global water concern

Tim Kasten is Chief of Natural Resources in UNEP’s Division of Environmental Policy Implementation. Tim joined UNEP in 1998 after 12 years with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water in Washington, DC. During these 12 years he held various positions including capacity-building for Native American tribes, water regulations and standards, ocean discharge programme and finished as the US EPA’s Senior Advisor on International Water Programmes.

Dhaval Joshi(from India asked him.............)

dear sir,
wwf recently released their list of ten river which due to some collective reasons like pollution ,climate change etc are going to disappear or get deceased.since these rivers are very important source in their regions , what do u think is the source of freshwater for people depending on them post such phenomenas?
dhaval joshi (from India)

Tim Kasten replies........................

Dear Dhaval Joshi,

The question you have posed is a relevant question for many areas and very relevant to match the theme of this year’s World Water Day – Water Scarcity.

Of course the first goal is to avoid these rivers from drying up. Though they may currently be on an “endangered” list, there is still much that can be done to reduce pollution and adapt to climate change. The very practices that can help avoid their drying up are those that would be used if they were to dry up, as such, it is best to put such practices in place now.

Such practices would include integrated planning to determine the reasons they are drying up and mitigate them now. For example, If such stresses include excess extraction for agriculture, then irrigation practices must be made more efficient, including better use of rainwater where appropriate. Integrated planning must also include other increased efficiency programmes - in other words getting the most out of what you have available - for example in industrial or tourism sectors.

UN-Water, a coordinating mechanism for all UN agencies working on water, has published a brochure on Coping with Water Scarcity. Within this brochure you will find out what all UN agencies are doing as well as other alternatives. You will find a link to UN-Water and the UN-Water World Water Day on our freshwater webpage: