sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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concessions, authorizations and licences for freshwater resources for ecological conservation ranks
fourth after water for human consumption, potable water services, and agriculture and forestry, and
ahead of water for public energy generation, industrial uses, recreational purposes and other purposes
(UNEP, <strong>20</strong>10c).
It is also important to consider the role of different groups of people in the management of water
resources. Box II.10 discusses the role of women in <strong>sustainable</strong> water management.
Box II.10
WOMEN AND SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT
Women play a crucial role in water provision, management and protection, in order to supply and care for their
families. This makes them the main providers and users of water. Problems arising from water mismanagement and
climate change will seriously affect women’s everyday lives and workload. In most countries of the region, women
are responsible for supplying rural households and their unpaid labour is dedicated to transporting water (where
there is no domestic water supply), preparing food and cleaning the home. The amount of time women devote to
these activities, which are necessary for survival, limits their opportunities for professional and personal
<strong>development</strong>. They are also primarily responsible for the irrigation of small crops and feeding animals for household
consumption, while men are usually responsible for major commercial crops. Land ownership and/or tenure also
determine access to water, especially in the case of women, who own barely 1% of land and are required to use
community water sources, which very often forces them or their children to walk long distances. Poverty and the
obstacles women face in securing access to productive resources, to technological training in hydrology and to
decision-making processes concerning water management (Rico, 1998) contribute to inequitable water management.
Despite the important role played by women in water management, the gender perspective is still absent
from legislation, public policies and programmes relating to water resources. Current national programmes in the
region benefitting from bilateral and multilateral support fail to take into account either the different water uses and
specific needs of women and men, or the need to ensure equal representation in decision-making to guarantee water
governance, with the result that they allocate no funding to this. In this regard, the Governments of Latin American
and Caribbean countries should consider the following order of priorities in the context of multiple and integrated
water use: (i) mainstreaming the gender perspective into water assessment, monitoring, management and research,
including watershed management and the ecology of water resources; (ii) greater access to safe drinking water and
basic sanitation, to advance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals; and (iii) promotion and regulation of
women’s participation in community water boards to make water available for irrigation and food production.
Source: United Nations Development Programme Regional Centre, America Latina Genera, Boletín Genera, August <strong>20</strong>10
[online] www.americalatinagenera.org/boletin/boletin-es-agosto-<strong>20</strong>10.html.
(d)
Climate change and water resources
Climate change is posing new challenges to the region’s water resources. Expected increases in
temperature and evaporation, along with precipitation increases or decreases and the resulting change in
flow rates, will alter water availability and quality. In some cases, rising sea levels will cause saltwater
intrusion into aquifers near the coast. Extreme phenomena of floods and droughts, as well as
desertification processes (CRA, <strong>20</strong>09), will exert a very heavy impact on water. Rising temperatures
are also having a marked effect on glaciers and their role as water sources and runoff regulators in
fragile ecosystems (CRA, <strong>20</strong>09), which is a special cause of concern for Andean countries (Andean
Community, <strong>20</strong>08).