NEWS in brief
Global Highlights lives of waste pickers. That could mean trash banks, grants for supportive programs or payment agreements with municipalities. In many cases people are already doing this work— which has environmental and social benefits.
Source: WasteDIVE
UN and World Bank announce members of joint highlevel panel on water
United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim have announced the appointment of 10 Heads of State and Government, as well as two Special Advisors, to the High-Level Panel on Water.
The Panel is co-chaired by the Presidents of Mauritius and Mexico, and it comprises eight additional Heads of State / Government, as well as two Special Advisors, who support the Panel with their insights and expertise.
The work of the Panel has two main objectives:
1) Motivate Effective Action – by changing the way that the world thinks about water, and by shining a light on examples of policies, institutions, and programs that could help the world onto a more sustainable pathway, the HLPW can help motivate effective action across governments, civil society, and the private sector.
2) Advocate on Financing and Implementation – by promoting efforts to mobilize and target financial resources, scale-up investment, and encourage innovation and partnerships, the HLP can help the world improve water and sanitation related services, as well as build more sustainable and resilient societies and economies. The Panel will also look at interlinkages with other SDGs and targets, including climate change, and gender and water.
The Panel is supported by a Joint Secretariat comprising UN-DESA and the World Bank Group. UN-Water will also be part of the Joint Secretariat to feed the technical water expertise of the rest of the UN system through UN- Water.
The Panel will also engage with other constituencies and networks and tap in stakeholders’ expertise. The mandate of the Panel will be time-bound and have a two-year term.
Panel Members:
• Ameenah Gurib, President of Mauritius( Co- Chair)
• Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico( Co- Chair)
• Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia
• Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh
• János Áder, President of Hungary
• Abdullah Ensour, Prime Minister of Jordan
• Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
• Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa
• Macky Sall, President of Senegal
• Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan
• Han Seung-soo, Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea( Special Advisor)
• Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Minister of State for the Environment of Peru( Special Advisor)
8th World Water Forum: Steering Committee meets in Brasilia Members of the 8th World Water Forum International Steering
First meeting of the 8th World Water Forum International Steering Committee( ISC), Brasilia, 2-3 May 2016
Committee( ISC) met for the first time in Brasilia on 2 and 3 May to discuss general orientations for the organization of the 8th World Water Forum to be held in Brazil in 2018. The meeting was opened by Rodrigo Rollemberg, Governor of the Federal District of Brasila and President Benedito Braga, cochairs of the ISC, who both emphasized the need to regard the World Water Forum as an ongoing change process, rather than a triennial event.
During discussions, members evoked the legacy of the 8th World Water Forum, which will be hosted in the Southern hemisphere for the first time. They also explored what shape the 8th World Water Forum’ s new Sustainability process might take to support the achievement of lasting improvements in water resources management, especially in view of the newly confirmed Sustainable Development Goals and a UNFCCC Climate Agreement.
The meeting offered the opportunity to delve more deeply into the mechanics behind each of the processes that will contribute to the Forum’ s preparation, while designing pathways for them to work closely together. Members were encouraged to seize new opportunities for greater innovation while building on what has been accomplished previously.
The Committee also discussed the plan for the 8th World Water Forum Kick-off meeting, which will be held on 27-28 June in Brasilia.
12 Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • May- June 2016