Analysis on water security

“The magnitude of the global freshwater crisis and the risks associated with it, have been greatly underestimated. One billion people on earth are without reliable supplies of water and more than 2 billion people lack basic sanitation. Water is critical to the attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals whose targets are set to expire in 2015.” (U.N Water Security paper August 2012)

With the release of the U.N Analytical on ‘World Water Day’ 22/3/13, it has become clear that Water Security is an issue considered by the U.N Security Council to be a concern of both National and International Security.

“In March 2011, high-level experts from around the world were invited to Toronto, Canada, to meet with members of the Inter Action Council about the status of the world’s freshwater supply, as it relates to global security issues. These experts reported that that the global water crisis is real and that there is urgency in addressing the growing number of security risks associated with threatened water supply and quality. They also, however, expressed hope and identified opportunities that can be realized by the timely triggering of change in policies, institutions, and the way society thinks about water.” (U.N Water Security paper August 2012)

It has now been officially recognized that the protection and conservation of the Eco-systems related to the quality and quantity of freshwater is central to achieving water security.

“Ensuring that ecosystems are protected and conserved is central to achieving water security – both for people and for nature. Ecosystems are vital to sustaining the quantity and quality of water available within a watershed, on which both nature and people rely. Maintaining the integrity of ecosystems is essential for supporting the diverse needs of humans, including domestic, agricultural, energy and industrial water use, and for the sustainability of ecosystems, including protecting the water-provisioning services they provide.” (U.N Analytical Brief 22/3/13)

The sole objective of Active Remedy Ltd. is the protection, sustenance and regeneration of the global freshwater cycle and the natural environmental factors, which maintain it. It is immensely important that the key roles that ecosystems, especially mountains, glaciers, mountain forests and wetlands play in maintaining fresh water quantity and quality globally are recognized and that and that all supportive efforts that protect, sustainably manage and restore these ecosystems are given immediate attention.

The Global Water Crisis Addressing an Urgent Security Issue
(U.N Water Security paper August 2012)

 1. Something Must Be Done: Urgency and Risk

 “In many countries, national security has historically been defined as military security.

It is now understood that military might is only one element in the human security equation, and that water can play a determining role in international, national and trans-boundary conflicts. Although real potential exists for conflict over water, water tensions can also offer potential for cooperation between states, so long as the underlying institutions and capacity are in place for such cooperation to happen.”

“Water security is also the foundation for food and energy security, and for overall long-term social and economic development. Water underpins health, nutrition, equity, gender equality, well-being and economic progress, especially in developing countries. But equitable water supply and quality problems are also threatening the security of some of the most developed countries in the world. In the USA, for example, water availability has already been identified as a national security concern, threatening its ability to meet the country’s water, food and energy needs.”

 “Water, economic and environmental security are inherently interconnected. Human life is intimately linked to, and utterly dependent on, the functions and services provided by freshwater ecosystems. Safe, reliable water supplies, flood protection, commercial and subsistence fisheries, cultural and spiritual values – the very foundations of economic development and human well-being – all depend on maintaining the integrity of the planet’s aquatic ecosystems.”

 http://www.inweh.unu.edu/WaterSecurity/documents/WaterSecurity_FINAL_Aug2012.pdf

 Related to the extreme complexity of the global security issues related to water, the U.N Water Analytical Brief was released. The purpose of this Brief is to guide governments and decision makers on National and International Security related to global Water Security.

 Water Analytical Brief
(p.v) Foreword

 "It is fitting that the topic of water security, through the launch of this Analytical Brief, figures among the many celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of World Water Day on 22 March 2013 and the 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation. In recent years, the issue of water security has been gaining traction in the global political agenda and earning attention from national governments at the highest level, in particular for its links to peace and national security, but also for its implications for development issues.”

 “Several recent events and discussions have highlighted these links between water security and international peace; most notably, the High-Level Roundtable Discussion on Water, Peace and Security jointly hosted by the United States, the European Union and UN-Water that took place during the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2012. As highlighted by then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, water security is not only key for ensuring peace and security, but also for human development.”

 “The production of this Analytical Brief on water security is timely as the international community prepares for a post-2015 development world through the development of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To this end, this Analytical Brief provides an important input into the discussion on the possible inclusion of an SDG on water, a process to which UN-Water is actively contributing.”

 (p.vi) Summary for Decision-Makers

 “Ensuring that ecosystems are protected and conserved is central to achieving water security – both for people and for nature. Ecosystems are vital to sustaining the quantity and quality of water available within a watershed, on which both nature and people rely.

Maintaining the integrity of ecosystems is essential for supporting the diverse needs of humans, including domestic, agricultural, energy and industrial water use, and for the sustainability of ecosystems, including protecting the water-provisioning services they provide.”

 Section 1: Key Aspects of Water Security

 “Preservation and protection of ecosystems in water allocation and management systems in order to maintain their ability to deliver and sustain the functioning of essential ecosystem services.”

Section 3: Policy Relevance of Water Security

 3A. Water Security and Human Rights

 “Recognition of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation by the United Nations General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council is an important step towards ensuring water security at the individual and community levels. Since the adoption of the UN resolutions on the human right to water and sanitation (United Nations General Assembly, 2010; United Nations General Assembly Human Rights Council, 2010b), an increasing number of states have explicitly integrated this right into national policy and/or legislation through new strategies, laws, and constitutional amendments (Boyd, 2012). This movement has fostered a new focus and emphasis on addressing the concerns of those who have traditionally been vulnerable, marginalized or left behind.”

 “Water security is embedded in development goals – as shown through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – and lies at the heart of progress and needs to continue to be included in the future.”

 (P.17 Box 4) Recommendations from UN-Water on Improving Water Security through Adaptation to Climate Change

 f) “Leverage additional funds through both increased national budgetary allocations and innovative funding mechanisms for adaptation in water management. Improving adaptive capacity calls for more intelligent use of existing financing, targeted towards the most vulnerable groups and ecosystems. The full range of financing options needs to be used, including innovative financing mechanisms, private sources and public funding from developed countries.”

 3E. The Role of Ecosystems in Ensuring Water Security

 “Maintaining the integrity of ecosystems before they become compromised is an essential component of achieving water security and reducing the potential for conflicts. The continuous pace of human development is threatening the capacity of ecosystems to adapt, raising concerns that ecosystems will reach a tipping point after which they are no longer able to provide sustaining functions and services, and will become unable to recover their integrity and functions (Maas, 2012). Establishing sustainability boundaries will set the capacity of ecosystems before their limit is surpassed, acting as a preventative measure before crises and conflicts arise.”

 (Box 6) Increasing Water Security through Natural Infrastructure

 “Solutions for water security that incorporate natural infrastructure can enhance efficiency, effectiveness and equity, but also spur implementation and progress towards long-term availability of water for all.”

 Section 4 Policy Response Options

 (Box 8) A List of Key Issues Critical for Establishing Good Water Governance

 10) “Protecting freshwater ecosystems of high conservation value from infrastructure development, including the designation and management of protected areas.”

 http://www.unwater.org/UNW_ABWS_launch.html

 Given that the protection and conservation of Eco-systems, which maintain quality and quantity of global freshwater is central to all National and International security including all human rights; it becomes imperative that actions, which support and conserve these Eco-systems, are taken imminently. The making of new legislation which, protects these environments from deforestation, mining, hydro-dams and all similarly environmentally devastating activities, is also essential and necessary for success. International security surely demands top priority under these circumstances.

 When we consider how to fund such critical, large-scale endeavors, then surely some of the responsibility and decision-making lies with the U.N. The U.N was established as a peacekeeping force. It is therefore surely a responsibility of the U.N Security Council to allocate funds for matters of global peace and security.  When dealing with sending peacekeeping forces into countries in conflict, which threaten global stability, there is no question of raising the funds through crowd sourcing. Funds needed for National and International Security, have already been secured. They only have to be allocated for that which, is considered to be of critical importance for International Security and world peace.

 As this is a long-term global defense strategy and central to global security at least 1% annually of the U.N global security budget could be allocated. If this is not sufficient for the scale of operation required to safeguard and restore the environments, which fresh water is dependent, then potentially 1% annually of the defense budgets of all countries in the U.N could also be allocated. This International threat and crisis needs to be dealt with immediately as it is a matter of immense urgency.

 Active Remedy Ltd has spent many years doing research into how to restore these essential environments. We have designed a proto-type plan for global action, for the restoration of environments upon which the global freshwater cycle is dependent. It is a template, which could be adapted and worked with, throughout mountain regions of the world imminently.

 For further information please visit our Homepage on the MAHB Website, established by Stanford University.

 http://mahb.stanford.edu/groups/active-remedy-ltd/home/