Tag Archives: United Nations

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17 Sustainable Development Goals Adopted at the United Nations

SDGs

“There is no ‘Plan B’ because we do not have a ‘Planet B.’ We have to work and galvanize our action.” – UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon

Read more:

Sustainable Development Goals – United Nations

Five Key Quotes from the Sustainable Development Goals Summit – UN Dispatch

Related posts:

World Water Day: UN World Water Development Report Warns of Global Crisis by 2030

If You Could Advise the UN on Water, What Would You Say?

Water’s Place Among Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals

At the Point of ‘Peak Water,’ Our Foreseeable Future Grows Shorter

UNICEF Says Put Down Your Cell Phone for a Few Minutes to Help Kids Get Water

Mapping the World’s Most Water-Stressed Countries

The Intersection of Environmental Issues and Human Rights

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September 25, 2015 · 8:07 pm
March 22, 2015 · 10:10 am

World Water Day: UN World Water Development Report Warns of Global Crisis by 2030

Image: UN-Water

Image: UN-Water

The way water is managed now, or not managed as the case may be, will lead to a global crisis in 15 years, a new UN report warns, unless an array of sustainable water-management practices are adopted. Within that decade and a half, the report predicts a much larger human population will have only 60% of the freshwater it needs.

Many parts of the world are suffering water stress to varying degrees now; in 15 years the stress will be more severe and more widespread, amounting to a life-threatening crisis in water-poor regions. But, as outlined in the United Nations World Water Development Report 2015, released in advance of World Water Day (today, March 22), there is hope. Read the report: Water for a Sustainable World (The report was released by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, or which my employer, WaterLex, is a member.)

Related posts: 

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Filed under Climate Change, Conservation, Drought, Environment, Groundwater

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January 4, 2014 · 1:27 pm

And the International Desalination Association Award Goes to …

Image: IDA

Image: IDA

OK, it may not be as glamorous or as self-important as the Academy Awards, aka The Oscars, but the International Desalination Association (IDA) exists and it gives out awards. That’s two new things I learned today.

IDA is a non-profit international NGO* that strives to educate people about desalination and water reuse. Its 2013 Channabasappa Memorial Scholarship has been awarded to Leila Karimi, a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute for Energy and the Environment, Chemical Engineering Department, New Mexico State University. Her focus, according to the award announcement, is on “the selective removal of ions in an electrodialysis reversal process as one of the inland desalination technologies that is appropriate for brackish groundwater.” Good for her, especially because Australian researchers recently concluded  that there’s a whole lot more brackish, or somewhat salty, groundwater in the world than previously thought.

*(NGO, or non-governmental organization; the abbreviation is used more commonly than the spelled-out version in the development world, e.g., the world of the United Nations and various other regional and international aid organizations.)

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Filed under Awards and Honors, Desalination, Groundwater, NGOs, Oceans, Technology, Water Resources

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December 16, 2013 · 11:18 am

Unchecked Emissions Will Drain Water Resources, Warns Leaked UN Report

Photo: MarkDhawn

Photo: MarkDhawn

The Hindu newspaper of India says that a United Nations report leaked online warns of dire consequences for freshwater resources if greenhouse gases remain unchecked.

The report is reportedly a final draft by the Working Group II of the UN Intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC), sent to all governments for comment before being finalized and released.

“In response to on-going climate change, terrestrial and marine species have shifted their ranges, seasonal activities, migration patterns, and abundance, have demonstrated altered species,” notes the report’s summary, adding that  developing countries, especially, are vulnerable to damaging climatic events (e.g., heat waves, droughts, floods and wildfires).

Regarding freshwater availability, the summary warns:

“Climate change will reduce renewable surface water and groundwater resources significantly in most dry subtropical regions, exacerbating competition for water among sectors. Each degree of warming is projected to decrease renewable water resources by at least 20% for an additional 7% of the global population.”

As the report notes, dried-up water sources will hurt crop yields even as demand surges with population growth.

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Filed under Climate Change, Environment, Research, United Nations, Water Shortage

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December 13, 2013 · 3:31 pm

Water Crisis Facts from International Sources Now Available

In the past day, this blog saw its new Water Resources page come online, and now it’s joined by another informative page that will be updated on a regular basis: Water Facts. Like the resources page, it’s a quick-reference guide. It gives a sense of urgent issues related to water, such as the number of people worldwide whose lack of it could be life-threatening, as well as less-dire, yet nonetheless interesting, facts (wait, it takes how many gallons of water to produce one hamburger?!)

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Filed under Agriculture, Blog Changes and Updates, Environment, Human rights, Research, Water Resources, Water Shortage

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December 13, 2013 · 10:02 am

Water, Water Everywhere: New Resources Updates

At the Waterline is still a new blog, with fresh information pages still being added. The Water Resources page doesn’t say “coming soon” anymore — it has actual resources! It’s a list, in alphabetical order, of agencies and media sources concerned with water issues. It’s a work in progress, so be sure to check on it from time to time.  Go there.

A Water Facts page is still, ahem, “coming soon.”

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Filed under Agriculture, Blog Changes and Updates, Climate Change, Environment, Groundwater, NGOs, Oceans, Research, Rivers and Watersheds, Sustainability, United Nations, Water Resources

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