Announcing seminar on “Coping with Water Scarcity” organized by UN-Water Wednesday 23 August 2006, during the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, 20-26 August 2006


UN-Water is the coordinating mechanism of the UN agencies, programmes and funds that play a significant role in tackling global water concerns. Through UN-Water, and in collaboration with major non-UN partners, they cooperate in advancing progress towards the water-related goals of the Decade Water for Life and of the Millennium Declaration.


Annually, UN-Water hosts a seminar in Stockholm focusing on strategic issues it has identified as priority for joint action. The 2006 event addresses water scarcity, the point at which the aggregate impact of all users impinges on the supply or quality of water under prevailing institutional arrangements to the extent that the demand by all sectors, including the environment, cannot be fully satisfied.

Of direct relevance to the Millenium Development Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability, coping with water scarcity is viewed as one of the main challenges of the XXIst Century. Water scarcity affects all social and economic sectors and threatens the sustainability of the natural resources base. Addressing this issue calls for an inter-sectoral and multidisciplinary approach that maximises economic and social welfare without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems. Through the Water Scarcity Thematic Initiative, UN-Water agencies and their partners plan to join forces to work towards an effective and coherent response to the challenge of water scarcity.

The seminar will introduce the work of UN-Water and the Water Scarcity Thematic Initiative. Case studies will illustrate the type of actions UN-Water agencies carry out with their partners, and illustrate successes and limitations of their action. It will be used to serve as an opportunity to discuss the strategic role of UN-Water in assisting countries in their efforts towards the achieving the Millenium Development Goals, investigate the possibilities for enhancing its effectiveness and impact and explore possibilities for effective partnership