Issue number 62 December 1997 UNESCO Symposium on Water

UNESCO Symposium on Water

A two-day Symposium on Water, took place in April at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, during which 300 participants from over 50 countries discussed the proposals contained in UNESCO’s “Paris Statement” regarding the serious problems of water supply and management in a world where 50% of the world population by the year 2025 is expected to live in more than 50 cities with over 9 million inhabitants.

In the Paris Statement is a proposal for “the formulation of a pragmatic management support system for each city built around a database of urban development and water resources and of a Geographical Information System” which is to serve as a “vehicle for communication between municipal authorities, professionals and water user association to test and improve indicators”. Another proposal is that an international network of cities be established.

Among the recommendations in the Paris Statement are:
+ creating a single structure for the coordination or management of each city;
+ improving knowledge about the links between water, urban planning, health and the environment in each urban center, and
+ establishing a permanent dialogue between urban planners and water managers.

Source: UNESCO NEWS (June 1997), 2 UN Plaza, Room 900, New York, NY 10017.

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