Water, ecosystems, and biodiversity

Safe, adequate, reliable water supplies, good sanitation, and sound hygiene are essential to the development of communities and the wellbeing of people. Yet one in six of the world&s;s people lack acceptable water supplies, and two in five are without proper sanitation. People who lack basic water and sanitation services remain trapped in poverty and depressed development. And unless sufficient attention is paid to water and sanitation, none of the Millennium Development Goals will be achieved. Yet remedies are readily available: around the world, many developing countries offer thousands of examples of how to provide water and sanitation services. Moreover, many developing countries are reforming policies and institutions to help expand these services. But current efforts are nowhere near sufficient to fill the backlog in service provision—much less keep pace with growing populations and increasing urbanization—and many governments refuse to make water supply and sanitation a priority. To increase services, slums and periurban areas should be connected to urban water and sanitation infrastructure, and self-help should be facilitated in both urban and rural communities. Governments and the international community can accelerate these efforts—as long as there is political and bureaucratic will to implement institutional reforms. National strategies and programmes— complemented by international support—are needed to fill the gaps in water and sanitation services. These programmes must use the full range of service providers and empower communities (including women) to develop and manage water and sanitation infrastructure, prioritizing local and affordable solutions. Local, national, public, and private resources should be mobilized more effectively to enable these efforts.