/2013 by 25% as a contingency for expected further currency fluctuations..

Decision 1: The UN-Water members approved the recommendation by the JSG to provide funds to TPAs and TFs on a priority basis, after core UN-Water functions have been fully funded. The UN-Water members agreed that a contingency for currency fluctuations should be included in the budget for 2012 expenditures of Geneva-based UN-Water staff and operations.

1.2.2 UN-Water Budget for 2012-2013 Biennium Background Document:

1_2_2_UN-Water_Budget_for_2012-2013 The Secretary indicated that not all the TPAs and TFs have submitted their proposals. It was also recognized that funds allocation could also be based on needs assessment and comparative analysis between needs of a TPA/TF and past performance.

Decision 2: (a) The UN-Water members approved the budget for the 2012-2013 Biennium.

(b) After the approval of the UN-Water Budget for the 2012-2013 Biennium, the Technical

Secretariat will update the UN-Water Work Programme for the same period based on input from the UN-Water members. The latter element had been delayed also due to human resource shortage in the UN-Water Secretariat

1.2.3 UN-Water Leveraging Report Background Document: 1_2_3_UN-Water_Leveraging_Survey_synthesis This report was discussed in the 13th SPM meeting and a template for reporting had been presented. Based on the feedback from the UN-Water members, a spreadsheet was created to receive the figures that quantify contributions/investments by members to UN-Water’s mandate and work programme; this excluded any activities directly funded by the UN-Water IATF. This specific information is crucial for UN-Water’s overall review for funding request from donors. This report is also essential to convince donors and secure an increased level of support for an extended period. The leveraging report will be shared with donors at the forthcoming donor dialogue to be held in Bonn, Germany in November 2011. The information will also be useful for assessing the overall

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impact of the coordination function of UN-Water. The SPM noted that all activities not directly related to UN-Water should be listed and shown separately. The SPM recommended reflecting the 2 different levels of calculation (method 1 and 2) in the leveraging report.

Decision 3: (a) The SPM accepted the leveraging report and requested follow-up with those members

that had not yet submitted information. This report could then be used for the planned Donor’s Dialogue in November 2011.

(b) The SPM requested that the exercise be repeated next year for the fiscal year 2011, including both members and partners.

1.3 Discussion on “Finessing Fundraising Challenges for UN-Water” The timing for receiving funds from donors has created an operational challenge for UN-Water. The UN-Water Secretariat was looking at new potential donors and was planning a meeting with donors on 24 August in Stockholm and a donor’s dialogue in November 2011 in Bonn. UN-Water also needs to continue work on attracting new donors to support its work programme. It was noted that the French Government was considering secondment of a water expert to the UN-Water Secretariat, and that such a person would be placed in Geneva.

Decision 4: (a) The SPM urged the UN-Water Secretariat to continue negotiations and consultations

with donors to ensure timely delivery of funds to the Inter-Agency Trust Fund.

(b) The SPM proposed to expand the range of donors, including the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA.

(c) The SPM pledged to support the Secretariat’s effort to reach out to new donors.

1.4 Discussion of UN-Water ToR At the 14th UN-Water meeting it was decided to revisit the UN-Water Terms of Reference. The ToR were circulated for comments and discussed in the JSG to provide a revision of the ToR. The issue of the clarification of the vision of the Virtual Team was brought up, the Chair pointing out that it should serve UN-Water members and partners as well as support action at the country level, engage in country-level coordination activities and be part of the global dialogue on the development agenda (water and others) and issues before the GA. 1.4.1 Chair/Secretary/Secretariat ToR


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1_4_1_UN-Water_TOR_Secretariat_and_OrgChart There were discussions that the ToR may need to be changed given the new level of the Chair, but such modifications would be discussed in a future meeting once the new Chair has been seated. This may include a revised ToR for the vice Chair who might have executive functions and a more significant role in country level activities. The UN-Water members agreed to use the existing ToR with a number of modifications discussed during the meeting, and revising them in future as necessary. It was made clear in the ToR that the Chair does not represent his/her agency. The role of DESA was recognized including its special relationship with the GA and its second committee. This will be important especially if UN-Water has greater interest in the normative framework. The secretariat will continue interfacing with the HLCP, the CEB and he GA as well as the second committee of the GA. DESA will continue to host part of the UN-Water Secretariat including the UN-Water Secretary and the Programme Expert position at the P3 level. The UN-Water members emphasized that is important that the Secretary is a water expert and leads the water agenda at DESA.

Decision 5: (a) The SPM reviewed the ToR for the Virtual Team and supported them in principle in

view of recommendations made by the JSG and comments offered. .

(b) The revised TOR and organizational chart will be circulated to the UN-Water members for their final approval.

(c) The SPM members requested the Secretary to initiate the recruitment of Programme Expert at the P3 level immediately and expedite the process to the extent possible. The Vacancy Announcement will be reviewed by the UN-Water members and a multi-agency Selection Committee will be set up to oversee the recruitment process.

(d) The SPM agreed on defining a clear incorporation of regional, subregional and country

components in its Work Programme and linking up to regional bodies such as UN-Water/Africa.

1.4.2 Joint Steering Group ToR Background Document:

1_4_2_UN-Water_TOR_JSG The TOR of the JSG were discussed by the SPM. It was also noted that there were two vacancies in the Joint Steering Group (JSG) membership.

Decision 6: (a) The SPM approved the ToR for the Joint Steering Group in view of recommendations

made by the JSG and comments offered during the meeting.

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(b) The SPM agreed to appoint Alice Aureli (UNESCO) and Robert Bos (WHO) to serve on the JSG for a period of 2 years with immediate effect.

1.4.3 Programmes ToR

Background Documents: 1_4_3_1_UN-Water_Programmes_TOR 1_4_3_2_Annex1_UN-Water_Programmes_TOR The UNW Programmes are very proactive and have significant budget and other resources including human resources to assist TFs, TPAs in their work as well as the Technical Secretariat. UN-Water members were reminded of the possibility to use the UNW Programmes instead of hiring consultants.

Decision 7: (a) The SPM will review Annex 1 to the UN-Water ToR, outlining the responsibilities and

tasks that each Programme will undertake with respect to the UN-Water Work Programme.

(b) The SPM accepted the directors of WWAP, UNW-DPC and UNW-DPAC as full participants of the UN-Water meetings. However they will not be eligible to vote.

(c) The SPM agreed that the role of the UN-Water programmes includes support to the TFs and TPAs activities according to their mandates.

4 Communication Strategy

Background Documents: 1_4_4_1_UN-Water_Communication_Strategy_Aug_2011.doc 1_4_4_2_Annex1_UN-Water_Communication_Strategy_Jun_2011.doc The Communication Strategy has progressively been developed since the 13th UN-Water Meeting (Stockholm, September 2010). UNW-DPAC has taken the lead in accommodating various comments and suggestions received. It was suggested to produce a glossier version of the communications strategy for donors and other partners and cover World Water Day.

Decision 8: (a) The SPM approved the UN-Water Communication Strategy, inter alia clarifying the roles

and responsibilities of the UN-Water Communications Manager and UNW-DPAC.

(b) UNW-DPAC to further develop the Communication Strategy with an annex to cover campaigns for World Water Day.

1.5 Discussion on strategic actions for UN-Water in the near future

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1.5.1 Water Security

Background Documents: 1_5_1_1_UN-Water_Security_Working_Definition 1_5_1_UN-Water_Security_Meeting_UNESCAP SPM proposed to commission an Analytical Water Brief on Water Security (as described in item 4.1 in the UN-Water work programme) with a UN-Water member taking the lead to prepare a brief as a strategic planning and decision-making tool and to spur discussion on Water Security. This should serve as a tool for UN-Water’s engagement in global policy dialogues, processes, events and initiatives. Preparatory work in this direction had taken place in view of the UN-Water decisions made at its 13th and 14th meetings (Stockholm, August 2010, and Bangkok, January 2011, respectively); this includes a draft working definition of water security. In Bangkok the process was discussed more than the substance for this water security definition. It was recommended to establish a working group on this topic UN ESCWA volunteered to be part of this working group. Decision 9:

(a) UNU and UN-ESCAP agreed to assume the co-chairs of the Working Group on Water Security (WGWS) and requested UN-Water Chair to formally establish the WGWS and to solicit support from all UN-Water Members.

(b) The WGWS will consider the draft definition developed by UNU and send comments and inputs to UNU and UN-ESCAP by October 2011. UNU and UN-ESCAP will then compile a final draft document to be circulated to UN-Water members for a final approval by the end of 2011.

(c) The WGWS will identify follow up activities and request UN-Water members to introduce them through their respective scientific channels.

1.5.2 Organization of the World Water Day

Background Documents: 1_5_2_1_UN-Water_Cooperation_with_WWD 1_5_2_2_Resolution_International_Year_of_Water_Cooperation_2013_65/154. In view of the General Assembly‘s Resolution declaring 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation and specifically referencing UN-Water, “water cooperation” was proposed as the theme of WWD 2013. Some member states have also approached the SG of the Rio Conference to introduce water cooperation as a thematic area at Rio. The issue involves all levels/areas of water cooperation.

Decision 10: (a) The SPM agreed that the theme for WWD 2013 will be “water cooperation.”

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(b) The SPM agreed that UNESCO, in cooperation with DESA and ECE will take the lead in the preparations for WWD 2013

1.5.3 Interaction with the CEB and the UNGA

The Secretary had met with the HLCP and the CEB Secretariat to discuss ways and means for improved communication and feedback mechanism between UN-Water and the CEB. The GA is increasingly referring to UN-Water as a coordination mechanism, particularly in a number of recent and upcoming resolutions (including on Water and Disasters). UN-Water needs to be prepared to respond to these requests.

Decision 11: (a) The SPM urged the UN-Water Secretariat to continue interaction with the CEB

Secretariat.

(b) The SPM urged the Secretariat to improve communication with UNGA and the UN delegations.

1.6 Progress report on UN-Water Programmes

UNW-DPAC Background Documents: 1_6_1_UNWDPAC__.doc 1_6_2_UNWDPAC_Annex1_workprogramme2011-2015.doc 1_6_3_UNWDPAC_Annex2_Zaragoza_conference_flyer.pdf 1_6_4_UNWDPAC_Annex3_Calender_Office_events.doc 1_6_4_UNWDPAC_Annex4_Calender_Water_events.doc

- The UNW-DPAC Director presented an update of the Water Decade Report and noted that the first phase of the Decade has been completed. It was pointed out that the Decade ends at the same time as the MDGs. However, the scope of the Decade is wider than the MDGs and includes other important water objectives. It was proposed to hold the next UN-Water meeting in Zaragoza to also reinforce connections with the Host Government.

Decision 12:

(a) The SPM agreed that UN-Water should develop a report on the UN-water decade, to be

led by UNW-DPAC. The report will include detailed information on activities undertaken by the two decade programmes within the scope of the water decade. The report will include guidelines for reporting by UN Water Members and suggestions to encourage reporting by Member States.

(b) The SPM approved the DPAC workplan 2011-2015.

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(c) The SPM members agreed that UNW-DPAC will continue its advocacy and communications role on behalf of UN-Water and in support of the Task Forces and TPAs.

(d) The SPM agreed that the Zaragoza Conference, to be held in early October 2011 (for the

preparation of a contribution of the water toolbox or best practice guide for water in the Green Economy) and those organized by UNW-DPAC in subsequent years, should be treated as a UN-Water Conference.

UNW-DPC

Background Documents: 1_6_5_UNWDPC_doc 1_6_6_UNWDPC_flyer The background documents submitted were noted by the UN-Water members. UNW-DPC expressed its interest to support agencies responsible for preparatory activities in the context of the International Year of Water Cooperation. A major emphasis had been placed to expand the UN-Water Activity Information System (UNW-AIS, formerly known as the CDIS), which had been redesigned for better usability and now included new components on e-Learning/ trainings and publications as well as activities. UNW-DPC will be involved in organization of the “Bonn Dialogue” on the evening of 15 November.

Decision 13: (a) UNW-DPC will continue the mapping exercise on behalf of the Water quality TPA.

(b) UNW-DPC will support the leading agencies for the activities of Year 2013 as the

International Year of Water Cooperation.

WWAP:

Background Document: 1_6_WWAP_ProgressReport_10Aug2011.docx

The WWDR4, will be launched in Marseilles during World Water Forum 6 (WWF6). This is an opportunity for the heads of UN-Water members to participate in the launch ceremony.. FAO will coordinate with Zaragoza office to work on communications at WWF6. The planning of the next WWDR5 has been initiated and a UN-Water working group will be involved in a strategic review of UN-Water publications. The Director WWAP, pointed that Italy has not made its scheduled payment for 2011 and UNESCO provided funds until March 2012 to allow WWAP’s continuation. Decision 14:

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(a) The UN-Water members agreed that Working Group on strategic review of UN-Water publications, led by UNDP, should carry out an independent evaluation of the target audience and deliverables, to be presented in the 2012 summer meeting of UN-Water.

(b) The UN-Water members encouraged the three Programmes to proceed and work on subjects of mutual interest, when appropriate.

(c) The UN-Water members agreed that the task force on country-level will be coordinated jointly by UNDP and UNW-DPC.

(d) The UN-Water members agreed that the planned activities of the Programmes presented

will be incorporated in the UN-Water Work Programme.

(e) UNW-DPAC was asked to coordinate the presence of UN-Water members in the World Water Forum (collect information on activities and organize Pavilion).

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Saturday morning (9:00 – 12:00), 20 August 2011 (UN-Water Members only) 1.7 Progress report from selected TFs and TPAs 1.7.1 Country Level Coordination Task Force

UNDP indicated that the debate should also include the role of UN-Water in seeking coordination at the national level, as it is supposed to be a global coordinating body; this could be limited to knowledge sharing and knowledge sharing platform, and thus taking incremental steps for moving forward. UN-Water Africa indicated that some countries already have national coordination mechanisms for water: in some countries, UNICEF takes a lead at the water level and thus as a coordination hub (but that was not necessarily the case in all countries, he added that it remains difficult to find a national coordination mechanism that goes beyond the water sector and leads into development planning). DESA indicated that the vision of the UNW Task Force is not to coordinate work at the national level, since all UNW agencies are already engaged in work at the national level it should rather looks at how to link up with Teamworks for Rio+20.

1.7.2 Waste Water Task Force

Background Documents: 1_7_2__UNW_Wastewater_TF.doc 1_7_2_Annex_Proposed_2011-2012_TPA-TF_Budget

The coordinator of the Task Force expressed the need to extend its work period, as initiation of activities had been delayed due to lack of funds and put forward the idea of linking land-oceans

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through (UN-Water TF & UN-Oceans: joint session) Decision 15: (a) The coordinator of the Task Force expressed the need to extend its work period, as initiation of activities had been delayed due to lack of funds and put forward the idea of linking land-oceans through (UN-Water TF & UN-Oceans: joint session) (b) UN-Water will contribute to a Global Conference on Land Oceans connections to consolidate interaction with UN-Oceans.

1.7.3. Water Quality Thematic Priority Area

Background Documents: 1_7_3__UNW_Water_Quality_TPA.doc 1_7_3_Annex_UNW_Water_Quality_TPA_Teleconference_05052011.doc 1_7_3_ Annex_UNW_Water_Quality_TPA_Mapping_Activities_Report to be provided 1_7_3_ Annex_UNW_Water_Quality_TPA_Scoping_Report_Guidelines to be provided

A mapping exercise is currently being undertaken by UNW-DPC 1.7.4 Water and Climate Change Thematic Priority Area

Background Documents: 1_7_4_UNW_Water_Climate Change_TPA.doc 1_7_4_UNW_Water_Climate_Change_Communication_Strategy.doc 1_7_4_Annex _1_TPAWCC_Work Plan_2011-2012.pdf 1_7_4_Annex _2_TPAWCC_Cover_Report.doc 1_7_4_Annex _3_TPAWCC_Concept_note_Guideline.doc 1_7_4_Annex _4_TPAWCC_Brief_outline_Guideline.doc 1_7_4_Annex _5_TPAWCC_Draft_Training_Workshop_Concept_note.doc

WMO reported that, in conjunction with CAP Net they were planning a training activity in this area in Geneva. [Note: This activity was eventually suspended due to lack of participation] It was recognized that linking up with UNW-DPC could be done in the future. WHO suggested that the “webinar” format could be an alternative for the future WMO informed the SPM of the forthcoming meeting of the working group for review of the TPA draft communications strategy prepared by UNW-DPAC. It also reported that the TPA was preparing Guidelines on water-related adaptation/mitigation to climate change, the completion of which was foreseen before the end of 2011.

1.7.5 Transboundary Waters Thematic Priority Area Background Documents: 1_7_5_TPA_Transboundary_Waters_Progress_Report.doc

1_7_5_TPA_Transboundary_Waters_Budget.doc 1_7_5_TPA_Transboundary_Waters_Water_Cooperation_2013_Concept

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1_7_5_TPA_Transboundary_Waters_Concept_Note_Good_Practices In 2011, the TPA’s work focused on the promotion and follow-up on mapping exercise. Decision 16: It was agreed that UNESCO, in cooperation with UNECE and UN DESA and with the active support of UNW-DPC and the other two UN-Water programmes, will be the lead in the preparation of the International Year for Water Cooperation.

1.7.6 Sanitation and Drinking Water Thematic Priority Area

Background Documents: 1_7_6_Water-Supply_and_Basic_Sanitation 1_7_6_Water-Supply_and_Basic_Sanitation_Workplan

The main question raised was how to move beyond/towards 2015

1.7.7 Water Resources Management Reporting and Rio+20 Taskforce Background Document:

1_7_7_TF_Water_Resources_Management_Rio+20.doc The Task Force is currently preparing a report, as a contribution to the Rio+20 process on progress made by countries to improve water resources management. Responses to the survey had been received by 124 countries. A database now exists on who is responsible for water resources management at the country level. There is now a need to disseminate the report. It was noted that the existence of sub- national authorities (e.g. in federal states) can make it difficult to respond to national level data requests; some provided multiple responses that had to be reviewed for aggregation. 1.8 Cohesion Building among TPAs and TFs

Decision 17 : The UN-Water secretariat should facilitate increased coordination amongst TF and TPA, and each year at least one virtual meeting should be organized to engage coordinators of all TPAs and TFs in improving their synergy.

1.9 Election of new UN-Water Chair and UN-Water Vice Chair The following candidates had initially presented their candidature: David Coates (UNCBD), Albert Diphoorn (UN-HABITAT), Ahmed Djoughlaf (UNCBD), Achim Steiner (UNEP), and Michel Jarraud (WMO). During the lead up to the election all other candidates withdrew their names, leaving Mr Jarraud as sole candidate for the Chair. Subsequently, Mr Diphoorn put forward his name as the Vice Chair.

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The UN-Water members also welcomed the increased level of interest in the elected offices of UN-Water, which demonstrates the increasing recognition of the strategic significance of this coordination mechanism and at the same time poses a challenge for UN-Water, in the sense that traditional working arrangements would need to be reviewed. The UN-Water members noted the proliferation of last-minute submissions of candidatures for the Chair of UN-Water and expressed their disappointment with this modus operandi. It was agreed that in future this should be avoided as much as possible, so that SPM can consult with their respective headquarters. This topic will be taken up further as part of anticipated broader discussions of potential adjustments to the modus operandi that may be required in response to the welcome development of this interest from Heads of Agencies in Chairing UN-Water. Decision 18:

Mr Michel Jarraud, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization will serve as the UN-Water Chair and Mr Albert Diphoorn from UN-HABITAT will serve as the UN-Water Vice Chair for the 2012-2013 period.

1.10 Decision on date and place of next UN-Water Meeting

Decision 19: The SPM recognized the growing significance of UNW-DPAC’s programme to the work of UN-Water as well as the need to strengthen the visibility and relationship with the host country. Based on the consideration that hosting a UN-Water meeting in Zaragoza will bolster relations with the host-country and other local relationships and improve the office’s local visibility, the UN-Water members agreed to organize the next meeting of UN-Water in Zaragoza in February 2012.

Saturday afternoon (13:30 – 17:30), 20 August 2011 (UN-Water members, partners and key stakeholders) Segment 2: Interfacing with Partners UN-Water members and partners jointly discussed a number of potential topics for future WWD events. The following suggestions were made:

• Water and Jobs • Water and Poverty • Water and MDG’s • Water for Development

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• Water and Energy • Water and Ecosystems • Water and Economic • Water and Disasters • Water and Migration • Water and Technology • Water Security • Clean Water / Water Quality • Water for Wealth/Well-being

Decision 20:

(a) It was agreed that the following topics will be taken up:

2013 – Water Cooperation 2014 – Water and Energy 2015 – Water for Development

(b) The UN-Water members agreed that the lead agencies for 2014 and 2015, as well as detailed slogans for those years, will be decided in a subsequent meeting based on offers from UN-Water members to serve as the lead agency.

2.1 UN-Water engagement with its partners

Background Documents: 2_1_UN-Water_Partner_Survey.doc 2_1_UN-Water_Partners_Survey_verbatim_w_summary_table_June2011.docx Decision 21: (a) UN-Water Partners to be given the opportunity to accept the survey report

(b) UN-Water Members and Partners agreed to have a longer engagement and as a result the

UN-Water summer meetings will be 3 days whereof 1 ½ day for members and 1 ½ day for partners. This had been implemented for this Stockholm meeting. Partners will also have the opportunity to attend the TF and TPA sessions of the SPM meeting, if they so wish.

(c) Leveraging report will be distributed to the UN-Water partners as well. The UN-Water Secretariat will also be inviting partners to provide this information for the fiscal year 2011, for inclusion in the next iteration of the report.

Segment 3: Human Right to water and sanitation

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3.1 Panel Discussion: Presentation by Aquafed The clarity of the requirements for water supply, specific to the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, means that the measures used to assess progress in the context of MDG 7 and the targets themselves are no longer appropriate. The requirements for States to ensure progressive implementation of the right to water in accordance with these standards means that a more ambitious vision is now required. There may be a risk of complacency and underestimation of the challenges if the MDG figures are used as the starting point, because this represents a situation which is much more favourable than the reality. According to Aquafed, it understates the scale of the problem by approximately 2/3rd. In addition, one of the reasons why the MDGs have not been as successful as they might have, is because they are "global" whereas the real action is required at country level. We would argue strongly for the necessity for countries to take ownership of their specific share of any global goals related to water and sanitation by clearly defining national and even local targets that relate to their share of this global international objective. It was recognized that three fundamental steps were needed for implementation of the right to water and sanitation: 1) Countries need to accept access to water as a right and establish a program for implementation 2) there is a need to identify who will be responsible for implementing this right: need to thus establish who is responsible for what, and 3)there is equally a need to organize local implementation – through an operator (or some other mechanism). Another real challenge is that MDGs do not meet the criteria needed to establish the human right to water and sanitation. In this regard, Mr. Robert Bos indicated that the GLAAS and JMP strategy is aimed to step up their activities and develop new indicators for a post-2015 environment; In May 2011, the German Government hosted consultations and agreed that monitoring will be critical.

Decision 22: UN-Water will support activities of OHCHR and the special rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation for the development of a human-right monitoring framework on water and sanitation.

Segment 4: Strengthening Delivery at Regional and Country Levels 4.1 Panel Discussion: Action needed to enhance delivery at country and regional levels UN-Water has agreed to have a strategic focus on improving delivery of services by its members and partners at the country level. Many member states, both recipient and donor countries including the contributors to the UN-Water IATF, have frequently express their desire for a more cohesive delivery of services. Although the ‘One UN’ initiative has made some inroads in this direction, it has had limited practical successes. This provides an opportunity for UN-Water to develop and demonstrate good examples of enhanced coordination. Similarly, coordination and action at regional level is essential. The UN-Water task forces for country-level coordination and regional-level coordination can respectively play key roles in such coordination. The panel session explored how such coordination can take place, particularly drawing upon the reports of the TF on Country Level Coordination and the experience gained in 2010 during the

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organization of the High Level International Conference on the Water Decade (Dushanbe, June 2010).

Decision 23: UN-Water members noted that UN-Water can facilitate development of conceptual constructs, policy guidance and in-situ coordination for more effective delivery of services to the UN Member States and with the engagement of the relevant stakeholders.

Sunday, 21 August 2011 (UN-Water members, partners and key stakeholders) Segment 5: Interfacing with Global Process – with particular focus on UNCSD 5.1 Panel Discussion: Messages for Rio+20 Mr.Tariq Banuri indicated that growth may no longer be possible and development is back as a way to move towards the future. He indicated that water and energy linkages are fundamental in the new development paradigm and highlighted the role of industry as a driver which will require investments in key sectors. The Rio+20 Conference in June 2012, provides an opportunity for global leadership to harness economic growth at all levels to create new, sustainable opportunities that also accelerate poverty eradication. The foundation for this economy should be built upon the nexus of water, energy and food security – and these issues are to be addressed in an integrated, holistic manner. Equally important is to ensure that adequate water and sanitation facilities are available to the world’s population in accordance with the resolution of the UN General Assembly declaring these as a human right.

Decision 24: The UN-Water members and partners agree on the following broad measures:

(a) Focus on green economy

• All governments must commit to sufficient investments in clean drinking water, sanitation facilities and hygiene education for their people.

• The current measurements of economic performance should be complemented by indicators on environmental and social sustainability.

• Economic incentives should be created to promote increased water use efficiency. (b) Institutional framework for sustainable development

• Policy and institutional reform should be undertaken to coordinate the holistic, integrated

management of water, energy and food. • Cross-cutting national frameworks that bridge ministries and sectors must lead the way in

establishing green economic growth. • National legislations should be enacted and constitutions amended to guaranty and

protect access to water and sanitation for all.

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Round Tables (RT) discussions simultaneously 5.2 RT on “Green growth objectives and targets for cities” Mr. Albert Diphoorn indicated that urban growth in Africa and Asia cities remains a critical concern and that 6% of urban population in Africa live in slums. The panel highlighted the importance of urban planning to regulate human settlements in flood-prone zones and the importance of concentrating on green buildings constructed according to local climate and thus also improving energy efficiency. 5.3 RT on “Green growth objectives and targets for industries” Ms. Josefina Maestu indicated that Industry could be a low water consumer, depending on a country’s level of development: water for industry represents 5% of water demand in some developing countries whereas in developed countries it reaches 40%. She emphasized the need for better product design that would require less water and energy. She noted that it was important to look at greening the water sector as an opportunity for green industry (and employment) development and expansion. ILO indicated that green jobs can contribute to an inclusive economic development. Social Dialogue and Empowerment of local communities needs to be part of the GE 5.4 RT on “Green growth objectives and targets for agriculture and rural areas” Mr. Pasquale Steduto noted that agriculture remains the largest consumer of water and that it was important and possible to achieve a greener agricultural sector through various means including water harvesting and wastewater reuse from urban centers. This will require investments in technology but also generate new opportunities for employment associated with these technological upgrades. There is however an affordability gap / profitability gap for small land holders/small farmers with limited income. In this regard, PPPs could play a positive role. There is also a need to consider smaller scale alternatives, such as smaller hydropower units to run surface water pumping/irrigation schemes; solar panels for water pumping to move towards a greener economy.

Decision 25:

(a) The UN-Water members and partners agreed to support the Stockholm Statement (attached herewith ) as an expression of collective interests of the international water community and as a contribution towards the Rio+20 Summit.

(b) The UN-Water members and partners agreed to summarize the key findings and action points in a briefing note, which will be submitted to the UNCSD Secretariat as a submission from UN-Water. This draft will be circulated by the Secretariat to the UN-Water members for review and comment prior to the submission deadline of 1 November 2011.

Final Version

Report of the UN-Water Sixteenth Session

8-9 February 2012, Zaragoza, Spain

(UN-Water Members, Partners with Special Status, Programmes and regional arrangements1) UN-Water held its sixteenth meeting in Zaragoza, Spain on 8 and 9 February 2012 to discuss and strengthen the cross sectoral governance within the UN System and promote cohesion and collaborative efforts in the management of water resources for sustainable development. The agenda of the meeting, a table of decisions taken and the list of participants are detailed in Annexes I, II and III respectively. This report presents the outcomes of this meeting. Introduction The meeting commenced with salutations from the host city government representative, Mr. Jeronimo Blasco, Vice Mayor and Counselor for the Environment of the City of Zaragoza. He highlighted the success of the Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication and Spain’s continued commitment to water resource management. Agenda Item 1: Opening of the meeting 1.1 Remarks by Outgoing Chair Mr. Zafar Adeel, outgoing Chair of UN-Water, thanked Mr. Blasco. During Chairman Adeel’s tenure, UN-Water identified three strategic directions: (i) Enhanced UN cohesion. The respective chairs of UN-Water, UN-Energy and UN-Oceans met in 2010 to discuss increased collaborative efforts, demonstrating a genuine interest in working in a more integrated manner; (ii) Participation in the global policy dialogues. Increased UN-Water engagement in the Rio +20 dialogue as well as in high-level meetings of cross-sectoral relevance such as the Bonn Nexus Conference allowed for UN-Water to be understood in a political context; (iii) Engagement at the country level. UN-Water organized a High Level International Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 (Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 8-10 June 2010) and brought together the expertise as well as served as mediator/connector between the agencies and the UN country team, including between the UN country team and headquarters. Achievements in terms of management. The newly established Joint Steering Group (JSG) allowed for regular exchange between bi-annual meetings and emerged as a useful interim decision-making management mechanism for UN-Water. Due to extensive work on the part of UN-Water’s team in negotiating with UNDG to set up the Inter-Agency Trust Fund (IATF) in 2009-2010, more donors are seeing the IATF as a mechanism through which they can collectively support issues pertaining to water inside the UN system. Vision for the future. UN-Water is seeing increased engagement from the Secretary-General’s office particularly at the onset of his second term, in linking water to the overall sustainable development agenda. There is an indication of an interest at the CEB level to move forward in assisting Member States in identifying specific targets and goals in water and sanitation and reflecting the role of UN-Water in monitoring and implementation of those series of goals (e.g. Sustainable Development Goals). Mr. Thomas Chiramba, outgoing Vice Chair, thanked Mr. Adeel on behalf of the UN-Water team and expressed sincere gratitude for the tremendous support provided by Mr. Adeel. With regard to issues of importance, Mr. Chiramba recognized that UN-Water had to explore modalities of better engaging with the CEB and find ways of strengthening the TFs and TPAs.

1 See Article V, Section 3 of the UN-Water Operational Guidelines.

Final Version

1.2 Hand-over of Chairmanship Ms. Kenza Kaouakib-Robinson thanked the outgoing Chair Zafar Adeel for his dedication, hard work, great vision and leadership to UN-Water. In introducing the new Chair, Mr. Michel Jarraud, Ms. Robinson noted that it was very humbling for UN-Water to have a UN Chief Executive taking up the position and welcomed Mr. Bert Diphoorn as the new Vice-Chair. 1.3 Remarks by Incoming Chair Mr. Michel Jarraud thanked the outgoing Chair, Zafar Adeel, for all his contributions and expressed the desire that the expertise of Mr. Adeel serve as guidance in moving forward. Substantial progress had been made in the past 20-25 years in working together, yet greater attention needed to be paid to how the outside world perceives this “real” progress. Emphasizing a duty to be effective and deliver jointly, he underlined the need to deliver as one and send off a signal that UN-Water was working in a cohesive and non-duplicative manner. Recognizing UN-Water’s increased engagement in global policy debates including Rio+20, he pointed out the need for UN-Water to go further and agree on concrete goals. He urged Members to think of ways to improve delivery at international, regional and local levels. He concluded his remarks by expressing pleasure to be in Aragon, Zaragoza, a location to be appreciated, especially with regard to the three layers of engagement (i.e. national, regional and local governments). 1.4 Update: Implementation of Past Decisions. Please see document UNW/2012/XVI/2 for further details on the implementation of decisions taken at the 15th UN-Water meeting.

Ms. Kenza Kaouakib-Robinson pointed out that there has been substantial progress implementing and acting upon decisions taken at the 15th UN-Water meeting held in Stockholm in August 2011. With regard to Decision 5c from the 15th UN-Water meeting TORs have been circulated and adjusted as per comments made by Members. A temporary P3 vacancy has been filled by Ms. Hermina Johnny in the interim.

Note: At the closure of the meeting, the TOR for the P3 post was accepted and finalized by the SPM. Decision 1: The UN-Water Members take note of the update of the Secretary and express satisfaction with the progress made since the last meeting.

Agenda Item 2: UN-Water governance 2.1 UN-Water Team’s Terms of Reference (TOR) and 2.2 Organizational Chart During the fifteenth UN-Water Meeting, it was stated that the role of the Vice-Chair might be reviewed in view of the incoming Chair. In subsequent email correspondence, no consensus was reached with regard to the latest version of the virtual team’s TOR, while minor adjustments were needed to finalise the JSG and Programmes’ TOR.

Decision 2:

a) The SPM decide that the three office bearers do not represent his/her own agency and serve in their personal capacities.

b) At the current meeting Claudio Caponi serves as representative of WMO, Pireh Otieno as representative of UN HABITAT, and Thomas Stelzer as representative of DESA.

The incoming Chair put forth a suggestion for changes in the name classification of both the “Virtual Team” and the “Technical Secretariat”. After some discussion, the following decision was taken:

Decision 3: Taking into consideration the interventions made by several Members, the SPM accept the proposal for changes in name classification. In this regard, the Virtual Team will be henceforth referred

Final Version

to as the Management Team and the Technical Secretariat shall henceforth be referred to as the Technical Advisory Unit.

Discussions

Ms. Josefina Maestu asked for a clarification of the relationship between the Chair, the Secretary, the CTA and the P3.

Several SPM stressed the need to strengthen the relationship with Partners and include them also on the UN-Water organizational chart and in the practical work of UN-Water. The need to connect the Programmes to the TFs and TPAs was also raised. Mr. Robert Bos mentioned that there should be no ambiguity between where the SPM are giving shape to the interagency policy framework and where the UN-Water Partners work with the SPM in the importance of technical programmes. Water is an area that is fragmented in many sectors in the UN as well as at the country level. The role of UN-Water in setting a governing example for better integration and better coordination has a huge potential that has not been looked at sufficiently.

Mr. Thomas Stelzer stressed the importance that the Chair give a vision of how he wants Members to support him and how he sees UN-Water in a larger context delivering what is expected of it How do we make sure that the UN-Water conclusions and recommendations are recognized and mainstreamed into the UN agenda? DESA plays a key role in mainstreaming ideas at an early stage into drafts and reports. There is a need to bring all UN resources together to increase coherence. UN-Water is a theme-based mechanism, not an agency. He mentioned that there is a specific role that UN-Water plays as one of the key functional networks of the Secretary-General’s Chief Executives Board for Coordination’s High Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP). There are ongoing discussions in New York to bring the United Nations together around relevant themes, which then inform the SG in articulating clear deliverables for the intergovernmental processes including the concrete case of Rio+20. This is where the suggestion to raise the position of Chair of UN-Water to the level of an Executive Head of agency originated from, because there was a view that the potential of UN-Water is not fully explored.

Decision 4: a) The SPM decide that the Management Team reports to the Chair.

b) The SPM decide that the Technical Advisory Unit reports to the Chief Technical Adviser.

Decision 5: The SPM decide for a pragmatic approach with regard to the delegation of functions from the Chair to the Vice-Chair. These arrangements will be kept flexible and will be later agreed upon by the Chair and the Vice-Chair, as per the UN-Water Management Team’s TOR.

Decision 6: The SPM decide to wait until after the UN Conference on Sustainable Development 2012 (i.e. Rio +20) to discuss the possibility of changing the overall UN-Water TOR to reflect what is expected of UN-Water based on the outcomes of the Conference. This item will be further considered at the next UN-Water meeting (Stockholm, 23-24-25 August 2012).

Decision 7: The SPM approve the UN-Water Organizational Chart as presented by the Chief Technical Adviser at the meeting. The Organizational Chart will be posted on the UN-Water website. The SPM further agree that the organizational chart may be updated as necessary. Decision 8: Based on the above decisions and on the discussions during the meeting, the Management Team is tasked to update the TOR of the Management Team, JSG and Programmes and circulate further developed drafts to the SPM for their final approval.

2.3 Rotation of the JSG To ensure maximum continuity and avoid the change of the office bearers at the same time as the JSG rotations, rotation of JSG members is seen as preferable to take place during the second annual meetings of UN-Water.

Final Version

The current situation with respect to the four rotating members of the JSG is as follows:

- David Coates, joined in February 2010 - Pasquale Steduto, joined in February 2010 - Alice Aureli, joined in August 2011 - Robert Bos, joined in August 2011 Decision 9: The SPM decide that David Coates and Pasquale Steduto will continue to serve on the JSG till the next UN-Water meeting to be held in August 2012. In order to reinforce institutional memory, the SPM invite former Chair Zafar Adeel to participate in JSG meetings as an observer therefore allowing Mr. Adeel to contribute to the discussions based on his prior experience.

2.4 Future arrangements for the UN-Water Communications Manager Note: Please refer to background documentation for further information. Mr. Pasquale Steduto recalled that when the Zaragoza office was created, the office never responded to UN-Water as outlined in the TOR. When Ms. Maestu came, we started to have the Zaragoza office internalized into UN-Water. Now that she has established the office we are at a point where we can reflect on what to do. Communication in a broad form is very articulated in terms of media, strategy, advocacy, corporate communications, visibility, etc. Several Members also discussed the confusion between having a communications manager post and a communications office in Zaragoza. There was an overwhelming agreement that the communications functions needed to be streamlined in one location. Different options were discussed including finalizing the existing agreement for the communication manager with FAO in June or December, the possible tasks that could be performed by the WSSCC or other Geneva-based offices, as well as the transformation of the communication manager position into a P3 for a networking officer supporting the CTA in Geneva. It was clear that a decision should wait and should be based on a clearly articulated vision, the infrastructure needs and the professional capacity in different locations as well as on the cost-effectiveness of the different options, i.e duty stations Zaragoza or Geneva.

Decision 10:

a) The SPM hereby create an Advisory Group to look into the most effective future arrangements for UN-Water communications, in view of streamlining UN-Water communications activities and of strengthening the UN-Water Technical Advisory Unit.

b) The Advisory Group is led by Pasquale Steduto and comprises Pasquale Steduto, Kenza Robinson, Josefina Maestu, Thomas Chiramba, Federico Properzi, and Amanda Marlin.

c) The SPM agree to continue with the Communications Manager’s arrangements with FAO at least during 2012 reserving the right to reconsider this according to the Advisory Group’s proposal.

d) The Advisory Group is requested to report back to the SPM at the next UN-Water meeting to be held in August 2012 in Stockholm.

2.5 Possible future arrangements for the administrative support to the Management Team Several Members recognized the need for administrative assistance to the Technical Advisory Unit, but highlighted that in a time of economic instability, other options could be considered to cut costs. These include hiring local staff, ALD, short term, changing from grade G4 to G3, etc. In view of the need to strengthen the work of the Technical Advisory Unit, it was agreed that pending budget review, administrative assistance was necessary. During interventions from the floor, Mr. Thomas Stelzer said that the CEB office could provide administrative and technical support for UN-Water functions. He stressed that there was a good potential in Geneva for CEB support to UN-Water. On a similar note

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other Members mentioned exploring the potential of administrative hosting with other UN organisations in Geneva. Mr. Adeel recalled that in 2010 the possibility of hosting the UN-Water Geneva office in the Palais des Nations was explored, but received little support from the UN Office of Geneva. Ms. Kenza Kaouakib Robinson cautioned against referring to a UN-Water office in Geneva. She stressed that this is not an office; it is not an organization, UN-Water is still a mechanism. To give the impression that we are creating another organization with an office is risky.

Decision 11:

a) The SPM approve in principle the creation of an Administrative Assistant position to support the Technical Advisory Unit at G4 grade with duty station Geneva and UNOPS contract.

b) The recruitment process will follow the standard procedure as defined in Agenda Item 2.7 Operational Guidelines.

c) The selection committee for the Administrative Assistant will be under the leadership of the Vice-Chair of UN-Water and comprises: UN-Water Vice-Chair, UN-Water Secretary, Chief Technical Adviser, and Claudio Caponi.

d) The Management Team will also contact the CEB/HLCM administrative services in the UN Office of Geneva to explore synergies.

2.6 Definition of the selection panel for fixed-term P3 selection

Decision 12: a) The SPM approve the fixed-term P3 post description (version 9 February 2012). b) The recruitment process will follow the standard procedure as defined in Agenda Item 2.7

Operational Guidelines, except for the recruiting agency, which will be UNDESA. c) The selection committee is under the leadership of the Vice-Chair of UN-Water and comprises: Vice-

Chair, UN-Water Secretary, Chief Technical Adviser, Joakim Harlin, Zafar Adeel, and Andrew Trevett.

In the meantime, a temporary appointment will be issued to cover the gap between recruitment of the fixed term position. 2.7 UN-Water Operational Guidelines

Decision 13: a) The Technical Advisory Unit is tasked with updating the Operational Guidelines and distributing the

updated version for comments to all Members.

b) The final draft version of the updated Operational Guidelines should be submitted for approval by the SPM at the next UN-Water meeting (Stockholm, 2012).

Decision 14: The updated Operational Guidelines will include the standard procedure for the recruitment of all Technical Advisory Unit staff. This standard procedure will include the following points:

• The selection committee falls under the leadership of the Chair (or Vice-Chair) of UN-Water and comprises of: UN-Water Chair (or Vice-Chair), UN-Water Secretary, Chief Technical Adviser (replaced by a UN-Water Member in case of Chief Technical Adviser recruitment), and three UN-Water Members appointed on an ad-hoc basis.

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• The Vacancy Announcement is prepared by the Management Team and shared with all UN-Water Members for comments. The selection committee reviews these comments, finalizes the Vacancy Announcement and defines the selection process.

• The Vacancy Announcement is advertised as early as possible by UNOPS. The Vacancy Announcement shall be shared as widely as possible and all Members, Partners and Programmes are requested to support its distribution.

2.7 Membership/Partnership applications

Decision 15:

a) The SPM formally accept the application of the World Food Programme (WFP) and welcome WFP to the UN-Water family.

b) The SPM invite UN Women to formalize their application for membership and will welcome them to the UN-Water family as soon as the formal application is received.

c) The SPM decide to explore further possibilities of bringing in OHCHR as a Member.

Agenda Item 3: Progress on UN-Water activities 3.1 UN-Water coherence and enhanced coordination Thematic Priority Areas 3.1.1 Water and Climate Change Claudio Caponi introduced this item stressing that the focus was on preparing the basic advocacy material for the policy brief and the mapping of activities with UN-Water AIS. He underscored that in the past two years he had been developing an advocacy and communications strategy with the Zaragoza office as well as in preparing a guidance note addressed to staff of UN-Water Members in field/country offices who are not familiar with water related adaptation to climate change matters, but have to respond to requests from countries for support in developing strategies. UNDP and World Bank officers were the main field and country officers targeted for this exercise. There is a need to develop common messages on water and climate change, which are tailored to varying audiences and are consistent across the board. Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu spoke about the development of drought-related policies. He noted that in the last Conference of Parties of the Desertification Convention, a mandate was received to support countries on drought-related issues to see whether they can develop national drought policies. It was agreed that there should be a high level conference on drought next year (2013). He suggested that this could be further discussed in the taskforce on water scarcity or climate change and water. 3.1.2 Drinking Water and Sanitation Note: Please refer to documents UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.7 and Add.1 +Add.2 for further information. Amanda Marlin highlighted the need for common messages. She noted that primarily the focus of this TPA has been on the UN Sanitation drive to 2015. She expressed desire for UN-Water to coordinate its contributions to discussions on the post-2015 framework for targets and indicators as well as inputs on water supply and basic sanitation for Rio+20. During the interventions from the floor, François Guerquin noted that there was a Secretary-General's initiative to provide universal access to drinking water and sanitation.

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3.1.3 Transboundary Water Note: Please refer to documents UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.8, UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.9, UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.46, UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.47, UNW/2012/XVI/ CRP.48 for further information. Alice Aureli introduced this item noting that substantial coordination took place with twenty-one partner agencies and programmes and colleagues in different organizations. She underlined that there was a work plan to finalize the collection of best strategies to be presented in the Stockholm World Water Week in 2013 where the agreed theme is Water Cooperation. She underscored that UNESCO/UNECE would continue to coordinate and work with other agencies.

3.1.4 Water Quality Note: Please refer to documents UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.10,UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.11, UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.12, and UNW/2012/XVI/5 for further information. Thomas Chiramba highlighted that Partners are more active than UN agencies in this TPA. He noted that a face-to-face meeting has been arranged for March of this year for Members and Partners involved in this TPA. He mentioned the success of the mapping exercise and called attention to a scoping report prepared by the TPA which provides frame-working advice. In terms of substance, he noted that the TPA looks at guidelines on water quality to determine who is doing what on water quality. There has been collaboration on the WHO guidelines on drinking-water quality and water quality for ecosystems

For 2012 -2013 there are many activities planned, including: (1) Water quality guidelines for ecosystems. (2) improving water quality monitoring, data collection and analysis. (3) the first global assessment report on water. He noted that there would be two major conferences to look at water quality; one will take place this year (2012) in October. The upcoming months will be used to do some background work in preparation for this conference. The next conference will take place in 2013 to review progress made on these items Pasquale Steduto urged against attempting too much and encouraged concentration on few items that can bring greater results.

3.1.5 Task Force: Wastewater Management Mr. Bert Diphoorn highlighted that staff changes have affected the involvement of UN Habitat in this Task Force. The progress of this Task Force, as well as the possibility of merging it into the Water Quality TPA, will be considered at the next UN-Water Meeting. UN-Water Programmes: 3.1.6 UNW-DPC Note: Please refer to the background brief UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.13 for further information about this item. Mr. Reza Ardakanian highlighted 14 activities, which were completed by UNW-DPC since the last SPM meeting. Please refer to document UNW/ 2012/XVI/INF.3 for further information.

Decision 16: The SPM encourage UN-Water Members and Partners to visit, update and use the upgraded UNW-AIS at www.ais.unwater.org.

An introductory video on the main features of UNW-AIS is included in the information system (or available at http://www.ais.unwater.org/aisresources/videos/UNWAISp/UNWAISp.html). UN-Water Members and Partners are requested to provide the UNW-DPC team with feedback on the features of the information system; either using the online feedback form or directly via email ([email protected]). UN-Water Members and Partners are welcome to integrate their information systems into UNW-AIS according to the goal of creating a single entry point of access to water information.

http://www.ais.unwater.org/

http://www.ais.unwater.org/aisresources/videos/UNWAISp/UNWAISp.html


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3.1.7 UNW-DPAC Note: Please refer to documents UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.14, UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.15, and UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.16 for further information. Ms. Josefina Maestu introduced this item highlighting the achievements of UNW-DPAC. The Programme has done extensive work on “Green Economy” issues. There was a preparatory conference last year on Rio +20 themes that focused on results, practice, and lessons learned. A toolbox on best practices was created and has been included in the compilation document for Rio+20 as well as in the issues brief that Ms. Kaouakib-Robinson has prepared. On the Water for Life Prize, she noted that last year’s Prize was organized in collaboration with UN-Habitat and was titled “Water and cities,” this year’s theme is on “Water and food security.” There is a strong and on-going media programme, mainly focused on media for developing countries. The media programme seeks to empower journalists from developing countries to do their work better. Due to the inherent lack of access to resources or the capacity to check with each other and share information, journalists from developing countries are oftentimes challenged by lack of access to good sources of information. In this regard, UNW-DPAC promoted the creation of a blog for African journalists, providing a place for them to exchange information, share lessons learned and ultimately do their job better. Ms. Maestu underlined that the office has been running the UN-Water documentation centre which already provides a single entry point to UN-Water Members information on publications, videos, and other resources organised around the different priority themes selected by UN-Water, a presentation on this was to take place at the side event. The documentation centre is a joint project of UN-Water, which has introduced a number of new tools. (http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/gender.shtml) She proposed working closely with WWAP and UNW-DPC to coordinate their information activities as to align tasks with mandates of the different Programmes, according to the ToR of the Programmes. Ms. Maestu made a number of proposals in relation to future activities including the theme for the Water for Life Prize 2013 on Water Cooperation; the activities at the DWMF, WWW, Rio and World Water Forum.. The proposed composition of the Jury for the Water for Life Prize 2013 edition would be UNECE, UNDESA, and UNESCO. Ms. Maestu spoke of the report of a consultant who conducted an analysis of the office in the framework of the Decade and as part of UN-Water. The evaluation pointed at the need for all communication activities of UN-Water to merge and be located together to avoid confusion. Currently the communication manager works both for FAO and for UN-Water, potentially posing a conflict of interest. During interventions from the floor, Amanda Marlin endorsed the idea for the overall coordination on the theme throughout the year to be on water cooperation in support for the Year for Water Cooperation. Mr. Jarraud explained that the communication issues had already been discussed and will be dealt with by the Advisory Group that will make recommendations.

Decision 17:

a) The SPM agree that the 2012 UN-Water Water for Life Award theme will be on water cooperation (in preparation of the International Year of Water Cooperation, 2013 and the World Water Day 2013). The SPM agree that Jury members for the UN-Water Water for Life Award for 2012 should include UNECE, UNESCO and UN-DESA

b) The SPM welcome the activities of the documentation center and the joint collaboration of its Members as an example of the types of joint activities that improve access to Member’s resources. The SPM encourages Members to further collaborate with the documentation center.

http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/gender.shtml

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3.1.8 WWAP including the WWDR. Mr. Olcay Unver introduced this agenda item noting that the theme of the report is “risk and uncertainty” and includes a section on reporting from regions. The report is also gender mainstreamed. With regard to the Water Scenarios project, Mr. Unver noted that the second phase of the project was funded by Norway via the UN-Water IATF. This was supposed to be complementary to the funds that WWAP expected from the GEF, which did not materialize due to budget issues and change in priorities. WWAP has, however, been notified by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IASA) that they are willing to fund the next phase of the project and WWAP remains in close contact with IASA. The Director-General of UNESCO granted a substantial amount of funds on two occasions so that WWAP could continue its work. As a result of cash flow issues the Director-General of UNESCO is reconsidering the hosting arrangements and has recently communicated this to the donor country (Italy) and is expecting a response from the donor country. As a result of budget and cash flow issues WWAP will be involved only in Rio +20 and Stockholm. In Rio four new reports (WWAP reports) will be unveiled: one on messages of WWDR to Rio, one on green accounting (WWAP), one on water as a human right (coordinated with the World Water Council) and one on water resources scenarios. Three more reports will be unveiled in Stockholm. WWAP will continue its work with the Advisory Group that is looking at structure, periodicity and content of WWDR5 and beyond. The initial draft of the messages for the publication on Rio will be circulated to the Management Team to ensure coordination of messages. This has already been coordinated and agreed with Ms. Kenza Kaouakib-Robinson.

3.1.9 Coordination and coherence of UN-Water reports in 2012 Note: Please see documents UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.17, UNW/2012/XVI/6, UNW/2012/XVI/7, and UNW/2012/XVI/8 for further information. Ms. Stefanie Neno, UN-Water Communications Manager, introduced this item highlighting the need to present a coordinated communications approach. There has been progress on branding, but further work needs to be done on messaging.

Decision 18: The SPM endorse a vision for a coordinated approach in terms of messaging, branding, and visual representation.

3.1.10 Advisory Group on UN-Water publications Note: Please see background documents UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.18 and UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.19 for further information. Joakim Harlin introduced this item. He highlighted the immense number of responses received from the surveys that were conducted by the advisory group. Results indicate that readers have a different use for the reports than do Members. Mr. Harlin suggested producing a joint publication covering both surveys. He suggested that the group hold a meeting, possibly in May 2012, in Geneva, to discuss the way forward. Mr. Adeel noted that the intention of the WWDR when it was conceived around the time of the ACC Subcommittee was that it would be a living document that could be easily updated.

Decision 19: We endorse the process for the continuation of work of the advisory group and agree that a meeting will be held in May 2012 in Geneva to discuss the way forward.

3.1.11 Federated Water Monitoring System and Key Water Indicator Portal Note: Please refer to document UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.6 for further information.

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In introducing this item Ms. Karen Frenken expressed that the goal of the portal (http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm) is to unite all of the statistics that are being generated by all the UN-Water agencies into one federated database and to share this with all users. 3.2.1 UN-Water GLAAS Mr. Robert Bos mentioned that the 2012 GLAAS report is on schedule to be published before the Sanitation and Water for All High-Level Meeting which will take place in Washington DC on 20 April 2012. The report will feature data from at least sixty-five countries, an improvement from the last report, which contained data from fourty-two countries. There is better regional representation to include Latin America and the Caribbean and the Eastern Mediterranean countries.

Decision 20: a) The SPM recognise that GLAAS is a significant input and a contribution to the Sanitation and

Water for All (SWA) initiative and to the SWA High-Level. We therefore endorse that engagement and encourage the SWA Secretariat to ensure that both the findings of GLAAS are plugged into their dialogue as well as ensure that any policy feedback is channelled through UN-Water, not just to the GLAAS team. This operates under the understanding that UN-Water has to be made highly visible in this process.

b) The SPM agree that the GLAAS report will be launched in Geneva a week in advance of the SWA High-Level Meeting.

3.2.2 Task Force: Water Resources Management Report Note: Please refer to documents UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.25 and UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.26 for further information. Mr. Peter Koefoeld Bjørnsen thanked all Members and agencies that have made the report possible. The final draft report summarizes results from 134 countries in ninety pages. This was circulated to the SPM by email for a no objection approval for publication. Prior to that it was circulated to the Task Force for approval. The report will follow the guidelines for UN-Water reports. Since the report was formally requested by CSD 13 as an input into Rio+20 it is important that the report is able to have an impact to the Rio+20 process.

Decision 21: a) Assistance from UN-Water is requested by the SPM for the organization of a launching event at

the Rio+20 Conference in June 2012 in cooperation with UN-DESA and in accordance with the decision of CSD 13.

b) UN-Water is requested to consider follow-up activities under the Work Programme 2012-2013.

3.2.3 Analytical Brief on water security

Decision 22: a) The SPM request the recirculation of a revised working definition of Water Security to take into

account the input of other Members and Partners. This definition needs to be clearly articulated in the timeframe of two months.

b) The SPM will then approve the revised working definition and will consequently distribute it internally within UN-Water.

c) Upon acceptance of the working definition, UN-Water Members consequently ask UNU and UNESCAP as co-leaders of the Working Group on Water Security, to proceed with the development of an analytical brief that would include a highlight of issues and actions that could be taken by UN-Water, taking into consideration that this would be a UN-Water document, which would require review and approval by the SPM as a whole during and upon its completion.

d) This would also inter alia include actions and focus areas for UN-Water to follow-up on.

http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm

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3.3.1 Task Force: Regional Level Coordination Ms. Salmah Zakaria, presented this item which is jointly chaired by ESCAP and ESCWA. She mentioned that in November 2011 the Task Force received US$ 65,000.00 by the UN-Water IATF. A teleconference among the representatives of the five Regional Commissions was organized in early February 2012, where it was agreed that the focus of the assessment planned by the Task Force will be on regional co-ordination within each region, and inter-regional where necessary. UNW-DPC is invited to support the implementation of this assessment. This assessment should start no later than August 2012. 3.3.2 Task Force: Country Level Coordination and 3.3.3 WaterWiki Note: Please refer to the background brief, document UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.27 for further information. The Task Force, due to lack in human resource capacity, approached SIWI to request help. The collaborative workspace TeamWorks has been set up. Work is currently in progress to link TeamWorks with AIS and Water Wiki, with the intention to invite country teams to join this collaborative workspace. 3.3.4 UN-Water Country Briefs Please refer to documents UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.28, UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.29, UNW/2012/XVI/9, UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.30, UNW/2012/XVI/10, and UNW/2012/XVI/11 for further information. Some meeting participants expressed concern about the slow progress of this project. A small group (composed of Mr. Bert Diphoorn, Mr. Joakim Harlin, Ms. Josefina Maestu, Mr. Thomas Chiramba, Mr. John Harding) met with Ms. Frenken in the morning of the following day to discuss options and identify a way forward. At the breakfast meeting the following was agreed upon:

- Joakim Harlin will provide the project with the Member States’ responses to the survey for the UN-Water Rio+20 report.

- Meeting participants will propose names of “water economists” who could be contacted for possible consultancies or inputs to the project.

- A letter will be sent by the UN-Water Chair to the UN Country Teams in each of the 13 UN-Water Country Briefs countries to ask for in-country support to the project.

3.3.5 Global Water Operators Partnership Alliance (GWOPA) Please refer to document UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.55 for further information. The GWOPA Secretariat will be soon hosted outside UN HABITAT. There is the need to have more regular communication between GWOPA and UN-Water. Agenda Item 4: Strategic and emerging issues 4.1 How to engage more effectively with UN-Water Partners Ms. Kenza Kaouakib-Robinson introduced the agenda item highlighting the need to better engage Partners not only in the overall discussions of UN-Water, but also in allotting adequate time for that engagement in the actual meeting which takes place in Stockholm during the second half of the year. She proposed having three days for the Stockholm meeting. She underlined that Members could also explore the idea as well of asking Partners to participate in TPAs and TFs.

Highlighting the importance of transparency, several Members including Mr. Pasquale Steduto, Mr. Claudio Caponi, Mr. Bert Diphoorn, Mr. Robert Bos, Mr. Zafar Adeel, Mr. Reza Ardakanian, and Mr. Thomas Chiramba, stressed the

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need to better engage with Partners beyond just two meetings. With very little financial support, Partners oftentimes go out of their way to give substantive added value to what UN-Water is doing. Mr. Claudio Caponi, drew attention to the original TOR of the decision of HLCP to establish UN-Water, where UN-Water was asked to engage with Partners progressively. He noted that Members could find other options for closed meetings. He underscored that Partners were against a selective engagement and urged that having a more participatory session with Partners would allow for an enhanced discussion and more effective follow-up. He suggested that Partners could contribute during the meeting without having a right to vote.

Decision 23:

a) The SPM decide to keep the composition of the first UN-Water bi-annual meeting as it is currently: Members only.

b) The SPM further decide that the second meeting of the year which is usually held in Stockholm, should avoid the Sunday before the Stockholm World Water Week. This meeting would be composed of Members and Partners. A closed Members’ meeting can take place, with a specific time allotted to it, in case there is a need for private discussion of issues of relevance only to Members.

c) Before the second meeting of the year, the UN-Water Partners are invited proactively to submit issues for discussion at the meeting.

d) An agenda item will be included for discussion during the Seventeenth meeting of UN-Water, on how to better engage Partners not only in the meeting but also substantively with regard to other items and activities. In this regard, Partners are invited to submit issues for discussion at the meeting.

4.2 Collaboration with UN-Water/Africa Ms. Kenza Kaouakib-Robinson introduced the agenda item. She underscored that UN-Water/Africa was working well, making huge contributions to the dialogue on Water in the African region especially as it pertains to the current crisis in the horn of Africa. She emphasized that AMCOW was also doing great work in the area of Water. Ms. Robinson pointed out that UN-Water/Africa was an example of a well-functioning regional arrangement that could serve as an example for other regions that wish to go in that direction. She underlined the need to increase work with Africa; a continent of great political and economic developmental importance reflected on high-level agendas including those of the Secretary-General.

Decision 24: Keeping in mind the terms outlined in the UN-Water operational guidelines and UN-Water Terms of Reference, as well as the desire to increase regional coordination, the SPM decide that a separate category for regional arrangements will be included in our contact list and in our operations. UN-Water/Africa will be invited to our SPM meetings as usual.

Note: Max Donkor reported after the meeting that UN Water/Africa is in transition and UN Habitat represented by Mr. Daniel Adom has been elected the new Chair of UN Water/Africa. UNICEF, UNESCO, UNEP will serve as Vice Chairs (with specific areas of responsibility) and UNECA will continue hosting the Secretariat.

4.3 UN-Water in the governance of the Water Decade Note: Please refer to document UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.31 for further information. Ms. Josefina Maestu presented the main outcomes and recommendations of the report requested by the SPM in Stockholm concerning governance of UN-Water in the framework of the Water Decade. The report of the consultant highlighted/recommended that:

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a) In the report of the Secretary-General document A/60/1582 of 2005 SG report, a number of agencies put forth

commitments and through the presentation of a plan of action, designated UN-Water as the governance mechanism to carry out those commitments.

b) UN-Water Members committed to actions during the decade and are hence not restricted to those of the two decade programmes.

c) There is an overlap of goals and actors between UN-Water and the Water Decade. d) That the decade logo should be used with the UN-Water logo and made a number of reporting

recommendations from now to the end of the decade. During interventions from the floor, Mr. Steduto and Ms. Marlin advised against multiple logo use.

Decision 25: a) The SPM decide that the report of the consultant on the Water Decade will be used as an internal

guidance note providing feedback and guidance to UN-Water Members and Partners in preparation for the close of the decade.

b) Ms. Maestu is tasked with drafting a concrete proposal on how to produce the final report of the Water for Life Decade and present it at the next UN-Water meeting to be held in Stockholm in August 2012.

4.4 Interaction with "Friends of Water" Group For a timetable and further information please refer to documents UNW/2012/XVI/12, and UNW/2012/XVI/13 Ms. Kenza Kaouakib-Robinson introduced this item stressing that UN-Water values the engagement of Member States especially recognizing that they are very active in revitalizing issues pertaining to water leading up to the Rio negotiations. The first meeting of this very informal group took place on 19 December 2011 and was convened by Tajikistan, as they were the first to launch the "Friends of Water". It was decided then that since Tajikistan and Japan are the two Member States initiating most of the resolutions to the General Assembly that Japan would lead the northern group and Tajikistan the southern group. Tajikistan, Hungary, Thailand and Finland have additionally formed a steering group. Functionally, there is a monthly meeting and thematic discussions for which outside experts are invited. The group is devising clear language and recommendations to be included in the Rio outcome. Ms. Kaouakib-Robinson concluded that the number of participants in the "Friends of Water" group is continually increasing to include representation from SIDS and more African countries between Egypt and South Africa. Mr. Zafar Adeel noted that the group strategically allows UN-Water an insight into how Member States are thinking. It creates an interface between UN-Water and Member States, which has so far been missing. UN-Water could use the group as a mechanism to influence policy processes coming out through Member States. It can be used to clarify throughout the UN System including the intergovernmental processes, what UN-Water is and what it is not.

There is often a risk that General Assembly resolutions impose activities on UN-Water that UN-Water cannot practically implement. In this sense UN-Water has to make it very clear that it is not an organization, nor a funding mechanism and the friends of water group provides an opportunity to integrate UN-Water messages and streamline it through the UN System. The relationship with the group need not be underemphasized.

Mr. Adeel noted with appreciation the partnership with UNSGAB and also recognized the very hard and diligent work Ms. Kaouakib-Robinson has done in rounding up Member States and in meeting up with the delegates informing them

2 A/60/158 “Actions taken in organizing the activities of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, 2005-2015- Report of the Secretary-General of 25th July 2005

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of UN-Water’s work. He noted that it was difficult to quantify, but urged that UN-Water should give her recognition for that. The group has also directly engaged with agencies such as UNDP.

Decision 26: a) UN-Water sees value in engaging with Member States and that the "Friends of Water" Group is a

mechanism for which we can both provide inputs into various processes including Rio +20 and is also a mechanism from which we can receive feedback on our activities and the support they require UN-Water to provide.

b) The UN-Water Secretary should continue to engage with "Friends of Water" on behalf of UN-Water with periodic reporting back to the SPM.

4.5 Interaction with UN CEB/HLCP, UN-Energy and UN-Oceans (Please note that this item will be readdressed at the next UN-Water meeting.) Mr. Thomas Stelzer gave a brief synopsis of the history and functioning of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), the former Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) which consists of twenty nine (29) principles of the UN system and is made up of three pillars; the High Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) the High level Committee on Management (HLCM) and the United Nations Development Group (UNDG) that all work throughout the entire year and the work of these three committees then feed into the CEB. (See http://www.unsceb.org/ceb/home for further information). He noted that all three bodies have subcommittees, etc. With regard to structure, UN-Water was created by HLCP as was UN-Energy and UN-Oceans.

Concerning the relationship of UN-Water to the CEB Mr. Stelzer recognized that all subcommittees have their own personalities, yet there are similarities and differences. On the basis of reports UN-Water does outreach, advocacy, corporate work, communication with a number of stakeholders, etc. What most interests CEB is how UN-Water cooperates with the CEB and with other UN system organizations and institutions including UNSGAB. It is important to use the HLCP and CEB to amplify UN-Water messages into the UN system through the Secretary-General.

Mr. Stelzer stressed that people are not yet aware that Rio+20 might be the most important conference of our generation; an opportunity to get things right. How do we conceptualize an economy, which can grow to provide opportunities but at the same time conserve its natural resources base and reduce social inequality for a more inclusive development? He stated that people are calling it the green economy right now, but emphasized that there are a lot of countries in the South who feel they will be paying again for this green economy.

One hundred fifty heads of state came to COP15 in Copenhagen, knowing that there would be hardly any deliverable. This was due to successful advocacy work on the part of the Secretary-General and the call from civil society for deliverables from Member States. The issues are so multilayered and so interconnected that they cannot be subsumed under one sector or one department. Concretely environment is not so high on the agenda, especially since upcoming national elections and leadership changes around the world pose a difficult situation.

Mr. Jarraud expressed the desire to explore the possibility of having a thematic breakfast on water at the CEB as was done with oceans.

Decision 27: Keeping in mind the urgency to deliver concrete contributions to the HLCP, the SPM decide to convene a small task team for the input into the intergovernmental Rio+20 process (i.e. by 12 March 2012). The task team will be headed by Zafar Adeel and composed of Pasquale Steduto, Joakim Harlin, Thomas Chiramba, and Carlos Carrion Crespo.

Important points to consider by the task team:

(a) Water quality, (b) Integrated Water Resource Management, (c) Feedback on the findings of the report, (d) Wastewater reuse/management, (e) Monitoring and reporting of UN-Water, (f)

http://www.unsceb.org/ceb/home

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water as a human right, (g) progressive realization of universal access for all to water and sanitation, (h) water in the green economy.

UN-Energy/ UN-Oceans

In an effort to increase collaboration and coordination in the work of sister mechanisms UN-Oceans and UN-Energy, UN-Water made provisions to have a teleconference during its Senior Programme Managers’ meeting via Skype with Mr. Andrew Hudson of UN-Oceans and Mr. Ivan Vera of UN-Energy to discuss thematic areas for future collaboration. Due to technical issues in the functioning of equipment, the Skype conference did not take place.

During a brainstorming session, Members discussed possible areas where collaborative efforts could be expounded on. These included: increased focus on the bottom billion; joint provisioning of water, energy and sanitation; governance, information sharing and exchange, coastal zones, groundwater in SIDS, intrusion of saltwater into freshwater streams; hydropower; thermal power, etc. Mr. Bert Diphoorn noted that at the Global Land and Oceans Conference3 there was an idea that UN-Oceans and UN-Water could jointly work out a Terms of Reference with regards to a taskforce. The proposals from UN-Oceans will be discussed in the Stockholm meeting to take place in the summer of 2012. Organizations have already shown interest in this taskforce namely, UNEP, UNHABITAT and UNDP. A similar dialogue to that of the Water, Food and Energy Nexus conference, which took place in Bonn in November 2011, could again be undertaken with UN-Energy in order to highlight thematic areas and forge a common strategy for Rio.

Mr. Hudson, in a note distributed during the SPM meeting, expressed that the recently completed Global Land and Oceans Conference, held in conjunction with GPA IGR-4 in Manila, held a session focused on exploring ideas for UN-Oceans/Water cooperation. He stated that the session recognized the major role land-based sources, particularly those transported by rivers, impact our coastal areas, and highlighted the proven utility of IWRM as a tool for management of freshwater resources, and of ICM for management of coastal resources, but to date there has been limited experience in integrating and coordinating these two approaches. He mentioned that this in turn has lessened the overall impact of implementing the GPA. He underscored that the session recognized the important role GEF has played in financing IWRM, ICM and GPA-related activities over the last 20 years.

In the same note, Mr. Hudson underlined two other areas he thought came to mind when looking at the linkages between fresh water and oceans. Namely: 1. Nutrient over enrichment in the oceans, and 2. Reduced freshwater flows to coastal zone ecosystems dependent on these flows for water, nutrients, and sediments. He went on to point out that, notably, both the recent UN interagency publications “Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability” and “Green Economy in a Blue World” highlight the nutrients issue and the need for a paradigm shift in how nutrients are managed, in the fertilizer, agriculture and wastewater management sectors. He stated that this, in his opinion, was a ripe area for possible cooperation between UN-Oceans and UN-Water. He underlined that similarly, there may be entry points for cooperation on the issue of reduced freshwater flows; for example, the UNDP/GEF Orange/Sengu River basin and Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem projects are cooperating in a study looking at the impacts of reduced Orange/Sengu flows on the Benguela ecosystem.

Decision 28: a) The SPM decide that a meeting should take place on an annual basis between the three Chairs of

the three mechanisms.

3 In a note distributed during the afternoon session of the first day’s SPM meeting, .Mr. Andrew Hudson mentioned that the session conducted a ranking among participants of top areas for collaboration between UN-Water and UN-Oceans; ecosystem management and climate change were the highest ranked and ecosystem management was selected as the area for initial action, specifically the area of payment for ecosystem services. The UN-Water Vice-Chair and the UN-Oceans Deputy Coordinators agreed to follow up on the concept and to use the UNEP/GEF Blue Forest project as one among possible other platforms to advance the cooperation.

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b) Taking into mind HLCP’s decision to establish UN-Water as the inter-agency mechanism for follow-up of the WSSD water-related decision and the MDG concerning freshwater and sanitation, recognizing the need to deliver as one for the sustainable management of the earth’s natural resources, UN-Water decides to strengthen its engagement with CEB/HLCP. Bearing in mind the guiding principles and functions, established by HLCP and the strategic need to increase dialogue, as highlighted in the UN-Water Terms of Reference, further decides that UN-Water should submit reports to HLCP/CEB on an annual basis and follow-up in that regard.

c) Welcoming the participation of sister mechanisms UN-Energy and UN-Oceans4 in our 16th meeting, recognizing the need for increased collaborative efforts between UN-Water, UN-Energy and UN-Oceans, the SPM invite the UN-Water Secretary to lead the development of a work plan in collaboration with the UN-Water Members and the Management Team on concrete actions aimed at enhancing co-ordination on water, oceans, and energy avoiding duplication of work where possible.

4.6 Conclusions of Donor Dialogue 2011 Mr. Federico Properzi, Chief Technical Adviser presented the conclusions of the UN-Water Donor Dialogue 2011. Please refer to document UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.32 for further information. 4.7 UN-Water Annual Report 2011 Note: Please refer document UNW/2012/XVI/15 for further information.

Decision 29:

a) The SPM approve the revised Annual Report outline and commit to the timely submission of the necessary information to finalise the report by April 2012.

b) The SPM task the Technical Advisory Unit to develop a draft for approval and finalisation, as usual.

4.8 UN-Water Strategy to 2020

Decision 30: a) Under the leadership of the Chair, the Technical Advisory Unit is tasked with leading the

development of the UN-Water Strategy to 2020. The draft UN-Water Strategy to 2020 will be shared with UN-Water for comments. The revised draft will thus be presented to the donors at the next Donor Dialogue.

b) To speed up the development of the UN-Water Strategy to 2020, US$ 10,000 will be allocated for this purpose and will be derived from the UN-Water core budget.

Agenda Item 5: Work Programme 2012-2013 5.1 Results-Oriented Frameworks and Indicative Budget Note: Please refer to the background brief for further information. In view of the current budgetary situation and forecast, the approval of the UN-Water indicative budget for 2012-2013 was postponed for discussion during the next UN-Water meeting. The importance of items such as sanitation, wastewater, water quality, regional and country level coordination, etc. were noted and budget allocations would be discussed at the next UN-Water meeting in Stockholm.

4 Please refer to document UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.57, Andrew Hudson’s briefing notes distributed at the meeting.

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To ensure essential UN-Water operations, the following decisions were taken.

Decision 31: a) The budget of the fixed costs for 2012 is approved as presented by the Chief Technical Adviser. A

final version of this budget will be circulated to all Members and Partners. b) The priority items for core budget allocations until next UN-Water meeting:

1. Rio+20. 2. UN- Strategy to 2020 3. World Water Day 4. Advisory Group on UN-Water publications

c) The SPM task the CTA with the creation of matrix and metrics analysis to enable decisions in Stockholm.

d) The SPM ask the TPA and TF to review their work-plans and budgets to be submitted to the JSG. e) The SPM further decide that the JSG has the authority to make decisions on budget allocations

until the next UN-Water meeting to take place in August 2012.

Decision 32: The SPM decide that a resource mobilization strategy needs to be developed. 5.2 Next steps for the approval of the Work Programme

Decision 33: The SPM agree that the next steps for the approval of the Work Programme are as follows: 1. February 2012: UN-Water Members and Programmes to submit all inputs to the Work

Programme. 2. March 2012: Technical Advisory Unit to produce the draft Work Programme. 3. April 2012: UN-Water Members to review and approve, by email.

Agenda Item 6: Calendar of events 2012 6.1 16th African Water Association (AfWA) Congress

Note: Please refer to background documentation for further information. Further information on the 16thAfWA Congress can be found at www.afwamarrakech2012.org Further information on the “Safe use of Wastewater in Agriculture” Project can be found at http://www.ais.unwater.org/ais/course/view.php?id=6

The last bi-annual Congress took place in Kampala, Uganda for which ten Members and Partners including the Chair of UN-Water participated. The Sixteenth Congress takes place in Marrakesh on the 21st and 22nd February 2012.At the Stockholm World Water Week 2012, a UN-Water Seminar on “Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture” has been requested by FAO, WHO, UNEP, UNU, ICID, IWMI, and UNW-DPC for which the outputs of regional workshops in Africa and Asia will be presented and discussed.

6.2 Launch of JMP 2012 report

Decision 34: UN-Water Members and Partners are asked to support in the dissemination of the JMP report.

6.3 6th World Water Forum Note: Please refer to documents UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.35, UNW/2012/XVI/18, UNW/2012/XVI/19, UNW/2012/XVI/20, UNW/2012/XVI/21 for further information.

http://www.afwamarrakech2012.org/

http://www.ais.unwater.org/ais/course/view.php?id=6

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Decision 35: The SPM hereby approve a UN-Water presence in the exhibition space of the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille. All efforts will be made to ascertain cost reductions. All Members and Partners are urged to send activity updates to Ulrike Kelm of DPAC as soon as possible.

6.4 Launch of World Water Development Report

Decision 36: UN-Water Member agencies are requested to support the distribution of the WWDR report through their respective field and other program offices to enable a wide distribution.

6.5 World Water Day There is a website and promotional material dedicated to the World Water Day. The logo is available in several languages and social media is very active in promoting the day. Mr. Pasquale Steduto explained that he expected to have a video message from the SG and that there is coordination with the UN-Water Secretary on this. Ms. Josefina Maestu explained the types of support and actions by DPAC for the world water day 2012 including the preparation of a reader and a web page on water and food security and an information brief on water and agriculture in the green economy (compiled from information of UN-Water Members). In collaboration with DPAC, the Communications Manager and the CTA, a draft communication strategy of the World Water Day was prepared. This draft annex will be circulated to all for comments and action. 6.6 Launch of UN-Water GLAAS 2012

Decision 37: The launch of the GLAAS report will take place in Geneva on 12 April 2012. The Chair of UN-Water will be in attendance. Noting that the United Nations Secretary-General will be in Geneva in the afternoon, WHO and Mr. Stelzer will follow up with the Secretary-General’s office to explore the possibility of having the SG present during the launch.

6.7 Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting 2012 The event is scheduled to take place on 20 April 2012. It is not a UN-Water initiative. SWA comprises of 35 developing countries and donors. The GLAAS report is an important input to the SWA High Level Meeting. Additionally, there is other input coming from JMP and country status overviews. HLM is a choreographed three-hour session where the bulk of the time is given to the ministerial discussion with very little interventions. The SWA chair former president of Ghana chairs it. UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake will serve as the convenor. The Vice President in his role as host will likely represent the World Bank. His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange has been invited to present the status of the sector and we fully expect him to draw on material from JMP and GLAAS.

6.8 IFAT ENTSORGA Note: Please refer to document UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.37 for further information. Members are asked to give a final confirmation of individual contributions from UN-Water Members and Partners and names of individuals who can attend IFAT in order to confirm participant lists and logistical information in Munich, including hotels. The event will take place on Wednesday May 7, 2012 in Munich. There will be a launch of a publication related to water and the green economy at the event. During interventions from the floor, Ms. Maestu welcomed the opportunity of the Fair for outreach and communication action of UN-Water in such an important event and asked about the element of capacity development. She asked UN-Water to discuss on criteria for participating in other such fairs. There are some in other locations including one that takes place in Zaragoza in March (SMAGUA).

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6.9 Launch of the Rio+20 report and 6.10 Rio+20 Summit Note: Please refer to the document UNW/2012/CRP.37 for further information. Also see document UNW/2012/XVI/INF.3 (This would be the document circulated by Reza during the meeting.) In terms of messaging, it was stressed by several Members that focus should be on wastewater, management of water resources, monitoring and reporting, water as a human right, progressive realisation of universal access to water and sanitation. Mr. Stelzer mentioned that there would be a CEB side event where all UN principles will be participating and would be an opportunity for the Chair to take the floor and to give a message on water. He stressed that this will get more press than any other side event. He suggested that the task team on input for Rio should come up with some real deliverables to be ready for the HLCP meeting, which will be held on March 19th. There should be a push to have decision makers with a coordinating function present in Rio.

Decision 38: The SPM decide that a working group on the UN-Water participation at Rio+20 (i.e. the water day) will be composed of Bert Diphoorn (lead), Joakim Harlin, Thomas Chiramba and François Guerquin.

6.11 Next UN-Water Meeting Decision 39: The next UN-Water meeting will take place in Stockholm, for three days from Thursday 23 to Saturday 25 August 2012.

6.12 Stockholm World Water Week

Decision 40: As per the MOU signed between UN-Water and SIWI, in support of the International Year for Water Cooperation, the SPM decide that the traditional event on next year’s World Water Day will be on water cooperation.

6.13 Biennial IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition Decision 41: The SPM decide that UN-Water will not engage with this event.

6.14 Zaragoza Conference Note: Please refer to document UNW/2012/XVI/CRP.44 for further information.

Decision 42: a) The SPM hereby approve the theme of the Zaragoza Conference to be about 2013, the Year of

International Water Cooperation, as outlined by UNW-DPAC. b) For this Conference, the SPM hereby encourage UNW-DPAC to work closely with the UN-Water

entities involved in 2013, the Year of International Water Cooperation.

7.1 Adoption of decisions The summary table of decisions, which were adopted at the meeting, is included in Annex IV. 8. Closure of the Meeting In closing the meeting Mr. Jarraud, Mr. Diphoorn and Ms. Kaouakib-Robinson thanked all Members for their participation and contributions to a very fruitful discussion and expressed their gratitude to the Zaragoza office and the host country for the welcoming reception and for hosting the meeting.

Report of the 17th UN-Water Meeting

23 – 25 August 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden

Thursday, 23 August 2012

1. Opening Session

The UN-Water Chair opened the Meeting and gave the floor to the host, Mr. Torgny Holmgren, Ambassador and Head of the Department for Development Policy at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Reminding Members of the most significant current and future water-related challenges, Mr. Holmgren stressed the importance of UN-Water and underlined the need to carry its work forward.

In his opening remarks, the Chair warmly thanked the Swedish Government for its strong support to UN-Water. Referring to the outcomes of the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille and Rio +20 - the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) in Rio de Janeiro, he highlighted that significant progress had been made in recent months. UN-Water now needs to build on this momentum to meet the high expectations of Member States. The association of recent extreme weather-related events with rising food prices had contributed to further raise the profile of water on the international agenda.

The Chair reported back from the Joint Steering Group (JSG) Meetings, including fundraising and personnel matters. He informed Members about his presentation on UN-Water activities to the UN Chief Executive Board (CEB) and pointed out that the Secretary General’s commitment to the challenge of water was strong. The Chair warmly welcomed new participants and invited them to present themselves briefly. The agenda of the 17th Meeting [Document no. 1.1] was adopted.

2. Implementation of Past Decisions

The UN-Water Chair provided an update on the implementation of past decisions that were agreed at the 16th UN-Water Meeting in Zaragoza. Among others, he noted that he has been in regular contact with the Chair of UN-Energy in the context of the CEB.

3. UN-Water Governance

Members were invited to discuss and take decisions regarding UN-Water’s governance.

3.1 Rotation in the Joint Steering Group

UN-Water’s Operational Guidelines stipulate that elected JSG members serve for a period of two years. At the 16th UN-Water Meeting, Members postponed the election of two new JSG members to replace outgoing JSG members Mr. David Coates and Mr. Pasquale Steduto to the 17th UN-Water Meeting.

The SPM elected Mr. Stephen Donkor (UNECA) and Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal (IAEA) as members of the JSG. They warmly thanked Mr. David Coates and Mr. Pasquale Steduto for their valuable contribution the work of the JSG.

Decision 1: The SPM elect Mr. Stephen Donkor (UNECA) and Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal (IAEA) to serve on the JSG for a period of two years until the 21stUN-Water Meeting in 2014.

Final Version 1 February 2013

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The SPM warmly thank Mr. David Coates and Mr. Pasquale Steduto for their years of service in the JSG.

3.2 Report of the Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications

At the last UN-Water Meeting in Zaragoza, the SPM created an Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications coordinated by Mr. Pasquale Steduto. The Group looked into the most effective future arrangements for UN-Water communications, in view of streamlining communications activities, avoiding possible inefficiencies, having clear responsibilities, and strengthening the UN-Water Technical Advisory Unit (TAU).

Mr. Pasquale Steduto reported back from a Meeting of the Advisory Group in Rome and presented the objectives of the report on UN-Water communications [Document no. 3.2], its elaboration process and underlying methodology. The report proposes two alternative models of communication governance for consideration by the SPM: a “federated” system coordinated by the UN-Water Communications Manager (scenario no. 1) vs. a “centralized” system coordinated by UNW- DPAC (scenario no. 2).

Acknowledging that each option had its advantages and disadvantages, the SPM chose scenario no. 1. The Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications was mandated to further refine this scenario, as well as to assess its implications by the next SPM Meeting.

To complement this decision, the SPM established a Publication Committee that will be responsible for the overall coordination of the main UN-Water publications. The Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications has been mandated to develop draft TOR for this Committee and make a proposal regarding its composition by the 18th SPM Meeting.

Decision 2: The SPM approve in principle scenario no. 1 described in the Report of the Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications [document 3.2]. The Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications will further refine this scenario, as well as assess its implications by the 18th SPM Meeting.

The SPM establish a Publication Committee that is responsible for the overall coordination of the main UN-Water publications. The Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications will develop draft TOR and propose the composition of the Committee by the 18th SPM Meeting.

3.3 UN-Water set of Terms of Reference and related documents

Further to the decisions made at the 16th UN-Water Meeting, the final draft set of UN-Water Terms of Reference were submitted to the SPM for approval. After introducing a couple of minor changes, the SPM adopted the UN-Water TOR (see Annex 1).

Decision 3: The SPM adopt the UN-Water TOR as attached to the 17th Meeting report. The TOR are considered a living document that will be revisited on a regular basis.

3.4 UN-Water membership and partnership applications

The SPM considered the membership application of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as well four applications for partnership, based on the JSG’s recommendations.

Decision 4: The SPM welcome the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as new UN-Water Member. The SPM request the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform OHCHR.


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Decision 5: The SPM reject the application of Support to Deprived Peoples (SDP) and Public Services Institute as UN-Water Partners. The SPM request the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicants.

Decision 6: The SPM welcome Water.org and IGRAC as UN-Water Partners. The SPM request the UN- Water Secretary to officially inform the applicants.

In the ensuing discussion, Members identified the need to better define UN-Water engagement and partnership strategy, based on a previous assessment of Partner’s activities and to maintain a priority focus on the UN membership.

Decision 7: Recognizing the need to better define the roles and responsibilities of Partners, the SPM task the Management Team to prepare an assessment of the UN-Water-related activities of Partners by the end of 2012.

The SPM furthermore establish a Working Group on Partners’ Engagement coordinated by Ms. Francesca Bernardini. Members include Ms. Josefina Maestu, Mr. Reza Ardakanian, Mr. Zafar Adeel, Mr. Bert Diphoorn and Mr. Carlos Carrión-Crespo. The Working Group will establish:

• guidelines on the role of Partners and their expected contributions to the work of UN-Water, based on UN-Water Terms of Reference and experience with cooperation with Partners to date, including the detailed survey of Partners completed by UN-Water in 2011.

• guidelines on how UN-Water can improve the way it engages Partners, including regular communication, work of TPAs and TFs, advocacy work and other possible joint activities.

4. TPA and TF’s Related Issues

The UN-Water Chair introduced this item by presenting his understanding of the differences between Thematic Priority Areas (TPAs) and Task Forces (TFs): while both are overseen by the SPM, TPAs have longer time horizons in contrast to TFs which are limited in time. Noting that their coordination has represented a challenge in the past and that their reporting lines could be improved, he suggested to reflect in the future the modus operandi of TPAs and TFs in UN-Water’s Operational Guidelines.

Members established an Advisory Group on TPAs and TFs that has been mandated to develop recommendations on the overall TPAs and TFs architecture by the 18th SPM Meeting.

Decision 8: The SPM establish an Advisory Group on TPAs and TFs coordinated by the UN-Water Vice- Chair. Members include Mr. Stephen Donkor, Mr. Claudio Caponi and Mr. Thomas Chiramba. The Advisory Group will make recommendations to the 18th SPM Meeting on the overall TPA and TF architecture.

4.1 Proposals for the Establishment of New Task Forces:

Members were invited to consider proposals for the establishment of new Task Forces.

4.1.1 Task Force on Water Scarcity and related issues

Mr. Pasquale Steduto (FAO) recalled the history of the work previously done in UN-Water on the subject of water scarcity.


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Mr. Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu (UNCCD) and Mr. Reza Ardakanian (UNW-DPC) informed Members about the progress made in building collaboration between the UNCCD Secretariat and UNW-DPC in view of building capacity at national level for the purposes of developing national drought management policies. The initiative is expected to dove-tail into the outcomes of the planned High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP) that will be held on 11-15 March 2013 in Geneva under the auspices of the UNCCD Secretariat and WMO.

Several Members highlighted the relevance of the issues of droughts and water scarcity to their own agency and expressed interest in collaborating. Members agreed that this matter shall be revisited at the next SPM Meeting.

Decision 9: The SPM recognize the importance to develop capacity at the national level for establishing national drought management policies. The question whether to establish a Task Force or TPA on Water Scarcity shall be discussed at the 18th SPM Meeting.

4.1.2 Task Force on Water Security

Mr. Zafar Adeel (UNU) presented the proposal to convert the Working Group on Water Security into a Task Force on Water Security. Building on current efforts to establish a “working definition” on water security, the primary aim of such a Task Force would be to produce an Analytical Brief that reflects the collective thinking of the UN on the issue. The Analytical Brief would identify areas on which the UN should focus its efforts and where further coordination is needed. Mr. Adeel furthermore presented the suggested TF’s draft work plan and budget. A first milestone would be UN-Water’s participation in a side event organized by the United States of America at the UN General Assembly on 25 September 2012. The Analytical Brief would be launched on 22 March 2013 at the World Water Day (WWD) and additional dissemination activities would take place in the following months. It is expected that the TF will end its activities by the end of 2013.

Members expressed their full support to this initiative and decided to convert the Working Group into a Task Force.

Decision 10: The SPM agree to convert the Working Group on Water Security into a Task Force on Water Security. The Task Force will be co-chaired by UNU and UNESCAP and will undertake the development and production of an Analytical Brief with contributions from UN-Water Members and Partners, to be launched at WWD 2013. The Analytical Brief will include the elaboration of a working definition of water security and will outline coordinated policy measures and actions. The Task Force will also coordinate the engagement of UN-Water in an upcoming side event on Global Water Security at the UNGA 2012.

4.1.3 Task Force on Capacity Development for Water Operators

Mr. Daniel Adom (UN-HABITAT/GWOPA) presented the proposal to establish a Task Force on Capacity Development for Water Operators. The work of the Task Force would focus on strengthening capacity at the water operator level in the framework of the guiding principles of solidarity-based peer-to-peer cooperation approaches. The Task Force would capitalize upon UN-Water Members’ and Partners’ work with regard to public utilities responsible for water supply and sanitation services. Priority will be given to water operators in poor countries and in regions with a lack of systematic exchange of know-how and expertise. Mr. Adom underlined that the intention is not to create something new, but to consolidate already existing material by providing a one-stop-shop for water utilities seeking to develop their capacity. The mandate of the Task Force will be limited to two years and its proposed budget is relatively modest.


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In the ensuing discussion, Members agreed that putting together existing materials for water operators would provide an added value to the sector and supported the proposal to create a new Task Force on Capacity Development for Water Operators. It was highlighted that the UN-Water Activity Information System (UNW-AIS) should be the online platform for this initiative.

Decision 11a: The SPM endorse the proposal to establish a Task Force on Capacity Development for Water Operators, led by UN-HABITAT/GWOPA.

Decision 11b: The newly established Advisory Group on TPAs and TFs will look at how the TPA on Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation could act as “overall umbrella“ to the Task Force on Capacity Development for Water Operators.

4.2 Proposal to change leadership within the TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation

Ms. Cecilia Sharp (UNICEF) indicated her Organization’s desire to step down from the leadership role provided to the TPA. In a further discussion at the end of the meeting, UNU and UN-Habitat proposed to take on this leadership role for the TPA on Drinking Water Supply and Basic Sanitation.

Decision 12: UNU and UN-HABITAT will coordinate the TPA on Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation.

The SPM gratefully acknowledge and thank UNICEF for its coordination role played till this 17th UN-Water Meeting.

4.3 Membership on TPAs and TFs

The Management Team highlighted the importance of keeping the TPAs’ and TFs’ members lists up-to-date, as well as of keeping the Management Team informed of TPAs’ and TFs’ activities and products.

Decision 13: The members of the Technical Advisory Unit are ex officio members of each TPA / TF and of the Working / Advisory Groups. The Advisory Group on TPAs and TFs will make a proposal on how to best keep the contact lists up-do-date.

5. Proposals for UN-Water Actions in Relation to the Water Decade

The International Decade for Action "Water for Life" 2005-2015 is based on a decision by the UN General Assembly in 2003. Ms. Josefina Maestu presented a progress report on activities implemented under the Decade. She pointed out that all water-related activities undertaken by UN-agencies are de facto contributing to the Decade and asked the SPM if this should be reflected in the report summarizing the achievements of the Decade. Ms. Maestu furthermore emphasized that the Rio+20 outcome document contains a reference to the Decade and proposed a number of recommendations on how to advance the Decade’s agenda.

Members agreed that the UN-Water report on the achievements of the Decade should be prepared by the three Programmes based on inputs from Members and Partners. They also suggested that the three Programmes should make a proposal on additional activities that UN-Water may take to the end of the Decade.

Decision 14: The SPM decide to delegate to the three Programmes with the support of interested SPM Members to:

• prepare the UN-Water report on the achievements on the Water for Life Decade for Action, on the basis of the contribution of Members and Partners;


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• prepare proposals for the 18th SPM Meeting on additional activities that UN-Water may take to the end of the Decade, specifically those to support Member States and logo users.

6. World Water Development Report Structure and Work Plan

Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP) presented briefly the recommendations of the Advisory Group (AG) on UN-Water Publications. These include among others to develop a comprehensive publishing / graphical profile guide for UN-Water publications and to print the UN-Water visual identifier on UN-Water reports’ front- and back covers. The contributing organizations would be only mentioned on the inside covers or at the end of the report. Given that UN-Water is not a legal entity, the host organization in question would hold the copy right on behalf of UN-Water.

Members adopted the recommendations of the Advisory Group on UN-Water Publications.

Decision 15a: The SPM adopt the recommendations of the Advisory Group on UN-Water Publications:

“The AG recommends that a comprehensive publishing / graphical profile guide for UN-Water publications is developed to ensure a similar look and feel for all UN-Water publications.

The AG further recommends that only the UN-Water visual identifier is printed on UN-Water report’s front- and back covers; in combination with a disclaimer on the inside cover. Logos of contributing organizations, or ideally only a listing of them, should be printed on the inside cover or at the end of the report. (…)

A letter from the Chair of UN-Water to the heads of relevant agencies to this effect is recommended.

The AG recommends that a publications committee is initiated with the responsibility for overall coordination of the main UN-Water publications. This group could consist of a number of advisors (representing UN-Water Members, Programmes, Management Team and Partners) and should ensure harmonization of UN-Water reports contents, messaging and outreach and take into account the timing of reports, also beyond UN-Water, so that long and shorter-term publications complement each other and are released at timely intervals.

The publications committee (or group) should also keep track of individual agency reports in the pipeline as well as possible thematic- or geographic gaps to ensure maximum coordination and pro-active action to cover important but unaddressed topics.”

Reporting back from a workshop held on 22 August 2012, Mr. Olcay Ünver, Coordinator of the World Water Assessment Programme, presented the improved structure, work plan and process of the next edition of the World Water Development Report (WWDR) which will now be published on an annual basis.

Mr. Ünver presented the proposed criteria for the selection of themes and informed Members that the overarching theme that has been suggested for the 2014 WWDR was “Water and Energy”. This is a timely subject considering the current “nexus context” and represents an opportunity for UN-Water to collaborate more closely with UN-Energy.

Discussions centered on i) the process of identification of the lead agency and contributors, ii) the need to adequately communicate the changes regarding the WWDR to a wider public iii) the question whether the


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selection of the theme for World Water Day should be aligned to the WWDR, iv) as well as how to ensure a certain flexibility in the selection of theme in order to adapt to and influence global policy discussions.

Decision 15b: The SPM approve the WWDR’s proposed generic structure, work plan and amended criteria for the selection of themes. The first edition of the restructured WWDR will be released in 2014.

The WWDR overarching theme for 2014 will be “Water and Energy”. The SPM will decide at the 18th UN-Water Meeting in February 2013 the themes for 2015 and 2016, as well as the release year of the first edition of the synthesis report.

Decision 15c: The SPM agree that the UN-Water Communications Manager should inform the wider public about the WWDR changes.

Decision 15d: The SPM agree to conduct, in three years time a new “survey of all UN-Water publications” with specific attention to the restructured WWDR.

Decision 15e: WWAP will present at the 18th SPM Meeting proposals for themes for the WWDR based on the amended criteria.

7. UN-Water Work Programme and Indicative Budget (Part I)

The Chief Technical Adviser presented the revised draft UN-Water Result-Oriented Framework and Indicative Budget, including the status of funds in the UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund, highlights of Programmes/TPAs/TFs/projects, planned activities and new budget requests.

Given that budget requests made by TPAs and TFs exceeded largely the available budget, the UN-Water Chair asked the TPA / TF coordinators to kindly review their work plan and budget by Friday 24 August at noon, as well as to indicate what should be UN-Water's priorities when considering the overall list of activities. Furthermore, Members were requested to express their opinions with respect to the suggestion to establish TPAs / TFs budget ceilings.

8. Calendar of Events

The UN-Water Chief Technical Adviser presented a list of forthcoming events which are relevant to UN-Water.

Decision 16: The SPM agree UN-Water’s participation in the following events:

• UNGA side-event on Water Security (25 Sept. 2012)

• the GLAAS Review Workshop and the WWDR workshop (end of Oct. 2012)

• SWA Partnership Meeting (12-14 Nov. 2012)

• the 6th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (28-30 Nov. 2012)

• JMP-led 2nd consultation on post-2015 (3-5 Dec. 2012)

• Zaragoza workshop on water cooperation (tbd)

• International Water Summit, Abu Dhabi (15-17 January 2013; UN-Water will not sponsor this event)


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Friday, 24 August 2012

*** Beginning of the Meeting open to UN-Water Partners and other Stakeholders ***

9. Opening Remarks by UN-Water Chair

The second day of the UN-Water Meeting was not only open to UN-Water Members and Partners with Special Status, Programmes and regional agreements, but also to Partners and other stakeholders. The UN-Water Chair expressed his gratitude, once again to the Government of Sweden for hosting the meeting. He welcomed new participants, presented the agenda and invited a tour-de-table.

10. Report on UN-Water’s Progress and Challenges

Under this agenda item, representatives from TPAs, TFs and Programmes presented on their recent progress and current challenges. Panel discussions were organised around each of UN-Water's strategic directions:

Strategic Direction no. 1: UN-Water fosters greater coordination amongst its Members and Partners as they work together to address the global water crisis in all its facets. The way this coordination becomes a reality in the day-to-day work is through the work of the UN-Water’s Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas.

Strategic Direction no. 2: UN-Water is engaged to ensure that water is included in critical global policy debates. These debates cover a wide range of pressing challenges, including climate change, food security and water security. UN-Water’s outreach capacity has now increased inside and outside the UN with the elevation of the Chair to the level of UN Chief Executive.

Strategic Direction no. 3: UN-Water supports UN coherence and coordination at the regional and at the country level as well. There are a number of UN-Water’s activities that try to bridge the gap between the global and the regional/country levels. Moreover, in Africa a UN-Water’s regional arrangement is operating, UN-Water/Africa.

Panel 1: UN-Water coherence and enhanced coordination

Moderator: Mr. Robert Bos, WHO

Mr. Claudio Caponi (WMO) provided an update on the TPA on Water and Climate Change. The TPA has recently developed two main consolidated messages and a series of tailored messages for specific audiences, based on the Policy Brief on the centrality of water in climate change adaptation. These messages will soon be circulated to the SPM for their endorsement. Furthermore, the final draft of the Guidance Note on water-related adaptation to climate change, which can be considered as a major achievement, is currently being finalised and a first update of the mapping database in the UNW-AIS+ will be undertaken in September 2012.

Ms. Amanda Marlin (WSSCC) briefed participants on the status of the TPA on Drinking Water Supply and Basic Sanitation. The TPA, which has a very broad work plan including post-2015 development, currently focuses on the Sanitation Drive to 2015 which calls for ending open defecation. Since the launch of the Drive in 2010, a logo, a website, a slogan competition, a social media campaign and many more activities have been undertaken. However, the TPA is struggling with budget challenges as it has received no funding


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from the UN-Water trust fund for the current biennium. Its major achievement to date is the elaboration of a planner’s guide for use at country level to be launched at World Water Week 2012.

Ms. Francesca Bernardini (UNECE) informed participants about ongoing activities of the TPA on Transboundary Waters. These include the collection of successful examples/good practices that will serve as a powerful tool to demonstrate the benefits of transboundary cooperation. While the outcome of Rio+20 is considered negative from a "transboundary perspective", the overall prospects are positive considering the progress achieved in recent years regarding the two instruments governing transboundary waters (see also item 15.1).

Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP) reported back from the TPA on Water Quality which was established in September 2010 as a result of a successful World Water Day. Key achievements to date include a Policy Brief on Water Quality, followed by an extensive mapping exercise (with support from the colleagues of the TPA on Transboundary Waters and of UNW-DPC). The TPA is currently developing a more detailed programme in four areas: i) support of water quality guidelines at all levels; ii) improve monitoring and data collection; iii) prepare a global report on the status of water quality and iv) engage in other emerging issues. Mr. Chiramba noted some challenges in the field of monitoring, difficulties to keep Members and Partners engaged, as well as the limited capacity of TPA members and financial resources to contribute to the TPA’s endeavours.

Mr. Bert Diphoorn (UN-HABITAT) gave an overview of the current status of the Task Force on Wastewater Management, chaired by UN-HABITAT and UNEP. Since the publication of “Sick Water - The central role of wastewater management in sustainable development” in 2010, there have been some personnel changes and the TF is currently being revitalized. Mr. Diphoorn invited participants to a TF Meeting at World Water Week aiming at developing a new work plan. The new work plan could encompass some critical issues, such as the need to establish a wastewater monitoring mechanism, the urban dimension of wastewater, wastewater as a resource in the context of the green economy, and interlinkages to Oceans.

Mr. Reza Ardakanian (UNW-DPC) highlighted some recent activities of UNW-DPC, such as a kick-off workshop on the safe use of wastewater in agriculture which will now be taken forward in the regions and its results presented at an international conference in May 2013; a book on water and green economy launched at IFAT ENTSORGA 2012; and a mapping of activities of regional coordination together with ESCAP and ESCWA, among others. Mr. Ardakanian furthermore had the pleasure to inform participants that the Programme was able to secure funds from the German Government for another two years.

The ensuing discussion centred on the differences between work on water quality undertaken by the TPA on Water Quality vs. work undertaken by WHO/UNICEF under the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP). While WHO traditionally focuses on drinking water quality, the TPA approaches the topic from an environmental perspective. As Mr. Bos pointed out, both perspectives are currently converging with the framework of the “water safety planning ” approach.

Regarding the discussions on whether the international community has actually achieved the water-related MDG target, Mr. Bos said the JMP is well aware that a much bigger group has no access to safe and clean drinking water than currently reflected in official figures. It was said that this issue should be taken seriously and it was suggested that UN-Water becomes a gatekeeper on these kinds of issues.

In addition to discussing challenges related to the use of proxy indicators for which data might be more readily available, participants highlighted the need to strengthen gender equality post-2015, as well as the need to take into account the role of politics when analyzing the outcome of Rio+20. The enormous potential of Geographic Information Systems for the monitoring and knowledge community, as well as the valuable work of the Water and Climate Change Coalition in the context of the international climate change negotiations were also highlighted by participants.


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Panel 2: Engagement with global policy debates

Moderator: Mr. Carlos Carrion-Crespo, ILO

Mr. Bruce Gordon (WHO) informed participants about recent developments regarding the GLAAS report. He cited among the main achievements a substantial increase in the number of participating countries (75 countries and 24 donors) and highlighted that since 2008 the report has become more comprehensive. Among the challenges he noted were to make the report more focused and more useful to stakeholders at country-level, as well as improve working methods. He said that he considered UN-Water cooperation very valuable and synergistic. Mr. Gordon pointed out that within WHO, water issues have not been as visible as in other organisations, but that this was currently changing. He informed participants that an evaluation meeting will be held on 2-3 October 2012 in Bern, Switzerland, to further refine the GLAAS report method and to address other related challenges.

Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP) briefed Members on the recent activities of the Task Force on Water Resources Management which aims at i) preparing a report for the Rio+20 Conference and ii) accelerating progress towards establishing a permanent monitoring mechanism on water resources management. He highlighted that some of the recommendations of the report that was officially launched by UN-Water at the Rio+20 conference were captured by the Rio+20 outcome document and that lessons from the report will be useful for establishing a permanent monitoring mechanism in the context of a future SDG on water. Among the challenges Mr. Chiramba mentioned were difficulties to get feedback from UN-Water Members and Partners on the report and the need to improve the overall UN-Water publications clearance process.

Mr. Zafar Adeel (UNU) introduced the newly established Task Force on Water Security. Water security has been identified by UN-Water in 2010 as an emerging issue area and subsequently, a Working Group has been tasked with the elaboration of a "working definition". The Working Group has now been converted into a Task Force, co-chaired by UNU and UNESCAP, whose primary purpose is to produce an Analytical Brief on Water Security that will reflect the current standing of the UN community on this issue. A first draft of the Brief should be available by the end of October and by the end of this year, a final draft should be submitted for external peer review. Mr. Adeel said that one major challenge the Task Force will be facing, is the short period of time for the elaboration of the Analytical Brief which is scheduled to be launched at World Water Day on 22 March 2013.

Ms. Stefanie Neno (UN-Water & FAO) presented on World Water Day (WWD) 2012. FAO was assigned responsibility to coordinate the 2012 campaign which focused on the theme of "water and food security". While it is difficult to measure the impacts of such a campaign because behavioral changes are hard to assess, there are several indicators that this year's campaign has been particularly successful. Among the indicators that were mentioned are the high number of related events that have been registered, the impressive number of WWD website visits and the excellent media coverage. Ms. Neno said that one of the success factors of the 2012 campaign was its simple messaging. Ms. Neno mentioned the following challenges: i) to better involve the media and TV channels and ii) to coordinate WWD activities among UN-Water Members and Partners. Overall, the World Water Day 2012 had excellent visibility and impact, confirming the growing momentum on water issues and increased success of World Water Day campaigns year after year.

Mr. Olcay Ünver (WWAP) briefed Members on the current status of the Scenarios Project. Mr. Ünver stressed that the Scenarios Project operates "outside the water box", as reflected in the collaboration with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He also mentioned that the Project had successfully contributed to DESA's Rio+20 work and that good work was currently being undertaken on regional, national and subnational levels by Project partners. The implementation of the Project which started in 2009 has faced some budget challenges which are currently being overcome. Other challenges include i) to ensure


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coherence with those that work on scenarios for other sectors and ii) to disseminate the results among and influence decision makers.

Ms. Josefina Maestu (UNW-DPAC) explained the activities and focus areas of UNW-DPAC. Recent highlights of DPAC's work include the organization of the UN-Water "Water for Life Award", as well as the organization of events and media activities in the context of Rio+20, the Bonn 2011 Nexus conference, World Water Days 2011 and 2012 and many others. UNW-DPAC furthermore provides support to UN-Water and other related processes, such as the Sanitation Drive to 2015 and the discussion on the post-2015 development framework (DPAC will soon organize a stakeholder meeting on the follow-up to MDG target 7c in Spain). Ms. Maestu furthermore informed participants that her office has recently undertaken an e-consultation on the expectations of journalists regarding the forthcoming International Year of Water Cooperation. Participants were invited to provide some feedback regarding UNW-DPAC's products, such as the documentation center or the Rio +20 website.

The discussion focused on the definition of water security and on the key role the "Friends of Water Group" plays with regard to the issue of transboundary cooperation.

Panel 3: Improved delivery at regional and country level

Moderator: Mr. Stephen Maxwell Kwame Donkor, UNECA

Mr. Hongpeng Liu (UNESCAP) updated Members on the activities of the Task Force on Regional Level Cooperation. The TF currently collaborates with UNW-DPC on a comprehensive assessment of coordination mechanisms within the water sector that exist in the five regions, to facilitate information exchange, access to information for better coherence in regional reporting, as well as to identify possible alignments of regional chapters within UN-Water. Mr. Liu underscored that there were so many ongoing activities that tracking all of them represented a considerable challenge.

Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP) presented the work of the Task Force for Country Level Coordination. The TF aims at improving coordination and collaboration at the country level and enables stakeholders on the ground to coordinate their policies and to access tools, lessons and applied methods, among others. In addition, the TF aims at strengthening the links between the country and the regional levels. While the TF was initially facing some skepticism, its benefits are now widely recognized.

Ms. Stefanie Neno (FAO) introduced the UN-Water Country Briefs which show the links between "investments in water" and "economic and human development". National consultants have been hired in 13 countries in addition to two international experts. The biggest challenge is the general lack of data. By leaving certain sections blank, the project will underscore the need for improved national-level data collection, analysis and sharing.

Ms. Claudia Hiepe (UNW-DPC) highlighted that UNW-AIS has a great potential to reach out to the country-level. UNW-AIS has been recently upgraded and its content substantially enhanced. Important progress has been achieved: once, UNW-AIS was a static database, it is now a dynamic platform containing 660 projects and 1500 project-related documents. In recent months, efforts have been put among others in developing a 30-page strategy paper, creating a Virtual Learning Environment and defining an updating mechanism. According to Ms. Hiepe, one of the biggest challenges is to strengthen the bonds between the system and the TFs and TPAs.

Mr. Daniel Adom (UN-HABITAT), Chair of UN-Water/Africa, provided some background on UN-Water/Africa. UN-Water/Africa was established to ensure coherence among UN-Member agencies regarding African water and sanitation issues. While there are many activities to be proud of, UN-Water/Africa currently suffers under a lack of financial resources.


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In the ensuing discussion, participants discussed among others issues related to gender mainstreaming, the challenge of donor and interagency coordination and the need to link with the post-2015 national consultation process undertaken by the UN Development Group (UNDG).

11. Future Landscape of UN-Water Publications

At the 12th UN-Water Meeting, an Advisory Group (AG) led by UNDP was established to take a strategic look at UN-Water’s publications with specific attention to the WWDR. In late 2011 / early 2012, the AG conducted an internal and a global survey on UN-Water publications that generated stakeholder feedback from over 1100 respondents. Subsequently, on 22-23 May 2012 a workshop with 20 participants was held in Geneva with the main objective to prepare recommendations on the overall architecture of major UN-Water publications and specifically on future WWDRs for decision by the SPM.

Figure 1: Suggested architecture of the suite of main UN-Water publications

Mr. Joakim Harlin, UNDP, presented the findings of the survey on UN-Water publications. While there was a strong consensus on several points, there were diverging views on others. For example, UN-Water publications have mostly been used for self-learning by the global readership, while UN-Water Members have also used them for advocacy and policy development. Among the recommendations that emerged were to better balance the policy and practitioner's perspectives; to increase the coordination and coherence


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between UN-Water publications; and to prepare more evidence-based reports, among others. While the broad majority of respondents supported the continuation of the WWDR, they suggested that it should become an annual, shorter and thematic publication that follows a standardized structure (see item 11.2). As shown above in Figure 1, UN-Water publications should aim at i) fulfilling UN-Water's role and mandate; ii) speak with one UN voice on water; iii) reach beyond the water "community"; and iv) keep water high on the sustainable development agenda.

11.2 Future World Water Development Reports

The Coordinator of the World Water Assessment Programme, Mr. Olcay Ünver reported back from a workshop held on 22 August 2012 on the proposed work plan, criteria for theme selection and structure, as well as on possible themes for the next edition of the WWDR. As mentioned previously, it was suggested by the UN-Water Advisory Group on Publications and subsequently approved by the SPM that from 2014 on, a shorter WWDR will be published annually which follows a thematic approach and a standardized structure with the aim to be more focused and impact-oriented.

Participants welcomed these changes, while highlighting some challenges, such as i) to make sure that the WWDR will continue as a collaborative effort between different agencies and organizations; ii) the need to improve monitoring and data collection across the board; iii) the importance to keep a broader view and ensure coordination between the different WWDR teams in order to produce every five years a meaningful synthesis report; and iv) to continue advocate for integrated approaches. It was furthermore suggested to ensure a better input by UN-Water Members and Partners to the GLAAS report and eventually merge after 2015 the GLAAS report with the JMP report.

12.1 Shaping a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on Water

12.1 Update on the outcomes of Rio+20 and the current status of post-2015 and SDG discussions1

Mr. Nikhil Seth, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development (UN-DESA) provided participants with an assessment of the Rio +20 conference and briefed them on the current status of the post-2015 and SDG processes. He stressed some conceptual challenge in defining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and explained how UN-DESA could lend its support to UN-Water in shaping a global goal on water.

Mr. Seth underscored that agreeing in Rio on a 53 page outcome document was remarkable in itself, considering Member States' current difficulties to reach consensus. With over 100 heads of States and more than 50.000 participants, Rio+20 was the biggest UN conference ever held. In addition to the outcome document which calls for a wide range of action including launching a process to establish SDGs, several hundreds commitments were received. Water figured among the priority areas of the conference and there will likely be an SDG on Water.

Recognizing that there has been some confusion regarding the post-2015 and SDG processes, Mr. Seth explained that there are currently three sets of mandates i) the High-Level Panel on Post-2015 established by the SG, which is not a political process; ii) the mandate which goes back to the 2010 MDG summit at which Member States requested the SG to prepare annual reports on what should be the post-2015 agenda; and iii) the 30 member Open Working Group (OWG) which was created at the Rio +20 summit. It is expected that in 2014 or 2015 Member States will adopt a resolution which will be composed by a "narrative" and an “annex” containing goals and targets.

1 Rapid developments have taken place since the 17th UN-Water Meeting, in particular the establishment of a Thematic Consultation on Water to feed into the work of the High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.


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Mr. Seth underlined that the emphasis on intergenerational equity, on integration and on the three pillars of sustainable development distinguishes the SDG concept from the current set of MDGs. Having SDGs that are global in nature would not only be of more direct relevance to the citizenry of developed countries, but also more equitable as this implies sharing the world's natural resources within the ecological boundaries, thus giving a meaning to the concept of Common but Differentiated Responsibility. The SDGs would also have to address certain challenges including the criticism that the MDGs were not formulated in a bottom-up process; that they followed a "one-size-fits-all" approach; and that they were not based on the availability of sound statistics. At the same time, the SDGs would need to build on the strong features of the MDGs by being action oriented; concise; easy to communicate; limited in number; and aspirational.

After having summarized the water-related outcomes of the Rio+20 document, Mr. Seth highlighted that an SDG on water would need to balance the three dimensions of sustainable development, reflect the interlinkages with other sectors and be global in nature. An SDG on water could for example encompass three targets: one on access, one on water use efficiency and one on pollution reduction and protection of ecosystems. These targets would need to be measurable and the availability and reliability of data at affordable costs would be key in the process. Mr. Seth stressed the need to bring together the best statistical experts and draw on expertise from the country-level to address this and other statistical challenges.

Regarding the question on how best influence the political process in New York, Mr. Seth said that waiting was not an option and that this process was not about writing reports, but about quickly producing policy papers and be responsive to new demands. He offered that UN-DESA provides avenues to the Open Working Group and puts water on the agenda of the newly established High Level Political Forum (which replaces the CSD), while counting on UN-Water to move the agenda forward. He also indicated that UN-DESA plans to enhance its support to UN-Water.

In the ensuing discussion, participants discussed the time horizons for contributing to the intergovernmental SDG formulation process and agreed that there is an urgency to influence the processes between now and September 2013. Another issue that was discussed was the question how water can be brought into other goals so as to reflect its cross-cutting nature.

12.2 Report on the work of WHO and UNICEF concerning the development of proposals for post-2015 drinking water and sanitation monitoring

Mr. Robert Bos, Coordinator for Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health at WHO, reported back from the Post-2015 Monitoring of Drinking-Water and Sanitation consultation process organized by UNICEF and WHO. This process has been established to reach consensus on the technical elements of global WASH targets and indicators, for consideration by the UN Member States in their deliberations on post--2015 development goals and targets. Acknowledging the need to bring this technical work into the political realm, a "measurability" meeting will be organized later this year and the 2nd stakeholder consultation will be held from 3-5 December in The Hague.

12.3 Possible establishment of a permanent monitoring and reporting mechanism for water resources management

The UN-Water Status Report on the Application of Integrated Approaches to Water Resources Management has been published and launched at Rio+20. More than 130 countries responded to the UN-Water survey.

Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP) reported that in the WRM survey many countries have expressed a demand for a permanent monitoring mechanism on water resources management. He invited participants to discuss the following questions: i) how could UN-Water put in place such a monitoring mechanism?; ii) what indicators should be adopted?; iii) how could countries best be involved / how to make such a


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monitoring mechanism useful for the country level, as well as for the global level?; iv) how should the monitoring mechanism be set up and integrated into national processes? v) what are the related capacity building aspects? etc.

12.4 Wastewater management

Mr. Bert Diphoorn underlined that a revolution in wastewater management will be critical, particularly in urban areas. In this regard, there is not only need for increased political support, continued research and innovative financing, but also for the establishment of a monitoring mechanism and for further reflection on how to define wastewater within the overall context of the SDGs.

12.5 UN-Water vision for post-2015 and SDGs, including the SG’s initiative to provide universal access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation

The objective of this session was to discuss and to agree on the common vision on the role of UN-Water in future years (e.g. Where should UN-Water be, what should UN-Water do?).

Participants agreed on the need to coordinate and to speak with one single voice for the water sector. One proposed approach was to define together one global aspirational goal, an umbrella concept that is agreeable to everyone under which to set out targets and indicators. It became also clear that the number of proposed targets and indicators will have to be limited in number and that a number of objectives currently advocated for by UN-Water need to be situated at the level of targets or indicators (not at the level of goals). Mr. Seth reminded participants that they will be guided by the political process and that some rigor may have to be compromised in exchange for political ambition. Nonetheless, there is no substitute for rigorous technical analysis to convince governments about a certain cause.

It was also suggested not to start working from scratch, but to build on already existing work from UN-Water, such as the work of the former Task Force on Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting, as well as to look at where other sectors stand, such as the energy sector.

The UN-Water Chair brought up the idea to create an ad-hoc Task Force which would bring together the thinking of all other TFs and TPAs and coordinate UN-Waters overall contribution to the SDG process.

Saturday, 25 August 2012

13. Panel discussion on Water Security followed by a Q&A session

Mr. Zafar Adeel (UNU) provided an overview of the Water Security agenda within UN-Water, followed by a panel discussion with Mr. Stephen Donkor (UNECA), Ms. Cecilia Sharp (UNICEF), Ms. Alice Aureli (UNESCO), Mr. Aaron Salzberg (US Department of State) and Mr. Olcay Ünver (WWAP). The discussion, which was moderated by Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP), aimed to advance the overall dialogue on water security, thus contributing to the work of the newly established Task Force.

As highlighted by Mr. Adeel in his introduction, while not new, the notion of ‘water security’ has gained significant attention in the past decade among national governments, international organizations and research institutions alike, although their perspective on the issue differs widely. This is reflected in the fact that the international community has had some difficulty in agreeing on the meaning and on a definition of water


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security. Mr. Adeel pointed out that UN-Water has started in the past three years to address this definitional gap in a systematic manner by elaborating a “working definition". Such a working definition would adequately address transboundary concerns while maintaining a focus on the individual, particularly in view of the UN General Assembly Resolution 64/292 that declared water and sanitation as a human right. Mr. Adeel also informed participants about the newly established Task Force on Water Security which has been tasked to develop an Analytical Brief that would describe the broader set of issues that are of concern and identify policy responses by the UN system as well as others. Such a document would define the position of the UN system on water security and identify avenues through which water security concerns could be addressed, including but not limited to the UN Security Council.

Panelists and participants discussed and reviewed different definitions of water security. They supported the proposed approach and process for elaborating the Analytical Brief and agreed that it provides UN-Water with the unique opportunity to bring water-related challenges and associated solutions to the forefront of international attention, thus elevating water higher on the political agendas. In this context, they welcomed the planned participation of the UN-Water Chair in the forthcoming UN GA side event on water security. Participants underscored the need to mobilize the expertise from all relevant communities (international legal experts, scientists from different disciplines, diplomats etc.), as well as to write the Analytical Brief in a clear and concise language, adapted to a non-specialist public and free of jargon. Participants suggested that the Analytical Brief should include the following messages: i) improve data collection, analysis, reporting and information sharing; ii) strengthen education and capacity development; iii) support multi-stakeholder dialogues and improved water governance. The economic valuation of the benefits and costs of action and inaction on water security was also considered a powerful instrument for inducing positive change.

14. Gearing up for the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 and Future World Water Days

14.1 Envisaged process and Action Plan for the International Year of Water Cooperation and World Water Day 2013

Ms. Alice Aureli (UNESCO) presented the context, objectives, envisaged process and action plan of the International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC) and World Water Day 2013. The IYWC will focus on cooperation on freshwater resources and aims at: i) raising awareness of both the potential for increased cooperation and the emerging issues facing water management; ii) identifying emerging trends, the driving factors but also the barriers regarding water cooperation; iii) strengthening the link between water and sustainable development; iv) highlighting and promoting successful water cooperation initiatives and v) providing a unique platform for all stakeholders to learn, discuss and exchange knowledge and experience on water cooperation. UNESCO in cooperation with UNECE and with the support of UNDESA, UNW-DPC and UNW-DPAC will ensure the smooth coordination of the preparatory process for both the Year and the Day on behalf of UN-Water.

Mr. Torkil Jonch Clausen (Chairman of the Scientific Committee of World Water Week) informed participants that next year's edition of World Water Week will also be dedicated to the theme of water cooperation. The draft thematic scope encompasses five categories: i) cooperation between different sectors (e.g. the water, energy and food security nexus); ii) collaboration between different stakeholder groups; iii) cooperation between traditional management divides (e.g. between the water and the ocean management communities); iv) cooperation between different jurisdictions and governance levels; and v) linking science and politics.

In the ensuing discussion, participants recommended that the campaign should focus on practical solutions and showcase success stories and achievements instead of spelling out present problems and


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challenges. This point was reinforced by Ms. Josefina Maestu who said that the results of an e-consultation that was recently undertaken by UNW-DPAC show that journalists are primarily interested in concrete cases and experiences. Underlining the Dutch tradition in sharing experience, Mr. Niels Vlaanderen (Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment) said that his government is happy to host the main event of the IYWC on March 22, 2013 in the Peace Palace in The Hague. A number of organizations (GWP, GWOPA etc.) expressed their interest in supporting the WWD process.

14. 2 Preparing for future World Water Days

This agenda item was not explicitly discussed, it was however addressed in other parts of the Meeting. Please refer also to Decisions 15 and 20.

15. Other Activities

15.1 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UN Watercourses Convention) and UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention)

Ms. Anna Forslund summarized briefly the progress achieved in recent years regarding the two UN instruments governing transboundary waters: i) the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention (UNWC) counts now 27 contracting States, only 8 short of the required for entry into force. And more ratifications are expected over the next few months, including Niger, Ireland and UK; ii) at the same, the amendments to the UNECE Water Convention opening it up for accession by countries outside the region are close to becoming effective as well, most likely in time for the Meeting of Parties later this year. And parties to that Convention have already started discussions on how to simplify procedures for making those amendments fully operational after they enter into force. Against this background, Ms. Forslund proposed to discuss how UN-Water could lend its support to the two Conventions at the occasion of the International Year of Water Cooperation in 2013

As the UN cannot act on its own, unless it is given a mandate by Member States, participants agreed that a first step would consist in holding informal consultations with Member States on the subject.

15.2 Improvement of water management for food security

Mr. Gao Zhanyi, President of the International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage (ICID) made a presentation highlighting the importance of water management for food security.

15.3 Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA)

Mr. Faraj El-Awar (UN-HABITAT/GWOPA) presented on the current status of GWOPA, the global mechanism to promote solidarity-based peer support between the world's water and sanitation operators. He informed participants that UN-HABITAT has accepted the City of Barelona's offer to host the GWOPA-Secretariat for the next five years and briefed them about the creation of the new Task Force on Capacity Development for Water Operators (see item 4.1.3).

16. Closing Remarks by UN-Water Chair

The UN-Water Chair warmly thanked Partners and Stakeholders for the fruitful discussions.


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*** End of the Meeting open to UN-Water Partners and other Stakeholders ***

17. Progress on the development of the UN-Water Strategy to 2020

The UN-Water Chief Technical Advisor presented a draft concept note on the method to develop a UN-Water Strategy to 2020. Such a strategy would i) revisit the objective of the interagency mechanism; ii) set out the areas on which UN-Water will focus on between 2013 and 2020; iii) determine how the structure of UN-Water can best be used to ensure maximum effectiveness both at the international and the national levels; and finally iv) advise how UN-Water can raise its profile both within and outside the water sector. The development of the Strategy would be based on the results of a wide stakeholder consultation process.

While Members agreed that UN-Water urgently requires such a strategy including for fundraising purposes, they underscored that its development should be driven by UN-Water Members.

Decision 17a: The development of the UN-Water Strategy will be participatory and owned by UN-Water. The use of external consultants will be limited to the extent possible.

UN-Water Members will provide by the end of September 2012 comments and suggestions based on the concept note on the method to develop a strategy.

Decision 17b: The SPM request the Management Team to present a first draft strategy at the 18th SPM Meeting.

18. Decision on the UN-Water Work Programme and Indicative Budget (part II)

As a follow-up to agenda item 7, Members were invited to discuss and adopt the revised UN-Water Indicative Budget for the period 2012-2013 as presented by the CTA and projected on the screen. After making some adjustments and agreeing on certain pending issues (see below), the SPM approved the budget for the period 2012-2013 (see Annex 2).

Decision 18a: The SPM approve the budget 2012-2013 (see attachment).

Decision 18b: A strategy and a budget decision regarding the federated information system linked to key indicators will be taken at the 18th UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 18c: The SPM accept WMO’s offer to provide office space at no rental costs to the UN-Water Technical Advisory Unit office in Geneva for the next two years.

The SPM gratefully acknowledge and thank the WSSCC for the co-hosting arrangements so far. The UN-Water Chair will send a letter of thanks to the WSSCC.

Decision 18d: The current Communications Manager based at FAO will continue until next mid-year when the recruitment process for the Communications Manager based in Geneva is expected to be completed.

19. Decision on the Date and Venue of the next UN-Water Meeting


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The SPM welcomed the generous offer by the World Bank to host the next UN-Water Meeting at its headquarters in Washington D.C. It was decided that the 18th UN-Water Meeting should be held from 19-21 February 2013 (actual decision formulated during Agenda Item 20, please see below).

20. Adoption of decisions

The UN-Water Chair presented the decisions made at the 17th UN-Water Meeting and invited the SPM to formally adopt them. In addition, some pending issues were presented for decision by the SPM: i) based on discussion under item 12, it was decided to establish a Working Group on shaping an SDG on water; ii) based on discussions under item 6, the UN-Water Chair was requested to approach the Head of UNIDO regarding the leadership of the WWDR in collaboration with UNU. The table "Decisions made at the 17th

UN-Water Meeting" was officially adopted (see Annex 3).

Decision 19: The SPM agree to establish a Working Group (WG) on shaping an SDG on water that will develop UN-Water recommendations by December 2012. The WG will be coordinated by Robert Bos who will develop the draft TOR based on inputs by WG members. The purpose of these recommendations is to feed into the overall SDG process.

Decision 20: The UN-Water Chair will approach the Head of UNIDO regarding the leadership of WWD 2014. The SPM accept the proposal by UNU to co-lead WWD 2014 and associated campaign.

Decision 21: The SPM gratefully acknowledge and thank the World Bank for the offer to host the 18th UN-Water Meeting.

The 18th UN-Water Meeting will be held on 19 – 21 February 2013 at World Bank headquarters in Washington DC.

21. Closing remarks by UN-Water Chair

The UN-Water Chair closed the Meeting by thanking everyone for their valuable contributions and cooperative work.

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Report of the 18th UN-Water Meeting

19 – 21 February 2013 in Washington D.C.

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

1. Opening Session

The UN-Water Chair opened the Meeting and gave the floor to the host, Ms. Monika Weber-Fahr, Director of Knowledge, Learning and Results, Sustainable Development Network, World Bank (WB), who highlighted the importance of UN-Water as a coordination mechanism.

In his opening remarks, the Chair warmly thanked the World Bank for hosting the Meeting. He then welcomed Ms. Ndey-Isatou Njie as the new UN-Water Secretary. He also welcomed OHCHR as a new UN-Water Member, whose representative stressed the importance of integrating human rights issues in the water discussions. The Chair warmly welcomed new participants and invited them to present themselves briefly. The agenda of the 18th UN-Water Meeting was adopted.

The Chair pointed out that additional unexpected work had risen during the last six months linked to the Water Thematic Consultation and altered the delivery of some of the planned outputs in the workplan. He also informed participants that the decision taken at the 17th UN-Water Meeting about only using one logo on UN-Water publications had been very well received by his CEB colleagues, and seen as a good contribution to the One UN Programme.


The UN-Water Secretary provided an update on the implementation of past decisions that were agreed at the 17th UN-Water Meeting, giving the opportunity to those responsible for follow-up to briefly give a status update.

In particular, because of the urgency linked to the establishment of a Publication Committee (see 17th UN-Water Meeting Decision 2) participants agreed that Ms. Blanca Jimenez (UNESCO) will draft its Terms of Reference (TOR) and activate its work by the 19th UN-Water Meeting with the support of Mr. Claudio Caponi (WMO).

Furthermore, also based on its urgency, the composition of the selection panel for the UN-Water Communication Manager was agreed upon.

Decision 1: Ms. Blanca Jimenez will develop the draft TOR of the Publication Committee and activate it by the 19th UN-Water Meeting with the support of Claudio Caponi.

Decision 2: The selection panel for the UN-Water Communication Manager will be under the leadership

of the Vice-Chair of UN-Water and comprises: UN-Water Vice-Chair, UN-Water Secretary, Chief Technical Adviser, Mr. Max Donkor.

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Item 3.1 Rotation in the Joint Steering Group

Mr. Robert Bos (WHO) was retiring from WHO at the end of February 201, therefore also ending his mandate as member of the JSG.

In response to his expression of interest to serve on the JSG, the SPM appointed Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP) as a new member of the JSG. The SPM warmly thanked Mr. Robert Bos for his valuable contributions to the JSG since August 2011.

Decision 3: The SPM appointed Mr. Thomas Chiramba to serve on the JSG for a period of two years until the first bi-annual UN-Water Meeting in 2015.

The SPM gratefully thanked Mr. Robert Bos for serving in the JSG since August 2011.

Item 3.2 UN-Water Partnership Applications

The SPM considered three applications for partnership based on the recommendations of the JSG. The JSG needed more time for the recommendations of six additional partnership applications, for which recommendations will be provided at the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 4: The SPM approved the application of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation as a UN-Water Partner with Special Status. The SPM requested the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicant.

Decision 5: The SPM rejected the partnership application of Sri Swami Madhavananda World Peace

Council (SMWPC). The SPM requested the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicant, specifying the reasons why the application was rejected.

Decision 6: The SPM rejected the partnership application of Discovery Africa. The SPM requested the

UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicant, specifying the reasons why the application was rejected.

In the ensuing discussion, the need to revisit the partnership criteria and to better define UN-Water’s engagement and partnership strategy was pointed out and will be taken up at the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

Item 3.3 Operational Guidelines

The UN-Water Secretary informed the participants that the review of the Operational Guidelines had been delayed as it requires a number of issues to be clarified first. Some of these issues pertain to the election of the UN-Water Chair and Vice-Chair, as well as to issues related to Thematic Priority Areas (TPA) and Task Forces (TF).

Regarding the election of the UN-Water Chair, given the elevation to UN Executive Head level, there is the need to receive guidance from the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB). The next CEB Meeting will be held in April 2013 in Madrid and any relevant outcome will be shared with UN-Water Members before the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 7: The draft updated Operational Guidelines will be presented at the 19th UN-Water Meeting. Of particular relevance will be the sections on the elections of the Chair and Vice-Chair and the criteria for the creation of Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas.

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4. TPA and TF’s Related Issues

Item 4.1 Proposals for the Establishment of New Thematic Priority Areas and Task Forces Item 4.1.1 Thematic Priority Area on Water Scarcity [FAO]

Mr. Pasquale Steduto (FAO) presented the proposal to establish a Thematic Priority Area on Water Scarcity. Recognizing that water scarcity is becoming an increasingly important issue, the activities of the TPA will address several dimensions of scarcity within the context of water governance. Specifically, two main actions will be considered: 1. Completion of the work started by the working group on “Water Use Efficiency”, concluding the main paper on “Water Accounting Terminology and Definitions” and 2. Initiation of work related to governance and tenure of water resources to address water scarcity.

Item 4.1.2 Task Force on Water Efficiency [UNEP]

Mr. Shaoyi Li (UNEP) presented the proposal to establish a Task Force on Water Efficiency based on the importance of the topic and also based on the opportunities that could arise from water efficiency. The establishment of the TF would strengthen the linkage between science, policy and implementation. UNEP’s International Resources Panel comprising 20 experts and undertaking water assessments including water efficiency was mentioned. The TF would help to provide better services, including capacity building services in developing countries, as well as policy advisory services in response to Member States demands.

Ms. Maite Aldaya (UNEP) complemented the information by suggesting that the TF could develop an analytical paper on water resource efficiency to provide a common UN-Water framework. Furthermore, the TF could support the coordination of inputs for UN-Water reports such as the World Water Development Report.

In the ensuing discussion that included both the proposed TPA on Water Scarcity and the proposed TF on Water Efficiency, participants called for caution before establishing new TPAs and TFs, as multiplying the structures also multiplies the complexity of coordination and decreases work effectiveness. The need for a more strategic thinking was stressed before engaging in new activities. Furthermore, the added value of working collaboratively under the UN-Water umbrella was discussed. Instead of developing new papers or reports on a specific issue, participants suggested to rather develop issues briefs on gaps on specific issues. In order to address the issue of keeping the number of different TPAs and TFs limited and aggregating them under overarching themes as much as possible, it was suggested that FAO and UNEP work on a proposal on a potential merge of both activities to be presented at the 19th UN-Water Meeting. A potential merge of both activities might result in a change in title of the TPA on Water Scarcity in order to fully reflect the contents of the work.

Decision 8: Based on the commonalities of the proposals for the establishment of the Thematic Priority Area on Water Scarcity and the Task Force on Water Resource Efficiency, FAO and UNEP will work on a proposal on whether to merge both activities or not, to be presented at the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

Item 4.2 Reporting

Item 4.2.1 Thematic Priority Area on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation [UNU, HABITAT]

Mr. Adeel Zafar (UNU) reported on the work of the Thematic Priority Area on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation since the change in leadership that was decided at the 17th UN-Water Meeting. During 2012, a number of teleconferences were held, and the Work Plan and budget had been submitted to the UN-Water Management Team. Mr. Zafar informed the participants that a face to face meeting will take place in the next

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months, and that the primary focus of the TPA will be on the 5-year drive on sustainable sanitation, that is linked to a number of advocacy components.

In the discussion that followed, the importance of integrating the national processes into global discussions was highlighted.

Decision 9: The SPM endorsed the work plan of the TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation for

2013-2014 and approved the release of funds to support ongoing activities as listed in the work plan.

Item 4.2.2 Task Force on Country Level Coordination [UNDP, UNW-DPC]

Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP) informed participants that the knowledge sharing platform UN-Water Net had been established, with the main objective to ensure and strengthen knowledge and information sharing between the different levels: national, regional and global. Participants were informed that UN-Water Net currently counts 61 members, including mainly UN-Water Members and Partners at the global level, . Participants were encouraged to become members and to provide contact details of staff from their organizations working at the regional and country levels.

Another area in which the TF will engage is the update of the information in the TF report on existing procedures and institutional collaboration linked to country level coordination in water. It was suggested to hire Mr. Paul Taylor, the consultant currently working on the same topic at the regional level, to update the TF report with recent developments in pilot countries.

It was further suggested by the TF to hire a second consultant, Ms. Christine McNab, former UN Resident Representative to author a separate sub-chapter to be integrated into the TF report, emphasizing on describing established in-country coordination mechanisms in the UN family such as the Common Country Assessment (CCA) and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).

Participants were also informed of recent interactions with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, on how the TF could assist in the follow up of the country visits and the recommendations coming out of those country visits. This idea will be explored, and the TF will come up with a proposal at the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 10: The SPM endorsed the Terms of Reference and approved the hiring of the consultants Ms. Christine McNab and Mr. Paul Taylor.

The SPM approved the inclusion of an assessment of how UN-Water can support the advancement of human rights-based approach (HRBA) at the country level by the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

Item 4.2.3 Task Force on Regional Level Coordination [UNESCAP, UNESCWA]

Mr. Jens Liebe (UNW-DPC) presented an overview of the consultative assessment of the regional coordination mechanisms (predominantly UN-Water Members and Partners) within the water sector that exist in the five regions, in order to have in-depth service and priority focus areas of the regional coordination mechanisms and to develop strategies to better coordinate the responses of UN-Water. The main consultant working on this is Mr. Paul Taylor, who is also a candidate to work in the TF on Country-level Coordination.

Mr. Liebe informed participants that the methodology of the mapping had been developed and approved by the five Regional Commissions. The administration of the questionnaires will be threefold: the questionnaires have been sent to 20 organizations, they will then be followed up by focus group discussions to get water professionals and experts to share more directly their challenges and needs, and finally will be followed up by case studies (three per region) that will comprise best practices. A face to face meeting

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between the consultant and the Regional Commission focal points is being planned before the finalization of the report.

Item 4.2.4 Task Force on Water Resources Management [UNEP]

Mr. Peter Bjørnsen (UNEP) reminded participants that the original task of the Task Force on Water Resources Management was to prepare a global reporting mechanism for water resources management, including a status report. He then reported on the activities of the TF, since the preparation of the 2012 status report that was presented by UN-Water at Rio+20. UNEP assigned an external consultant to analyze the lessons learnt from the preparation of the 2012 report, study other global reporting mechanisms and also do extensive interviews in UN-Water. The consultant’s report was discussed at a workshop in Geneva that took place in January 2013 and is currently open for comments before being finalized.

Mr. Bjørnsen then briefed participants on the engagement of the TF in the Thematic Consultation on Water, specifically its Stream on Water Resources Management led by UNECE, stressing the fact that it is technically very difficult to identify measurable targets and indicators. Participants were informed that the Work Plan of the TF had thus been revised according to the foreseeable upcoming intensification of work in the coming weeks.

In the ensuing discussion, some participants expressed concern regarding the revised Work Plan. Here Mr. Bjørnsen suggested that the best way to accommodate this concern was to actively engage in the work of the TF and encouraged all those that are interested to join the TF. Furthermore, it was agreed to provisionally approve the Work Plan subject to its endorsement by the TF members to enable the release of the earmarked funds.

Decision 11: The SPM provisionally approved the work plan of the Task Force on Water Resources Management subject to its endorsement by the Task Force, to enable the release of the earmarked funds.

UN-Water Members and Partners are encouraged to participate in the activities of the Task Force.

Item 4.2.5 Water Security Analytical Brief [UNU]

Ms. Harriet Bigas (UNU) presented an update of the work of the Task Force on Water Security that has the mandate to produce an Analytical Brief on Water Security. The first draft of the Analytical Brief has been prepared and was circulated to UN-Water for comments. In parallel, the Analytical Brief was shared with four water experts that provided an external peer-review. It was anticipated to finalize the Analytical Brief during the following week, circulate it to UN-Water for final comments, in order to launch it in March as part of the World Water Day celebrations, part of which will be taking place in New-York.

The TF also coordinated two events on water security that took place during the UN GA in September 2012: the High-Level Roundtable Discussion on Water, Peace, and Security co-hosted by UN-Water, EU and the US and the UN-Water Panel on Water Security that focused on the role of water security in cooperation and coordination efforts and on the international security agenda. The outcomes of both events fed into the Analytical Brief.

During the ensuing discussion, some participants expressed concern with the fact the water security is work in progress. The notion of water security is work in progress and this will be conveyed in the Analytical Brief.

Decision 12: The SPM provisionally approved the Analytical Brief “Water Security and the Global Water

Agenda” prepared by the Task Force on Water Security, following the review from UN-

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Water Members and Partners and the peer review process. UN-Water supports the production and publication of the Analytical Brief, to be launched at WWD 2013 with continued dissemination throughout the International Year of Water Cooperation where opportunities arise.

Item 4.2.6 Task Force on Capacity Development for Water Operators [HABITAT GWOPA]

On behalf of its Coordinator, Mr. Bert Diphoorn (UN-Water Vice-Chair) informed participants that the Task Force on Capacity Development for Water Operators was launched at the International Water Summit in Abu Dhabi in January 2013. The important role that UNW-DPC will play in the work of the TF was highlighted. The way forward would be to define how the TF could fit in the TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation, and it was suggested to explore this at its next meeting.

Item 4.2.7 Task Force on Wastewater Management [UNEP, UN HABITAT]

Mr. Bert Diphoorn (UN-Water Vice-Chair) presented the updates of the Task Force on Wastewater Management on behalf of its Coordinators. The main focus of the work of the TF had been on developing a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for wastewater and water quality, for which a consultant had been recruited and produced a document on targets and indicators on wastewater and water quality. The document was discussed and agreed upon among the TF, and gives a good overview of the complexity of defining wastewater and water quality targets. Mr. Diphoorn expressed the wish of the TF to convert the document into an Analytical Brief and to publish it as a UN-Water publication, after giving sufficient time to the SPM for review and comments, following the UN-Water endorsement procedure. It was also mentioned that the TF had been very much involved in the Thematic Consultation on Water and that this will be discussed on the following day. The next meeting of the TF will be held on the following week in Geneva.

Some general comments were expressed during the discussion that followed, including the recommendation that agencies should limit their membership in TFs and TPAs, in order to ensure quality inputs. It was also highlighted that enough time should be given to the SPM to review UN-Water publications, to facilitate the final endorsement of such publications.

Decision 13: The report on wastewater and pollution control (a.k.a. Johnstone report) will be circulated to the SPM, in accordance with the UN-Water review process, for comments during the month of March 2013. It will be subsequently developed into an analytical brief.

5: Global Groundwater Monitoring Network

The UN-Water Chief Technical Advisor gave a brief introduction of the agenda item, on behalf of IGRAC, mentioning that the UN-Water Management Team had been approached by IGRAC to explore the possibility of bringing the Global Groundwater Monitoring Network under the UN-Water umbrella as an affiliated intitiative.

The SPM was invited to consider the proposal and concern was expressed on endorsing individual initiatives, as this goes beyond UN-Water’s mandate and would open the flood gates to many other initiatives and programmes that may wish to be endorsed by UN-Water. Furthermore, the fact that UN-Water is not actively involved in IGRAC’s initiative and that this might not be a strategic move was also highlighted.

Recognizing however that groundwater is an area of interest, it was suggested to restart the discussion on groundwater, without limiting it to a monitoring instrument, but rather broadening the perspective to a common UN-Water position on the topic, and thus fulfill the mandate of UN-Water to speak with one voice.

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Decision 14: The SPM considered the proposal of the Global Groundwater Monitoring Network and decided not to include it as a UN-Water initiative due to the lack of clarity concerning the role of UN-Water. The UN-Water Secretary will officially inform IGRAC of the decision.

6: Water for Life Decade for Action

Item 6.1 UN-Water Report on the Achievements within the Water for Life Decade for Action [Programmes]

Mr. Olcay Ünver, (WWAP) informed the participants that the three Programmes had consulted among themselves and agreed that WWAP as the reporting entity for UN-Water will produce the Decade Report with the support of the two Decade Programmes. Mr. Ünver then provided participants with an overview of the contents of the Decade Report, as well as the timeline, including deliverables and distribution of tasks and responsibilities until the completion of the Decade Report in 2015, as per the background documents provided for the meeting, including the Concept Note.

While the UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) and the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) will present the information on their activities in a format which is conducive to the suggestions of the SPM, special attention will be given to key success stories and examples of value adding nature, and preferably those that have direct links with the Decade.

Mr. Ünver then conveyed some expectations: the UN-Water Management is expected to provide information on UN-Water activities and achievements during the Decade, including key products such as World Water Development Report (WWDR), World Water Day, Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-water (GLAAS), UN-Water reports and publications. The TFs and TPAs are expected to provide updates and key examples of their work related to the Decade. Other bodies connected to the Decade are expected to update their activities since 2010.

In terms of suggested activities, the presentation of the Decade Report was suggested as a major activity in 2015, as well as a Decade Exhibit, that could be based on thematic issues, similar to the UN-Water Exhibition organized for the Geneva Festival in 2012.

During the ensuing discussion, participants had divergent opinions regarding the size and the scope of the Decade Report. On the one hand, some thought it should be concise and only cover the activities of the two Decade Programmes and UN-Water activities, highlighting the collaboration, and on the other hand, some thought that it should be broader and cover all activities of the Members States and of the individual agencies as well. It was also suggested that the Decade Report should have a strong political dimension and capture issues such as the human right to water and sanitation, the preparations to Rio+20, and the work on the post-2015 framework. The GA Resolutions on the Decade Report and the Secretary-General Action Plan were also discussed. Here, the UN-Water Secretary volunteered to seek clarification about the mandate for an official report on the Water for Life Decade, in order to best respond to the Members States request.

Participants generally welcomed the Concept Note on the Decade Report, but felt that some issues were missing, including a section on lessons learnt, clarifying the need to engage with UN-Water Partners as well. It was also suggested to remove the matrix of the activities of the different individual agencies, as it does not illustrate collaboration and working together as per UN-Water’s mandate. Regarding the distribution of tasks and responsibilities, it was requested that the section stating that the UN-Water Management Team will consolidate and provide information on UN-Water activities and achievements during the Decade should be removed, as the Programmes had specifically been tasked to do this at the 17th UN-Water Meeting. It was agreed that the Concept Note will be updated accordingly.

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Decision 15: The UN-Water Secretary will inquire about the mandate for an official report on the Decade Water for Life.

The concept note on the Decade Report will be refined integrating the feedback of the SPM (as per meeting report) and will be revisited at the 19th UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm, under the leadership of WWAP.

Item 6.2 Proposals for additional Activities that UN-Water may take to the end of the Decade [Programmes]

Mr. Reza Ardakanian, (UNW-DPC) reported on two ongoing activities that UN-Water may take to the end of the Decade. The first activity entitled “Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture” started some years ago, when some UN-Water Members and Partners decided to work on the topic and asked UNW-DPC to support the initiative. These Members and Partners included FAO, UNU, WHO, UNEP, UNU- INWEH and later ICID and IWMI. A kick-off meeting was held in Bonn, with a large participation of countries, UN-Water Members and Partners, after which a series of regional workshops were organized and involved the above mentioned group and local organizations such as universities and ministries. A wrap-up conference will most likely take place in Teheran, Iran. Mr. Ardakanian also informed the participants that the proposal for a side event at the World Water Week 2013 to present this work submitted to SIWI had been rejected.

The second activity presented was a joint activity of WMO, UNCCD and FAO about the development of national drought management policies. Mr. Ardakanian informed participants that here as well, UNW-DPC was approached to support the capacity development aspects of the initiative, scaling up activities of the three agencies in supporting Member States to develop their own national drought management policy. The High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policy taking place in Geneva, Switzerland in March 2013 will serve as kick-off meeting. Based on the interest of Member States, the next steps will then be to organize regional meetings in collaboration with WMO, UNCCD, FAO and any other interested partner.

During the ensuing discussion, participants expressed some confusion regarding the individual branding of the two above mentioned activities, as activities that happened during the Decade and have a relation to the Water for Life theme will be shown as a product of the Decade in any case.

Decision 16: The SPM acknowledged the following activities as additional UN-Water activities to the end of the Decade: • Safe use of wastewater in agriculture (FAO, WHO, UNEP, UNU, UNW-WDPC, ICID and

IWMI) • Capacity Development for National Drought Policy (WMO, UNCCD, FAO and UNW-

DPC)

7: UN-Water Programmes

Item 7.1 Presentation of Programmes’ 2013 Work Plans [Programmes]

The three UN-Water Programmes presented their Work Plans for 2013 according to the background documents that were provided.

Mr. Olcay Ünver (WWAP) presented the generic Work Plan for WWDR6, starting with a relevance analysis exercise, based on which a developmental workshop will be organized to produce the storyline, the table of content and initial annotated table of contents of the report that will be sent for comments to UN-Water Members and Partners. Mr. Ünver mentioned that the timeline was slightly longer and may enable the

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production of an interim draft to be shared with UN-Water Members and Partners before the development of the first draft. The first and second drafts will be developed and consolidated by integrating the comments received. The final report will be ready for March 2015.

As the current Work Plan for UNW-DPC is approved and stretches until mid-2013, Mr. Reza Ardakanian presented four major fields of activities to be considered until the end of the Decade: Increase the coherence and ability of UN-Water Members and Partners to fulfill their mandate; Foster trans-disciplinary capacity development for an integrated approach for water management and policies; Support UN-Water Members and Partners in their collaborative activities and; Promote UN-Water and its activities, especially reaching policy makers and other key stakeholders. Mr. Ardakanian informed participants that the detailed Work Plan will be presented to the JSG for consideration and to the SPM for approval.

Ms. Josefina Maestu, (UNW-DPAC) reminded participants that the Work Plan of UNW-DPAC was already approved until 2015 and presented some concrete activities in accordance with the Work Plan. Activities included UN-Water outreach activities, e.g. Zaragoza Conference, Water for Life Best Practice Award, producing audio-visual material; Managing the UN-Water Decade webpage; Communications for the UN-Water TFs and TPAs, reports and projects; UN Documentation Centre on Water and Sanitation and Media Activities and Media Relations.

In the ensuing discussion, the three UN-Water Programmes reported on their financial situation with their host countries.

Decision 17: The work plan for WWDR6 (2015) was approved subject to availability of funding. Decision 18: The suggested outline of the third work plan for UNW-DPC was approved. Decision 19: The 2013 work plan for UNW-DPAC was approved subject to availability of funding.

Item 7.2 United Nations World Water Development Report [WWAP]

Item 7.2.1 Initial feedback on WWDR5 preparation process and potential request for further input to fill the gaps.

Mr. Olcay Ünver (WWAP) gave a brief update on the WWDR5 preparation process, stating that progress is being made according to the Work Plan, with one week delay due to the fact that the developmental workshop took place two weeks later than originally anticipated. Mr. Ünver called for examples of water and energy being incorporated into similar coordinated inter-related decision frameworks, either in a governmental setting, a corporate setting taken up by civil society for potential inclusion in the Response Options chapter that will be developed in the second draft of the report.

Item 7.2.2 Themes proposed for WWDR6 (2015) and WWDR7 (2016).

Mr. Ünver (WWAP) provided the participants with an overview of the theme selection process for the WWDR6, which included a scan of issues reflected in different conferences and reports, a stakeholder survey, and consultations with colleagues. Based on this process, the WWAP secretariat recommended Water and Development or Water Security as theme for WWDR6 and did not make any specific recommendation for WWDR7.

In the following discussion, participants recognized the importance of Water and Development in 2015. However, concern was expressed on the fact that the theme was too broad for the new structure of the WWDR and that a narrower theme such as Water and Jobs suggested by ILO might be more suitable. As a compromise, participants agreed that Water and Sustainable Development will be the theme for WWDR6 and that Water and Jobs will be suggested as a theme for the 2016 WWD campaign.

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The issue of harmonizing the themes of the World Water Development Report with those of the World Water Day was underlined, and it was decided that the themes of the World Water Development Report will be harmonized with those of the World Water Day.

Decision 20: The SPM decided that the themes of the World Water Development Report will be harmonized with those of the World Water Day.

The SPM decided that the theme of WWDR6 (2015) will be Water and Sustainable Development.

The SPM will propose at the 19th UN-Water Meeting a recommendation for the 2016 WWD campaign to be on Water and Jobs and therefore recommend that the theme of the WWDR7 (2016) be on a related harmonized topic.

Item 7.2.3 Distribution modalities for the WWDR5.

Mr. Ünver (WWAP) briefly presented the three different ways in which the WWDR5 will be distributed. The first way will be through physical printed copies, as hard copies still have value in some countries. WWDR5 will also be distributed through electronic means and networks. Here, Mr. Ünver welcomed participants’ support in distributing and disseminating the report through their own networks. The third way in which the Report will be distributed will be through announcing its availability on the web.

Decision 21: The SPM approve the World Water Development Report 5 (2014) distribution plan presented by WWAP.

8: 2015 World Water Day Campaign

Ms. Stefanie Neno, UN-Water Communication Manager informed the participants that the purpose of the 2015 World Water Day Campaign is to highlight the many ways in which water contributes to development. In terms of what was meant with water, Ms. Neno clarified that water here included water supply sanitation and hygiene, water quality and wastewater management, as well as water resources management, so basically following the three Streams identified in the Thematic Consultation on Water. In terms of what was meant with development, it was suggested that sustainable development would be most appropriate, in line with the decision on the theme of WWDR6 i.e. Water and Sustainable Development.

In the following discussion, participants volunteered to contribute to the Campaign and stressed that all dimensions of development including productive use of water for food and energy, freedom from threats of floods and droughts, gender equality should be considered. It was also suggested that these be made explicit in communicating the links between water and development.

Participants also highlighted the importance of bringing this to a broader consultation to make sure that there is synergy and that work is not duplicated. Furthermore, the important role of the WB at the country level and the role it could play in this exercise were mentioned, and the UN-Water Chair suggested liaising with the WB on how to enhance the Bank’s involvement in UN-Water.

Mr. Christian Susan (UNIDO) took the opportunity to inform the participants that UNIDO has a strong interest not only in being the lead agency in the development of the WWDR on Water and Energy, but also in hosting the World Water Day celebrations in 2014, in a similar format as FAO in 2012.

Mr. Zafar Adeel (UNU), who is partnering with UNIDO on this, suggested preparing a descriptive proposal on the 2014 World Water Day for endorsement of the SPM.

Decision 22: The SPM designated UNDP to coordinate the 2015 World Water Day campaign together with the following UN-Water Members/Programmes: WWAP, UNESCO, HABITAT, UNEP,

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World Bank and UNDESA.

Decision 23: The UN-Water Chair will continue liaising with the World Bank with a view to enhancing the Bank’s involvement in UN-Water activities as a Member.

Decision 24: UNU and UNIDO will prepare a concept note on the 2014 World Water Day for

endorsement by the SPM by the end of March.

9: Global Water Resources Scenarios Project

Mr. Olcay Ünver (WWAP) and Mr. Pavel Kabat, Director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) gave a status update of the Global Water Resources Scenarios Project phase 2, for the SPM’s consideration on whether to keep the Project on the UN-Water Work Programme or not. It was mentioned that the scope of the phase 2 of the Project had expanded to include modeling and sounder harmonization with other scenario work, most notably those of the IPCC.

Mr. Kabat provided participants with some background information on IIASA since its establishment in the 70’s. He also expressed the wish of the IIASA Council to work more on water issues. The fact that the Project builds beyond scenarios but brings also solutions was highlighted. The structure of the project will be comparable to that of the Global Energy Assessment study that was delivered to the United Nations Secretary-General in 2012, and will involve a broad range of partners. The idea is to be able to deliver substantial results at the World Water Forum to be held in May 2015 in the Republic of Korea.

During the ensuing discussion, participants recognized the importance of the Project, but raised some concern about the representation of UN-Water in the Project, considering that some UN-Water Members and Partners were already involved in the Project. To address this issue, Mr. Pasquale Steduto suggested the establishment of a Working Group that could act as an interface between UN-Water and the Project. The proposal was generally welcomed by the participants as this would enable UN-Water to provide feedback on how things are structured. It was also suggested that the UN-Water Members and Partners should have access and insight to the process as the project moves along, especially in the selection of scenarios, and this should be reflected in the mandate of the Working Group. Here it was suggested that those Members and Partners actively involved in the research should be encouraged to be part of the project.

Participants agreed to endorse the project as an affiliated project and to establish a Working Group that will consult on UN-Water’s involvement in the project and provide feedback at the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 25: The SPM agreed to endorse the Global Water Resources Scenarios Project as an affiliated project and designated a Working Group to act as an interface with the project.

The Working Group will include existing project members (e.g. UNESCO, FAO) as well as the UN-Water Management Team and any other interested Member.

The SPM will reassess the involvement with the project at the 19th UN-Water Meeting, based on the feedback of the Working Group. WWAP as a UN-Water Programme will coordinate the Working Group.

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

10: Presentation of World Bank’s Water Vision

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Ms. Julia Bucknall (WB) presented the World Bank’s Water Vision, which will guide its programme in water for the next decade. The rationale behind developing the Water Vision is based on the changes, both in terms of the way water is perceived today compared to ten years ago, and in terms of the way that water issues have changed in the last decade with new emerging issues. The basic process of developing the Water Vision was presented and included the analysis of how water is changing, how the climate is changing, how science needs and opportunities are changing, as well as where the WB as an institution is doing well or less well. The WB has been implementing some of the conclusions of the Vision in the last six months, and a final version of the Vision will be adjusted in order to take into account lessons learnt in the course of trying to implement it.

In terms of implementation, four major areas were highlighted: Governance and Leadership; Knowledge Management; Cross-sectoral Collaboration and; Talent Management.

In the ensuing discussion, the role of the WB within UN-Water was discussed, and the need to leverage and make best use of the available expertise when working together was highlighted.

11: Way Forward with IISD Reporting Services

Based on the presentation that was given by Ms. Lynn Wagner and Ms. Anna Schulz (IISD) during the side event: Knowledge Management for Water Policy and Practice: An IISD Tool for Decision Makers, participants were invited to decide on the way forward with IISD Reporting Services.

Participants widely recognized the quality and relevance of IISD reporting services and welcomed a strengthening of links. The broad IISD network was emphasized and seen as a good opportunity to increase UN-Water’s visibility. It was suggested to reinforce the communication between UN-Water and IISD in order to better anticipate and prepare for upcoming events, while continuing what UN-Water is already doing e.g. positing news, thematic analysis. Here, it was clarified that the idea was not to replace but rather to complement what UN-Water is already doing.

Some concern was expressed regarding the fact that IISD, as an independent organisation, has greater flexibility in its work compared to UN-Water. It was thus suggested to be mindful of this aspect when using the UN-Water visual identifier.

Decision 26: The SPM approve the strengthening of collaboration between UN-Water and IISD Water

Policy and Practice.

The SPM requested the UN-Water Management Team to take the appropriate follow-up actions.

12: Report on UN-Water GLAAS 2013 Activities, including Financial Tracking Initiative

Mr. Bruce Gordon (WHO) presented an overview of UN-Water GLAAS 2013 activities, including the financial tracking initiative. The many initiatives on global monitoring by different stakeholders were mentioned, highlighting the need for harmonization and for capacity building in terms of transiting the leadership to the countries. Regional highlights were also mentioned with the development of country templates which essentially summarize the water supply and sanitation situation in a country.

Mr. Gordon then informed the participants of the research that had been undertaken on tracking national financing flows, noting that this type of information often does not exist in countries. The methodology behind

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it is expansive and complex and will initially be dealt with in a limited number of countries. A draft 100-page methodology is ready and can be sent to the SPM pending a final version to be ready in March 2013.

In terms of timelines, the global report will be published as planned in spring 2014 and individual country reports will be published prior to that.

In the ensuing discussion, participants queried about the possibility of including wastewater targets and indicators in the work of GLAAS. Mr. Gordon did not have any objections to the idea, as the GLAAS methodology already picks up on wastewater to a certain extent. Furthermore, participants sought clarification on the relationship between GLAAS and Sanitation and Water for All (SWA). Here, it was highlighted that SWA is a broad partnership focusing on countries that are in need of basic services. GLAAS is global report produced by UN-Water, which is relevant to the full range of countries and which, at the same time, is used as a critical input to the SWA biennial High-Level Meetings.

13: Water Indicators Portal

Mr. Pasquale Steduto (FAO) briefly presented the Federated Water Monitoring System (FWMS) & Key Water Indicator Portal (KWIP) that was initiated by FAO aiming at creating a user-friendly webpage, where UN-Water indicators could be viewed by the general public, while still providing more details to advanced users. This portion of the project was termed Key Water Indicators Portal. The indicators are stored in the Federated Water Monitoring System, a closed database combining data from several organizations and automatically updated. Preliminary harmonization exercises with data partners were conducted and these led to a greater understanding of the similarities and differences between agencies. One major recommendation of the preliminary harmonization was the continuation of the harmonization of the data between the agencies contributing to the Federated Water Monitoring System to reach a satisfactory level, for which US$ 30,000 were requested.

In the ensuing discussion, the leveraging brought by the project was highlighted and welcomed.

Decision 27: The SPM approved the proposed way forward for the Water Indicators Portal and the

release of the US$ 30,000 allocated for the activity.

14: Proposals for a Partnership on Natural Infrastructure Solutions for Water Security

Mr. David Coates (CBD Secretariat) briefed participants on the proposal for a Partnership on Natural Infrastructure Solutions for Water Security that originated from CBD COP-11 (Hyderabad, October 2012), that requested the development of a cooperative partnership to promote awareness of, and capacity-building for, “ecosystem-based solutions” (using “natural infrastructure”) for water resources management as a means to enhance the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011 – 2020, as a contribution to sustainable development and to the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation (2013).

Mr. Coates highlighted the way in which biodiversity and ecosystems influence water quality and how water pathways work. Practical examples were provided, including on the applicability of the concept to water management in cities. It was also mentioned that it was not necessarily a matter of always replacing hard approaches, but rather to use both in parallel. The example of the Itaipu Dam in Brazil was given, as its life expectancy initially 60 years (due to sedimentation) increased to 250 years due to restoring land cover in agricultural systems, which helped to reduce erosion.

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A more concrete proposal will be presented at the 19th UN-Water Meeting, including suggestions on how it relates to what UN-Water is doing.

In the ensuing discussion, the International Day of Biodiversity on 22 May 2013 was mentioned as an opportunity for additional engagement with UN-Water. Furthermore, both WB and UNESCO expressed their support and their willingness to continue the discussion on the topic.

Decision 28: The SPM acknowledged the proposal to develop a Partnership on Natural Infrastructure Solutions for Water Security and invited the UNCBD to brief the SPM on further progress at its next meeting.

15: International Year of Water Cooperation 2013

Ms. Alice Aureli (UNESCO) updated participants on the current status the campaign of the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 (IYWC 2013). The key role of the IYWC 2013 website was highlighted, including the logo, campaign material, messages on water cooperation, the brochure and an advocacy guide among others. The now closed slogan activity was a great success with the participation of over 12,000 persons and is one example of many other activities. The central role and support of the UN-Water Communications Manager in managing the website was acknowledged. Ms. Aureli informed participants that both UN-Water Members and Partners as well as external partners such as the National Italian Water Polo Team, Australian schools and universities were contributing to the campaign. Here, Ms. Aureli mentioned that the partner criteria that were developed for regulating input to the website had been helpful. Furthermore, participants were informed that a database compiling all related activities and events is under preparation and will soon be available on the website. Ms. Aureli then listed some past and future milestone events, all available on the website. The idea of organizing an event to mark the completion of IYWC 2013 was mentioned and the need to know as soon as possible where the event could be held, in order to start organizing was stressed. A report will be prepared summarizing the whole year, including recommendations and lessons learnt and participants were invited to submit all material, and events developed and organized in the context of IYWC 2013.

During the ensuing discussion, the need for UN-Water guidelines on the management of the WWD campaigns was expressed. It was suggested that the document developed for WWD in Cape Town (2011) could serve as a starting point. The need for criteria for the engagement of Member States and partners was also expressed.

The language limitation of the website was also mentioned, and participants were informed that the system hosting the website will soon be replaced by one that allows for multiple languages and thus, the website should soon be available in French and maybe Spanish as well.

Participants recognized the importance and opportunities linked to holding an event to mark the completion of the Year and agreed to conduct an email consultation to discuss the details.

Decision 29: The SPM supported the idea of holding an event marking the completion of the 2013 International Year of Cooperation, to be held preferably in a developing country, and will conduct an email consultation to discuss details.

16: Water in the Post-2015 Development Agenda

Item 16.1 Overview of Water in the Rio+20 Implementation and in the Post-2015 Development Agenda [UNDESA]

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Mr. Thomas Stelzer (UNDESA) provided the participants with an update on progress towards developing a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The key role of UN-Water in bringing one voice for a global goal on water was mentioned, with the establishment of the Working Group in Stockholm last year with the mandate to formulate technical recommendations on a possible SDG on water. Furthermore, the Open Working Group (OWG) on SDGs that was established in January 2013 by decision of the GA will have its first formal meeting in early March and will possibly submit an interim report to the 2013 meeting of the GA. It is expected that the OWG could then submit its final report containing a proposal on SDGs towards the end of the 68th session of the GA. Mr. Stelzer also referred to the establishment of the inter-agency technical support team (TST) co-chaired by DESA and UNDP, as a spin off of the UN Task Team on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. He also mentioned the SG’s initial analytical input to the work of the OWG mainly based on a synthesis of Member States’ responses to a Secretariat questionnaire, in which water and sanitation ranked number two among the most critical areas identified by Member States and confirmed the high demand of Member States for an SDG on water. The need for close collaboration between the OWG and the ongoing work on the post-2015 development agenda was highlighted.

Mr. Stelzer then updated the participants on several initiatives of the UN Secretary-General in supporting the post-2015 process. These include the establishment of a High-level Panel of Eminent Persons and the appointing of his own Special Advisor on post-2015 Development Planning. It was mentioned that these processes will converge in an intergovernmental decision, which is not expected before the end of 2014. Mr. Stelzer also underlined that the delivery of a new framework for post-2015 is the prerogative of Member States, and that the role of the UN System is to support Member States in fulfilling their tasks by providing evidence-based analysis and advice.

Item 16.2 Cancelled

Item 16.3 Speech from the Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation

Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation delivered a speech on the human right aspect in the post-2015 Development Agenda. Although the MDGs played an important role in defining the agenda, galvanizing support from governments, donors and a wide range of actors to address critical areas, inequality remains mostly untouched and continues to be the most persistent of all challenges faced in the world.

Ms. de Albuquerque reported on her country missions and resulting recommendations, highlighting the instrumental role that UN-Water could play in providing the support that national or local governments require to carry the recommendations forward.

At the global level, Ms. de Albuquerque emphasized the unique opportunity given by the post-2015 agenda to revisit the issue of human rights in the water sector, and to ensure they are reflected in new goals and targets. Some concrete recommendations, including the need for a global and generic stand-alone goal on equality and the need for WASH to have a specific goal, target and indicators on equal footing with other key priority areas for development were presented in Ms. de Albuquerque’s most recent report to the United Nations GA.

Item 16.4 Report of Working Group on the Water SDG [Working Group]

After consultation with the UN-Water Management Team and some interested UN-Water Members it was suggested that Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP) take over the coordination of the Working Group from Mr. Robert Bos (WHO), who retires at the end of February 2013, to ensure continuity in the work of the Working Group on the Water SDG.

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Mr. Bos informed participants that progress of the Working Group had been limited due to other major conflicting activities. An initial discussion had however taken place on the occasion of the meeting of the TF on Water Resources Management that took place on 23-24 January 2013 in Geneva Switzerland.

Mr. Bos presented the work that had been done in water and sanitation, using the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme as a platform, focusing on the process rather than the outcomes, as the lessons learnt could be helpful in the processes of developing targets and indicators in the areas of water resources management, wastewater management and water quality. A first consultation was held in 2011 in Berlin with about 80 high-level professionals with WASH background, and resulted into a road map that led to the setting up of four Working Groups: Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Non-discrimination and Equality. Through their 12-month consultation process, the Working Groups selected targets that were then presented in a High-level Meeting in The Hague in December 2012. Mr. Bos emphasized on the importance of communicating these results.

Mr. Harlin confirmed his willingness to coordinate the Working Group, with the following caveats: i) that all agree and commit to develop a common position on a possible water SDG, and ii) that the Working Group will be supported by an external expert, to be identified and hired and who would move the work forward. Mr. Harlin highlighted the complexity of the exercise and the need to be focused and come up with a limited number of targets and understandable indicators that cover all aspects of water, to be presented to Member States. Here, it was suggested that those interested in being part of the Working Group meet and discuss the way forward during the lunch break and report back in the afternoon.

In the ensuing discussion, Mr. Lenni Montiel (EOSG) brought to the attention of the participants the fact that the United Nations Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary General are concerned with the fact that post-2015 is derailing the work of achieving the MDGs, as the credibility of post-2015 and the SDGs depends on the efforts made to support achieving the MDGs. Thus, at the next CEB meeting, there will be a section where Principals will review progress around the MDGs and ensure that key efforts are made in the next three years.

After the lunch break, Mr. Harlin briefed the participants on the outcomes of the discussions on the Working Group. It was re-affirmed that UN-Water will develop a common position on water-related targets and indicators for the post-2015 and SDGs framework. The current input coming from the Global Thematic Consultation on Water will need to be merged and trimmed to one current structure for endorsement by all and that will have to be communicated jointly and effectively to decision-making groups. Furthermore, it was suggested that the process will be led by a core group with frequent and open consultations, especially with UN-Water Members and Partners to get feedback. In terms of the composition of the core group, it was suggested that it comprises one representative from UNDESA to link with the political process, one representative from each Global Thematic Consultation on Water Stream that is well clued in on targets and indicators; one UN-Water Partner; one representative of the UN-Water Management Team and Mr Ünver, to ensure continuity with the work of the TF on Indicators, Monitoring and Reporting, as WWAP coordinates this TF. The need for an external facilitator, technically knowledgeable to move the process forward was also expressed. The name of Roberto Lenton was put forward. In terms of immediate next steps the following needs were identivied: i) develop a Concept Note, including a roadmap and milestones; ii) decide on how to run consultations, internally and externally; iii) how to liaise with key groups such as Friends of Water and OWG; iv) draft facilitator’s TOR. The need to reflect on the current status of the three Streams was highlighted.

During the ensuing discussion, some participants expressed concern regarding the size of the core group and the fact that it might not be representative enough. Here it was clarified that the process will be consultative and that whatever the core group produces will be reviewed by UN-Water at-large before endorsement.

Decision 30: The SPM agreed to contribute and commit to working together in developing a water SDG.

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A small Working Group led by Mr. Joakim Harlin will develop a draft common position for UN-Water for a water SDG.

The ways of working of the Working Group will be transparent and consultative and will start with the development of a concept note.

The SPM approved the use of UN-Water core budget to hire a consultant to facilitate and support the work of the Working Group.

Each thematic area will choose one representative in the Working Group (e.g. one from DESA, one person from each of 3 themes (WASH, Wastewater, WRM), one UN-Water Partner, one from UN-Water Management Team, and Mr. Olcay Unver representing monitoring).

Item 16.5 Post-2015 Water Thematic Consultation

Item 16.5.1 Overview and Role of UN-Water [UNICEF]

Ms. Cecilia Scharp (UNICEF) provided participants with an overview of the Post-2015 Thematic Consultation on Water as a small part of a much broader and complex process. Indeed, in addition to the UN System processes described in Agenda Item 16.1, the UN Development Group (UNDG) chaired by UNDP is leading planning efforts to catalyze a “global conversation” on post-2015 through a series of national consultations and eleven global thematic consultations, including one on Water, facilitated by UN-Water and co-led by UNICEF and UNDESA.

The participants were informed that the Thematic Consultation on Water was launched in November 2012 with a general global consultation mostly reaching out to water experts followed by a five-week online discussion comprised of the topical Streams of: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Water Resources Management; and Wastewater Management and Water Quality. The process will be officially rounded up in The Hague on 21-22 March 2013 where a summary of the discussions and identified priorities will be presented.

Ms. Scharp then briefly described the structure and contents of the website, including question polls, input to questions posed, video messages, live stream videos where the audience was able to ask questions to the presenter directly using social media. Participants were informed that the Thematic Consultation on Water had scored the highest in terms of visits and interactions compared to the other Thematic Consultations and was a great success. Some reserve and difficulties were however expressed in terms of reaching out to all. Ms. Scharp expressed the need to think of the way forward and how to best make use of the information, material and technical tools that arose from the exercise.

Item 16.5.2 Panel Discussion of Stream Coordinators [UNECE, UNICEF, AquaFed, UNESCO and HABITAT]

The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Bert Diphoorn (UN-Water Vice-Chair) and started with a series of general questions to each Stream Coordinator, such as the storyline, lessons learnt for each Stream, followed by some more specific questions on specific issues.

Ms. Francesca Bernardini (UNECE) presented the different sub-topics that were discussed in the Stream on Water Resources Management (WRM). The five week consultation was divided in the following topics: 1. Water for Energy, Energy for Water led by SIWI; 2. Climate Change and Water-related Risks led by WMO; 3. Water for Nature, Nature for Water led by IUCN; 4. Water for Food led by FAO; 5 Governing & Managing

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Water Resources for Sustainable Development led by UNDP, UNEP and GWP; and Water for Peace led by UNESCO.

Ms. Bernardini highlighted the good spirit in which the exercise had been undertaken, underlining that all three Streams supported each other. Some limitations of the exercise in terms of input received were put forward, and the need for more substance was expressed. The most successful week for the WRM Stream was the one on Governance, which might have seemed less attractive than themes such as Water and Food or Water and Energy that are usually more popular. Ms. Bernardini explained that the reason behind this was based on the fact that UNDP and UNEP had actively mobilized their networks.

Ms. Bernardini then gave some updates on the Meeting of the Water Resources Management and Wastewater Management and Water Quality Streams that will take place on 27 – 28 of February 2013 in Geneva, where the results of the thematic consultation of both Streams will be presented aiming at bringing them to the next step in terms of what the post-2015 Development Agenda should include.

Mr. Jack Moss (Aquafed) presented the Stream on Wastewater and Water Quality (WW and WQ) and its weekly sub-topics: 1. Wastewater in an urbanizing world; 2. Impact of wastewater on oceans-nitrogen & phosphorous challenge; 3. Wastewater reuse-development, innovation led by IWA; 4. Collecting and treating urban water after use led by AquaFed and 5. Economic opportunities in wastewater led by OECD.

Mr. Moss also expressed his commitment in participating in the exercise and highlighted the dedication of the participants that all believed in the exercise and that it should get high up on the political agenda. The positive and collaborative spirit of the process was also mentioned.

When asked by the Moderator what findings came up from the exercise, Mr. Moss underlined the fact that wanting targets was quite simple, but that coming up with meaningful targets was very complex. The important amount of work that needs to be done to catch up with WASH was stressed.

Mr. Moss also informed participants about a survey facilitated by Nestlé under the request of Mr. Paul Polman, a member of the High Level Panel to find out the view of the business world regarding an SDG on water. The responses have been summarized in a 2-pager and will hopefully be shared with UN-Water.

Ms. Scharp (UNICEF) presented the Stream on Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) noting that the Stream was different from the two others in the sense that their starting points were not the same: the WASH community has already gone through an expert driven and transparent process with the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP). A proposal for the future framework for WASH had already been prepared. The idea with the WASH Stream was thus to add value and thinking on matters that had not been fully covered by the JMP process. The five weeks were divided as follows: 1. Aspirational Objectives of the Joint Monitoring Program; 2. WASH in Schools; 3. WASH and Governance: People, Power and Politics; 4. WASH and Environmental Sustainability; 5. WASH and Economic Development.

When asked by the Moderator to give some details on “interferences from the top” regarding a questionnaire that had been prepared for distribution inquiring on whether the reader would like to have a water goal, Ms. Scharp explained that indeed a UNDP request to remove the question from the questionnaire was received. The reason being that the consultation should be limited to facilitating voices only.

Ms. Scharp also expressed the good spirit of the exercise, highlighting a recent positive experience with the other Streams at a recent High Level Panel meeting in Monrovia, where the Stream Coordinators managed to deliver joint messages together, including global targets, joint statement on evidence and compelling arguments for joint lessons from MDGs.

Item 16.6 Post-2015 Implementation and UN-Water’s Role [UN-Water Management Team]

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This Item was discussed as part of Item 16.4 Report of Working Group on the Water SDG.

Item 16.7 Next Steps [UN-Water Management Team]

This Item was discussed as part of Item 16.4 Report of Working Group on the Water SDG.

Thursday, 21 February 2013

17: Coordination of UN-Water Monitoring/Reporting A ctivities

The UN-Water Chief Technical Advisor summarized the monitoring and reporting initiatives operated under the UN-Water umbrella as per the Annotated Agenda, as well as some of those not operating under the UN-Water umbrella, highlighting the important number of such initiatives. The need to improve the coordination of UN-Water’s communications with Member States for collection of data and information was underlined, as this creates data collection burden at the country level, and thus does not fulfill UN-Water’s mandate as a coordination mechanism.

Participants were reminded that a Publication Committee had been established at the last UN-Water Meeting to look into the harmonization of UN-Water Reports in terms of branding, and for which TOR had not been defined yet. The questions on whether the issue of data and information collection at the country level should be part of the TOR of the Publication Committee, and whether the TF on Country Level Coordination could have a role in this were brought forward to the participants.

In the ensuing discussions, although recognizing the need to support country-level data collection, participants thought that such a task should not be undertaken by the Publication Committee, as the issue of data and information collection is complex and goes way beyond publications. It was suggested to start by carrying out a complete and accurate landscaping exercise of UN-Water’s monitoring and reporting initiatives.

As participants could not agree on the way forward, it was suggested to set up a Group to look into this and develop a concrete proposal on how to improve the coordination of UN-Water data and information collection to be presented at the 19th UN-Water Meeting. This will be done through producing a map of UN-Water data collection initiatives. Mr. Bruce Gordon (WHO) volunteered to lead the Group and UNECA volunteered to be part of the Group. Also, participants were reminded that some work had been done and that the Report of TF on Water Resources Management includes an element on how to look into data collection at the country level and could serve as starting point.

Decision 31: The SPM decided to strengthen country-led data collection.

The SPM decided to establish a group led by Mr. Bruce Gordon to produce a map of UN-Water data collection initiatives and present this at the 19th UN-Water Meeting together with recommendations on the way forward.

18: Proposed Events for UN-Water’s Engagement

The UN-Water Chair walked the participants through the list of proposed events for UN-Water’s Engagement dividing them into three groups. The first group comprised those events that are underway and it was agreed to endorse them as events for UN-Water’s engagement. The second group comprised events that

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had a longer time scale and the third group comprised three specific events: the High-Level International Conference on Water Cooperation in Dushanbe, the Stockholm World Water Week and the Budapest Water Summit.

In the ensuing discussion, as several of the SPM had been contacted and invited to be part of the Steering Committee of the Dushanbe Conference, the need to have a unified UN-Water voice was felt and the UN-Water Secretary was requested to be the official representative of UN-Water.

With regard to the Budapest Summit, participants recognized that the process was similar to the one of the Dushanbe Conference in the way the Missions in New-York are promoting the event, yet different in the sense that it is not formalized in a Resolution by the GA. It was noted that the Hungarians had already announced it as a voluntary commitment at the Rio+20 Conference. The need to clarify the role and involvement of UN-Water in the Summit was felt and it was decided that the UN-Water Chair will liaise with the Hungarian authorities about this.

Concerning the Stockholm World Water Week, the UN-Water Chair had been contacted by the Executive Director of SIWI about the development and release of a second Stockholm Statement as an input to the GA in September 2013, asking for UN-Water’s view on this. Participants welcomed the idea of having such a statement, but did not feel the need to formally endorse it.

Decision 32: UN-Water will engage in the following events:

August 2013: High-Level International Conference on Water Cooperation, Dushanbe. The SPM agreed to designate the UN-Water Secretary to represent UN-Water.

September 2013: Stockholm World Water Week.

October 2013: Budapest World Water Summit. The Chair will hold further consultations with Hungarian authorities.

Furthermore, it was highlighted the need to check, before engaging in an event, the financial implication linked to the participation, especially related to exhibitions. Also, it was suggested to institutionalize collaborations (e.g. through agreements) in the cases where UN-Water’s participation was continuous.

Participants were informed that the host country of the 7th World Water Forum, the Korean Government will shortly officially seek UN-Water’s involvement in the run up to the Forum. It was agreed that UN-Water will participate in the kick-off meeting.

Decision 33: The SPM agreed that UN-Water should participate in the kickoff meeting (May 2013) of the 7th World Water Forum.

With regard to the 2013 UN-Water Annual Zaragoza Conference, it was suggested that UNW-DPAC develop a concept and draft programme and draft list of invitees to be shared and moreover develop a Conference Concept Note around the theme of World Water Day 2014 i.e. Water and Energy.

Decision 34: The SPM requested UNW-DPAC to submit at the 19th UN-Water Meeting a concept note together with the draft programme and draft list of invitees of the 2013 Zaragoza Conference.

The SPM encouraged UNW-DPAC to develop the 2013 Zaragoza Conference concept note around the theme of World Water Day 2014, on Water and Energy.

Decision 35: The SPM welcomed SIWI initiative to release a statement during the 2013 Stockholm World

Water Week.

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19: Decision on the Date and Venue of the Next UN-Water Meeting

The SPM discussed the length of the next meeting and decided to keep the same format as the 17th UN-Water Meeting i.e. one full day with Members only followed by one and a half days with Partners and then a half day with Members only for the closure of the Meeting.

Decision 36: The 19th UN-Water Meeting will take place in Stockholm on the following dates: 29-31 August 2013 and will follow the August 2012 format.

20: Adoption of Decisions

The UN-Water Secretary presented the decisions made at the 18th UN-Water Meeting and invited Members to formally adopt them.

The table “decisions made at the 18th UN-Water Meeting” was officially adopted (see Annex 1).

21: Closing Remarks by UN-Water Chair

The UN-Water Chair closed the Meeting by thanking all participants for their contributions, and specially acknowledged the longstanding commitment of Mr. Bos (WHO) that attended his last SPM Meeting.

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18th UN-Water Meeting

19 – 21 February 2013, Washington D.C.

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

UN-Water Members

Zafar Adeel Director United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) 175 Longwood Road South Suite 204, Hamilton, ON L8P 0A1 Canada. Tel: +1 905 667 5492 Fax: +1 905 667 5510 Email: [email protected] Pradeep Aggarwal Section Head International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Isotope Hydrology Section Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences Vienna International Center Wagramer Strasse 5 PO Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria. Tel: +431 2600 21735 Fax: +431 26007 Email: [email protected] Maite Aldaya (by tele-conference) Senior Researcher Universidad Complutense de Madrid – Water Observatory Consultant United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Division of Technology, Industry and Economics Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch Spain. Tel: +34 91 16 91 777 Mobile: +34 616 72 10 88 Email: [email protected] Alice Aureli Chief, Groundwater Section United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Division of Water Sciences 1 rue Miollis 75732 Paris Cedex 15 France. Tel: +33 (0) 1 45 68 39 95 Fax: +33 (0) 1 45 68 58 11 Email: [email protected]

Final version 2

Francesca Bernadini Secretary Water Convention United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Palais des Nations - 8-14 Avenue de la Paix - 1211 Geneve 10 Switzerland. Tel: +41 (0)22 917 2463 Fax: +41 (0)22 917 0107 Email: [email protected] Harriet Bigas Project Officer Drylands Ecosystems Programme United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) Suite 204, 175 Longwood Road South Hamilton, Ontario Canada L8P 0A1. Tel: +1 905 667 5485 Fax: +1 905 667 5510 Email: [email protected] Peter Koefoed Bjørnsen Director United Nations Environment Programme UNEP-DPHI CENTER for Water and Environment Agern Allé 5 DK-2970 Hørsholm Denmark. Tel: +45 4516 9073 Fax: +45 4516 9292 Email: [email protected] Robert Bos Coordinator Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health World Health Organization (WHO) Avenue Appia20 1211 Geneva 2 Switzerland. Tel: 41 22 791 3555 Fax: +41 22 791 4159 Email: [email protected] Julia Bucknall Sector Manager Water Anchor (TWIWA) The World Bank 1818H St NW Washington DC, 20433 United States of America. Tel: +1 202 473 5323 Fax: +1 202 614 5323 Email: [email protected]

Final version 3

Claudio Caponi Senior Scientific Officer Climate and Water Department World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 7bis, avenue de la Paix Case postale 2300 CH1211, Genève 2 Switzerland Tel: +4122 730 8407 Fax: +4122 730 80 43 Email: [email protected] Carlos R. Carrión-Crespo (by tele-conference) Sectoral Specialist for Public Services and Utilities International Labour Organization (ILO) 4, Route des Morillons 1211 Genève 10 Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 799 7348 Email: [email protected] Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu Environmentalist Secretariat UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) P O Box 260129, D53153 Bonn Langen Eugen, Hermann-Ehlers-Str 10, 53113 Bonn Germany. Tel: +49 228 815 2819 Fax: +49-228 815 2898/9 Email: [email protected] David Coates Environmental Affairs Officer Inland Waters Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 413 Rue Saint Jacques Suite 800, Montreal Qc Canada, H2Y 1N9. Tel: +1 514 287 8715 Fax: +1 514 288 6588 Email: [email protected] Stephen Maxwell Kwame Donkor Senior Regional Adviser Water Resources Development and Management Food Security and Sustainable Development Division (FSSD) P.O. Box 3005 Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Tel: +251 (0) 11 554 3671 Fax: +251 (0) 91 220 0987 Email: [email protected]

Final version 4

Bruce Gordon Technical Officer Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health (WSH) World Health Organization (WHO) Avenue Appia20 1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 791 27 28 Fax: +41 22 791 41 59 Email: [email protected] Joakim Harlin Senior Water Resources Advisor United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Drottninggatan 33 SE 11151 Stockholm Sweden. Tel: +46 8 121 36097 Fax: +46 8 522 139 61 Email: [email protected] Blanca Jimenez-Cisneros Director Division of Water Sciences Secretary of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) UNESCO 1 rue Miollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15 France. Tel: +33 (0) 1 45 68 4002 Fax: +33 (0) 1 45 68 5811 Email: [email protected] Shaoyi LI (tele-conference) Head Integrated Resources Management Unit Sustainable Consumption and Production Branch Division of Technology, Industry and Economics United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 15 rue de Milan 75441 Paris CEDEX 09 France. Tel: +33 1 4437 3009 Fax: 33 1 4437 1474 Email: [email protected] Neil McFarlane Chief, Regional Programmes and DRR Coordination United Nations International Strategy For Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) 9-11 rue de Varembé CH1202 Geneva . Tel: +41 22 9178914 Fax: +41 79 4445304 Email: [email protected]

Final version 5

Tacko Ndiaye Policy Adviser on Economic Empowerment UN Women 220 East 42nd Street 19th Floor New York, NY 10017 United States of America. Tel: Fax: Email: [email protected] Ana Persic Science Specialist United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 2 United Nations Plaza Room 900 New York NY 10017. Tel: +1-212- 963-2007 Email: [email protected] Jyoti Sanghera Chief Human Rights and Economic and Social Issues Section Research and Right to Development Division Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 48 Avenue Giuseppe Motta, Office 1-07 Geneva, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 928 9691 Email: [email protected] Cecilia Scharp Senior Advisor, Water and Environment Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme Division United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) UNICEF House 3 UN Plaza, Building H Room 708 New York, NY 10017 United States of America. Tel: 1212-303-7957 Email: [email protected] Christian Susan Industrial Development Officer Environmental Management Branch Projects and Technical Cooperation Division Water Management Unit United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Vienna International Centre P.O.Box 300 , A-1400 Vienna, Austria. Tel: +43 1 26026 3541 Fax: +43 1 26026 6855 Email: [email protected]

Final version 6

Pasquale Steduto Deputy Director Land & Water Division Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 – Rome Italy. Tel. +39.06.57054084 Fax +39 06 57056275 Email: [email protected] Thomas Stelzer Assistant Secretary-General Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) United Nations Secretariat 405 East 42nd Street Two UN Plaza, DC2-2308 New York, NY 10017 United States of America. Tel: 1 212 963 5064 Email: [email protected] Sanjay Wijesekera Chief Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Programme Division United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) UNICEF House 3 UN Plaza, Building H, Room 720 New York, NY 10017 United States of America . Tel: 1212-326 7308 Email: [email protected] Erick Zeballos Deputy Director International Labour Organization (ILO) Washington Office 1808 I Street, NW, 9th Floor Washington, DC 20006 United States of America. Tel: +202 617 3952 Fax: +202 617 3960 Email: [email protected]

UN-Water Programmes Reza Ardakanian Director UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) UN Campus Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10 53113 Bonn Germany. Tel.: +49 228 815 0652 Fax: +49 228 815 0655 Email: [email protected]

Final version 7

Jens Liebe Programme Officer UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) UN Campus Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10 53113 Bonn Germany. Tel: +49 228 815 0671 Fax: +49 228 815 0655

Email: [email protected] Josefina Maestu Coordinator/Director UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNDW-DPAC) Casa Solans Avda. Cataluna 60, 50014 Zaragoza Spain. Tel: +34 976 478 346/7 Fax: +34 976 478 349 Email: [email protected] Olcay Ünver Coordinator/ Director United Nations World Water Assessment. Programme (WWAP) Villa La Colombella Localitá di Colombella Alta , 06080 Colombella (Perugia), Italy. Tel: +39 075 591 1005 Email: [email protected] UN-Water Partners with Special Status Catarina de Albuquerque UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation ESCR Section Special Procedures Branch UNOG-OHCHR Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland. Tel: Email: [email protected] Osamu Mizuno Deputy Coordinator United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) S-2689 UN Secretariat 405 E 42nd Street New York, NY 10017 United States of America. Tel: +1-212 963 8444 Email: [email protected]

Final version 8

Archana Patkar Programme Manager Networking and Knowledge Management Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council 15 Chemin Louis Dunant 1202 Geneva Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 540 81 65 Fax: +41 22 560 81 84 Email: [email protected] Florence Poppe Associate Expert in Water Policy United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) Two UN Plaza, S-2605 New York, NY 10017 United States of America. Tel: +1 212 963 7756 Fax: + 1 212 063 4340 Email: [email protected] Juana Sotomayor Human Rights Officer Office of the United nations High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCHR-Palais Wilson CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland. Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 9445 Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 9006 Email: [email protected] Invited speakers and observers William Cosgrove Project Manager World Water Scenarios Project UNESCO-WWAP Senior Research Scholar IIASA. Tel: Email: [email protected] Pavel Kabat Director and CEO International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) Schloßplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg Austria. Tel: +43 2236 80711 Email: [email protected] Lenni Montiel Director Economic, Social and Developemt Affairs Unit Executive Office of the Secretary-General United Nations New York, NY 10017 United States of America. Tel: +1 917 367 4437 Email: [email protected]

Final version 9

Jack Moss Senior Water Advisor The International Federation of Private Water Operators AquaFed 16 Avenue Hoche, 75008 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 53 89 08 10 Email: [email protected] Meleesa Naughton Water Anchor (TWIWA) The World Bank 1818 H Street, Washington DC United States of America. Tel: +1 202 4584187 Email: [email protected] Anna Schulz Doctoral Student International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) 161 Portage Avenue East 6th Floor Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0Y4 Canada. Tel: 204 958 7700 Fax: 204 958 7710 Email: [email protected] Lynn Wagner Senior Manager, Knowledge Management Projects Reporting Services International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) 161 Portage Avenue East 6Th Floor Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0Y4 Canada. Tel: Email: [email protected] Dave Wiberg Research Scholar Water International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA) Schloßplatz 1, 2361 Laxenburg Austria. Tel: +43(0) 2236 807 588 Email: [email protected]

Final version 10

UN-Water Management Team Michel Jarraud Chair UN-Water Secretary General World Meteorological Organization 7 bis, avenue de la Paix Case postale 2300 CH 1211 Genève 2 Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 730 8200 Fax: +41 22 730 8181 Email: [email protected] Bert Diphoorn Vice-Chair UN-Water Director Human Settlements Financing Division UN-HABITAT P.O. Box 30030 GPO, Nairobi, 00100 Kenya. Tel: +254 20 7625420 Fax: +254 20 762 3588 Email: [email protected] Ndey-Isatou Njie Secretary UN-Water Chief, Water Energy and Strategies Branch Division for Sustainable Development, UN-DESA United Nations, 405 42nd Street Room S 2672 New York, NY 10017 United States of America. Tel: +1 917 367 8508 Fax: +1 212 963 9883 Email: [email protected] Federica Pietracci Special Assistant to the UN-Water Secretary Senior Economic Affairs Officer Division for Sustainable Development, DESA Two UN Plaza, Room DC2-2210, New York, NY 10017 United States of America. Tel: + 1 212 963-8497 Fax: + 1 917 367 2341 Email: [email protected] Federico Properzi Chief Technical Adviser UN-Water c/o World Meteorological Organization 7 bis, avenue de la Paix Case postale 2300 CH 1211 Genève 2 Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 730 87 73 Email: [email protected]

Final version 11

Paulette Ashong Administrative Assistant UN-Water c/o World Meteorological Organization 7 bis, avenue de la Paix Case postale 2300 CH 1211 Genève 2 Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 730 85 61 Email: [email protected] Stéfanie Neno Communications Manager UN-Water FAO Land and Water Division Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153 Rome Italy. Tel: +39 06 570 54079 Email: [email protected] Sophia Sandström Temporary Support UN-Water Project Officer Climate and Water Department World Meteorological Organization 7 bis, avenue de la Paix Case postale 2300 CH 1211 Genève 2 Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 730 81 78 Fax: +41 22 730 80 43 Email: [email protected]

Final version 26/02/2013

11:13:21 AM

1

Decisions made at the 18th UN-Water Meeting

Washington D.C., 19-21 February 2013

Discussed

under

item no.

Decision Responsibility for

follow-up

1. 2 Ms. Blanca Jimenez will develop the draft TOR of the Publication Committee and activate it by the 19th UN-Water Meeting with the support of Claudio Caponi.

UNESCO

2. 2 The selection panel for the UN-Water Communication Manager will be under the leadership of the Vice-Chair of UN-Water and comprises: UN-Water Vice-Chair, UN-Water Secretary, Chief Technical Adviser, Mr. Max Donkor.

3. 3.1 The SPM appointed Mr. Thomas Chiramba to serve on the JSG for a period of two years until the first bi-annual UN-Water Meeting in 2015. The SPM gratefully thanked Mr. Robert Bos for serving in the JSG since August 2011.

-

4. 3.2 The SPM approved the application of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation as a UN-Water Partner with Special Status. The SPM requested the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicant.

UN-Water Secretary

5. 3.2 The SPM rejected the partnership application of Sri Swami Madhavananda World Peace Council (SMWPC). The SPM requested the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicant, specifying the reasons why the application was rejected.

UN-Water Secretary

6. 3.2 The SPM rejected the partnership application of Discovery Africa. The SPM requested the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicant, specifying the reasons why the application was rejected.

UN-Water Secretary

7. 3.3 The draft updated Operational Guidelines will be presented at the 19th UN-Water Meeting. Of particular relevance will be the sections on the elections of the Chair and Vice-Chair and the criteria for the creation of Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas.

UN-Water Management Team

8. 4.1.2 Based on the commonalities of the proposals for the establishment of the Thematic Priority Area on Water Scarcity and the Task Force on Water Resource Efficiency, FAO and UNEP will work on a proposal on whether to merge both activities or not, to be presented at the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

FAO and UNEP

9. 4.2.1 The SPM endorsed the work plan of the TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation for 2013-2014 and approved the release of funds to support ongoing activities as listed in the work plan.

UNU

10. 4.2.2 The SPM endorsed the Terms of Reference and approved the hiring of the consultants Ms. Christine McNab and Mr. Paul Taylor. The SPM approved the inclusion of an assessment of how UN-Water can support the advancement of human rights-based approach (HRBA) at the country level by the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

Task Force on Country-Level Coordination


11:13:21 AM

2

11. 4.2.4 The SPM provisionally approved the work plan of the Task Force on Water Resources Management subject to its endorsement by the Task Force, to enable the release of the earmarked funds. UN-Water Members and Partners are encouraged to participate in the activities of the Task Force.

UNEP

12. 4.2.5 The SPM provisionally approved the Analytical Brief “Water Security and the Global Water Agenda” prepared by the Task Force on Water Security, following the review from UN-Water Members and Partners and the peer review process. UN-Water supports the production and publication of the Analytical Brief, to be launched at WWD 2013 with continued dissemination throughout the International Year of Water Cooperation where opportunities arise.

UNU

13. 4.2.7 The report on wastewater and pollution control (a.k.a. Johnstone report) will be circulated to the SPM, in accordance with the UN-Water review process, for comments during the month of March 2013. It will be subsequently developed into an analytical brief.

UNEP and HABITAT

14. 5 The SPM considered the proposal of the Global Groundwater Monitoring Network and decided not to include it as a UN-Water initiative due to the lack of clarity concerning the role of UN-Water. The UN-Water Secretary will officially inform IGRAC of the decision.

UN-Water Secretary

15. 6.1 The UN-Water Secretary will inquire about the mandate for an official report on the Decade Water for Life. The concept note on the Decade Report will be refined integrating the feedback of the SPM (as per meeting report) and will be revisited at the 19th UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm, under the leadership of WWAP.

UN-Water Secretary WWAP

16. 6.2 The SPM acknowledged the following activities as additional UN-Water activities to the end of the Decade:

• Safe use of wastewater in agriculture (FAO, WHO, UNEP, UNU, UNW-WDPC, ICID and IWMI)

• Capacity Development for National Drought Policy (WMO, UNCCD, FAO and UNW-DPC)

UNW-DPC

17. 7.1 The work plan for WWDR6 (2015) was approved subject to availability of funding.

WWAP

18. 7.1 The suggested outline of the third work plan for UNW-DPC was approved.

UNW-DPC

19. 7.1 The 2013 work plan for UNW-DPAC was approved subject to availability of funding.

UNW-DPAC

20. 7.2.2 The SPM decided that the themes of the World Water Development Report will be harmonized with those of the World Water Day. The SPM decided that the theme of WWDR6 (2015) will be Water and Sustainable Development. The SPM will propose at the 19th UN-Water meeting a recommendation for the 2016 WWD campaign to be on Water and Jobs and therefore recommend that the theme of the


11:13:21 AM

3

WWDR7 (2016) be on a related harmonized topic.

21. 7.2.3 The SPM approve the World Water Development Report 5 (2014) distribution plan presented by WWAP.

WWAP

22. 8 The SPM designated UNDP to coordinate the 2015 World Water Day campaign together with the following UN-Water Members/Programmes: WWAP, UNESCO, HABITAT, UNEP, World Bank and UNDESA.

23. 8 The UN-Water Chair will continue liaising with the World Bank with a view to enhancing the Bank’s involvement in UN-Water activities as a Member.

UN-Water Chair

24. 8 UNU and UNIDO will prepare a concept note on the 2014 World Water Day for endorsement by the SPM by the end of March.

UNU and UNIDO

25. 9 The SPM agreed to endorse the Global Water Resources Scenarios Project as an affiliated project and designated a Working Group to act as an interface with the project. The Working Group will include existing project members (e.g. UNESCO, FAO) as well as the UN-Water Management Team and any other interested Member. The SPM will reassess the involvement with the project at the 19th UN-Water Meeting, based on the feedback of the Working Group. WWAP as a UN-Water Programme will coordinate the Working Group.

WWAP

26. 11 The SPM approve the strengthening of collaboration between UN-Water and IISD Water Policy and Practice. The SPM requested the UN-Water Management Team to take the appropriate follow-up actions.


27. 13 The SPM approved the proposed way forward for the Water Indicators Portal and the release of the US$ 30,000 allocated for the activity.

FAO and UN-Water Management Team

28. 14 The SPM acknowledged the proposal to develop a Partnership on Natural Infrastructure Solutions for Water Security and invited the UNCBD to brief the SPM on further progress at its next meeting.

UNCBD

29. 15 The SPM supported the idea of holding an event marking the completion of the 2013 International Year of Cooperation, to be held preferably in a developing country, and will conduct an email consultation to discuss details.

UNESCO and UNECE

30. 16.4 The SPM agreed to contribute and commit to working together in developing a water SDG. A small Working Group led by Mr. Joakim Harlin will develop a draft common position for UN-Water for a water SDG. The ways of working of the Working Group will be transparent and consultative and will start with the development of a concept note. The SPM approved the use of UN-Water core budget to hire a consultant to facilitate and support the work of the Working Group.

Working Group


11:13:21 AM

4

Each thematic area will choose one representative in the Working Group (e.g. one from DESA, one person from each of 3 themes (WASH, Wastewater, WRM), one UN-Water Partner, one from UN-Water Management Team, and Mr. Olcay Unver representing monitoring).

31. 17 The SPM decided to strengthen country-led data collection. The SPM decided to establish a group led by Mr. Bruce Gordon to produce a map of UN-Water data collection initiatives and present this at the 19th UN-Water Meeting together with recommendations on the way forward.

Bruce Gordon

32. 18 UN-Water will engage in the following events:

August 2013: High-Level International Conference on Water

Cooperation, Dushanbe. The SPM agreed to designate the UN-

Water Secretary to represent UN-Water.

September 2013: Stockholm World Water Week.

October 2013: Budapest World Water Summit. The Chair will

hold further consultations with Hungarian authorities.

UN-Water Secretary UN-Water Management Team UN-Water Management Team

33. 18 The SPM agreed that UN-Water should participate in the kick-off meeting (May 2013) of the 7th World Water Forum.

34. 18 The SPM requested UNW-DPAC to submit at the 19th UN-Water Meeting a concept note together with the draft programme and draft list of invitees of the 2013 Zaragoza Conference. The SPM encouraged UNW-DPAC to develop the 2013 Zaragoza Conference concept note around the theme of World Water Day 2014, on Water and Energy.

35. 18 The SPM welcomed SIWI initiative to release a statement during the 2013 Stockholm World Water Week.

36. 19

The 19th UN-Water Meeting will take place in Stockholm on the following dates: 29-31 August 2013 and will follow the August 2012 format.

Annex I

Outstanding decisions from previous 17th UN-Water Meeting to be implemented

Decision

no. /

discussed

under

item no.

Decision Responsibility

for follow-up

2 / 3.2 The SPM approve in principle scenario no. 1 described in the

Report of the Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications

[document 3.2]. The Advisory Group on UN-Water

Communications will further refine this scenario, as well as

Advisory Group

on UN-Water

Communications


11:13:21 AM

5

assess its implications by the 18th SPM Meeting.

The SPM establish a Publication Committee that is responsible

for the overall coordination of the main UN-Water

publications. The Advisory Group on UN-Water

Communications will develop draft TOR and propose the

composition of the Committee by the 18th SPM Meeting.

7 / 3.4 Recognizing the need to better define the roles and

responsibilities of Partners, the SPM task the Management

Team to prepare an assessment of the UN-Water-related

activities of Partners by the end of 2012.

The SPM furthermore establish a Working Group on Partners’

Engagement coordinated by Ms. Francesca Bernardini.

Members include Ms. Josefina Maestu, Mr. Reza Ardakanian,

Mr. Zafar Adeel, Mr. Bert Diphoorn and Mr. Carlos Carrión-

Crespo. The Working Group will establish:

- guidelines on the role of Partners and their expected

contributions to the work of UN-Water, based on UN-

Water Terms of Reference and experience with

cooperation with Partners to date, including the

detailed survey of Partners completed by UN-Water in

2011.

- Guidelines on how UN-Water can improve the way it

engages Partners, including regular communication,

work of TPAs and TFs, advocacy work and other

possible joint activities.

Management

Team

Working Group

on Partners’

Engagement.

8 / 4 The SPM establish an Advisory Group on TPAs and TFs

coordinated by the UN-Water Vice-Chair. Members include

Mr. Stephen Donkor, Mr. Claudio Caponi and Mr. Thomas

Chiramba. The Advisory Group will make recommendations to

the 18th SPM Meeting on the overall TPA and TF architecture.

Advisory Group

on TPAs and TFs

11b /

4.1.3

The newly established Advisory Group on TPAs and TFs will

look at how the TPA on Drinking Water and Basic Sanitation

could act as “overall umbrella“ to the Task Force on Capacity

Development for Water Operators.

Advisory Group

on TPAs and TFs

15a / 6 The SPM adopt the recommendations of the Advisory Group

(AG) on UN-Water Publications:

“The AG recommends that a comprehensive publishing

/graphical profile guide for UN-Water publications is

developed to ensure a similar look and feel for all UN-Water

-


11:13:21 AM

6

publications.

The AG further recommends that only the UN-Water visual

identifier is printed on UN-Water water report front- and back

covers; in combination with a disclaimer on the inside cover.

Logos of contributing organizations, or ideally only a listing of

them, should be printed on the inside cover or at the end of

the report. (…)

A letter from the Chair of UN-Water to the heads of relevant

agencies to this effect is recommended.

The AG recommends that a publications committee is initiated

with the responsibility for overall coordination of the main

UN-Water publications. This group could consist of a number

of advisors (representing UN-Water Members, Programmes,

Management Team and Partners) and should ensure

harmonization of UN-Water reports contents, messaging and

outreach and take into account the timing of reports, also

beyond UN-Water, so that long and shorter-term publications

complement each other and are released at timely intervals.

The publications committee (or group) should also keep track

of individual agency reports in the pipeline as well as possible

thematic- or geographic gaps to ensure maximum

coordination and pro-active action to cover important but

unaddressed topics.”

17b / 17 The SPM request the Management Team to present a first

draft strategy at the 18th SPM Meeting.

UN-Water

Management

Team

Final Report of the 19th UN-Water Meeting 1

Final Report


29 – 31 August 2013 in Stockholm


1. Opening Session

Ms. Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Director-General of the Swedish International Development Cooperation

Agency (Sida), welcomed UN-Water Members to Sida and highlighted UN-Water’s work and impact not only

in the post Millennium Development Goals (MDG) context, but also in a range of other areas. She noted that

UN-Water has placed water and sanitation as high priorities on the global political agenda. Ms. Petri

Gornitzka pointed to the important contribution of UN-Water’s flagship reports such as the World Water

Development Report (WWDR) and the Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water

(GLAAS). Ms. Petri Gornitzka finally stressed the importance of increasing effectiveness at the country-level,

making use of lessons learned from the past to improve coordination.

Mr. Michel Jarraud, UN-Water Chair, thanked Ms. Petri Gornitzka for hosting the 19th UN-Water Meeting

and reminded participants that this year UN-Water will complete 10 years of activity and that there are good

reasons for being proud of the work that has been conducted so far, including the work of the past months on

the post-2015 and the SDGs processes. Upon adoption of the agenda of the 19th Meeting, the Chair updated

participants regarding the last meeting of the Joint Steering Group (JSG), during which discussions on

partnership applications and the preparations for the breakfast meeting with the donor partners took place. The

UN-Water Chair recalled that the minutes of the JSG meeting had already been circulated.


Ms. Ndey-Isatou Njie, UN-Water Secretary, provided an update on the implementation of past decisions

including the 18th and 17th UN-Water Meetings. The UN-Water Secretary noted that some decisions are still in

progress and would be discussed in the course of the 19th Meeting.


3.1 UN-Water Membership and Partnership Applications

The UN-Water Secretary asked the UN-Water Senior Programme Managers (SPM) to consider five

applications for partnership based on the recommendations of the JSG. Ms. Blanca Jimenez-Cisneros

(UNESCO) asked clarifications on the criteria used for evaluating the application for partnership and whether

they were available. The UN-Water Secretary replied that criteria are available for download on UN-Water’s

website together with the application form.

Decision 1: The SPM approve the applications for partner status of: the IRC International Water and

Sanitation Center; the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW); WaterLex; World Council

of Civil Engineers (WCCE); and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis

(IIASA). The SPM request the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicants.


3.2 Election of the Vice-Chair

UN-Water SPM were invited to elect a new UN-Water Vice-Chair to replace outgoing Vice-Chair Mr.

Bert Diphoorn, who will complete his 2-year term at the 20th UN-Water Meeting (first quarter of 2014). Ms.

Jimenez-Cisneros had expressed her interest to serve as Vice-Chair on July 9th 2013. The Chair highlighted

that the Vice-Chair does not represent his/her organization and reminded Ms. Jimenez-Cisneros of the need

for UNESCO to nominate a new representative.

Decision 2: The SPM appoint Blanca Jimenez-Cisneros to serve as Vice-Chair from the 20 th UN-Water

Meeting (first quarter of 2014) to the 24th UN-Water Meeting (first quarter of 2016). The

SPM also welcome Mr. Michel Jarraud's willingness to serve as Chair during the same

period, as indicated by the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination.

3.3 Joint Steering Group rotation

The SPM were invited to elect two members of the JSG to replace former JSG member Mr. Stephen

Maxwell Kwame Donkor, who has left UN ECA and outgoing JSG member Ms. Alice Aureli who completed

her 2-year term. Ms. Carol Chouchani Cherfane (UN-ESCWA) and Mr. Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu on behalf

of Mr. Sergio Zelaya (UNCCD) expressed their interest during the meeting and were accepted by the SPM as

new members of the JSG.

Decision 3: The SPM elect Carol Chouchani Cherfane (ESCWA) and Sergio Zelaya (UNCCD) to serve

on the JSG for a period of two years from the end of this meeting until the end of the second

bi-annual UN-Water Meeting in 2015.

The SPM gratefully thank Ms. Alice Aureli and Mr. Stephen Maxwell Kwame Donkor for

their service in the JSG.

3.4 Operational Guidelines

The UN-Water Management Team presented the draft revised Operational Guidelines.

Mr. Claudio Caponi (WMO) suggested to align the commencement of the mandates of UN-Water Chair

and Vice Chair, with the time of their elections. He also pointed out that the draft Operational Guidelines were

not too clear about the Chair’s election process by the CEB. The ensuing discussion revolved around the

added value of having the UN-Water Chair at the Principal’s level. Ms. Phyllis Lee (CEB Secretariat)

explained the consultative process that occurs between the UN Secretary-General and UN Executive Heads

when it comes to the designation of the Chairs of UN-Water, UN- Energy and UN-Oceans. Ms. Lee noted that

there are a number of interconnected issues within the CEB where the expertise and input of networks such as

UN-Water is extremely important.

Decision 4: All UN-Water Members, Partners with Special Status, Programmes and regional

arrangements are invited to send written comments on the second draft revised Operational

Guidelines to the UN-Water Management Team by the end of October 2013. See also

Decision No. 6 below.

Furthermore the SPM decide to provisionally adopt the paragraph of the Operational

Guidelines regarding the UN-Water Chair nomination process: “The Chair of UN-Water is

nominated among the UN Executive Heads, after consultations in the UN System Chief

Executives Board for Coordination.”


4. Presentation of the Zero Draft UN-Water Strategy to 2020

Mr. Federico Properzi, UN-Water’s Chief Technical Adviser (CTA), explained that this agenda item

stems from a decision made in the 16th Meeting and following discussions at the 17th Meeting. The need for a

strategy emerged in the context of the on-going process to define the post-2015 development agenda,

encouraging UN-Water to develop a clear vision statement. The purpose of the UN-Water strategy is to

provide a set of general principles on how UN-Water organizes to meet the needs and demands of Member

States. The process that led to this document is based on a series of interviews with: the Vice Chair, the former

CTA, the Programmes Director/Coordinators, colleagues pertaining to the donor community and Member

States. Participants were invited to provide initial feedback on the Zero Draft UN-Water Strategy to 2020.

Mr. Reza Ardakanian (UNW-DPC) highlighted the difficulty of speaking with one voice and reconciling

individual mandates in a harmonized vision. Ms. Jimenez-Cisneros and Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP)

agreed on the importance of giving all UN-Water Members the opportunity to confidentially answer the

questionnaire. Some participants pointed out that the Zero Draft UN-Water Strategy should include examples

of UN-Water’s actions and governance structure.

The UN-Water Chair noted that it is possible to build a common vision, and that different perspectives

should complement one another rather than compete. On this aspect, Mr. Pasquale Steduto (FAO) compared

UN-Water to an orchestra where the different instruments play their own tune, but all together they play a

symphony. The CTA also shared some successful examples of participative and interactive processes, which

took place within UN-Water (e.g. policy briefs, documents prepared for Rio+20 and the current development

of draft recommendations on a possible global goal on water).

Decision 5: All entities of UN-Water are invited to send written comments on the Zero Draft UN-Water

Strategy to 2020 to the UN-Water Management Team by the end of September 2013.

In addition, the Management Team will circulate as soon as possible to the SPM the

questionnaire used in the interviews. The SPM are invited to respond by end of September

2013.

5. TPAs and TFs Related Issues

5.1 Recommendations on rationalising TPAs/TFs/projects

At the time the first Thematic Priority Area (TPA) and Task Force (TF) were created, and on several

subsequent occasions, some general principles regarding their raison d’être, working mechanisms,

constitution, relationship with the rest of the organizational structure of UN-Water, were discussed and often

agreed upon by the SPM. However, while some of these principles may be found in previous reports of UN-

Water Meetings, they had not been recorded in the Operational Guidelines of UN-Water. Mr. Diphoorn, on

behalf of the Advisory Group on TPAs and TFs, presented the recommendations on the overall TPAs and TFs

architecture and a proposal of the text to be included in the Operational Guidelines (Document No. 5.1.2).

Decisions 6: The SPM agree that the text presented in document 5.1.2 will be revised for inclusion in the

second draft of the UN-Water Operational Guidelines to be circulated by the UN-Water

Management Team to UN-Water Members, Partners with Special Status, Programmes and

regional arrangements by the end of September 2013.


The SPM request the Advisory Group to continue its work and present its proposals on the

rationalisation of the architecture of UN-Water subsidiary bodies at the 20th UN-Water

Meeting.

5.2 Recommendations on a potential merger of the proposed TPA on Water Scarcity and TF on Water

Resource Efficiency

Mr. Steduto, on behalf of FAO and UNEP, presented for consideration by the SPM a proposal on a

potential merger of the proposed TPA on Water Scarcity and proposed TF on Water Resource Efficiency. The

activities anticipated by this TPA on Water Scarcity will address several dimensions of scarcity, including:

“water governance”; “water efficiency and productivity”; “groundwater”; “drought management policy”; and

“water reuse”.

The UN-Water Chair thanked Mr. Steduto for his presentation and pointed out that no decisions on

budgetary issues would be made in the course of the 19th Meeting. He then opened the floor for discussion

among participants.

Mr. Jose Luis Martin Bordes (UN-HABITAT) and Mr. Zafar Adeel (UNU) indicated their interest in

getting involved in this TPA. Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP) expressed an interest in having a more strategic

discussion about TPAs and TFs. Such a discussion could also consider an analysis of what UN-Water entities

undertake as part of their own mandate and what they undertake under the UN.-Water umbrella. Mr.

Diphoorn observed that the proposed TPA is particularly ambitious and asked why groundwater is taken into

account in this proposed TPA. Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal (IAEA) suggested that a specific TPA/TF could be

dedicated to groundwater to foster greater synergies among different agencies’ work.

Mr. Steduto reminded everybody that the activities are ongoing and that a unified framework would

allow for a better synergy, which should be supported by the inter agency trust fund.

Decision 7: The SPM approve in principle the establishment of the TPA on Water Scarcity and request

the interested parties to revert back with a revised concept note at the next UN-Water

Meeting.

5.3 Presentation of the Global Wastewater Initiative including its potential links to UN-Water

UNEP recently launched the Global Wastewater Initiative (GWI), a multi-stakeholder platform to provide

the foundations for partnerships aimed at initiating comprehensive, effective and sustained programmes

addressing wastewater management. The UN-Water Chair has received a letter asking UN-Water to join this

initiative. Therefore, UNEP was asked to present the GWI in more detail at this meeting, and in that context

explore the possibility for appropriate links between UN-Water and the GWI.

Mr. Chiramba announced the next meeting of the GWI initiative to be held in Nairobi in November

2013. GWI represents a platform to exchange information and best practices and eventually to contribute to

policy discussion. Regarding possible interactions with the UN-Water TF on Wastewater Management, Mr.

Chiramba noted that the origin of this initiative emerged from the realisation that this TF had a limited time

frame and focus and there was a need to broaden the scope of the wastewater discourse.

Some participants provided feedback on the wording of the GWI application form mentioning that their

legal offices would find it difficult to clear it. The UN-Water Chair confirmed that UN-Water, being an inter-

agency coordination mechanism, will not be able to join GWI and he therefore asked how to create formal

and functional links between the GWI and UN-Water. Mr. Chiramba replied by noting the importance of

clarifying what UN entities can do alone and what can be done jointly. He also stressed the beneficial impact

that UN-Water brings to the UN entities involved in joint activities.


6. Draft UN-Water Recommendations on a Potential Global Goal on Water

At the 18th UN-Water Meeting the SPM agreed to contribute and commit to working together to

consolidate the UN expertise and experience on all aspects linked to a global goal on water. A Working

Group (WG) led by Mr. Harlin developed a draft paper on the emerging UN-Water advice on a potential

global goal on water.

Mr. Harlin, in describing the process that led to the present document, noted that the WG was provided

with three internal input papers produced by the thematic areas on water supply, sanitation and hygiene,

water resources management, and wastewater and water quality. An external consultant (Mr. Alan Nicol)

was hired to assist drafting the joint paper based on the input papers. Mr. Harlin presented the document and

its structure and stressed its "work in progress” nature.

The overall inspirational goal (“Manage water to sustain people and the environment”) is supported by

three target areas corresponding to the three thematic areas: (i) access to water supply and sanitation, (ii)

sustainable use and development of water resources, (iii) improved water quality and wastewater

management. Two cross-cutting targets support the three thematic targets: Improving the resilience to water-

related disasters, and improving governance. Goals and targets are summarized in a diagram at page 9 of the

document (Background document No. 6.1).

The UN-Water Chair thanked those involved in this work for their time and commitment, and before

opening the floor for discussions on the water goal draft document asked Mr. Adeel for an update on the

“Incheon initiative”.

Mr. Adeel reported on the Incheon initiative, which also involved consultations with Member States

representatives. He noted that the outcome of this process is now in the editing phase and should be ready by

the end of September for a possible launch in New York. Mr. Adeel noted that the content is available to

UN-Water for comments, though he stressed that it would be impossible to merge it with the current UN-

Water work on a global goal on water. This is due to the fact that the co-conveners of the initiative, UNU and

UNDESA, had already approved the text. When asked by Mr. Chiramba and Mr. Bruce Gordon (WHO)

about potential redundancy and contradiction with the UN-Water work on the potential global goal on water,

Mr. Adeel said that the present document is more detailed, particularly concerning the discussion about the

lessons learned from the MDGs. The UN-Water Chair thanked Mr. Adeel for his work and presentation.

Some comments were expressed during the ensuing discussion, including the need of having goals that

are more binding and the inclusion of equity issues in the cross-cutting targets in order to balance the three

dimensions of sustainable development. Some participants suggested that UN-Water’s input should be more

concrete, including by looking at the possibility of building cost scenarios. Challenges associated with the

definition of some indicators as well as necessary monitoring and measurement tools were also raised.

Mr. Harlin highlighted how the draft input on the water SDGs leaves room for improvement, particularly

regarding indicators and cost-benefit analysis. To this extent, he observed that the context changes from

country to country and therefore the framework to be developed should be as adaptable flexible as possible.

Such adaptability, Mr. Harlin argued, could be achieved through a consultation process at the national level.

The discussion then moved to the possibility of presenting the work in progress at a side event during the

Budapest Water Summit in October 2013.

Decision 8: The SPM invite UNU and UN-DESA to share the outcome document of the Incheon Expert

Consultation with the UN-Water Working Group on the SDGs within three weeks after the

end of the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

The SPM decide that the final UN-Water input on a possible water SDG will be launched at


the time of the 20th UN-Water Meeting through a special event.

Decision 9: The SMP decide to organise the following activities:

1. UN-Water consultation workshop for finalisation of UN-Water work on SDG, date TBC

2. UN-Water side event at the margins of the 6th Session of the Open Working Group on

SDGs, New York 9-13 December 2013 , date TBC

7. Selected Reports and Progress Updates

7.1 UN-Water Decade report

The Coordinator of WWAP (Mr. Olcay Ünver) presented, on behalf of the three UN-Water Programmes,

the proposed Table of Contents of the UN-Water Decade Report. Mr. Ünver introduced the report by

highlighting that the major activity associated with the report itself pertains to the collection of activities

carried out by UN-Water Members and Partners over the decade. Data collection will involve interviews and

focus on data pertaining the Programmes’ activities. A presentation of the report’s outline (comprising five

chapters for approximately a total of 80 pages) was followed by a dynamic discussion on the next steps. The

UN-Water Chair drew participants’ attention on two points that had not been clarified during the past 18th UN-

Water Meeting: Length and audience of the document. He stressed the close links between these two issues,

and noted that the nature of the report would differ according to its different audiences (e.g. UN-Water

Members, UN General Assembly). The UN-Water Chair also observed that at this time there is no request by

the General Assembly to report on the end of the Decade.

The ensuing discussion revolved around what to include in the report and the level of detail. Some

participants proposed to include all the activities, while others thought this would eventually become

unmanageable, particularly in terms of the final size of the document. Participants agreed that the report

should not go through a detailed description of all activities performed over the decade, but rather present the

most relevant experiences thus providing some best practices. In this way, the report will not be a mere

inventory of activities, but include an analytical point of view. The UN-Water Chair stressed the importance

of having a report that avoids reference to individual agencies, but rather emphasises the message of the UN

working together.

Decision 10: The SPM revise its decision No. 15 of the 18th UN-Water Meeting and request UNW-DPC to

be responsible for the drafting of the Decade Report to be discussed at the next UN-Water

Meeting. The SPM request WWAP to provide the available materials collected so far to UNW-

DPC.

The SPM agree that the scope of the Decade Report will focus on major unique added value

initiatives carried out during the Decade by all entities in UN-Water as available on their

respective websites. The report intended audience is the general public, and it should include

approximately 20 pages.

Should the UN General Assembly request an end of Decade report, the input contained in the

above report would serve as the basis for a possible Secretary-General report.

Decision 11: The SPM request the Management Team to provide a draft on the general principles/criteria

that will guide the establishment or continuation of UN-Water Programmes for discussion and

approval at the next UN-Water Meeting.

These general principles/criteria will complement the Strategy and the Operational

Guidelines.


7.2 UN-Water Country Briefs

Mr. Steduto presented a progress update on the UN-Water Country Briefs’ project and proposed follow-up

activities. The project developed a comprehensive set of data involving countries’ water conditions, aimed at

stimulating political attention and investments in the water sector. Investment data were collected according to

nine categories established by the OECD-DAC. Data were collected for: water-related disasters; water

intensity in industry; irrigated agriculture, energy for water, water for energy; environment and ecosystem

health; drinking-water supply and sanitation; tracking water governance. Briefs were circulated among

national consultants, government focal points and UN-Water Members and Partners to validate the analyses

included therein. The Briefs were then presented at a side event during the 2013 World Water Week in

Stockholm.

The UN-Water Chair thanked FAO for the work done and asked Mr. Steduto and all participants how the

project could be promoted. Mr. Adeel asked what the response of the donors was and Mr. Steduto responded

that the feedback received was very good, but that currently no donor was in the position to support scaling up

the project.

Decision 12: The SPM thank FAO for the work done on the UN-Water Country Briefs and invite FAO to

submit the proposed Phase II work plan and budget as a contribution to the development of

the UN-Water 2014-2015 Work Programme, as a targeted activity.

7.3 Water Indicator Portal

Mr. Steduto presented a progress update on the Federated Water Monitoring System and Key Water

Indicator Portal. The project objective is to create a user-friendly webpage where UN-Water indicators are

available to the public. The webpage is now one of the most visited ones in the UN-Water website.

Decision 13: The SPM invite FAO to submit a comprehensive follow-up proposal on the Key Water

Indicators Portal as a contribution to the development of the UN-Water 2014-2015 Work

Programme.

7.4 Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications

Mr. Steduto, on behalf of the Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications, presented the follow-up

proposal for future UN-Water communication arrangements. Building on the UN-Water communication

strategy approved at the 15th UN-Water Meeting (Stockholm, 2011) and further to the proposal of the

Advisory Group on UN-Water Communications at the 17th UN-Water Meeting (Stockholm, 2012), the SPM

approved a governance model of UN-Water communication arranged as a “federated system” where one or

more communication function is assigned to a unit (e.g. UN-Water Member, Partner, Programme) that has the

capability to perform the assigned function. UN-Water communication activities were arranged in 8 major

communication functions: corporate communication; web; WWD Campaign; other campaigns; internal

communications and support to TFs and TPAs; other events; publications and information products; media

activities.

Decision 14: The SPM approve the structure of future UN-Water communication arrangements, as

contained in the Advisory Group proposal. No decision on budgetary implications is taken at

this time.

7.5 TF on Regional Level Coordination

Ms. Salmah Zakaria (ESCAP) presented an update on the UN-Water TF on Regional Level Coordination.

ESCAP and ESCWA, with the support of UNW-DPC, are working to support the TF in executing “a

comprehensive assessment of coordination mechanisms within the water sector that exist in the five regions,


to facilitate information exchange, access to information for better coherence in regional reporting, as well as

to identify possible alignments of regional chapters in UN-Water”. To date, regional surveys are being

completed under the coordination of Mr. Paul Taylor, one of the consultants hired for this project.

7.6 TF on Water Security

Mr. Adeel provided a report on recent activities of the TF on Water Security. Mr. Adeel reminded

participants that the main task of TF was to develop and produce the analytical brief on “Water Security and

the Global Water Agenda”. The Analytical Brief was officially launched in March 2013 during WWD

celebrations in New York and The Hague, and a total of 2,000 hard copies were printed. In terms of media

coverage, the launch has been highly successful with 120 online stories and 45 countries reached. The TF was

involved in a number of events, including: a high level roundtable discussion on “Water, Peace and Security”

co-hosted by the European Union, Switzerland, the United States and UN-Water during the 67th Session of the

UN General Assembly in September 2012, the UN-Water Expert Panel on Water Security in September 2012,

a side event on “Ways to Integrate Efforts in Furthering Water Dialogue and Cooperation” in February 2013.

The latest event has been the meeting in Dushanbe in August 2013, though this was not a formal UN-Water

event but a side event organized by UNU and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

(OSCE). Mr. Adeel therefore announced that the TF completed its task, but questions still remain around the a

common definition of water security. In this regard, one way of being more specific would be through

regional network consultations that could lead, after one or two years, to policy statements.

The UN-Water Chair thanked Mr. Adeel for his presentation and the TF for its work. The Chair then

presented his experience during the 3rd session of the Open Working Group (OWG) on SDGs where Member

States debated on the UN-Water Analytical Brief and especially on its reference to the UN Security Council.

Therefore, to avoid further controversy in the future, the Chair suggested to revise the Analytical Brief to

clarify the specific reference to the UN Security Council.

Decision 15: The SPM note the Summary Report on the Activities and Outcomes of the UN-Water Task

Force on Water Security and consider the TF on Water Security to have met its core

mandate.

The SPM agree to extend the mandate of the TF on Water Security for a two-year period and

invite the TF to:

1. Revise and recirculate the Analytical Brief for comments to the SPM , within three weeks

after the end of the 19th UN-Water Meeting, to replace the current version.

2. Submit as a contribution to the development of the UN-Water 2014-2015 Work

Programme, a proposal for further analysis through regional expert consultations on

issues related to water security; this work may culminate in a UN-Water policy brief on

the topic.

Items 7.7 to 7.12 were discussed on the third day of the meeting (Saturday, 31 August 2013).

7.7 TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation

Ms. Corinne Wallace (UNU) provided a report on recent meetings of the TPA on Water Supply and Basic

Sanitation. Given the state of progress toward the sanitation MDG, a key focus until 2015 is supporting

advocacy for eradication of open defecation and implementation of access to improved sanitation facilities,

particularly in off-track countries. The TPA is working on the Sanitation Drive and the DSG’s Call to Action:

these activities will be developed in the next 12-18 months. Ms. Wallace announced the holding of a TPA

meeting on Monday 2 September 2013 with also the TF on Capacity Building for Water Operators to discuss

how the TF could work under the TPA’s umbrella.


Decision 16: The SPM request the TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation to accord the highest

priority to the Sanitation Drive as part of the global campaign to eradicate open defecation,

including the DSG’s Call for Action on Sanitation within the framework of its current

workplan.

Furthermore, the SPM request the TPA to consult all entities in UN-Water about future

priorities and initiatives of the TPA.

Building on ongoing World Toilet Day related activities already carried out by UN-Water

Members and Partners, the SPM request the TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation, in

collaboration with the UN-Water Communications Manager, to prepare a media release for

World Toilet Day on 19 November 2013.

7.8 TPA on Transboundary Waters

The representatives of UNESCO (Ms. Jimenez-Cisneros) and UNECE (Mr. Nicholas Bonvoisin)

presented the recent progress achieved by the TPA on Transboundary Waters. The TPA is producing a report

on best practices with the contributions from various UN-Water entities including UNESCO, IGRAC, IUCN

and WaterLex among others. The work is still in progress and efforts are being made to enhance the idea of

transboundary waters: not just a physical concept, but also a virtual concept with associated economic

impacts.

Decisions 17: The SPM encourage UN-Water Members, members of the TPA on Transboundary Waters

and Partners to submit proposals for the collection of best practices in a transboundary

water context. The SPM further encourage organizations, which have offered generic

material to support this activity by developing actual factsheets as specified in the call for

contribution.

The SPM request members of the TPA to regularly update information on their

organization’s activities regarding transboundary water management in the UN-Water AIS.

7.9 Draft TORs of the Publication Committee and procedure for its activation

Mr. Caponi presented the TORs of the Publication Committee. The Committee should remain in the office

for two years, after which an evaluation could lead to extension or termination. The Committee should meet at

least twice a year via videoconference. Among the main functions there should be: i) harmonization of the

publication activity of UN-Water, ii) consideration of other major publications, iii) review of existing policy

publications, analysis of new publications like policy briefs, iv) review of the architecture of UN-Water

publications.

During the ensuing discussion, Mr. Chiramba drew the attention of participants on three issues: i) the

importance of not precluding other reports and publications (e.g. Water Resource Management) from being

considered, ii) further clarification on the stage at which the Committee intervenes and iii) the Committee’s

expected role in ensuring coherence in the message of UN-Water. These points were acknowledged by other

participants, while Mr. Caponi and Ms. Jimenez-Cisneros observed that the Committee’s role is to provide

advice and inform the SPM’s decision-making. Mr. Adeel observed that one of the Committee’s primary

responsibilities should be to draft a publication policy and enable information exchange between the reports,

as also suggested by Mr. Ünver. Mr. Adeel also pointed out that the UN-Water Communications Manager

needs to be part of the Committee. Mr. Carlos Carrion-Crespo (ILO) was elected by the SPM to be the first

coordinator of the Publication Committee.

Decisions 18: The SPM provisionally adopt the ToR of the Publication Committee, subject to the comments

discussed, and appoint Carlos Carrion-Crespo to be its first coordinator.


7.10 Mapping of UN-Water’s data collection initiatives and proposal on how to improve the

coordination of monitoring and reporting activities

Mr. Gordon provided an update on the work of the WG on Monitoring and Reporting that was set up at

the 18th UN-Water Meeting to look at UN-Water’s data collection initiatives and the proposal on how to

improve the coordination of UN-Water data and information collection. Mr. Gordon highlighted how mapping

focuses at the country level and this has resulted in a considerable fragmentation of data, which calls for

harmonization. Entities such as WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank have done a great deal of work in this

context including several consultation processes conducted in many countries around the globe.

In the ensuing discussion Ms. Chouchani Cherfane, after having appreciated the efforts described by Mr.

Gordon, reminded that work is often performed at the regional level and each region has its own priorities.

Then the discussion moved to the monitoring theme, which was felt highly relevant by various participants.

The CTA highlighted that it is now the right time to think about the challenges of monitoring possible water-

related SDG targets and indicators. Mr. Harlin also acknowledged that UN-Water should build the capacity

for monitoring. The discussion was concluded by Mr. Gordon who reminded that country level feedback is a

first step to feed a global level database.

Decision 19: The SPM encourage the consolidation of the Working Group on Monitoring and Reporting,

and the further development of its work plan. The SPM request the Working Group to report

progress to the next UN-Water Meeting.

7.11 Working Group on Partners’ Engagement

At the 17th UN-Water Meeting, a WG on Partners’ Engagement was established to develop guidelines on

the roles of Partners and their expected contribution to the work of UN-Water, as well as on how UN-Water

can improve the way it engages Partners. Mr. Bonvoisin presented a progress update on the guidelines

regarding the roles of Partners. Mr. Bonvoisin said that a questionnaire had been distributed to TPAs and TFs,

that some responses were received, though others are invited to participate. Responses are being combined

with the outcomes of the early review.

Decision 20: The SPM agree that UN-Water, through the Working Group on Partners’ Engagement,

coordinated by Nicholas Bonvoisin, shall complete in 2014 the drafting of (a) guidelines on

the role of Partners and their expected contributions to the work of UN-Water, and (b)

guidelines on how UN-Water can improve the way it engages Partners.

7.12 Capacity Development for National Drought Policy

Mr. Chinyamakobvu and Mr. Ardakanian provided an update on the UN-Water Initiative on “Capacity

Development for National Drought Management Policies”. The initiative was launched to facilitate capacity

building at the national level. While the first workshop attracted participants from 10 eastern European

countries and Mr. Chinyamakobvu highlighted that many key actors in the water sector were missing. This

called for improvements in the way these meetings are organized and led to regional meetings, the

involvement of UNESCO and the interest of other stakeholders (e.g. Global Water Partnership). Mr.

Chinyamakobvu and Mr. Ardakanian informed the SPM that five regional workshops are being organized:

two in Africa, one in Asia, one in Latin America (i.e. the next one will be in Brazil in December 2013) and

one in Eastern Europe. The next challenge will be to build synergies to improve the impact of the initiative

further.

The UN-Water Chair opened the discussion by reminding that budget issues would not be discussed in

this meeting. The discussion then concerned the role of UN-Water with respect to capacity development.

Some participants observed that the main responsibility of UN-Water should be to provide advice and

coordination, while others suggested focusing on providing lessons learned rather than introducing a new


level of capacity development. Mr. Chinyamakobvu eventually let everybody notice that the initiative was

specifically requested by countries, most of which do not have a comprehensive drought management policy.


9. Celebration of the International Year of Water Cooperation and World Water Day 2013

The International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 (IYWC 2013) is coordinated by UNESCO, with

UNECE and UN-DESA, on behalf of UN-Water. Ms. Jimenez-Cisneros presented a progress update on recent

events, emphasizing the innovative ways adopted to reach and engage the public. The impact of the awareness

campaign can be measured through the number of people following the events in the social network, and the

request for the use of the IYWC logo, which has been translated (most of the times voluntarily) to more than

60 languages. Lastly, Ms. Jimenez-Cisneros informed participants about the offer by the Mexican Government

to host the closing event of the IYWC in December 2013.

Decision 21: The SPM gratefully accept the offer of the Government of Mexico to host the closing

ceremony of the International Year of Water Cooperation, with the understanding that the

closing ceremony will carry no additional core budget costs to UN-Water.

The SPM invite UNESCO to respond positively to the offer of the Government of Mexico and

to start as soon as possible the organization of the closing ceremony and to promptly share

its details with all entities of UN-Water.

10. Gearing up for Future World Water Days and World Water Development Reports

10.1 Presentation of the concept note on the 2014 World Water Day on Water and Energy

Mr. Adeel, on behalf of UNIDO and UNU, presented the planning process and proposed activities of the

2014 World Water Day (WWD) on Water and Energy. The overall focus of the WWD will be the water-

energy nexus and its links to the theme of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the post-2015

development agenda – outlining water and energy as essential and critical constituents. It is proposed that the

UN-Water WWD celebration, together with the launch of the WWDR 2014, will be held in Tokyo on 21

March 2014 (and not on 22 March, because it is Saturday). This event will be linked to dozens of other

national and international events worldwide.

During the discussion, participants suggested to call for voluntary technical support by local people to

translate the awareness campaign documents and slogan. It was also stressed the increased importance of the

harmonization of messages between the WWD and the WWDR.

Decision 22: The SPM approve the plan for the 2014 World Water Day event and allocate USD 50,000 from

the UN-Water core budget for its implementation, to be included in the 2014-2015 Work

Programme and Indicative Budget.

10.2 Update on the 2014 WWDR on Water and Energy and the 2015 WWDR on Water and Sustainable

Development, including their launches

The Coordinator of the World Water Assessment Programme, Mr. Ünver, was pleased to announce that

the WWAP funding agreement between UNESCO and Italy was ratified by the Italian Parliament. Mr. Ünver

presented an update on the preparation of WWDR 2014 on Water and Energy and WWDR 2015 on Water and


Sustainable Development. WWAP is drafting the report, based on material provided by lead agencies. The

final draft of the WWDR 2014 will be circulated by October 2013 for comments. The SPM agreed that the

document should not exceed 100 pages. The report will be launched during WWD 2014.

Regarding the design and layout of the publication, WWAP informed that, in compliance with the 17th

UN-Water Meeting decision, only the UN-Water logo will be featured on the cover page while all

contributing agencies will be identified and credited in the report. Mr. Ünver invited interested colleagues to

participate in the committee choosing the cover’s design.

Moving to WWDR 2015, Mr. Ünver explained that a workshop was organized to discuss the WWDR

2015, during which the table of contents, the storyline and the lead agencies were identified.

10.3 Presentation of the proposal for the 2016 World Water Day campaign theme

Mr. Carrion-Crespo (ILO) presented a proposal for the 2016 WWD campaign theme “Water and Jobs”.

The theme, whose suggested slogan is “Water for people, water by people”, is clearly related to the broad

United Nations goal to promote the economic and social advancement of all peoples and may be defined in

two dimensions: (i) water and sanitation as a means to create decent employment, (ii) the use of employment

policies to increase water supply. Mr. Carrion-Crespo highlighted that it is impossible to deliver water without

people, no matter the technology available. To date, very little data is available on the linkages between water

and employment, and research is needed to explore the impact of water use on jobs and, subsequently, poverty

reduction and socio-economic development.

During the discussion, Mr. Diego Rodriguez (World Bank) thanked Mr. Carrion-Crespo for the

presentation but noted that the scope of the WWD seems to concentrate too much on water itself, while water

is an input for various sectors that affect employment ratios, and sectors like agriculture, industry and energy

should be included in this discussion.

Other participants highlighted the missing link to the development opportunities that are associated with

water employment, like job opportunities related with water security, prevention of disasters and provision of

sanitation. Incorporating the performance of contracts in the water sector, the need to support a convention

that allows maternity protection in the workplace, attracting young people to work in the water sector and

filling the possible employment gaps for the achievement of post-2015 goals were among the suggestions

from the participants.

After having observed that the proposal was conceived in a sufficiently broad way to allow each UN-

Water entity to work in its own field, Mr. Carrion-Crespo welcomed comments and encouraged the SPM to

participate actively in the activities that will lead to the WWD and the WWDR in 2016.

Decision 23: The UN-Water SPM, together with the representatives of the UN-Water Partners, decide that

the 2016 World Water Day campaign theme will be on “Water and Jobs”.

The UN-Water SPM designate ILO as the 2016 World Water Day campaign coordinator.

11. Update on Other Ongoing Activities

11.1 Partnership on Natural Infrastructure Solutions for Water Security

Mr. David Coates (CBD) presented progress on the Partnership on Natural Infrastructure Solutions for

Water Security. The Partnership focuses on the role of ecosystems in the water cycle and water quality and

how the improvement of ecosystem management can contribute to solve water related problems.


Decision 24: The SPM note the progress with the Partnership on Natural Infrastructure Solutions for

Water Security and invite all entities in UN-Water to contact the CBD Secretariat directly if

interested in engaging with the initiative.

11.2 Global Water Resources Scenarios Project

At the 18th UN-Water Meeting, the SPM agreed to endorse the Global Water Resources Scenarios Project

as an affiliated project and designated a WG to act as an interface with the project. It was decided that the

SPM would reassess its involvement with the project at the 19th UN-Water Meeting, based on the feedback of

the Working Group coordinated by WWAP. The Project was recently renamed “Water Futures and Solutions”

(WFaS).

Mr. Ünver reported that the WG has been meeting and some UN-Water Members and Partners have

expressed interest in participating in the initiative (e.g. Conservation International, FAO, GWP, IAHS, IFAD,

IGRAC, IWMI, UNESCAP and The World Bank). Mr. Ünver remembered that agencies have the possibility

to participate in one of two stakeholder groups (Scenario Focus Group (SFG) and Sector Actors Group

(SAG)) or in the UN-Water WG. Mr. Ünver proposed to change the coordination of the WG from WWAP to

UNESCO, which is already a major partner in the project. Mr. David Wieberg of the International Institute for

Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) briefly presented the technical details of the WFaS project that aims to

produce a new generation of integrated cross-sector, global water scenarios that would be used to identify

water related policies and management practices at all levels.

Decision 25: The SPM decide that the Working Group to interact with the Water Futures and Solutions

(WFaS), formerly known as Global Water Resources Scenarios, is now coordinated by

UNESCO.

The SPM reiterate their endorsement to WFaS as an affiliated initiative of UN-Water and

encourage interested entities in UN-Water to join the above Working Group.

11.3 Possible role of UN-Water in advancing transboundary legal instruments

The 1992 UNECE Water Convention and the 1997 UN-Watercourses Convention are key water

governance instruments and have recently seen considerable progress in terms of growing international

support. Mr. Bonvoisin gave an update on recent developments since the 17th UN-Water Meeting in

Stockholm. Mr. Bonvoisin asked the support of the TPA on Transboundary Waters to promote the treaties

and, subject to the request by the Parties, to support their discussions on considering options for a future

institutional home and potential governance mechanisms for the UN-Watercourses Convention.

Questions were raised by Mr. Harlin and Mr. Adeel about the position to be taken by UN-Water regarding

this request, given that UN-Water should not advocate Members States for the ratification of the UN-

Watercourses Convention.

Decision 26: The SPM request the TPA on Transboundary Waters to factor awareness raising and capacity

development in its proposed workplan and budget as a contribution to the development of the

UN-Water 2014-2015 Work Programme.

11.4 Presentation of UNESCO-IHE activities and opportunities for collaboration

The Rector of the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Mr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy, made a

presentation on the activities of UNESCO-IHE. The principal mandate of the Institute is to train

professionals for the benefit of developing countries either through formal degree programmes (MSc and

PhD) or through short-term training and/or capacity development programmes. The Institute is entirely extra

budgetary with an annual budget of approx. USD 47 million. It is located in Delft, The Netherlands, with


200 staff, half of it academics. The Institute has trained so far more than 15,000 professionals, roughly 40%

of them from Africa. The annual intake of MSc students has increased over the past five years. The Institute

is going through a reform process that includes the creation of a global campus to be established with partner

institutions. The Institute is prepared to serve as training facility for other UN agencies and programmes as

well. The UN-Water Chair thanked Mr. Szollosi-Nagy for the presentation.

11.5 “Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture” and “Activity Information System”

Mr. Ardakanian introduced the activities done by the UN-Water “Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture

Project” (SUWA). Since its launch in November 2011, five regional workshops were conducted (Africa (2),

Asia (2) and Latin America and the Caribbean) which have brought together over 150 participants from 70

countries. FAO, UNEP, UNU-INWEH, IWMI and UNW-DPC (SUWA Project partners) have expressed

their interest to jointly develop a proposal for a potential Phase II. The proposal would be based on the

output of the International Wrap-up event (June 2013) and go beyond capacity development for

implementation of the guidelines.

Decision 27: The SPM support the development of a proposal for Phase II of the “Safe Use of Wastewater

in Agriculture Project” to be eventually placed under the umbrella of the future TPA on

Water Scarcity.

The SPM request UNW-DPC to submit the proposal for Phase II of the “Safe Use of

Wastewater in Agriculture Project” as a contribution to the development of the UN-Water

2014-2015 Work Programme.

Following the activities on this agenda item, Mr. Ardakanian updated participants on recent progress

concerning the UN-Water Activity Information System (UNW-AIS). The activities presented were divided in

UN-Water Technical Support (e.g. the technical backbone for UN-Water systems: UN-Water newsletter

subscription form and admin interface, WWD Logo-builder) and Activity Information (e.g. new datasets

related to the activities of the TPA on Climate Change and the update of datasets related to all focus areas as a

result of contribution from Members and Partners and exploration of the World Bank project repository and

Global Environmental Facility (GEF) data repository, learning materials and virtual learning environment

developed for the course “Urban water Governance and Management in the Asia-Pacific Region”).

Mr. Caponi raised the attention to the need of coherence in the contents of the UNW-AIS. Mr. Caponi

announced that WMO is working with UNW-DPC to develop a set of criteria for the contents and update of

the database in the UNW-AIS. This set of criteria will be available on-line at the UNW-AIS and UN-Water

Members and Partners will be called on to update/populate the UNW-AIS database.

Decision 28: The SPM request UNW-DPC to implement an organised call to all entities of UN-Water and

invite them to populate the UNW-AIS database. The SPM further request UNW-DPC to

provide a progress report on the above, including web hits, at the 20th UN-Water Meeting.

11.6 TF on Country Level Coordination, including presentation of the draft report

Mr. Harlin introduced this agenda item, explaining that it would be divided in two parts. The first one

would include a presentation by Mr. Jens Liebe (UNW-DPC) on the proposal to follow-up to the country

missions of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation. The

second one will be a presentation by two consultants (Mr. Taylor and Ms. Christine McNab) on the TF on

Country Level Coordination (CLC) report on existing procedures and institutional collaboration linked to

country level coordination in water.

In follow-up to the 18th UN-Water Meeting, the UN-Water TF on CLC was requested to identify ways to

support and implement the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur’s country visits and to produce a


draft proposal. In his presentation, Mr. Liebe described the TF’s proposal consisting in (i) organizing three

national workshops to follow up on issues identified from the Special Rapporteur’s mission to these

countries and (ii) inviting UN-Water Members and Partners to analyse the relevant reports from the Special

Rapporteur and identify the most relevant follow-up topics.

Mr. Taylor presented the outline report of the TF on CLC, aiming at providing an analysis of the

coordination mechanisms at country level and proposing areas where UN-Water may engage to further

improve the impact of coordination. Mr. Taylor observed that among the strengths of UN coordination are the

shift from joint projects to joint programming and the operational value of the UN Country Teams in

information sharing, while weaknesses include the conflicting objectives between humanitarian programmes

and need for sustainable solutions, the limited funds to support coordination in non-Delivering As One

countries, and the fragmented reporting on water that UN Country Teams can rely on. With respect to country

coordination, Mr. Taylor listed structures for coordination in countries with integrated approach to water

resources management and the stakeholder participation in many governments as major strengths, and the

excessive number of actors to coordinate, as well as time and resource demand as major weaknesses. Finally,

Mr. Taylor shared some considerations on the possible role of UN-Water within the UN Country Teams (e.g.

collaboration on common water issues; expertise and information; strategic water issues in UN Development

Assistance Framework) and at the UN Country Teams and government level (i.e. support coordination efforts

at high levels, access to technical expertise; support joint sector reviews to strengthen coordination and

feedback).

During the ensuing discussion, participants mentioned the need to translate governmental actions into

country-level impacts, understanding the structures that are needed and the mechanisms that can be used to

bring together different institutions and identify countries' needs and priorities. In conclusion, Mr. Taylor

noted that the biggest challenge is to coordinate and reconcile competing interests at the local level and within

the UN System, and stressed the importance of providing guidance to UN Country Teams representatives on

how to coordinate efforts at country level.

Decision 29: The SPM approve the development of a detailed work plan for supporting the follow-up of the

Special Rapporteur’s missions, with the collaboration of the TPA on Water Supply and Basic

Sanitation.

The SPM request the TF on Country Level Coordination to factor the above activities in its

proposed workplan and budget as a contribution to the development of the UN-Water 2014-

2015 Work Programme.

Saturday, 31 August 2013

12. Water in the Post-2015 and Sustainable Development Goals Agenda

12.1 Presentation of recent developments

Ms. Njie, UN-Water Secretary, provided an update on the post-2015 process. The presentation focused on

three main points: the post-2015 process, the OWG on SDGs, and other important processes emanating from

the Rio+20 Conference. The OWG is currently in an information-gathering phase that will inform the

definition of a set of SDGs. Its recommendations will be submitted to the 69th session of the General

Assembly in 2014. There is an emerging consensus on the development of a single coherent UN post-2015

development agenda with a single set of goals, and this process should involve actors in both developed and

developing countries. The OWG put considerable emphasis on implementation and this should be carefully

taken into account by UN-Water, with special reference to its implications for monitoring and the

measurability of targets.


With respect to the post-2015 process, Ms. Njie observed that, in order to ensure coherence across the

different working fields, the UN Secretary-General designated an informal senior coordination group of four

Assistant Secretaries-General (ASGs) with members from UN-DESA, UNDP and UN Women. An inter-

agency Technical Support Team (TST), co-chaired by UN-DESA and UNDP, is providing technical support

to the OWG. In terms of post-2015 consultations, Ms. Njie reminded that around 100 national consultations, 6

regional consultations and 11 global thematic consultations have been held thus far, including the Global

Thematic Consultation on Water. Regarding the MDG special event of the 68th General Assembly, Ms. Njie

noted that Member States will agree on a roadmap for intergovernmental negotiations, which could lead to the

adoption of the principles, goals and targets of the post-2015 development agenda at a potential high level

summit in 2015.

Concerning the processes emanating from Rio+20, Ms. Njie focused on following three: (i) the High-

Level Political Forum (HLPF), (ii) the financing strategy for sustainable development and (iii) the technology

facilitation mechanism for development, transfer and dissemination of environmentally-friendly technologies.

The HLPF is expected to provide political leadership and recommendations on sustainable development,

review progress in implementation, enhance the integration of economic, social and environmental

dimensions, and consider new and emerging sustainable development challenges. The committee on

sustainable development financing should assess financing needs as well as the effectiveness and consistency

of existing instruments and frameworks; as for the technology facilitation mechanism its specific functions are

currently being discussed.

The UN-Water Chair thanked Ms. Njie for providing participants with updates on such a complex and fast

changing landscape.

12.2 Update on UN-Water’s draft recommendations on a potential global goal on water

Mr. Harlin, representative of the WG on SDGs, presented the UN-Water’s draft policy recommendations

on a potential global goal on water (background document 6.1 for details). The UN-Water Chair thanked Mr.

Harlin and the WG for summarizing a vast amount of information in just a short time and deferred discussion

on this item to the following session.

12.3 Panel discussions followed by a Q & A session

The UN-Water Vice-Chair, Mr. Diphoorn, moderated a panel discussion with representatives of UN-

Water Members and Partners with the objective to inform the work on the potential goal on water, and

provide additional details on possible targets and indicators and to highlight the major challenges, responses

and milestones towards 2015.

Ms. Cecilia Scharp (UNICEF) updated participants about possible WASH targets and indicators and on

the role of the JMP and its extensive consultative process with stakeholders, which generated a variety of

ideas going beyond existing commitments and deserving further attention. Ms. Scharp stressed the need to

concentrate on lessons learned including the need to reduce inequalities in WASH delivery.

Mr. Chiramba (UNEP) updated participants on the proposed targets and indicators for water resources

management. The focus of the analysis was on the sustainable use and development of water resources

management, in particular water for socio-economic development and environmental protection in light of

water-related global priorities, such as food security, energy and livelihoods. Mr. Chiramba highlighted that

most indicators are composite and require a great deal of work to improve and assess their measurability.

Mr. Jack Moss (AquaFed) provided an update about potential wastewater and water quality targets and

indicators. The improvement of water quality and availability, a topic that is often neglected, can be addressed

through an approach called the “3Rs”: reduce pollution at source, remove pollution and reuse water. An

intense work has been conducted in view of arriving at a robust monitoring approach.


The moderator then asked Mr. Bonvoisin (UNECE) about the issue of transboundary waters and its

relevance in the post-2015 agenda. As 60% of freshwater flows worldwide are transboundary and 40% of the

world’s population lives in transboundary river and lake basins, Mr. Bonvoisin highlighted the importance of

river basin management and said that the paper from UN-Water is expected to draw more attention on the

topic.

The moderator then asked Ms. Ania Grobicki (Global Water Partnership) to inform participants about the

national stakeholder consultations on water in support of the Post-2015 agenda. Building on the results of the

UN-Water status report on the application of integrated approaches to water resources management, a series of

consultation have been organized in 22 countries with a range of stakeholders, highlighting the importance of

water in the post-2015 agenda. Ms. Grobicki also informed participants that GWP in collaboration with the

OECD has recently established a Global Dialogue on Water Security and Sustainable Growth in 26 countries,

which is specifically looking at proposals for a goal on water and its practical implications for countries. Some

of these countries will be new, while other countries were part of the earlier national consultations. In

addition, a high-level global dialogue panel co-chaired by Angel Gurría, Secretary General of the OECD, and

President Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, President of Liberia has been established.

Mr. Bai-Mass Taal (African Ministers’ Council on Waters) was invited to talk about how to mobilize

Africa on a possible water SDG. Mr. Taal said that so far energy, infrastructure and health have received more

attention from African decision makers. He therefore encouraged UN-Water to convince a number of African

Heads of States of the need for a global goal on water.

Mr. Johan Gely (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) was asked to present the Swiss views

on a water SDG. Mr. Gely noted that both, technical advice and political advocacy for a dedicated water goal

are urgently needed, given that water is in competition with a range of other sectors. He added that integrating

water use efficiency targets into other potential goals (e.g. on food security or energy) is likely to be

detrimental to the sector and should therefore not be considered.

Mr. Szollosi-Nagy on behalf of the World Water Council provided some background on the Budapest

Water Summit, to be held in October 2013. The Summit will bring together high-level politicians and

technical experts in an attempt to avoid the pitfalls that emerged in the selection of indicators for the MDGs

by identifying SMART indicators. He also highlighted the importance of “resilience” and “adaptation”, not

only to advance the WASH agenda, but also to address a number of global drivers such as population growth

and climate change.

In the ensuing discussion, Mr. Adeel raised two main points on which UN-Water should work in the

future: it should seek to identify water-related targets for other priority areas such as health, economic growth

or job creation and include economic considerations into its water-related analyses (i.e. the importance of

quantifying the value of benefits and costs associated with water). Mr. Thomas Stratenwerth, Federal Ministry

for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany and Mr. Gely also emphasized the

importance of working with other water-related sectors (e.g. energy) to define water-related targets that could

be included in other Post-2015 goals.

Ms. Jimenez-Cisneros suggested that in the event a goal on water would not be included in the post-2015

development framework, further work on the water-related implications of the other goals would be needed.

Mr. Bonvoisin, Mr. Taal and Mr. Chiramba also intervened on this point saying that not having a dedicated

water goal would affect targets heavily and therefore targets should be identified that can fit easily in other

goals.

Some participants reminded of the importance formulating a goal statement that is effective on the public

and politics (e.g. “safe and sustainable water for all” instead of “water managed to sustain people and the

environment”). Mr. Moss then referred to the need to bring together political viability and technical feasibility.


Mr. Moss also observed that a robust product is needed behind the simple language. This means: meaningful

definitions, measurable indicators and reliable data.

Mr. Ünver highlighted the importance of improving data and having countries commit to provide updated

information. He reminded that the water community should stand ready to work with other potential SDG

areas, and observed that links between sectors (e.g. water and energy) are primarily based on coordination

instead of integration. Mr. Harlin concluded the discussion encouraging all participants to send their

comments and engage in the process.

12.4 The way forward

The UN-Water Chair thanked participants for the valuable discussion and summarised some thoughts

that had emerged from it. UN-Water should continue providing technical support to Member States and

assist their decision-making processes. There seems to be large support for a water goal among Member

States, though further work is required. In the follow-up work, it will be important to explain the benefits of

a water goal, particularly at high political level, and to provide Member States with very solid technical

evidence for decision-making.

Finally, the UN-Water Chair closed the Partners’ segment by thanking the Partners for their presence and

contribution to the work of UN-Water.

13. UN-Water Work Programme and Indicative Budget

13.1 Presentation and discussion of the status of funds in the UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund

Mr. Properzi, presented the status overview of the UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund, hosted by

UNOPS (USD, rounded figures):

Core budget balance as of end of August 2013: 300,000

Earmarked disbursements: 100,000

Funding committed (to be received) until 2015: 2,800,000 (from Sweden and Switzerland)

Indicative operating costs until 2015 (incl. overheads): 2,200,000

Therefore, pending the possibility for UN-Water to attract additional voluntary contributions to its core

budget, the indicative funds available for the 2014-2015 biennium, net of administrative overheads, are

approximately USD 700,000. Mr. Properzi highlighted that budget expenditures are now reported for each

activity.

The ensuing discussion revolved around the meaning of the different items in the budget. Mr. Properzi

reminded that there are essentially three kinds of item: core budget, targeted funds and pass-through funds.

13.2 Proposed road map to produce the UN-Water Work Programme 2014-2015

Mr. Properzi presented the proposed road map to produce the UN-Water Work Programme 2014-2015.

The proposed road map for the period September 2013-April 2014 includes three main activities: (i)

Submission of revised/updated TPAs/TFs/projects work plans and contribution to the Result-Oriented

Framework, (ii) Drafting, review and finalization of 2014-2015 Result-Oriented Framework and Indicative

Budget“ Drafting, review and finalization of narrative 2014-2015 Work Programme”.

Mr. Properzi highlighted that donors are requesting UN-Water to improve its current result-oriented

framework on the model of the UN Development Group results framework.


Decision 30: The SPM approve the annexed road map to produce the UN-Water Work Programme 2014-

2015 and urge UN-Water Members, Partners with special status, Programmes and regional

arrangements to actively contribute to it.

13.3 Approval of the UNW-DPC Work Plan 2013-2015 [UNW-DPC]

Mr. Ardakanian briefly explained that the UNW-DPC Work Plan 2013-2015 is based on the approval of

its outline by the SPM at the 18th UN-Water Meeting and highlighted that this has been only slightly

modified by adding the Decade Report to the list of activities.

Decision 31: The SPM approve the third UNW-DPC Work Plan (2013-2015), including the preparation of

the Decade Report.

14. Relationship between UN-Water and the Global Framework for Climate Services

Since the process for the development of the GFCS was initiated in 2009, it has always been understood

that the natural representative of the UN System in water-related matters would be UN-Water, especially

with respect to the User Interface Platform. However, this “decision” has never been formalized and now

that GFCS is advancing in defining its governance, it is important that Members of UN-Water speak with a

coordinated voice with respect to the implementation of the GFCS and the UN-Water role therein. The

natural UN-Water focal point for the GFCS is the TPA on Water and Climate Change but, as WMO is the

coordinator of the TPA and also the main promoter of the GFCS, it would be better to have a different

member of the TPA representing UN-Water in GFCS. As a proposed decision, Mr. Caponi suggested that the

representative of UN-Water in activities related to the GFCS is the TPA on Water and Climate Change, and

asked whether the SPM should nominate someone as its initial representative or request the TPA to decide

who the UN-Water initial representative should be.

Decision 32: The SPM decide that the representative of UN-Water in activities related to the Global

Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) is the TPA on Water and Climate Change and

nominate Mr. Anil Mishra as its initial focal point.

15. Preliminary Discussions on a Possible International Year of Snow and Ice

Mr. Adeel introduced the proposal for an International Year of Snow and Ice (IYSI), to raise global

awareness and support science-based actions on the challenge of retreating ice and snow cover around the

globe. Mr. Adeel explained that there are essentially two expectations for UN-Water: to recognize the

importance of the issue and to support Member States and other interested parties in further supporting the

development of an IYSI proposal that can be presented to the General Assembly.

In the ensuing discussion participants questioned whether the initiative is primarily linked to climate

change and, in this case, suggested that the TPA on Water and Climate Change might be the institutional

home for such an initiative. Mr. Adeel confirmed that climate change is the primary linked topic, but not the

only one. Mr. Pall Davidsson (Vox Naturae) highlighted that ice enters various agendas (e.g. water, natural

hazards, climate change), but in general terms it talks about change in a very dramatic way. The Chair asked

for clarification about what UN-Water was expected to do at this stage and Mr. Adeel highlighted that the

priority is that UN-Water recognizes the relevance of the topic so that it can be involved if and when an IYSI

will be agreed upon. The Chair finally suggested taking note of the issue pending its future development.


Decision 33: The SPM recognize the importance of retreating ice and snow cover around the globe and

how a possible International Year of Snow and Ice may play a role in ensuring

interdisciplinary, innovative and integrative solutions to the problem at a global level.

16. Presentation of the Concept Note, Draft Programme and Draft List of Invitees of the Next

Zaragoza Conference [UNW-DPAC]

The UN-Water Chair noted that due to the absence of the representative of UNW-DPAC no presentation

and related discussion on this agenda item was possible.

Decision 34: The SPM request UNW-DPAC to circulate as soon as possible to UN-Water Members,

Partners with Special Status, Programmes and regional arrangements the draft concept

note, draft programme and draft list of invites to the next Zaragoza Conference, and invite

comments by the end of September 2013.

The SPM further request UNW-DPAC to circulate to the SPM the revised concept note, draft

programme and draft list of invites to the next Zaragoza Conference by mid-October 2013

for approval.

17. Decision on the Date and Venue of the Next UN-Water Meeting

The Secretary of UN-Water kindly offered the availability of UN-DESA to host the 20th UN-Water

Meeting at UN Headquarters in New York. This would give an opportunity to contribute to SDG

consultations and possibly allow the Deputy Secretary-General to be present during the opening ceremony.

Taking into consideration the period January/February 2014, Ms. Njie suggested 27-29 January 2014 as the

best period for the Meeting. The three-day slot should allow enough time for both the Meeting and the

holding of a half day side event to launch the UN-Water recommendations on a potential global goal on

water.

Decision 35: The 20th UN-Water Meeting will take place in New York on 27-29 January 2014. The Meeting

will be comprised of three days including a special event with Member States.

18. Proposed events for UN-Water’s Engagement

Mr. Properzi explained that the purpose of this item is to look at major forthcoming events and discuss

whether and at what level UN-Water should engage in each of those. Mr. Properzi also highlighted that the

item is also an opportunity to provide suggestions for additional events.

Decision 35: The SPM agree a UN-Water presence in the following forthcoming activities:

a) UNESCO Strategic and High-Level Meeting on Water Security and Cooperation, 11-13

September 2013, Nairobi, Kenya

b) High-Level Side Event, UN General Assembly, 25 September 2013

c) Budapest Water Summit, 8-11 October 2013

d) World Toilet Day, 19 November 2013

e) Second Global Water Operators´ Partnerships Congress and GWOPA General Assembly,

27-29 November 2013, Barcelona, Spain

f) International Year of Water Cooperation closing event, date TBC


g) UN-Water Annual Zaragoza Conference, 13-16 January 2014

h) African Water Association (AfWA) Congress, 17-20 February 2014, Abidjan, Ivory Coast

i) IFAT 2014, 5-9 May 2014

Decision 36: The SPM agree on the organization of a side event in the context of the Budapest Water

Summit, to consult on the UN-Water SDG proposal. The title of the UN-Water input on a

possible water SDG will be determined by the Working Group. See also Decision No. 9

above.

Among events for possible inclusion in the future, participants listed: the 5th International Conference on

Natural Disaster and Risk Reduction, the EXPO 2015 and the 7th World Urban Forum (Medellin, Colombia,

2014) organized by UN-HABITAT.

19. Adoption of Decisions

The UN-Water Secretary presented the decisions made at the 19th UN-Water Meeting and invited

Members to formally adopt them. The UN-Water Chair remarked that decisions that were made by the SPM,

can be changed by the SPM. The table “decisions made at the 19th UN-Water Meeting” was officially

adopted (see Annex 1).

20. Closing Remarks by the UN-Water Chair

The UN-Water Chair closed the Meeting thanking all participants for their contributions and gratefully

acknowledging Mr. Ünver who ended his appointment as the Coordinator of WWAP after seven and a half

years.

Final version 18 July 2014

1

Final Report


27 – 29 January 2014 in New York City, United States of America

1. Opening Session

The meeting was opened by Mr. Michel Jarraud, Chair of UN-Water. Mr. Jarraud thanked UN-DESA for hosting the meeting and warmly welcomed all participants. He said that the most important items on the agenda were the finalization of the technical advice on a possible post-2015 goal for water and the adoption of the 2014-2015 Work Programme. He highlighted that the next two years were critical, as Member States are expected to decide on the post-2015 development agenda and invited participants to keep the post-2015 process in mind when determining the strategic orientation of UN-Water for years to come. The Chair then welcomed Ms. Florence Poppe and Ms. Daniella Boström-Couffe who recently joined the UN-Water Management Team and invited participants to present themselves in a tour-de-table. The agenda of the 20th Meeting was adopted.

Ms. Marion Barthelemy delivered a welcome address on behalf of Mr. Wu Hongbo, Under Secretary-General of UN-DESA. She underscored that these are fundamental times for policy makers and the international community, as they prepare for a major stocktaking of progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 and lay the foundations for the post-2015 development agenda. Ms. Barthelemy said that ongoing intergovernmental processes represent an unprecedented opportunity and that the UN system through UN-Water should continue providing technical advice to Member States, while advancing the implementation of existing goals and targets. In closing, she reaffirmed UN-DESA’s commitment to the success of UN-Water’s work, both as a Member, as well as through hosting the UN-Water Secretary.

Support for UN-Water was also expressed by Mr. Jan Eliasson, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General via video message. He reminded participants of the challenges ahead and highlighted his “Call to Action on Sanitation”. By providing leadership and coordination through the UN system and by working closely with Member States, UN-Water has contributed substantively to the global water and sanitation agenda, he said and wished participants fruitful deliberations.

This was followed by a hand-over ceremony of the vice-chairmanship, during which the Chair thanked Mr. Bert Diphoorn (UN-HABITAT) for his dedication and invaluable service as Vice-Chair of UN-Water. Mr. Diphoorn said it was a pleasure serving UN-Water and extended the offer to host the 22nd UN-Water Meeting at UN-HABITAT’s headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The Chair then welcomed his successor, Ms. Blanca Jiménez Cisneros of UNESCO who underscored the importance of UN system cooperation and expressed her intention to put her experience and expertise at the service of UN-Water.


Ms. Ndey-Isatou Njie, Secretary of UN-Water, provided an update on the implementation of past decisions that were agreed at the 19th UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.

3. UN-Water Governance and Strategies

3.1 UN-Water Partnership applications

The Senior Programme Managers (SPM) approved the partnership applications of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) and the Center for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST).


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Decision 1: The SPM approve the applications for Partner status of: the International Association for Hydro- Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR); and the Center for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST). The SPM request the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicants.

3.2 UN-Water Strategy to 2020

Mr. Federico Properzi, UN-Water Chief Technical Adviser, introduced the revised draft UN-Water Strategy to 2020. The Strategy provides a common vision and framework for UN-Water action and articulates how the UN system through UN-Water will respond to the major water-related challenges in a more coordinated and effective manner. After the discussion and feedback collected at the 19th UN-Water Meeting additional comments on the zero draft were received by email according to the agreed timeline. Mr. Properzi explained that the revised draft Strategy is based on the comments received and on the assumption that the Strategy needs to be an ambitious and forward-looking document. The Strategy to 2020 complements other key strategic documents of UN-Water such as the Annual Reports, the Work Programmes and the Operational Guidelines.

After introducing a series of changes, the SPM adopted the UN-Water Strategy to 2020 (see Annex 1).

Decision 2: The SPM approve the UN-Water Strategy to 2020 as attached.

3.3 Implementation of the policy on UN-Water visual identity on publications

In his introduction of this agenda item, the Chair reminded that the policy on the use of the UN-Water visual identifier on UN-Water publications was adopted by consensus at the 17th UN-Water Meeting in August 2012 as the result of a thorough consultation process that lasted over two years. According to this policy “only the UN-Water visual identifier is printed on UN-Water report’s front- and back covers; in combination with a disclaimer on the inside cover. Logos of contributing organizations, or ideally only a listing of them, should be printed on the inside cover or at the end of the report.”

Since then, two UN-Water publications have been released in line with this policy: the UN-Water Analytical Brief on Water Security (coordinated by UNU and ESCAP) and the UN-Water Country Briefs (coordinated by FAO). The Principals of all UN-Water Members were informed of this policy by a letter from the UN-Water Chair (in September 2013), as well as through the Chair’s report to the UN Chief Executive Board’s second regular session in 2012. While explicit support for this policy has been received by a number of UN-entities including IAEA, FAO, WFP and UN-HABITAT, concerns have been recently expressed by UNESCO and WHO. The Chair noted that this issue needs urgent clarification, as the deadline for the finalization of the 2014 World Water Development Report (WWDR) is fast approaching.

While the SPM’s discussions on the application of the policy on the use of the UN-Water visual identifier on UN-Water publications remained inconclusive and were postponed to the 21st UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm, the SPM agreed to the compromise below regarding the 2014 WWDR (see decisions 3 and 5).

The SPM also sought to clarify during the Meeting (under agenda item 6.5) whether WWAP was a UN-Water or a UNESCO Programme. The Chair underscored that this question had many implications, including in terms of the recruitment of the WWAP coordinator and oversight over WWAP’s work plan. The UNESCO representative confirmed that WWAP not only coordinates the production of the WWDR, but also engages in a range of other activities, which are outside the purview of UN-Water. He reminded participants that the WWDR was originally created as UN system report and that the ACC Subcommittee on Water Resources had authorized UNESCO to take the lead and plan this report. WWAP is therefore a UNESCO-led programme, which has to produce the WWDR, he said.

The SPM agreed that given that WWAP is a UNESCO programme, an agreement between UNESCO and UN-Water should be developed that defines the contribution of WWAP to the WWDR, which is a UN-Water publication (see decision 4).

Decision 3: Having duly considered UNESCO’s request to use its logo on the front cover of the 2014 WWDR, the SPM exceptionally agree to the following compromise: the 2014 WWDR front cover will include the WWAP logo (composed of the UNESCO logo, the WWAP identifier and the UN-Water visual identifier) in the lower part and the UN-Water visual identifier prominently in the upper part of the cover.


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This exception will also be applied for all communications material linked to the 2014 WWDR.

In line with UN-Water’s policy on the branding of its publications, the back cover will solely include the UN-Water visual identifier.

Decision 4: The SPM note that WWAP is a UNESCO programme and confirm that the WWDR is a UN-Water publication.

The SPM agree to explore the possibility to develop a written agreement between UN-Water and UNESCO, which defines the relationship between WWAP and UN-Water including the role of WWAP in the development of the UN-Water WWDR.

The SPM request UNESCO and the UN-Water Management Team to report progress on this issue at the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 5: WWAP will follow-up with the lead contributors of the 2014 WWDR to ensure the correct display of their logos on the inside of the publication.

3.4 Proposed draft criteria for the establishment of UN-Water Programmes

As a follow-up to the request of the SPM at the 19th UN-Water Meeting, Mr. Federico Properzi presented a set of draft criteria for the establishment of UN-Water Programmes. He reminded participants of the challenges that arose when the UN-Water Programmes were created and said that such a document could serve as guidance for future negotiations with potential donors. Ms Maestu, Coordinator of UNW-DPAC, welcomed the possibility of UN-Water getting clarity on the need and role of Programmes. She said decisions in the context of UN-Water related to the Programmes have gone in different directions and may not have been always consistent. She also said that this has made it confusing for the Programmes and has been difficult for them to provide adequate support, leading to possible inefficient use of resources by UN-Water.

Participants welcomed the document as a good basis for discussion and identified the following issues as deserving special attention when it comes to the potential establishment or continuation of UN-Water Programmes: learning from the past and envisioning the future, including by looking at the Programmes’ contribution to advancing UN-Water’s mandate as well as their possible strategic orientation for the post-2015 period; governance, accountability and administrative arrangements, including oversight by the UN-Water SPM; options for the channelling of funds, and agreement modalities with donors; and the division of labour between the different UN-Water Programmes, the TPAs /TFs and the UN-Water Management Team.

Subsequently, the UN-Water Secretary was tasked to establish a Working Group that would look at the lessons learned from the past and provide recommendations on the establishment or continuation of UN-Water Programmes to be presented at the 21st UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm (see also agenda item 6.4).

Decision 6: The SPM establish a Working Group on UN-Water Programmes. The WG will be coordinated by the UN-Water Secretary. Members include Zafar Adeel, Giuseppe Arduino, Thomas Chiramba and Cecilia Scharp.

This WG will be in charge of organising an external evaluation of the UN-Water Programmes.

The WG will develop recommendations on the establishment or continuation of UN-Water Programmes to be presented at the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

The WG will also provide input on the governance of UN-Water Programmes to be incorporated into the UN-Water Operational Guidelines.

3.5 Operational Guidelines

The UN-Water Chief Technical Advisor presented a revised version of the Operational Guidelines which takes into account the written comments made by the SPM on an earlier draft that was presented at the 19th UN-Water Meeting.

After introducing a couple of changes the SPM adopted the UN-Water Operational Guidelines as attached in Annex 2. Among others, the approved version of the Operational Guidelines contains some references to the UN-Water publication policy, to be incorporated after approval by the SPM as Annex 4 of the Operational Guidelines (see also


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agenda item 7.1 / decision 22); and a place holder for a new section (section V.6) on the governance of UN-Water Programmes, which will also be added once approved by the SPM (see also agenda item 3.4 / decision 6).

Decision 7: The SPM approve the revised Operational Guidelines as attached.

4. Presentation of the UN-Water 2014-2015 Work Programme and Indicative Budget

4.1 Report on the breakfast meeting with donors

The UN-Water Chair reported back from the breakfast meeting with donors, which was held on 3 September 2013 in Stockholm in the margins of Stockholm World Water Week. The aim of meeting, which was attended by representatives from Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, the European Commission and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was to widen UN-Water’s support base. Given the positive feedback that was received, a similar meeting is also planned for this year.

4.2 Overview of UN-Water 2014-2015 Work Programme and Indicative Budget, including

Mr. Federico Properzi, UN-Water Chief Technical Adviser, presented the draft UN-Water Results Matrix and draft Indicative Budget 2014-2015, including the status of the funds in the UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund. Members were invited to discuss and approve the planned activities and new budget requests of the Programmes, TPAs, TFs and projects while keeping in mind the question “what should be UN-Water’s strategic priorities”. All activities and budget lines were briefly introduced and discussed.

Mr. Nicholas Bonvoisin (UNECE) briefed participants on the planned activities of the TPA on Transboundary Waters. These include the finalisation of the collection of successful examples/good practices on transboundary cooperation, the organisation of awareness-raising events on the global legal frameworks for transboundary water management as well as the production of promotional material.

Mr. Claudio Caponi (WMO) highlighted four activities of the TPA on Water and Climate Change for the period 2014-2015, including the possible development of a background document for the climate summit of the UN Secretary-General in September 2014 based on the UN-Water Policy Brief on climate change adaptation; contributions to the Global Framework for Climate Services and the UN-Water Activity Information System (UNW-AIS); and the publication of a Guidance Note on water-related climate change adaptation and mitigation for UN-Water Members and Partners.

Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP) presented the proposed plans of the TPA on Water Quality, including the production of a global compendium on water quality guidelines and of the first UN-Water global water quality assessment report. He said that latter report would not only fill a very important knowledge gap, but also allow establishing baseline data for the post-2015 period as it relates to wastewater and water quality. Mr. Chiramba said that both documents were originally proposed for the 2012-2013 period, but their production had faced some delays.

Mr. Jean-Marc Faurès (FAO) proposed a range of activity areas that could be addressed under the umbrella of the TPA on Water Scarcity, among which the following three were maintained: water governance; water efficiency and productivity; and drought management and policy (latter is already funded through the Capacity Development on National Drought Management Policy project).

Ms. Corinne Wallace (UNU) updated participants on the ongoing activities of the TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation, which currently focuses on different sanitation-related processes including the Sanitation Drive to 2015 campaign, the UN Deputy Secretary-General’s “Call to Action on Sanitation” and the organization of World Toilet Day (see also below).

Mr. Jose Luis Martin Bordes (UN-HABITAT) said that the TF on Capacity Development for Water Operators will continue strengthening capacity at the water operators’ level, including by holding a workshop in June 2014 and by preparing new capacity development tools and materials.

Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP) informed participants on the planned activities of the TF on Country-Level Coordination. These include the publication of the UN-Water report on water actions at the country-level and the


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possible organisation of a joint workshop with the TF on Regional-Level Cooperation to build on the recommendations of the report; and support to the follow-up to country missions of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation through country workshops (Uruguay, Nigeria and Bangladesh have been chosen as pilot countries).

Mr. Jens Liebe (UNU) briefed participants on the TF on Regional-Level Coordination, in particular with regard to the finalization of the report on mapping regional level coordination mechanism and follow-up on its expected recommendations.

Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP) provided an overview of the current status of the TF on Wastewater Management. He explained that the Task Force is currently engaged in the finalisation of the UN-Water Analytical Brief on wastewater management and pollution control and in developing a monitoring framework for wastewater and water quality in the context of discussions on the post-2015 development agenda. Given the strong engagement of WHO in this TF on Wastewater Management, the SPM agreed that WHO should join UNEP and UN-HABITAT as co-coordinators of this TF.

Mr. Chiramba also presented the work plan of the Task Force on Water Resources Management, which seeks to contribute to the formulation and implementation of the post-2015 development agenda as it relates to water resources management.

Mr. Zafar Adeel (UNU) said that the TF on Water Security plans to undertake a series of regional expert consultations on water security issues that could lead to the development of a Policy Brief. Such a Policy Brief would represent the combined position of the UN system on water security, he said.

Mr. Reza Ardakadian (UNW-DPC) highlighted in his intervention that phase II of the Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture (SUWA) Project is currently under development and fundraising efforts are underway. It was clarified that this project would be undertaken under the umbrella of the Task Force on Wastewater Management.

Mr. Bruce Gordon (WHO) provided an update on the biennial UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS). He said that GLAAS has moved tremendously and explained that the following products are currently under development based on the results of a revised questionnaire: about 85 country briefs; a short report which will serve as input to the 2014 Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) High-Level Meeting; and the full GLAAS report which is expected to be released in August/September 2014. In the ensuing discussion, the importance of close coordination between GLAAS and SWA was emphasized. Participants were informed that UN-Water has now formally been granted observer status with the SWA Steering Committee.

Mr. Jean-Marc Faurès (FAO) presented a proposal for a second phase of the UN-Water Country Briefs Project. He informed participants that the Global Water Partnership (GWP) – a UN-Water Partner – has generously offered to lead this effort with the support of FAO. While participants recognized that the UN-Water Country Briefs are an important UN-Water product, some issues were raised including the general question whether a Partner can lead a Project on behalf of UN-Water; UN-Water ownership, accountability and quality control; the strategic purpose of the Country Briefs project and its sustainability in the long-term; and questions regarding the branding of the project and its budget. To address these questions, participants decided to establish an Advisory Group to present recommendations on the way forward at the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

Mr. Faurès also presented the proposal for the third phase of the Federated Water Monitoring System and Key Water Indicator Portal. Participants agreed that this activity is a core activity of UN-Water, but felt that more thorough discussions on its strategic orientation and sustainability are needed. It was therefore decided to discuss the future of the Federated Information System Linked to Key Indicators in more detail at the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

As a follow-up to UN General Assembly resolution A/67/L.75, Ms. Corinne Wallace (UNU) suggested that the SPM delegate the organization of World Toilet Day 2014 to the UN-Water Thematic Priority Area on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation, including the selection of the theme for World Toilet Day 2014. This would be done in collaboration with the DSG’s initiative for a Call to Action on sanitation, she said. The SPM agreed to this proposal and requested the TPA to present a more detailed plan for the management of World Toilet Day at the 21st UN-Water Meeting, including regarding the selection of future themes (see decision 30).

Ms. Jyoti Sanghera (OHCHR) put forward the proposal to develop a UN-Water Policy Brief on Discrimination and the Right to Water and Sanitation. The Brief would look at how discrimination and in particular gender discrimination hampers the enjoyment of the right to water, bringing forward real cases and examples on how to overcome it.


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After making some adjustments, the SPM approved the Results Matrix and Indicative Budget for the period 2014-2015 as projected on the screen on the 29th January 2014 (see decision 8 and Annex 4). Given that the approved budget exceeded the available funds, the SPM agreed on a number of criteria for the disbursement of funds, while encouraging the Management Team and UN-Water Members to pursue their fundraising efforts (see decision 9).

Decision 8: The SPM approve the structure of the 2014-2015 Work Programme, its Results Matrix and Indicative Budget as attached.

Decision 9: The SPM agree the following criteria for the disbursements of funds: 1) basic operating costs need to be covered; 2) no new funds should be disbursed to an activity with unspent funds; 3) a small reserve should be left for next biennium.

Considering the funding available and the cash flows in the Trust Fund, activities can expect 70 percent of their biennium budget in the initial disbursement.

The SPM encourage the Management Team and UN-Water Members to continue efforts to raise funds for the current budget shortfall for the biennium.

Decision 10: The future of the Federated Information System Linked to Key Indicators will be discussed at the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 11: The SPM recognize that the UN-Water Country Briefs are an important UN-Water product.

The SPM decide to establish an Advisory Group on the UN-Water Country Briefs to present recommendations on the way forward at the 21st UN-Water Meeting. The AG is coordinated by Bruce Gordon and composed of Zafar Adeel, Jean-Marc Faurès and Michela Miletto.

Decision 12: The SPM decide that UN-HABITAT, UNEP and WHO are the co-coordinators of the TF on Wastewater Management

5. World Water Days and World Water Development Reports

5.1 Report on the closing ceremony of 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation and draft report on the International Year of Water Cooperation

Mr. Giuseppe Arduino (UNESCO) presented the numerous activities conducted during the International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC). He encouraged Members to actively contribute to the IYWC report by responding to the questionnaire that has been developed for this purpose and by engaging their respective networks. Mr. Arduino said that the report is currently being written and will be finalised by mid-2014. The SPM thanked UNESCO for its coordination efforts and designated the UN-Water Chair to introduce the SG report on the IYWC at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.

Decision 13: The SPM designate the UN-Water Chair to introduce the SG report on the International Year of Water Cooperation at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly.

5.2 Report on the Zaragoza 2013/2014 Conference

Ms. Josefina Maestu (UNW-DPAC) reported back from the 2013/2014 UN-Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference (13-16 January 2014), which was organised by UNW-DPAC in close collaboration with UNU and UNIDO. The conference theme was the nexus between water and energy and a special emphasis was placed on issues related to implementation and partnerships. A report on the conference is currently being prepared.


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5.3/5.4 Planned WWD 2014 events, including their agenda

Mr. Christian Susan (UNIDO) shared the current status of preparations of the World Water Day 2014 celebrations on water and energy, which will be held on 20-21 March 2014 in Tokyo, Japan.

5.5 Update on the 2015 WWDR on Water and Sustainable Development and 2016 WWDR on Water and Jobs

Ms. Michela Miletto (UNESCO) presented the work plans of the 2015 WWDR on water and sustainable development and the 2016 WWDR on water and jobs. She explained that the work on the 2015 WWDR, which has commenced in 2013 is currently underway. A first draft of the report will be circulated by the end of February 2014 for comments and the full report will be finalised by the end of this year. Ms. Miletto said that the 2015 WWDR will seek to reflect ongoing discussions on the Sustainable Development Goals and Post-2015 development agenda and solicited the involvement of all UN-Water Members and Partners, specifically for the parts of the report for which a lead agency (or agencies) have not yet been identified.

Ms. Miletto also highlighted that the work on the WWDR 2016 will start in the 2nd quarter of 2014 with an inception workshop at ILO headquarters in Geneva.

5.6 Discussion on the World Water Day theme for 2017

Members identified a number of possible World Water Day themes and agreed that the UN-Water Communications Manager will coordinate an online poll among UN-Water Members and Partners to decide over the themes for World Water Day 2017-2019 at the 21st UN-Water Meeting. Decision 14: The SPM decide that an online poll will be held among UN-Water Members and Partners to determine

the top three proposals for the World Water Day 2017-2019 themes to be discussed at the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

6. UN-Water Programmes

6.1 Approval of UN-Water Programmes’ 2014 Work Plans

During this agenda item, the two UN-Water Programme Directors presented their work plans for 2014 and the Coordinator a.i. of the WWAP made a presentation on the deliverables of WWAP as related to the UN-Water WWDR.

Decision 15: The SPM reconfirm their approval of the UNW-DPC’s 2014-2015 Work Plan. Decision 16: The SPM take note of the 2014 plan of activities of WWAP concerning the UN-Water WWDR. Decision 17: The SPM approve UNW-DPAC’s 2014 Work Plan.

6.2 Draft UN-Water Decade report

Reza Ardakanian (UNW-DPC) presented the proposed structure and content of the UN-Water Decade report including next steps. He reminded participants that the SPM had handed over the responsibility for drafting the report to UNW-DPC at the 19th UN-Water Meeting, provided instructions, and requested to discuss its first draft at the 20th Meeting (see decision 10 of the 19th Meeting). Participants commended the draft report and provided some suggestions, including: defining at the outset the scope of the report, improving the presentation of the tables and moving the overall goals of the Decade to the beginning; including more information on progress of the Decade’s goals (e.g. to advance the participation and involvement of women in water-related development efforts); highlighting the Water Decade campaign itself; and putting more emphasis on the achievements of the Decade. Mr. Ardakanian thanked participants for their valuable suggestions and advice and said that a new version of the report will be presented at the 21st UN-Water Meeting, which will be based on comments received by the end of February. At the request of Mr. Ardakanian, it was also clarified that in the UN-Water Decade report WWAP should be presented as UN-Water Programme, as this was the common


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practice in the past (this was discussed under item 6.5). Note that during the discussion on the decisions (under item 12) it was discussed the draft of a decision proposed by WWAP to participate and contribute in the preparation of the draft of the decade report.. The UN-Water Chair concluded that this was not necessary as it was “understood” that the draft report was a joint report of the programmes with inputs from all UN-Water.

Decision 18: The SPM approve in principle the proposed structure and content of the UN-Water Decade Report. The final deadline for comments is the end of February 2014. An updated version shall be presented at the 21st UN-Water Meeting

6.3 Update on the UN-Water Activity Information System (UNW-AIS)

Mr. Jens Liebe (UNW-DPC) informed participants that a login protected repository to store and share documents has been created for the TPAs, TFs and UN-Water activities/projects; the events calendar has been improved and integrated into the UN-Water website; intranet pages have been created to allow the members of the TPAs/TFs to collaborate and share information; coordinators will soon be able to update the public websites; and a survey functionality has been integrated in UNW-AIS, which is already in use. Mr. Liebe provided an update on UNW-DPC’s learning activities and shared some web analytics.

Mr. Liebe also presented to the SPM a concept note on the process for the “organised call” for update of activities in the UNW-AIS, as requested at the 19th UN-Water Meeting. The first call would be made by the UN-Water Chair in order to inform all UN-Water focal points about the subsequent calls by the respective TPAs and TFs coordinators including those that have not been engaged so far. The call for updates would be initiated by the coordinators of the TF/TPAs coordinators with support from UNW-DPC. Following the presentation, the SPM approved the procedure presented by Mr. Liebe (see decision 19 below).

Decision 19: The SPM approve the procedure laid out in the concept note for the “organized call” for the population of AIS and its implementation. The “call” will be sent in preparation for the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

6.4 Update on the UN-Water Documentation Centre and Water for Life Campaign – Closing activities of the Decade

Ms. Josefina Maestu (UNW-DPAC) informed participants that the Documentation Centre currently holds 2,000 publications from the UN system and has 6,300 subscribers and an alert system, which reaches about 3,600 people that represent the major libraries of the world. The Documentation Centre has recently started to collaborate with the UN repository libraries, the WASH Information Consortium and with the Spanish Group of Environmental Documentation Systems. Ms. Maestu made several proposals in relation to the closing activities of the Decade, including organizing: the 2015 UN-Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference; an exhibition on the occasion of World Water Day 2015; an SG’s address on the Decade in New York; and a “last push” for the Water Decade logo campaign.

Participants highlighted the need for an external evaluation of the UN-Water Programmes that would also look at how to ensure the future sustainability of their most relevant products/achievements, such as the UN-Water Best Practices Award and the Documentation Centre. It was agreed that this should be part of the TORs of the newly established Working Group on UN-Water Programmes and that UNW-DPC and UNW-DPAC should submit a proposal on their sustainability to this WG by the end of April 2014 (see also decision 6). In addition, the SPM requested UNW-DPAC to prepare a detailed proposal on activities in 2015 at the occasion of the end of the Water for Life Decade for discussion at the 21st UN-Water Meeting

Decision 20: The SPM request UNW-DPAC to prepare a detailed proposal on activities for 2015 at the occasion of the end of the Water for Life Decade for discussion at the 21stUN-Water Meeting. Concerning the major products of the two Decade Programmes, the SPM request UNW-DPC and UNW-DPAC to submit a proposal on their sustainability to the Working Group on UN-Water Programmes by the end of April 2014.

6.5 Selection panel for the WWAP’s Coordinator position

The SPM were originally invited to decide the composition of the multi-agency selection panel for the WWAP’s Coordinator position. After having clarified that WWAP is a UNESCO Programme and the WWDR a UN-Water


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publication (see decision 4 under agenda item 3.3), it became clear that UN-Water would be involved in the recruitment, but would not lead the recruitment process of the Coordinator position as done in the past. Therefore, the SPM took note that UNESCO will invite UN-Water to be represented at an appropriate level with regards to the recruitment of the Coordinator position of WWAP.

Decision 20: The SPM note that UNESCO will invite UN-Water to be represented at an appropriate level with regards to the recruitment of the Coordinator position of WWAP.

7. Selected Reports and Progress Updates

7.1 UN-Water Publication Committee

The SPM approved the final version of the ToR and proposed the composition of the Publication Committee as presented by Mr. Carrion-Crespo. Among others, the UN-Water Publication Committee will prepare a revised Publication Policy for discussion and approval at 21st UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 22: The SPM approve the revised TOR of the Publication Committee. Among others, the UN-Water Publication Committee will prepare a revised Publication Policy for discussion and approval at 21st UN-Water Meeting. The SPM also decide that the Publication Committee will be composed of Carlos Carrion-Crespo of ILO and a representative of the following organizations: UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, UNU, GWP.

7.2 Progress report of the Working Group on Monitoring and Reporting

Mr. Bruce Gordon (WHO), coordinator of the Working Group on Monitoring and Reporting, provided a brief progress report. He reminded the SPM of the issues that the WG seeks to address, namely to reduce the reporting burden of countries and to fulfil UN-Water’s mandate to coordinate information collection at the country-level. Mr. Gordon highlighted that other Members of the WG currently include FAO, UNESCO and UNEP and others are invited to join. An initial questionnaire has been circulated and responses from a number of organisations have been received. Overall 10-12 initiatives have been reported. As the preliminary analysis shows, a lot of different technical issues are being looked at, a number of different instruments are being used (mostly questionnaire-based approaches) and different stakeholders are involved, though the majority pertain to the Ministries of water.

In the ensuing discussion, the SPM welcomed the progress made and encouraged the WG to pursue and deepen its work, including by providing recommendations for country-level monitoring, while anticipating that monitoring requirements are likely to experience some change given ongoing discussions on the Post-2015 agenda. Mr. Gordon said he would circulate the full work plan of the WG in advance of the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

7.3 Update on the draft Guidelines on the role of Partners and recommendations on how UN-Water can strengthen its engagement with Partners

Mr. Nicholas Bonvoisin (UNECE), coordinator of the Working Group on Partners’ Engagement gave an update on the activities of this Working Group. A first questionnaire was sent to Partners in 2011 and another questionnaire was sent in 2013 to the TPA and TF Coordinators. Based on this, the WG plans to prepare short Guidelines on the role of Partners as well as recommendations on how to better engage with them. The SPM agreed that the WG should continue its work and complete the draft Guidelines by the end of 2014 for presentation at the 22nd UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 23: The SPM recognize the progress made by the Working Group on Partners’ Engagement and request the completion of the draft Guidelines on Partners’ engagement by the end of 2014 for presentation at the 22nd UN-Water Meeting.


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8. TPAs and TFs Related Issues

8.1 Update on the work of the Advisory Group on TPAs and TFs

Claudio Caponi (WMO), member of the Advisory Group (AG) on TPAs and TFs reminded participants that language describing the working modalities of UN-Water has been included in the revised UN-Water Operational Guidelines (section V; see Annex 2), as requested by the SPM at the 19th UN-Water Meeting. The AG considers that there is currently no scope for further rationalisation of the architecture of UN-Water subsidiary bodies and recommends to maintain the current working modalities as descripted in the Operational Guidelines. The SPM acknowledged the work of the AG and agreed with its proposal to maintain the current status quo.

Decision 24: The SPM acknowledge the work of the Advisory Group on TPAs and TFs, which has fulfilled its mandate. The Advisory Group has therefore ended its work.

8.2 Presentation of the Draft Report of the TF on Regional-Level Coordination

Mr. Jens Liebe presented the draft report on Regional-Level Coordination, which is based on a series of consultations on regional coordination mechanisms for water in the five regions of the UN Regional Commissions. An earlier version of this draft report was discussed at a TF meeting hosted by UNW-DPC in autumn 2013. Mr. Liebe invited the SPM to submit their comments on the draft report by 15 March 2014 and to elaborate recommendations on how to improve regional-level coordination. The revised report will be submitted to the 21st UN-Water Meeting for discussion. Following this presentation, the SPM discussed how to better engage the UN regional commissions in UN-Water activities and endorsed the draft decision.

Decision 25: The SPM are invited to provide comments on the draft report of the TF on Regional-level Coordination by 15 March 2014, and to elaborate recommendations for improving regional-level coordination. The revised report will be submitted to the 21st UN-Water Meeting for discussion.

9. Post-2015/SDG Process

9.1 Update on recent developments, including the thematic debate on water, sanitation and sustainable energy in the post-2015 development agenda on 18-19 February

David O’Connor, UN-DESA, presented an overview on the latest developments on Post-2015 and the process to launch a set of Sustainable Development Goals. The Open Working Group is currently approaching the end of its stocktaking phase, during which it has covered a wide spectrum of issues, including water and sanitation. The sessions were guided by the consensus that poverty eradication and sustainable development must be at the core of the new agenda. A consensus is also emerging that inequalities need to be addressed and that there should be one single unified sustainable development agenda with a set of goals applicable to all countries – developing and developed countries alike. Among the more contentious issues are the means of implementation and how to address them; the question how to strengthen global partnerships; and how to reflect issues such as sustainable consumption and production and climate change in light of the principle of common but differentiated responsibility and national sovereignty. As the Post-2015 development agenda will only be able to accommodate a limited number of goals, Mr. O’Connor highlighted that those advocating for stand-alone goals are facing the difficult challenge of putting forward proposals that are sound, while at the same time easy to communicate. Mr. O’Connor also provided useful feedback on the UN-Water technical advice paper in this regard.

In the ensuing discussion, participants debated: the road map for the post-2015 agenda; the soundness and political viability of the UN-Water proposal; the relationship between the post-2015 agenda process and other negotiation processes related to the multilateral environmental agreements such as the United Nations Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC); and the usefulness of undertaking further work on possible water-related targets under other goals.


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Regarding the latter, Mr. O’Connor advised to focus solely on interlinkages with those goals, where a specific water-related target would add considerable value.

Ms. Ndey-Isatou Njie, Secretary of UN-Water, briefed participants on the President of the General Assembly’s Thematic Debate on “water, sanitation and sustainable energy in the post-2015 development agenda”, which will be held on 18-19 February 2014 at UN Headquarters in New York. The event is one of three thematic debates aimed at building consensus on the priorities for the post-2015 development agenda. The thematic debate will include an opening session, followed by three stakeholder panel discussions on “the water and sanitation challenge”, “the sustainable energy challenge”, and the “water-energy nexus” respectively. Ms. Njie invited the SPM to provide suggestions for potential speakers. She also informed the SPM that a side event to present UN-Water’s technical advice on a possible post-2015 goal for water will be organised on the margins of the PGA thematic debate on 18 February 2014. The Executive Summary including the annexes will be made available at the side event.

9.2 Update on the work of UNU/UNOSD/SEI

Mr. Zafar Adeel (UNU) highlighted the joint collaboration between UNU, UNOSD and SEI on an independent report on water-related Sustainable Development Goals, which received positive feedback at a side event held at UNHQ in New York in autumn 2013. He said that, as a next step, the group will seek to translate the methodology of the report to the country-level by testing it in a number of pilot countries.

9.3 Finalisation and approval of the UN-Water Technical Advice

Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP), Coordinator of the Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), gave an update on the work of the WG. Among its many activities were the preparation of the Issues Brief on water and sanitation that was submitted to the Open Working Group on SDGs (OWG) in May 2013 and the organisation of a side event on a draft version of the UN-Water technical advice paper in the margins of the 6th session of the OWG in December 2013.

Mr. Harlin reminded participants that the UN-Water technical advice “A Post-2015 Global Goal for Water: Synthesis of key findings and recommendations from UN-Water” was the result of a one-year broad inclusive technical consultation process among UN-Water Members and Partners, led by the Working Group on SDGs and with the active contribution of many UN-Water Task Forces and Thematic Priority Areas. The WG frequently reported back to the entire UN-Water Membership, which was provided with several opportunities to provide input and feedback. Mr. Harlin reminded participants that the final draft has been shaped building on several rounds of comments and invited the SPM to approve the document.

After a short discussion, the SPM approved the final draft of the technical advice. It was noted that this technical advice paper is a work in progress, which can be revised as the work on indicators evolves and can incorporate further feedback, as appropriate.

Decision 26: The SPM approve the technical advice entitled “A Post-2015 Global Goal for Water: Synthesis of key findings and recommendations from UN-Water” as shared with UN-Water Members on 27 January 2014. The SPM encourage UN-Water Members and Partners to disseminate the final version of the technical advice.

Decision 27: The SPM agree to present the Technical Advice at the margins of the PGA Thematic Debate on water, sanitation and sustainable energy on 18 February 2014.

9.4 Next steps

Participants were invited to discuss how to pursue UN-Water’s work on water’s role in the post-2015 agenda. Among other things, it was suggested to focus on the dissemination of UN-Water’s technical advice on a post-2015 global goal for water; the further development of the proposed indicators; on interlinkages with other possible goals; and on the financial mechanisms and resources required for delivering a possible goal on water. Mr. Harlin suggested to prolong the mandate of the Working Group to respond to emerging requests and proposed some changes to the composition of the Working Group, which would mirror the proposed target structure. Both suggestions were approved by the SPM (see decision 28). Mr. Harlin also informed participants that the Global Water Partnership plans to undertake


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national consultations on UN-Water’s technical advice paper in the forthcoming months. Such consultations would allow to get feedback and disseminate the recommendations at country-level.

Decision 28: The SPM approve the extension of the mandate of the WG on SDGs to respond to emerging requests. The new Vice-Chair Blanca Jimenez-Cisneros will replace the outgoing Vice-Chair Bert Diphoorn in this WG. The SPM decide that Mr. Bruce Stewart (WMO) and Mr. Alan Hall (GWP) will respectively represent the disasters and the governance sub-streams within this WG.

10. Proposed Events for UN-Water’s Engagement

The SPM discussed a list of forthcoming events, which are relevant to UN-Water and agreed in principle to UN-Water’s participation in a number of events (see decision 29). Regarding the 7th World Water Forum in Daegu, it was decided that Bert Diphoorn in his capacity as governor of the World Water Council in coordination with the UN-Water Management Team should explore options on how UN-Water could contribute to this event and that this issue to be discussed at the 21st UN-Water Meeting. In this context, participants were reminded that the SPM had once decided that UN-Water should not engage in political/ministerial process of the World Water Fora, as this is the prerogative of countries. Similarly, the SPM requested FAO, UNW-DPAC and the UN-Water Communications Manager to prepare a concept note on the possible participation of UN-Water in the Expo 2015, Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life from 1 May – 31 October 2015 for the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 29: The UN-Water SPM agree in principle to UN-Water’s participation in the following events:

- 5-8 March 2014, Water, Food, Climate and Energy Conference, Chapel Hill

- 5-11 April 2014, 7th World Urban Forum, Medellin

- 11 April 2014, Washington, 3rd Sanitation and Water for All HLM

- 2-4 June 2014, Singapore International Water Week

- 31 August-5 September 2014 Stockholm World Water Week

- 1-4 September 2014, 3rd International Conference on Small Island Developing States, Samoa

- 19 November 2014, World Toilet Day

- January 2015, UN-Water Annual International Zaragoza Conference

- 14-18 March 2015, 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Sendai

- 12-17 April 2015, 7th World Water Forum, Daegu

- 1 May-31 October 2015, EXPO 2015 Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, Milan

Decision 30: The SPM delegate the UN-Water TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation to decide over the theme of World Toilet Day 2014 in line with UN General Assembly resolution A/67/L.75. This will be done in collaboration with the DSG’s initiative for a Call to Action on sanitation.

The SPM also request the TPA to submit a proposal for the management of World Toilet Days, including modalities for the selection of future themes to be presented at the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 31: The SPM ask Bert Diphoorn in his capacity as governor of the World Water Council in coordination with the UN-Water Management Team to explore options on how UN-Water could contribute to the 7th World Water Forum in Daegu, South Korea to be discussed at the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 32: The SPM request FAO, UNW-DPAC and the UN-Water Communications Manager to prepare a concept note on the possible participation of UN-Water in the Expo 2015, Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life from 1 May – 31 October 2015 for the 21st UN-Water Meeting.


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11. Date of the Next UN-Water Meeting

Traditionally, the second bi-annual UN-Water Meeting is held during the days preceding the World Water Week in Stockholm. This year, the World Water Week will take place from 31 August to 5 September 2014.

The SPM agreed that the next UN-Water Meeting will be held on 28-30 August 2014 in Stockholm.

Decision 32: The 21st UN-Water Meeting will take place in Stockholm on 28-30 August 2014.

12. Presentation of Decisions

The UN-Water Secretary presented the decisions made at the 20th UN-Water Meeting and invited the SPM to formally adopt them.

The document “decisions made at the 20th UN-Water meeting” was officially adopted (see Annex 6).

13. Closing Remarks

Ms. Blanca Jiménez Cisneros, UN-Water Vice-Chair closed the Meeting by thanking all participants for their presence and involvement.


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Annexes:

Annex 1: UN-Water Strategy to 2020

Annex 2: UN-Water Operational Guidelines

Annex 3: 2014-2015 Results Matrix

Annex 4: 2014-2015 Indicative Budget

Annex 5: List of Participants of the 20th UN-Water Meeting

Annex 6: Decisions made at the 20th UN-Water Meeting

Final Version 16 January 2015

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Final Report

21st UN-Water Meeting

28 – 30 August 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden


1. Opening Session

The meeting was opened by Ms. Marie Ottosson, Assistant Director General of the Swedish International

Development Cooperation Agency, Sida. Ms. Ottosson warmly welcomed all participants and expressed her pleasure to

host the UN-Water Meeting. In her opening remarks, she highlighted that water and sustainable water resources

management have for long been a priority of her country. She commended UN-Water for its excellent work and its strive

to ‘deliver as one’ on water-related issues. In closing, she reaffirmed Sweden’s commitment to UN-Water and other

water-related global partnerships and wished participants an interesting and fruitful meeting.

Mr. Michel Jarraud, Chair of UN-Water, thanked Sida and Sweden for their generous hospitality and the support

provided in the organization of the meeting. Mr. Jarraud underscored that UN-Water’s recent technical advice on a post-

2015 global goal for water is a good example of the UN system delivering as one and of the added value of working

together. “In the past, many UN entities have contributed to intergovernmental discussions on water, but not in a

coordinated and coherent manner. By working together, we have much more impact than by working in isolation”, he

said. Mr. Jarraud underlined that the proposal of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals (OWG)

contains a dedicated goal on water that addresses the broader water agenda. “While we cannot claim credit for this

outcome, we received feedback from Member States that they very much appreciated our support during the OWG

consultation process”, he said, while highlighting that the year ahead will be critical. Mr. Jarraud closed his remarks by

thanking once again Sida and Sweden for their warm hospitality and gracious cooperation.


Mr. Jarraud invited participants to present themselves in a brief tour-de-table. He reported back on the last meeting

of the Joint Steering Group (JSG), held in August 2014. The JSG decided, among others, to update the partnership

application form in order to request from applicants the submission of two references from UN-Water Members.

Following this, the agenda of the 21st UN-Water Meeting was adopted with slight changes.

2.1 Implementation of past decisions

Ms. Ndey-Isatou Njie, Secretary of UN-Water, provided an update on the implementation of past decisions that were

agreed at the 20th

UN-Water Meeting in New York, United States.

2.2 UN-Water partnership applications

The Senior Programme Managers (SPM) approved the partnership application of the World Resources Institute

(WRI). Concerning the application of the World Plumbing Council, the SPM requested the UN-Water Secretary to seek

further clarification. A decision regarding the World Plumbing Council’s partnership application will be taken at the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting.

During the discussions, participants agreed that having a proven track record is important and that any new Partner

should also bring added value to UN-Water.


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Decision 1: The SPM approve the applications for Partner status of the World Resources Institute (WRI). The SPM

request the UN-Water Secretary to officially inform the applicant.

The SPM request the UN-Water Secretary to ask the World Plumbing Council to further clarify 1) what

contributions they intend to make to UN-Water; and 2) how they link to industry. A decision regarding

the Council’s partnership application shall be taken at the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting.

2.3 Joint Steering Group rotation

Members were invited to elect one member of the JSG to replace outgoing JSG member Pradeep Aggarwal, who has

completed his two-year term. In response to his expression of interest to serve on the JSG, the SPM appointed Mr. Carlos

Carrion-Crespo (ILO) as a new member of the JSG. The SPM warmly thanked Mr. Aggarwal for his valuable

contributions to the JSG since August 2012.

Decision 2: The SPM elect Carlos Carrion-Crespo to serve on the JSG for a period of two years until the second

bi-annual UN-Water Meeting in 2016. The SPM gratefully thank Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal for his

dedicated service for the JSG.

2.4 Report of the Working Group on Partners’ Engagement

Nick Bonvoisin (UNECE) provided an update on the work of the Working Group on Partners’ Engagement, which

has been mandated to draft guidelines on the role of Partners and their expected contributions to the work of UN-Water.

Mr. Bonvoisin said that a few questions have come up during the drafting process and that he would appreciate feedback

from the SPM on the following questions: 1) whether Partners should be expected to report annually on their contribution

to UN-Water?; 2) whether Partners should be allowed to take on a formal role in UN-Water’s Thematic Priority Areas

(TPAs), Task Forces (TFs) or projects, for example by coordinating them?; 3) whether Partners should be allowed to

participate in the SPM meetings and if so, on which basis?.

In the ensuing discussions, the SPM supported the idea of requesting Partners to regularly submit a report on how

they have contributed to UN-Water in the recent past. As highlighted by one participant, this is already a requirement

according to paragraph 16 of the UN-Water Partner criteria, but it is currently not enforced. The SPM also discussed the

possibility of granting Partner status for a limited duration. Overall, the SPM concurred that Partners should be allowed

to have a more active role in UN-Water, including the possibility of co-coordinating certain activities (e.g. Task Forces,

Thematic Priority Areas) together with UN-Water Members. The Working Group was requested to complete the

Guidelines on Partners’ Engagement by the end of 2014 for presentation at the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting, taking into

account discussions held at the 21st UN-Water Meeting.

Decision 3: The SPM recognize the progress made by the Working Group on Partners’ Engagement. The SPM

request the completion of the draft Guidelines on Partners’ Engagement by the end of 2014 for

presentation at the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting, taking into account discussions held at the 21st UN-Water

Meeting.

2.5 Update on the status of the UN-Water Inter-Agency Trust Fund

Mr. Federico Properzi, UN-Water Chief Technical Advisor, presented the status of the UN-Water Inter-Agency

Trust Fund. He explained that a total of approximately USD 1.5 million were committed to the core budget in 2014-2015

from Switzerland and from Sweden, but have not yet been received.

Following his presentation, participants discussed the roles and responsibilities within UN-Water for fundraising

activities. It was clarified that the Management Team focuses on fundraising to meet the core budget and that the

coordinators of certain UN-Water activities are responsible for raising targeted funds towards these activities, which

should be channeled through the UN-Water Trust Fund to the extent possible. However, the fundraising of targeted funds

should always be done in close coordination with the UN-Water Management Team.


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2.6 UN-Water Technical Advisory Unit’s office arrangements

The UN-Water Vice-Chair, Ms. Blanca Jiménez Cisneros, introduced this agenda item. She reminded participants

that at the 17th

UN-Water Meeting in August 2012, the following decision was made: “The SPM accept WMO’s offer to

provide office space at no rental costs to the UN-Water Technical Advisory Unit (TAU) office in Geneva for the next two

years”. This was to address the concern that the host organisation could eventually take advantage from its proximity to

the TAU. Ms. Jiménez Cisneros invited participants to consider whether they would like to pursue this arrangement.

Participants agreed that the arrangement has been very beneficial to UN-Water and expressed appreciation to WMO

for accepting to continue providing office space at no rental costs to the UN-Water TAU’s office in Geneva.

Decision 4: Having reviewed the Technical Advisory Unit’s (TAU) office space arrangement as requested by

decision no. 18c of the 17th

UN-Water Meeting, the SPM express their appreciation to WMO for

accepting to continue to provide office space at no rental costs to the UN-Water TAU’s office in

Geneva.

3. Activities Related to the End of the ‘Water for Life’ Decade for Action

3.1 Draft UN-Water Decade Report

In his introduction of this agenda item, Mr. Reza Ardakanian (UNW-DPC), reminded participants of the following:

at the 19th

UN-Water Meeting in Stockholm in 2013, it was decided that “the SPM revise its decision No. 15 of the 18th

UN-Water Meeting and request UNW-DPC to be responsible for the drafting of the Decade Report to be discussed at the

next UN-Water Meeting. The SPM request WWAP to provide the available materials collected so far to UNW-DPC. The

SPM agree that the scope of the Decade Report will focus on major unique added value initiatives carried out during the

Decade by all entities in UN-Water as available on their respective websites. The report’s intended audience is the

general public, and it should include approximately 20 pages. Should the UN General Assembly request an end of

Decade report, the input contained in the above report would serve as the basis for a possible Secretary-General report.“

(see decision 10 of the 19th UN-Water Meeting). Following this, at the 20

th UN-Water Meeting, the SPM approved in

principle the structure and content of the UN-Water Decade Report as proposed by UNW-DPC. The final deadline for

comments was the end of February 2014 (see decision 18 of the 20th

UN-Water Meeting). As requested, based on the

comments received by this deadline, an updated version has been prepared.

Following a brief discussion, the SPM agreed on a way forward on the UN-Water Decade Report that was captured

in decision 5 below. During the discussions, it was also clarified that comments should be limited to the previously

defined scope and structure of the report. It was also clarified that the recommendations of the report should not include

advocacy for certain causes.

Decision 5: The SPM thank UNW-DPC for their work on the draft Decade report. The timeline for its finalisation is

as follows:

- the SPM are invited to provide final comments and contributions on the text (not on the structure)

to UNW-DPC by 14 September 2014.

- UNW-DPC will incorporate these comments and provide a revised draft in track changes to the

JSG.

- The JSG will provide its feedback on these comments to UNW-DPC.

- Following this, UNW-DPC shall produce the final draft report, which will be submitted to the SPM

for no objection approval by the end of 2014.


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The SPM confirm that the Decade report falls under ‘category 1’ of UN-Water publications according

to the UN-Water Publications Policy.

3.2 Update and proposal of activities to celebrate the end of the Water for Life Decade

Ms. Josefina Maestu (UNW-DPAC) presented the results of a survey and invited participants to discuss the list of

proposed activities to celebrate the end of the Decade that she prepared following the request of the SPM at the 20th

UN-

Water Meeting. The SPM approved below mentioned activities, pending availability of funding from UNW-DPAC and

requested the UN-Water Publication Committee to take a decision concerning the timing of the launch of the Decade

report. Participants agreed that it will be important to coordinate these efforts with the “bigger” World Water Day

campaign on water and sustainable development so as to make sure that everything fits nicely together.

Decision 6: The SPM approve the following activities on the occasion of the End of the ‘Water for Life’ Decade,

pending availability of funding from UNW-DPAC:

- a publication on the winners of the ‘Water for Life’ Award of the past 10 years;

- a month-long Decade exhibit in New York on the occasion of World Water Day;

- the launch of the Decade report;

The SPM request the Publication Committee to take a decision regarding the timing of the launch of

the Decade report.

4. Strategic Discussion on the UN-Water Programmes after 2015

Ms. Ndey Isatou-Njie, in her capacity as coordinator of the Working Group (WG) on Programmes, provided a status

update on the activities of the WG. She said that the WG has been active on the task assigned to organise an external

evaluation of the UN-Water Programmes in view of developing recommendations on the establishment or continuation of

UN-Water Programmes. Concerning the external evaluation, funds have been secured, TORs developed and a consultant

was hired who has interviewed an important number of UN-Water Members, Partners and donors and carried out a

literature review. At this stage, a first draft evaluation has been prepared by the consultant, which is now being reviewed

by the WG. Subsequent to the review and agreement of the WG, the evaluation will be submitted to the SPM to give

them the opportunity to react to the report.

Participants agreed on a timeline and a process, which is described below. It was also clarified that no UN-Water

Member should negotiate with donors on behalf of UN-Water with respect to current or possible future Programmes until

a decision over the future of UN-Water Programmes has been taken.

Decision 7: The SPM approve the timeline and process for the work of the Working Group on Programmes as

follows:

- Revised draft evaluation by the consultant on 15 September 2014;

- Comments by WG Members by 22 September;

- Circulation to the SPM: 1 October;

- Deadline for comments by SPM: 15 October;

- Prepare WG recommendations in October;

- Circulate evaluation and recommendations mid-November;

- This will be followed by an online discussion among the SPM on the recommendations on the way

forward.


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- The final recommendations of the Working Group will be submitted to the SPM prior to the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting to decide over the future of the UN-Water Programmes at that meeting. This

will be done by 31 December 2014.

No UN-Water Member should negotiate with donors on behalf of UN-Water with respect to current or possible

future Programmes until a decision over the future of UN-Water Programmes is taken.

5. Presentation of the Draft UN-Water Publication Policy

Mr. Carlos Carrion-Crespo (ILO), coordinator of the UN-Water Publication Committee, presented the drafting

process of the draft UN-Water Publication Policy and invited the SPM to discuss and adopt the draft Policy. The

Publication Committee is composed of Carlos Carrion-Crespo and a representative each of the following organizations:

UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, UNU and GWP.

The SPM commended the draft document and approved it, pending some minor changes. In particular, the SPM

requested to make the three different categories of publications clearer and specify the respective roles and

responsibilities of the SPM. Strong support was expressed for the new policy to agree on the nature of a publication and

classify it at the outset into one of the three categories. It was highlighted that any change of category can only be made

by the SPM collectively.

Decision 8: The SPM approve in principle the draft UN-Water Publication Policy subject to the changes discussed

at the 21st UN-Water Meeting. The final draft will be circulated to the SPM for a no-objection approval

by 30 September 2014.

6. Selected Reports and Progress Updates to UN-Water Members

6.1 Proposal for the management of World Toilet Days, including modalities for the selection of future theme

Ms. Corinne Wallace (UNU), in her capacity as co-coordinator of the TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation,

introduced this agenda item by reminding the SPM of decision 30 of the 20th

UN-Water Meeting, which requested the

TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation to submit a proposal for the Management of World Toilet Days at the 21st

UN-Water Meeting. Ms. Wallace highlighted that it is proposed to manage World Toilet Day similarly to World Water

Day. Participants welcomed the proposal and emphasized the need for coordination around this day to ensure common

action and advocacy. Following a brief discussion, the proposal for the management of World Toilet Days was adopted

by the SPM as annexed. Ms. Wallace took also the opportunity to brief the SPM on the status of preparations of the

World Toilet Day celebrations at UNHQ this year, which are being co-organised by the Permanent Mission of Singapore

and the Office of the Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) and will, among others, feature the launch of the 2014 UN-Water

Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water report (GLAAS report).

Decision 9: The SPM adopt the proposal for the management of World Toilet Days as annexed

6.2 Expanded Water Monitoring Initiative

Mr. Graham Alabaster (UN-HABITAT) briefed the SPM on the Expanded Water Monitoring Initiative of UNEP,

UN-HABITAT and WHO, which is building on the work of the UN-Water TF on Wastewater Management. The

Expanded Water Monitoring Initiative aims at proposing a global framework for monitoring progress on wastewater,

water quality and water resources management for the period after 2015 by building on the valuable experience of the


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WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation. Mr. Alabaster explained that this

was a work in progress and that the initiative would not only be open to the UN system and international actors, but also

to Member States. Key to the new approach is developing a monitoring framework that builds on the knowledge of

existing monitoring efforts such as the JMP, GEMS/Water, Aquastat, and others, while also incorporating new sources of

data including remote sensing and GIS. Mr. Alabaster explained that several technical task teams have been formed,

which have already taken up their work.

Participants widely supported the initiative and underlined that it must be inclusive. They also highlighted that the

publications of the Expanded Water Monitoring Initiative fall under ‘category 2’ of UN-Water’s Publication Policy,

which bear the UN-Water logo and are approved by the UN-Water SPM. Against this background, it was decided that the

SPM adopt the initiative under the umbrella of UN-Water and its Work Programme. They also underscored in decision

10 that the initiative should be as inclusive as possible. In addition, the SPM acknowledged the valuable work on

indicators and monitoring that has been undertaken by the World Water Assessment Programme in the past.

Decision 10: The SPM thank UNEP, UN-HABITAT and WHO for the Expanded Water Monitoring Initiative. The

SPM adopt the initiative under the umbrella of UN-Water and its work programme, noting therefore

that the SPM will approve its outputs. The SPM encourage it to be as inclusive as possible.

6.3 Advancing coordination of data collection at country-level

In light of the absence of the coordinator of the Working Group on Monitoring and Reporting and the lack of a status

update, the SPM requested the UN-Water TAU to contact the coordinator and ask him, whether he is still available to

coordinate this group.

Decision 11: The SPM note the lack of progress within the WG on Monitoring and Reporting and the AG on UN-

Water Country Briefs.

The SPM request the UN-Water TAU to contact the coordinator of these two groups for a progress

update and recommendations concerning the future long-term sustainability of the UN-Water Country

Briefs; they also ask the TAU to ask the coordinator whether he is still available to coordinate these

groups.

6.4 Update on the World Water Quality Assessment Report and Compendium of Water Quality Guidelines

Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP), coordinator of the TPA on Water Quality, gave an update on the activities of this

TPA. He informed participants that its Advisory Committee had recently highlighted the unavailability and

inaccessibility of data globally required for the preparation of a comprehensive assessment report and strongly

recommended to phase the assessment. The SPM agreed that the TPA should revise its planned activities and budget

concerning the UN-Water World Water Quality Assessment Report and that its first phase should focus on developing an

Analytical Brief on the needs and constraints of producing a global assessment on water quality. The Brief, which falls

under ‘category 1’ of UN-Water’s Publication Policy, will also look at methodologies. Future phases should be discussed

at a later stage, taking into account other initiatives and developments underway under UN-Water (see decision 12).

Participants also agreed on the need to hold a discussion on the strategic outlook of UN-Water activities (‘what UN-

Water should do and what it shouldn’t do’) at the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting (see decision 13).

Decision 12: The SPM request the TPA on Water Quality to revisit its planned activities and budget regarding a

UN-Water World Water Quality Assessment Report: its first phase should be dedicated to the

development of an Analytical Brief on the needs and constraints of producing a global assessment on

water quality. The Brief will also look at methodologies. Future phases should be discussed at a later

stage, taking into account other initiatives and developments underway under UN-Water.

Decision 13: The SPM decide to hold a discussion on the strategic outlook of UN-Water activities (‘what UN-Water

should do and what it shouldn’t do’) at the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting.


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6.5 Update on GEMS/Water

Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP) presented the ‘new’ GEMS/Water programme, which is currently in a transition

phase. A scoping meeting was held in September 2013 in Stockholm and another in March 2014 in Nairobi to deliberate

on its future. A new partnership has been established, which includes the Governments of Ireland, Germany and Brazil,

as well as a number of UN-Water Members. It is envisaged that the enhanced GEMS/Water programme will in future

provide services and knowledge products drawing from its GEMStat Database to be hosted by the Federal Institute of

Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany with the support of the German Government. These services and products will contribute

to global, regional and national water quality assessments in support of policy formulation. In particular, they are

intended to support the post-2015 development agenda process and UN-Water outputs, including the World Water

Development Report (WWDR). The GEMS/Water network is being reorganized: regional hubs are being established to

strengthen collaboration and mobilize capacities for regional and global water quality monitoring and assessments are

being established.

The SPM recognized the reinvigoration of GEMS/Water and its relevance to UN-Water, while emphasizing the need

to hold a discussion on the strategic outlook of UN-Water activities at the 22nd

UN-Water meeting, as captured in

decision 13 above.

6.6 Recommendations on the way forward concerning the UN-Water Country Briefs

This agenda item was cancelled due to the absence of the coordinator of the Advisory Group on the UN-Water

Country Briefs.

6.7 Future of the Federated Information System Linked to Key Indicators (this discussion was held on Saturday,

30 August 2015)

Mr. Jean-Marc Faurès presented a note containing a number of lessons learned of phase 2 of the Federated

Information System Linked to Key Indicators. Participants agreed to Mr. Faurès’ suggestion to postpone discussions on

the future of the Federated Information System Linked to Key Indicators to a time when more clarity over the post-2015

framework has been gained.

Decision 14: The SPM decide to postpone the discussions on the future of the Federated Information System Linked

to Key Indicators to a time when more clarity over the post-2015 framework has been gained.

6.8 Report of the International Year of Water Cooperation

Mr. Giuseppe Arduino (UNESCO) briefly presented the Report of the UN Secretary-General on the International

Year of Water Cooperation, which has recently been finalised (see A/69/326). The report shows that the campaign has

helped to increase knowledge about cooperation and to reinforce political will and existing legal frameworks,

accountability and institutional structures that can provide a solid foundation for water cooperation.

Following his presentation, the SPM gratefully thanked UNESCO for preparing the report on behalf of UN-Water. It

was agreed to disseminate the findings of the report to the general public by producing a leaflet containing the main facts

and figures.

Decision 15: The SPM thank UNESCO for preparing the SG report on the International Year of Water Cooperation

on behalf of UN-Water.

The SPM request UNESCO in coordination with the UN-Water Communications Manager to produce

a ‘facts and figures’ leaflet based on this report.

6.9 Update on the Safe Use of Wastewater 2 (SUWA2) project

Mr. Jens Liebe (UNW-DPC) presented a draft proposal for phase 2 of the Safe Use of Wastewater and Agriculture

project (SUWA2), a joint initiative of FAO, WHO, UNEP, UNU-INWEH, UNU-FLORES, UNW-DPC and IWMI. He


8

said that the SUWA2 proposal is structured to respond to the greatest capacity needs identified in phase 1, as well as to

specific requests identified by the participants of the regional workshops. While the first phase of the project focused on

agriculture, the second phase takes a wider scope, taking into account reuse for non-agricultural purposes, which generate

revenue, and/or help alleviate the pressure on limited freshwater resources. Nevertheless, the reduction of health and

environmental impacts remain as major focus areas of the project.

The SPM approved in principle the draft proposal for phase SUWA2 and requested UNW-DPC to revise it within

two weeks so that it also includes a detailed budget breakdown. The SPM invited the project partners to seek external

funding for the initiative. Concerning the question of the project coordinator in light of current discussions on the future

of UN-Water Programmes, the SPM agreed to designate the SUWA2 project coordinator and the final composition of the

group of project partners at a later stage through online consultations.

Decision 16: The SPM approve in principle the draft proposal for phase 2 of the Safe Use of Wastewater and

Agriculture project (SUWA2) and request UNW-DPC to revise it within two weeks so that it also

includes a detailed budget breakdown. The SPM invite the project partners to seek external funding for

the initiative.

The SPM agree to designate the SUWA2 project coordinator and the final composition of the group of

project partners through online consultations.

6.10 WWDR-related issues

Ms. Michela Miletto (UNESCO), Coordinator a.i. of the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), informed

the SPM that some delays have been experienced in the production of the 2015 World Water Development Report

(WWDR), as some UN-Water Members that had volunteered to act as lead for certain chapters did not deliver in time.

The SPM discussed this issue and urged the lead contributors of the WWDR to deliver their inputs in time in order to

ensure that the report is produced as described in its work plan, which has been approved by the SPM. The SPM also

took note that in case of substantial delays, UNESCO and the UN-Water Management Team will consult to quickly

resolve this issue (see decision 17).

Following these discussions, Ms. Blanca Jimenez-Cisneros (UNESCO) informed the SPM that UNESCO is

undertaking an internal evaluation of WWAP. The SPM mandated the Chief Technical Adviser to act as UN-Water

representative in the evaluation reference group (see decision 18).

Decision 17: The SPM urge the lead contributors of the WWDR to deliver their inputs in time in order to ensure that

the report is produced as described in its work plan as approved by the SPM.

The SPM take note that in case of substantial delays, UNESCO and the UN-Water Management Team

will consult to quickly resolve this issue.

Decision 18: The SPM take note of UNESCO’s internal evaluation of WWAP. The SPM agree that the Chief

Technical Adviser will act as UN-Water representative in the evaluation reference group.

6.x Additional decisions under item 6 (this discussion was held on Saturday, 30 August 2015)

Participants commended UNEP for providing progress reports on the activities Task Force on Water Resources

Management and the Working Group on Water Efficiency and agreed that all TPA, TF and WG coordinators should

prepare a short progress report (1 page max) for every UN-Water Meeting. However, an item will be included in the

agenda only if major issues have to be considered by the SPM.

Following this, Mr. Thomas Chiramba (UNEP) provided a status update of the Task Force on Water Resources

Management, the Working Group on Water Efficiency within the Thematic Priority Area on Water Scarcity and the Task

Force on Wastewater Management. Concerning the Working Group on Water Efficiency under the TPA on Water


9

Scarcity, the SPM requested the coordinator to revise its work plan and merge the planned publication no. 2 with no. 3

into an Analytical Brief on Water Efficiency.

Decision 19: The SPM agree that all TPA, TF and WG coordinators should prepare a short progress report (1 page

max) for every UN-Water Meeting. However, an item will be included in the agenda only if major

issues have to be considered by the SPM.

Decision 20: The SPM request the Working Group on Water Efficiency under the TPA on Water Scarcity to revise its

work plan and merge the planned publication no. 2 with no. 3 into an Analytical Brief on Water

Efficiency.


*** Beginning of the meeting open to UN-Water Partners and other Stakeholders ***

7. Opening Remarks by the UN-Water Chair

The second day of the UN-Water Meeting was not only open to UN-Water Members and Partners with Special

Status, Programmes and regional agreements, but also to Partners and other stakeholders. The UN-Water Chair expressed

his gratitude once again to the Government of Sweden for hosting the meeting. He welcomed new participants, presented

the agenda and invited a tour-de-table for participants to introduce themselves.

8. Report on the World Water Day and World Water Development Report 2014 on Water and Energy

Mr. Zafar Adeel (UNU) reported back from the UN-Water celebrations of World Water Day 2014 in Tokyo, Japan,

on the theme of water and energy, which was co-organised by UNIDO and UNU with the support of the Japanese

Government. Highlights included the launch of the 2014 World Water Development Report, expert and high-level

panels, and the announcement of the winners of the “Water for Life” UN-Water Best Practices Award. In addition, a

journalist workshop was held in the margins of World Water Day, as well as the symposium “The Water-Energy Nexus

in Asia”. Mr. Adeel informed participants that UNU and UNIDO are currently preparing a joint Policy Brief on water

and energy. This Policy Brief will not be a UN-Water publication.

Ms. Daniella Boström-Couffe, UN-Water Communications Manager, added that the campaign was very successful

in attracting media attention and went viral on social media. Thanks to famous pop stars, it potentially reached 700

million people.

Ms. Michela Miletto (UNESCO) gave an overview of activities linked to the launch of the 2014 World Water

Development Report on water and energy. These included: the UN-Water celebrations in Tokyo in the presence of the

UN-Water Chair, the UNESCO Assistant Secretary-General, the Deputy Director General of UNIDO, the Director of

UNU and the Ambassador of Italy; a press conference in New York, United States; as well as several regional launches

of the report.

9. World Water Day, Zaragoza Conference and World Water Development


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9.1 World Water Day 2015 campaign

Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP), coordinator of World Water Day 2015 campaign on water and sustainable development

briefed participants on the current status of preparations of the campaign. A range of organisations, including UN-DESA,

the two UN-Water Programmes, the World Bank Group, the Global Water Partnership, SIWI, WaterAid, Rockefeller

Foundation, CapNet and the CEO Water Mandate have already committed support, he said. A concept note and a

presentation have been developed in collaboration with the UN-Water Communications Manager that show how the

campaign intends to keep the momentum in favour of a sustainable development goal on water throughout this important

year, during which world leaders are expected to adopt the post-2015 development agenda. While the campaign seeks to

raise awareness and inspire action, it also considers policy makers a key target group of the campaign.

Ms. Daniella Boström-Couffe presented the World Water Day campaign, whose tagline is “it’s time for water”. The

objectives of the campaign are twofold: to ensure that water has a prominent role in the post-2015 agenda and to raise

awareness around water and sustainable development. A simple, memorable and timeless logo in form of a circle has

been designed, as well as a mockup of the website, which will offer a wealth of resources. Over the coming year, a

variety of creative content will be released, including visuals and short films to help to spread the campaign messages via

social media. The campaign includes a series of events, from the Zaragoza conference to the World Water Day high level

celebrations in New York up to the concluding summit on the post-2015 development agenda in September 2015. All

stakeholders are invited to closely work together and synchronize their efforts to ensure maximum impact.

The ensuing discussion involved reflections on how to gear next year’s campaign towards “sustainable

development”. Among others, participants welcomed the fact that the campaign builds on existing work and seeks to

engage with the private sector. They also agreed that this year represents an unprecedented opportunity to target the

political realm.

Ms. Nora Farhain Hamim (Public Utilities Board of Singapore) provided participants with an overview of the

planned activities of the Government of Singapore on the occasion of World Water Day 2015. The whole country

including decision makers, youth leaders, the private sector and communities are being mobilised and more than 250,000

people are expected to participate in the national World Water Day event. In addition, the Government pursues regional

cooperation activities to create awareness around sustainable water management in other parts of the world. Participants

welcomed Singapore’s efforts and agreed that they could serve as an example and inspiration for other countries.

9.2 Update on the World Water Development Report 2015, including its launch

Ms. Michela Miletto informed participants of the production process of the World Water Development Report 2015

on water and sustainable development. The outstanding numbers of comments that have been received on the second

draft reflect the popularity of the theme, she said. Ms. Miletto said that the final draft is expected to be circulated for

endorsement by 1 November 2014.

9.3 Report on the Zaragoza 2015 Conference

Ms. Josefina Maestu, Director of UNW-DPAC, briefed participants on the preparations of the forthcoming 2015

Annual International UN-Water Zaragoza Conference to be held on 15-17 January 2015. Among others, speakers have

been identified, background information and a webpage have been developed and the coordinators for the different

thematic sessions have been selected. Ms. Maestu thanked all participating organisations for their involvement and

contributions.

10. Gearing up for Future World Water Days and World Water Development Reports

10.1 Update on World Water Development Report 2016 on Water and Jobs


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Ms. Michela Miletto gave an update on the production of the World Water Development Report 2016 on water and

jobs (WWDR 2016). ILO hosted a well-attended inception meeting in Geneva in May 2014, during which participants

discussed the table of content and storyline of the report. Following this meeting, the annotated table of content was

circulated to UN-Water Members and Partners and a number of comments have been received so far. WWAP is currently

engaged in the preparations of the final annotated table of content, which will lead to Draft 1 of the report. Ms. Miletto

encouraged participants to actively engage in the development of the content of the WWDR 2016.

Mr. Carlos Carrion-Crespo outlined the scope of the WWDR 2016. One of its main messages is that increased

investments in sustainable water resources management and access to safe and reliable water services will create

important job opportunities across the main economic sectors. These opportunities range from full-time “decent” jobs to

precarious informal ones. Ensuring that a maximum share of these jobs are “decent” ones, in order to further enhance

their contribution to development remains a global challenge. Mr. Carrion-Crespo pointed out that one of the challenges

the report is facing is the lack of reliable data on this issue. During the discussions, several participants offered their

collaboration in further developing the report.

10.2 Outcome of the online poll and decision on the World Water Day 2017-2018

Ms. Daniella Boström-Couffe presented the outcome of an online poll among UN-Water Members and Partners

concerning the themes for World Water Day 2017 and 2018. Participants discussed the different proposals and voted for

the following themes: “wastewater” and “nature-based solutions for water”.

Decision 21: The SPM, together with the UN-Water Partners, decide that the theme of the 2017 World Water Day

campaign will be about ‘wastewater’.

The SPM designate UNEP, UN-HABITAT, UNU and WHO as coordinators of the 2017 World Water

Day campaign.

The SPM, together with the UN-Water Partners, decide that the theme of the 2018 World Water Day

campaign will be about ‘nature-based solutions for water’.

The SPM designate the CBD Secretariat as coordinator of the 2018 World Water Day campaign1.

11. World Toilet Day

11.1 World Toilet Day Campaign

Ms. Corinne Wallace (UNU) reminded participants that – although World Toilet Day (WTD) has been marked by

civil society and international organizations for many years – it was only last year that the General Assembly declared

World Toilet Day as official UN day and requested UN-Water to facilitate its implementation. In recent months, the TPA

on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation has been closely coordinating with the Permanent Mission of Singapore, the office

of the DSG and the supporters of his ending open defecation campaign to make World Toilet Day 2014 a success. Ms.

Wallace informed the participants that the DSG has confirmed his participation in the WTD celebrations at UN

headquarters in New York, which will feature the launch of the UN-Water GLAAS report.

Ms. Daniella Boström-Couffe presented the World Toilet Day campaign 2014, under the theme “equality and

dignity” and the tagline “we can’t wait”. Ms. Boström-Couffe presented a draft logo and mockup of the website, which

will build on the array of resources already available. For example to raise awareness and inspire action, the campaign

builds on initiatives such as the ‘end open defecation’, ‘sanitation drive’, ‘we can’t wait’ and ‘the urgent run’ and will

encourage people around the world to organise events and initiatives.

1 Following the Meeting, the CBD Secretariat accepted the offer of UNESCO to jointly coordinate the 2018 World

Water Day campaign.


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11.2 Future World Toilet Days

Ms. Corinne Wallace suggested that the next World Toilet Day 2015 campaign should center on “water and

nutrition”. Nutrition will be at the core of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation

(UNSGAB) advocacy activities in its final year 2015, building on the work originally initiated by UNICEF and other

organisation in recent years. Participants welcomed this suggestion and decided that the theme of the 2015 World Toilet

Day campaign shall be “sanitation and nutrition”.

Decision 22: The SPM, together with the UN-Water Partners, decide that the theme of the 2015 World Toilet Day

campaign will be about ‘sanitation and nutrition’.

The TPA on Water Supply and Basic Sanitation will designate the coordinators of the 2015 World

Toilet Day campaign.

11.3 Presentation of the UN Deputy Secretary General’s campaign to end open defecation

Ms. Amanda Marlin (WSSCC) presented the global communications campaign in support of the DSG’s campaign to

end open defecation. She explained that this newest campaign grew out of the DSG’s Call to Action on Sanitation,

launched at World Water Day 2013, which draws attention to the fact that sanitation figures among the unmet MDG

targets and that action is urgently needed. The UN-led campaign to end open defecation started in May 2014 and is a

joint collaboration between the UN Millennium Campaign, WSSCC, UN-DPI, UNICEF and WaterAid. “The campaign

is very much about raising awareness by increasing the volume of conversation around sanitation and in particular open

defecation”, Ms. Marlin said. A toolkit containing a speech, a simple logo and other useful materials will soon be

released. In closing, Ms. Marlin encouraged participants to make use of the campaign materials in their own

communication and advocacy activities. There will be opportunities to learn in more depth about this campaign and to

receive support, including through webinars, she said.

In the discussion that followed, participants commended the impressive campaign and agreed to incorporate it in

their own communications activities.

12. Selected Updates on On-going UN-Water Activities

12.1 UN-Water Country Briefs

Mr. Fraser MacLeod presented the second phase of the UN-Water Country Briefs project, which GWP coordinates

together with FAO. During a launch meeting held in May 2014 in Stockholm, Sweden, 11 countries were selected using

geographical and hydrological diversity as criteria. He said that the same methodology would be used as for phase I and

that gender-disaggregated data would also be collected. The potential to include information on floods is also being

explored. While quality assurance is the responsibility of FAO, a great deal of work will be undertaken by the GWP

Country Water Partnerships, except for France where support from the Government has been requested. It is expected

that global data collection will be completed by the end of September and that the final drafts should be made available

by the end of December 2014. The Country Briefs are scheduled to be launched at the World Water Forum in Daegu,

Republic of Korea, in April 2015.

Mr. Properzi added that this project is considered at the level of the UN Chief Executive Board for Coordination as

an important contribution to the MDG Acceleration Framework process. He also reminded participants that an Advisory

Group has been formed at the 20th

UN-Water Meeting to present recommendations on the future outlook of the project.

12.2 Water Monitoring Initiative

Mr. Graham Alabaster presented the Expanded Water Monitoring Initiative (see agenda item 6.2). He highlighted

that the group is currently undertaking stocktaking of available data and information and will later seek to engage with


13

Member States. Mr. Alabaster said that protocols would be developed and tested in a range of pilot countries. He also

explained that a draft report should be released in 2015 and that a long-term approach is sought.

In the discussion that followed, it was clarified that the outputs of the Expanded Water Monitoring Initiative will

feed into the UN-Water WG on SDGs, which has been mandated to provide technical advice on water in the post-2015

agenda.

12.3 Presentation of the preliminary findings of the UN-Water GLAAS 2014 report

Ms. Kate Medlicott (WHO) presented a sneak preview of the UN-Water 2014 GLAAS report. She reminded

participants that the objective of the report, which is implemented by WHO, is to monitor the inputs and the enabling

environment required to extend and sustain water supply, sanitation and hygiene systems and services to all, especially

the unserved and disadvantaged groups. The 2014 edition of the report brings some good news, such as for example that

over two-third of countries recognize the human right to water and sanitation and that there is progress concerning

countries’ capacity to absorb funds and to implement programmes. The report also shows that aid to water has and is

going up in recent years and that targeting has been substantially improved in favour of those that need it most (i.e. sub-

Saharan Africa, Southern Asia and South-eastern Asia and conflict affected countries). The report also highlights some

opportunities for improvements, for example when it comes to bridging the gap between political aspirations and reality

or the use of available data for decision-making. Also, the vast majority of countries have no comprehensive process in

place to track funding to water and sanitation. The full report will be launched in November 2014 on the occasion of

WTD.

12.4 Presentation of inventory and analysis of capacity development resources in UN-Water

Jose Luis Martin Bordes (UN-Habitat/GWOPA) started his progress update by reminding participants of the scope

of the Task Force on Capacity Development for Water Operators, which focuses mainly on strengthening coordination of

the UN-Water efforts to develop capacity of water operators and capitalize on UN-Water Members’ and Partners’ wealth

of capacity development resources with regard to public utilities responsible for water supply and basic sanitation

services. The TF has undertaken a baseline survey on capacity development resources for water operators with the

support of UNW-DPC. As only a limited number of UN-Water Members and Partners did reply to the survey, an online

research was undertaken by UN-Habitat/GWOPA to complement the data. The preliminary findings of this baseline

survey were presented and discussed at an “assessment workshop” in June 2014 at UNESCO-IHE in Delft, The

Netherlands. The final results of the survey and the conclusions and recommendations of this workshop will be included

in a report on the priorities, needs and gaps on capacity development resources. This report will be circulated for

comments in September 2014. One of the findings of the report is that peer-to-peer support is one of the preferred

mechanisms for knowledge transfer of water operators. Mr. Martin Bordes explained that the TF will sunset at the end of

this year, but that follow-up work will be implemented through the UN-Water TPA on Water Supply and Basic

Sanitation, as well as through a joint project by UNESCO-IHE and UN-Habitat/GWOPA.

12.5 Presentation of good practice and tools on transboundary water cooperation

Mr. Nick Bonvoisin (UNECE) provided a report on recent progress achieved by the Thematic Priority Area on

Transboundary Waters. The overall aim of this TPA is to identify, collate and disseminate examples of good practices

related to cooperation on transboundary waters, and thereby contribute to the anticipation, prevention and resolution of

water conflicts, as well as contribute towards sustainable development and the equitable and reasonable use of

transboundary waters. This aim is achieved through the identification and sharing of enabling factors which foster/create

opportunities for cooperation. Mr. Bonvoisin informed participants that there were several calls for sharing case studies

and good practice examples, among others through UNESCO-IHP’s national commissions. 23 examples from different

regions of the world have been collected to this date, which have been assessed against a set of criteria. A number of

enabling factors have been identified based on these criteria, including the involvement of stakeholders at multiple levels,

the sharing of data and information, the need for basin level organisations and the human right to water as an important

enabling framework. The TPA plans to make all cases available by the end of next year and present them to the SPM at

the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting.

12.6 Progress report on the national drought management policy capacity building initiative


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Mr. Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu (UNCCD) presented a progress report on capacity development to support national

drought management policies. He reminded participants that in a coordinated effort under the auspices of UN-Water,

WMO, FAO, UNCCD and CBD, coordinated by UNW-DPC, had initiated a joint Capacity Development Initiative on

National Drought Management Policies. The initiative was launched by an international kick-off workshop during the

High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy held in Geneva in March 2013. The ultimate objective is to have every

country affected by drought develop and adopt a comprehensive national drought risk management policy. To date four

regional workshops have taken place: Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific region and Eastern

and Southern Africa region. So far, a total of 119 individuals from 44 countries in the four regions have participated in

the workshops. Two more workshops are planned for North Africa and the Middle East, as well as West Africa. This will

be followed by an international wrap-up conference in 2015. Participants of the workshops include senior government

officials with responsibilities for policy development and implementation at national levels. Following the presentation,

Ms. Ania Grobicki (GWP) suggested to create synergies between this initiative and the Integrated Drought Management

Programme (IDMP) conducted by GWP and WMO, which aims to develop a coherent global framework for drought

management, prediction and monitoring. The IDMP was also announced at the sidelines of the High-Level Meeting on

National Drought Policies in Geneva in March 2013.

Strategic Discussions on UN-Water’s Engagement at Country and Regional Level Hosted by the Stockholm

International Water Institute

The strategic discussions were opened by Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of SIWI, and moderated by Mr.

Jens Liebe (UNW-DPC) and Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP). Following a presentation of the two UN-Water reports

“Coordination of Water Actions at the Country Level” and “Regional Coordination Mechanisms for Water”, participants

were invited to discuss how UN-Water could engage at country and regional level in the future.

The openness and transparency shown in the discussion were appreciated by the participants. It was highlighted that

UN-Water should be true to its mandate and it should be realistic in how to be “more than the sum of its parts” at the

regional and country level.

It was stressed that UN-Water’s action at the regional and country level needs to be demand driven and respond to

the needs of Member States and of the UN system. It must also build on existing coordination structures and processes

(e.g. the UN Development Assistance Frameworks).

When requested, UN-Water needs to be ready to support Member States and the UN system and provide technical

expertise on water-related issues at the regional and country level. To be able to fulfil this mandate, more awareness

about UN-Water needs to be raised at the regional and country level.

Building on global processes, UN-Water can help Member States and the UN system raise water-related issues on

the political agenda at regional and country level.

UN-Water can facilitate better communication between the global and the regional levels, and vice versa. At the

country level, UN-Water can support the development of UN Development Assistance Frameworks by providing

guidance on how to respond to water challenges. In order to achieve this, UN-Water can use comparative strengths and

advantages of the different parts of the UN-Water mechanism.

Decision 23: Taking stock of the discussions that were held at the 21st UN-Water Meeting, the SPM request the TF

on Country Level Coordination and the TF on Regional Level Coordination to prepare a proposal on

the way forward to be discussed at the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting.


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13. UN-Water’s Contribution to a Post-2015 Global Goal for Water – Part I Advancing the Debate

13.1 Intergovernmental processes related to the post-2015 agenda

Ms. Ndey Isatou-Njie (UN-DESA), UN-Water Secretary, informed participants on the intergovernmental processes

related to the post-2015 agenda. She explained that the Open Working Group (OWG) proposal for Sustainable

Development Goals has now been submitted to the President of the General Assembly (PGA) for consideration and

appropriate action. In addition to the OWG proposal, a number of other reports will also be taken into account in the

post-2015 process, such as the report on sustainable development financing or the outcomes of a series of meeting

organised by the PGA of the 68th

session of the General Assembly, including the thematic debate on “water, sanitation

and sustainable energy” held in February 2014. Ms. Njie reported that UN-Water was frequently requested to support the

OWG consultations with technical advice and that the inter-agency coordination mechanism had done excellent work.

Ms. Njie also highlighted ongoing regional consultations on “accountability and monitoring for the post-2015

development agenda” and discussions at UNHQ on UN system accountability for post-2015. She reminded participants

that the High Level Political Forum (HLPF), which already held two meetings, has been mandated to follow-up and

review progress in implementing sustainable development commitments and will likely be requested to monitor progress

in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda.

13.2 UN-Water’s support to the OWG and post-2015 process

Mr. Joakim Harlin (UNDP), coordinator of the UN-Water WG on SDGs summarized the activities of the WG since

its inception in February 2013 and underscored its successful role in providing technical advice on a possible water and

sanitation goal to the OWG co-chairs via the inter-agency Technical Support Team (TST). He presented the goal of

ensuring the “availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” as put forward by the OWG, as

well as additional references to water-related issues under other OWG goals. Mr. Harlin said the outcome of the OWG

“is as good as we hoped for” and that the next steps for UN-Water should include working in more detail on possible

indicators and reporting.

In the ensuing discussion, participants commended UN-Water and its WG on SDGs for its leadership role in

coordinating actions around a possible post-2015 goal on water. They emphasized the added value of working together

collectively and stressed that the impact would have been far less if everyone would have worked in silos. They stressed

the importance of stakeholder engagement and said this was successfully done in 2012 and 2013 through the ‘World We

Want’ Global Thematic Consultation on Water, facilitated under the umbrella of UN-Water. Participants also took note

of the risk that the water and sanitation goal proposal could experience significant modifications in future rounds of

negotiations and discussed how UN-Water should provide support to the forthcoming intergovernmental post-2015

negotiations process.

13.3 Advancing the Post-2015 Agenda on Water – the contribution of UN-Water Partners’ – moderated discussion

on how to organize and better coordinate action towards a common cause.

Moderator Ms. Daniella Boström-Couffe, UN-Water Communication Manager, invited the panelists to share

experiences on their contributions to the post-2015 process and discuss how to keep the momentum in view of the

forthcoming intergovernmental negotiations leading up to the concluding summit in September 2015.

According to Ms. Ania Grobicki, Executive Secretary of the Global Water Partnership (GWP), “the post-2015

process is a game changer for the water community”. Ms. Grobick has been impressed by the policy coherence that is

emerging and by the people that have been working together, which has led to the increased visibility of water in

international discussions. GWP held a second series of national stakeholder consultations from February to April 2014,

which demonstrated a “broad consensus” for a water goal and the concrete suggestions outlined in UN-Water’s technical

advice document. While the priorities differed from country to country, there was a strong call for integrated approaches


16

and transboundary water cooperation, and many participants expressed concerns about increasing droughts, floods and

storms. The synthesis report of the consultation process was submitted via UN-Water to all Permanent Representatives in

New York.

Ms. Sofia Widforss, Programme Manager at Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) outlined SIWI’s

activities to make sure that water is featured prominently in the post-2015 development agenda. To achieve this aim,

SIWI has been contributing to many different interlinked processes, including the international negotiations on climate

change under the UNFCCC and the work of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network of which SIWI is a

member.

Philipp Peters (GIZ), on behalf of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB),

explained the advocacy activities of the Board since its inception 10 years ago, in 2004. He said that UNSGAB will try to

ensure that the current OWG proposal for a water goal is not fundamentally altered in the post-2015 negotiations and said

that the Board has already offered its support to several key actors, such as the President of the General Assembly.

Mr. Gland Lifeng Li of WWF suggested working together by reaching out to governments through WWF’s global

networks.

Highlighting the challenges ahead, Mr. Joppe Cramwinckel of WBCSD emphasized the need to advance work on

indicators.

Ms. Danielle Gaillard-Pichet (World Water Council) called for a greater focus on implementation, and highlighted

that the forthcoming 7th

World Water Forum in the Republic of Korea presents an opportunity in this regard.

Mr. Zafar Adeel (UNU) mentioned that UNU-INWEH has entered a partnership with the UN Office for Sustainable

Development (UNOSD) and GWP that will look at the implementation mechanisms and resources needed to achieve a

possible goal on water in 11 selected countries.

Mr. Jack Moss (the International Federation of Private Water Operators, Aquafed) pointed out the important role of

the stakeholder community and in particular the business community in discussions on a post-2015water goal.

13. UN-Water’s Contribution to a Post-2015 Global Goal for Water – Part II Driving Change and

Implementation

Item 13.4 Towards a Coherent Implementation and Monitoring Framework’ – Panel discussion followed by a

Q&A session.

This panel discussion focused on what would be needed to achieve a broad and ambitious water goal. Key issues

include financial and human resources, monitoring, institutional arrangements and partnerships. The panel was

moderated by Mr. Federico Properzi, UN-Water Chief Technical Adviser.

Ms. Cecilia Scharp (UNICEF, for the Joint Monitoring Programme) explained that the success of the WHO/UNICEF

Joint Monitoring Programme is grounded in its ability to deliver high quality data that is representative and easy to

communicate. For these reasons, the JMP is not only valued at the global level, but also at the national level.

Mr. Jean-Marc Faurès (FAO AQUASTAT) reminded participants of the origins of AQUASTAT, which is an

information system that records quantitative and qualitative data on water resources and water use in agriculture. An

extremely pragmatic approach was taken when devising the information system by developing consistent definitions,

terminologies and questionnaires. The country profiles, which also include a narrative, have proven to be very useful. Mr.

Faurès also highlighted the importance of quality control and the usefulness of requesting countries to validate the data.

Mr. Graham Alabaster (UN-Habitat for the Expanded Water Monitoring Initiative) said that the Expanded Water

Monitoring Initiative aims to establish an inclusive, sustainable and country-owned monitoring system, which heavily

relies on data provided by the national statistical offices. As a first step, the initiative will look in depth into the


17

measurability aspects of the broader water agenda, before working on the overarching monitoring framework in

collaboration with Member States.

Mr. Manuel Thurnhofer (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, SDC) underscored that the SDG agenda

will need to be financed by a variety of financing sources – public, private, domestic, international and innovative

financing sources. Official Development Assistance (ODA) should focus on leveraging additional financing of

sustainable development by promoting domestic resource mobilisation, he said. Among the principles that are important

to SDC are country-ownership and responsibility, the efficient and effective use of resources and policy coherence for

development. Mr. Thurnhofer closed by emphasizing the importance of agreeing on one strategy and vision on how to

finance sustainable development.

Mr. Joppe Cramwinckel (WBCSD) reminded participants that the SDG agenda will not be set by businesses, but by

governments and therefore, monitoring and accountability should be the primary responsibility of governments.

Governments will also need to drive implementation through context-sensitive policy and regulatory measures, such as

discharge permits. However, there is a huge opportunity to align the business community with the SDG agenda and

benefit from the solutions that the private sector offers to implement the agenda.

In the ensuing discussion, participants touched upon a range of issues, including the efficient use of ODA, the

lessons from MDG financing and the importance of creating a nurturing environment for businesses.

Item 13.5 Wrap-up

The UN-Water Chair warmly thanked Partners and stakeholders for the fruitful discussions.

*** End of the meeting open to UN-Water Partners and other stakeholders ***

14. UN-Water’s Engagement in the Post-2015 Discussions in the Forthcoming Months

The objective of this agenda item was to highlight the way forward concerning UN-Water’s support to the post-2015

development agenda process. Participants shared the opinion that providing advice through the UN-Water Working

Group of SDGs has been a very successful experience and agreed to prolong the mandate of the WG. The WG will have

the flexibility to respond quickly to emerging post-2015 related requests, while keeping everyone informed of recent

developments. Participants also took note of the fragmented monitoring and reporting landscape and requested to hold

strategic discussions to address this challenge in the future. It was also clarified that the outputs of the Expanded Water

Monitoring Initiative and of the relevant UN-Water TFs and TPAs should feed into the work of the WG.

Decision 24: The SPM confirm the composition of the WG on SDGs as annexed.

15. Proposed Events for UN-Water’s Engagement

The purpose of this agenda item was to discuss UN-Water’s eventual engagement in major forthcoming events.

Concerning UN-Water’s engagement in discussions under the UNFCCC, Mr. Claudio Caponi (WMO) suggested to

hold a water-related side event at COP-21 in Paris, given the significant importance of that particular Conference of the

Parties. The SPM agreed to this proposal and requested the TPA on Climate Change to present at the 22nd

UN-Water

Meeting a preliminary proposal of a UN-Water side event and other related activities for COP-21.


18

Mr. John Harding (ISDR) presented the forthcoming World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai on 14-

18 March 2015 and its preparatory process. In the discussions, it was clarified that the policy brief on water and disasters

is not a UN-Water publication, but that ISDR would invite everyone to provide comments. In addition, the SPM noted

that WMO has volunteered to contribute to a session on water and disasters at this conference and invited relevant UN-

Water Members and Partners to also contribute to it.

Mr. Bert Diphoorn (UN-Habitat) updated participants on the preparatory process of the forthcoming 7th

World Water

Forum on 12-17 April 2015, in Daegu, Republic of Korea. The SPM agreed that UN-Water would participate in the

Forum, but without engaging in its political process.

Decision 25: The SPM agree in principle to UN-Water’s participation in the following events:

12-17 April 2015, 7th World Water Forum, Daegu. The SPM decide that UN-Water will not participate

in the political process of the Forum.

1 May - 31 October 2015, EXPO 2015 Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, Milan.

Decision 26: The SPM request the TPA on Climate Change to present at the 22nd

UN-Water Meeting a preliminary

proposal of a UN-Water side event and other related activities for COP-21.

Decision 27: The SPM take note of ISDR’s invitation to comment on the brief on water and disasters. It is

understood that this brief is not a UN-Water publication.

The SPM note that WMO has volunteered to contribute to a session on water and disasters at the 3rd

World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai on 14-18 March 2015 and invite relevant UN-

Water Members and Partners to also contribute to it.

16. Decision on the Date and Venue of the Next UN-Water Meeting

The SPM welcomed the generous offer of UNEP and UN-Habitat to host the next UN-Water Meeting at their

headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

Decision 28: The 22nd

UN-Water Meeting will take place in Nairobi on 2-4 February 2015.

17. Adoption of Decisions

The UN-Water Secretary presented the decisions made at the 21st UN-Water Meeting and invited Members to

formally adopt them. The Table “decisions made at the 21st UN-Water Meeting” was officially adopted.

18. Closing Remarks by the UN-Water Chair

The UN-Water Chair closed the Meeting by thanking all participants for their presence and involvement.

FAO Jean-Marc Faurès 30 d

ILO Carlos Carrion-Crespo 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

IFAD Audrey Nepveu de Villemarceau 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

OHCHR Jyoti Sanghera 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 am

UNCCD Emmanuel Chinyamakobvu 28 d, 29 d, 30 d

UNDP Joakim Harlin 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

UN CBD David Coates 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 d

UN ECE Nicholas Bonvoisin 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 d

UN ECLAC Caridad Canales 29 d+e, 30 am

UN ISDR John Harding 29 d+e, 30 d

Thomas Chiramba 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

Patrick Mmayi 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

Giuseppe Arduino 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

Engin Koncagul 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

Michela Miletto 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

UN ESCWA Carol Chouchani Cherfane 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 d

Bert Diphoorn 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 d

Graham Alabaster 28 d, 29 d, 30 d

Jose Luis Martin Bordes 28 d, 29 d, 30 d

UNICEF Cecilia Scharp 28 d, 29 d, 30 d

UNIDO Christian Susan 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 am

Zafar Adeel 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

Corinne Schuster Wallace 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

UN Women Seemin Qayum 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

WHO Kate Medlicott 28 d, 29 d, 30 d

WMO Claudio Caponi 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

UNW-DPAC Josefina Maestu 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

Reza Ardakanian 28 d, 29 d+e, 30 d

Jens Liebe 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 d

UNSGAB Philipp Peters 29 d+e, 30 am

WSSCC Amanda Marlin 28 d, 29 d

AquaFed John Michael (Jack) Moss 29 d+e, 30 am

Ania Grobicki 29 d+e, 30 am

Fraser MacLeod 28 e, 29 d+e, 30 am

International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) Gordon Young 28 e, 29 d+e, 30 am

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) David Wiberg 29 d+e, 30 am

International Water Association (IWA) Robert Bos 29 d+e, 30 am

Organization Name

UN-Habitat

List of Participants - 21th UN-Water Meeting (Stockholm, 28-30 August 2014)

UN-Water Programmes

UN-Water Partners with Special Status

Partners

Global Water Partnership (GWP)

UNW-DPC

Version 29 August 2014

UNEP

UN-Water Members

UNESCO

Attendance

UNU

Page 1

Torgny Holmgren 29 d+e, 30 am

Håkan Tropp 29 d+e, 30 am

Marianne Kjellen 29 d+e

Sofia Widforss 30 am

Jean-Benoit Charrin 28 e, 29 d+e, 30 am

Tobias Schmitz 28 e, 29 d+e, 30 am

Water.org Chevenee Reavis 30 am

Annemiek Jenniskens 29 d+e, 30 am

Mariet Verhoef-Cohen 29 d+e, 30 am

Alice Bouman-Dentener 29 d+e, 30 am

World Water Council Danielle Gaillard-Picher 29 d+e, 30 am

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Joppe Cramwinckel 30 am

WWF International Lifeng Li 30 am

World Youth Parliament for Water Bart Devos 29 d+e, 30 am

Danish Ministry of the Environment Karen Dalgaard Sanning 29 d+e, 30 am

Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment/Ministry of

Foreign AffairsNiels Vlaanderen 29 e (tbc), 30 am

German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation

and Nuclear SafetyThomas Stratenwerth 29 d+e, 30 am

Independent Consultant Christine McNab 29 e

Michelle Ooi 29 d+e, 30 am

Nora Farhain Hamim 29 d+e, 30 am

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) Mats Aberg 29 d+e, 30 am

Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Johan Gély 29 d+e, 30 am

Chair Michel Jarraud 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 d

Vice-Chair Blanca Jimenez-Cisneros 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 d

Secretary Ndey-Isatou Njie 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 d

Chief Technical Adviser Federico Properzi 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30d

Communications Manager Daniella Bostrom Couffe 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30d

Programme Officer Florence Poppe 28 d+e, 29 d+e, 30 d


Observers

PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency

Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)

Women for Water Partnership (WfWP)

WaterLex

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UN-Water meeting May 11 – 13 2004 WHO, Geneva

Documents

Transcript of UN-Water meeting May 11 – 13 2004 WHO, Geneva