The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, decided during its General Conference in November 2013 to establish a research centre in Sweden with a focus on international water issues. The centre will be run by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) in collaboration with Uppsala University and the University of Gothenburg. With its focus on transboundary water cooperation, the centre will be one of a kind.
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25–26 September 2013, Genève • The main objective of the meeting of the Working Group on Integrated Water Resources Management is to review the implementation of the programme of work for 2013–2015. The eighth meeting of UNECE’s Working Group on Integrated Water Resources Management will be held from 25–26 September 2013 in the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
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Ahead of the World Water Week in Stockholm, the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has released its report «Cooperation for a Water Wise World: Partnerships for Sustainable Development». The report will serve as an input to the World Water Week, taking place from 1–6 September 2013, in Stockholm, Sweden, on the theme «Water Cooperation: Building Partnerships».
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In 2012, the Government of the Netherlands asked the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) to produce an advisory report on global environmental public goods. The request was prompted by the observation in the Advisory Council on Government Policy’s report «Attached to the World» that the Netherlands is increasingly affected by complex global issues such as climate change, energy and security, and by the interrelations between these issues. The government notes that global environmental public goods are particularly important for global stability and security, as well as sustainable economic growth and prosperity. An improved ‘supply’ and regulation of environmental goods – a stable climate, access to energy and resources, an adequate water supply and preservation of biodiversity and ecosystems – are essential for growth and stability in rich countries, emerging middle-income countries and poor countries.
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The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, has appointed His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan as the new Chairman of his Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB). In highlighting the challenges facing the international community in achieving the water and sanitation targets of the Millennium Development Goals, the Secretary-General stated that 2.5 billion people around the world still lack access to proper sanitation and 768 million do not have access to improved sources of water.
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On Thursday 20 June 2013 Professor Michael McClain, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, will deliver his Inaugural Address. The Inaugural Address will be preceded by a mini symposium, featuring the ecohydrological research of UNESCO‑IHE and its partners and considering how growth in this area contributes to the mission of the institute.
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In the Sunday Review, part of the International Herald Tribune, Thomas Friedman describes how he – during his recent visit to Syria – was shaken up by a local school. »War refugees had occupied the classrooms and little kids’ shirts and pants were drying on a line strung across the playground. [...] Classes had not been held in two years. And that is what terrified me. Men with guns I’m used to. But kids without books, teachers or classes for a long time — that’s trouble. Big trouble.« The Jafaf, or drought, is one of the key drivers of the Syrian war.
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Ambassador Sirodjidin Aslov is Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the United Nations. In the most recent issue of UN Chronicle, Mr Aslov wrote about the Tajik vision for the UN International Year of Water Cooperation, 2013.
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