A joint undertaking of the 24 UN agencies comprising UNWater, and in partnership with governments and other entities concerned with freshwater issues, this volume, covering as it does all regions and most countries of the world, provides an uptodate global overview of the state and uses of freshwater, critical waterrelated problems, and societies coping mechanisms. Drawing on an extensive database, expert analysis, case studies, and hundreds of graphic elements, it is the most comprehensive undertaking to date of freshwater assessment, providing a mechanism for monitoring changes in the resource and its management and progress towards achieving development targets, particularly the Millennium Development Goals. Building on the conclusions of the first United Nations World Water Development Report, Water for People, Water for Life, the 2006 Report confirms the ongoing, serious and growing water crisis, essentially a crisis of governance, and points to a prevalent lack of capacity and knowledge base as todays primary obstacles to achieving the necessary levels of water governance. This volume proposes a more integrated vision of water resources management to respond to changing environmental and socioeconomic conditions.Publisher's description.

Minimum system requirements: Windows-- Windows NT, 2000 professional or XP operating system; Macintosh-- MAC OS 9.2.1 or OS X 10.4 operating system; 128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended); Internet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape 7.0; Acrobat Reader 5.0 or above (7.0 recommended and included on disk)

Includes bibliographical references and index

Section 1: Changing Contexts -- 1. Living in a changing world -- 2. The challenges of water governance -- 3. Water and human settlements in an urbanizing world -- Section 2: Changing Natural Systems -- 4. The state of the resource -- 5. Coastal and freshwater ecosystems -- Section 3: Challenges for Well-being and Development -- 6. Protecting and promoting human health -- 7. Water for food, agriculture and rural livelihoods -- 8. Water and industry -- 9. Water and energy -- Section 4: Management Responses and Stewardship -- 10. Managing risks: securing the gains for development -- 11. Sharing water -- 12. Valuing and charging for water -- 13. Enhancing knowledge and capacity -- Section 5: Sharing Responsibility -- 14. Case studies: moving towards an integrated approach -- 15. Conclusions and recommendations for action

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