Unep s environmental assessments, such as the vital graphics series developed by gridarendal, are fundamental communication initiatives that promote the interaction between science and the various stages of the policy and decisionmaking cycle. With a little over 10 years left to meet the target date of 2030, the world will need to pick up the pace and put greater efforts in finding better solutions to pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss in order to truly transform societies and economies. From 1981 to 2005, global gdp has more than doubled, but 60% of the worlds ecosystems are now considered degraded or are being exploited in an unsustainable manner1. Unep environmental data explorer the environmental database. Todays high temperature, or the amount of snowfall this winter, are examples of weather. Through a total of 40 graphics, together with accompanying texts arid maps, vital water graphics highlights how the quantity, quality and availability of fresh and marine waters play a major role in determining levels and patterns of poverty, land degradation, pollution, sanitation, health, and rural and urban development around the world. A limited supply of a resource that is unsubstitutable source. Every year, lakes, rivers, and deltas take in the equivalent of the weight of the entire human populationor the weight of nearly seven billion peoplein the form of pollution. Enb summary of unep21 in pdf, txt and html enb coverage of the third global ministerial environment forum seventh special session of the. Reclaimed water and integrated water management in north carolina by lindsey merriman sally schauman, advisor april 24, 2009 masters project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the master of environmental management degree in the nicholas school of the environment of duke university 2009. Introduction global water issues introducing pwc sustainability at pwc how pwc can help who we have assisted and how thought. Unep has compiled this report in order to provide an easily accessible resource on the state of the worlds waters. United nations environment programme vital water graphics.
An assessment of the status of the worlds remaining closed forests. Unep 2008 vital water graphics an overview of the state of the worlds fresh and marine waters. Pdf vital climate change graphics for latin america and. Unep, 2002 vital water graphics world resources 200001, people and ecosystems. A slum in ecuador that was heavily affected by cholera due to its proximity to unsafe water sources. Topic 1 an introduction to the climate system and climate. Every day, millions of tons of inadequately treated sewage and industrial and agricultural wastes pour into the worlds waters. An assessment of the status of the worlds remaining closed.
Unep is the worlds leading intergovernmental environmental organisation. Finally, the graphic shows the worlds top 20 water consumers per capita, in cubic metres. It has been only a few thousand years since humans first learned to exert any control over water by channeling it for irrigation and. Water withdrawal as a percentage of total available water more than 40% from 20% to 10% from 40% to 20% less than 10% eiger map of global water scarcity. The focus of the conflict is regime change, but the triggers include a broad set of religious and sociopolitical factors, the erosion of the economic health of the country, a wave of political reform sweeping over the middle east and north africa mena and levant region, and challenges. A healthy environment plays a key role in meeting many of the 17 sustainable development goals.
Climate is the longterm average of weather, as well as the extremes. Nae website living with a changing water environment. There are a variety of international marine litterrelated instruments, including general obligations to protect the marine environment, specific obligations to prevent pollution, and obligations to promote biodiversity. Final report irc international water and sanitation centre and all. It also indicates unsustainable practices occurring outside of. Recent estimates of water stocks and flows through the worlds hydrologic cycle and their spatiotemporal variability illustrate the nature of current and projected water disparities throughout the world.
Assessment of energy, water and waste reduction options for the proposed amisom hq camp in mogadishu, somalia and the. Philippe rekacewicz, delphine digout, unep gridarendal. Reclaimed water and integrated water management in north carolina by lindsey merriman sally schauman, advisor april 24, 2009 masters project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the master of environmental management degree in the. Using charts, graphs and maps, vital climate change graphics for latin america and the caribbean depicts the major signs of climate change in the region, its physical impacts such as. The five large marine ecosystems most at risk from coastal eutrophication are. The mission of unep is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for. Every year, lakes, rivers, and deltas take in the equivalent of the weight of the entire human populationor the weight of nearly seven billion peoplein the form of. Water quality is both a direct and indirect indicator of stresses to biodiversity in inland waters. This article serves as a general reference for sustainable water supply systems. Pdf vital climate change graphics for latin america and the. Water is a precondition for human existence and for the sustainability of the planet.
It also indicates unsustainable practices occurring outside of the aquatic system since most drivers of water. Forests are vital for sustaining the life support systems of the earth. Definitions just as human activities are varied and widespread, so are the sources of litter. Unep undp amu darya assessment joint unep undp fieldwork in the pripyat river basin in belarus and ukraine to assess hydrological conditions for evaluating flood risks joint unep nato mining and environment in the western balkans state of the natural environment in the donetsk oblast 20072009. The devastating civil war that began in syria in march 2011 is the result of complex interrelated factors. Unep publications january june 2019 2 table of contents uneps flagship publications 3 chemicals, waste and air quality 4 climate change 6.
The scope remains global and macroscopic, though there may be regional differences depending on the water sources available in a particular setting. Vital ozone graphics is designed to be a practical tool for. Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in. For most of the two hundred thousand years or so of human existence, we used but a small fraction of the earths freshwater resources. Marine litter vital graphics 3 marine litter vital graphics 5 foreword 6. Exploring alternative futures of the world water system. The fraying web of life, world resources institute eri, washington dc.
Increased demands on water and reduced supply in many places mean farmers need to improve water management by both reducing water loss and improving water productivity. Vital graphics on payment for ecosystem services freshwater food biochemicals, natural medicines and pharmaceuticals biological raw materials genetic resources regulation of climate maintenance of air quality erosion control water purifi cation and waste treatment pollination ethical and spiritual values recreation and ecotourism water cycling. Weather is what we experience on a daytoday or seasontoseason basis. An overview of the state of the worlds fresh and marine waters, unep, 2008 water use. Reclaimed water and integrated water management in north carolina. The unep environmental data explorer former unep geo data explorer online database holds more than 450 different variables, as national, subregional, regional and global statistics or as geospatial data sets maps, covering themes like freshwater, population, forests, emissions, climate, disasters, health and gdp. The growing gap between water resources and water demand saltwater 97.
As the marine litter vital graphics report explains, we. Aug 22, 2018 gridarendal provides environmental information, communications and capacity building services for information management and assessment. The environmental data explorer is the authoritative source for data sets used by unep and its partners in the global environment outlook geo report and other integrated environment assessments. Every year, the sum of humanitys knowledge increases exponentially. As this report explains, we need to act now if we want to avoid living in a sea of plastic by midcentury even if we dont know. Marine litter vital graphics 5 it sounds like a contradiction, but its not. The analyses include the need and usefulness of valuation of environmental goods and services, and the role of such services in enhancing development and human wellbeing. On these pages, explore the multiple dimensions of water and sanitation. All students across all education settings and contexts are supported in their diverse learning needs through. Chief liquidity series united nations environment programme. For the instructor these student materials complement the water science and society instructor materials. Vital ozone graphics 3 by zoi environment network issuu. These investments must seek to improve water management, soil health, biodiversity protection, and climate resilience.
And as we learn more, we also learn there is much we still dont know. This report outlines how beijings air quality management programme has evolved over the past quarter century and makes recommendations for near, medium, and longterm steps that beijing can take to. Sep 01, 2008 figure 5 map of global freshwater resources per capita from accessible rivers and groundwater indicating that in many countries less water is available than is recommended united nations environment programme. Water, drought, climate change, and conflict in syria. Topic 1 an introduction to the climate system and climate change. Chapter 9 water quality florida gulf coast university. Unep 2008, vital water graphics an overview of the state of the worlds fresh and marine waters.
The fourth global environment outlook environment for development geo4 places sustainable development at the core of the assessment, particularly on issues dealing with intra and intergenerational equity. Vital climate change graphics for latin america and the. Established to strengthen the united nations through its environment programme unep, its focus is to make credible, sciencebased knowledge understandable to the public and to decisionmaking for sustainable development. Its online database holds more than 500 different variables, as national, subregional, regional and global statistics or as geospatial data sets maps, covering themes like freshwater, population. Reclaimed water and integrated water management in north. Vital climate change graphics for latin america and the caribbean. In the transition to a green economy a unep brief context. The degree of connectivity and fragmentation of habitats are important indicators of ecosystem. Iisd reporting services at unep22, 37 february 2003. This is the second the second issue of a series of water materiality brie. Publications and conference proceedings on a wide range of water issues, including water scarcity, water quality, water and ecosystems, and urban water resources, as.
Freshwater resources are unevenly distributed, with much of the water located far from human populations. The analyses include the need and usefulness of valuation of environmental goods and services, and the role of such services in enhancing development and human wellbeing, and. Plastic litter in our oceans is one area where we need to learn more, and we need to learn it quickly but we already know enough to take action. The goal of this publication is to produce a clear overview, through a set of graphics. Figure 5 map of global freshwater resources per capita from accessible rivers and groundwater indicating that in many countries less water is available than is recommended united nations environment programme. Water is complex because it is linked to almost everything in the world. Global water resources highlights from assessment activities over the past two decades, which are used to establish present and future water trends, reveal that. In the transition to a green economy a unep brief context global economic growth over the past 50 years triggered an accelerated environmental decline. United nations environment programme unep united nations avenue, p. The united nations environment programme unep has been at the forefront of assessing and monitoring global water resources and presenting information on their use and management for 30 years. New report puts climate change in graphic detail for latin america and the caribbean vital climate change graphics shows impact of changing conditions and possibilities for climate action cancun. The united nations environment programme unep has recently examined many of those instruments, summarized in the diagram below.
Although water plays a vital role in all aspects of human life, a chronic lack of interest and political support has led to poor governance and underinvestment. Bay of bengal, east china sea, gulf of mexico, north brazil shelf and south china sea. Many of the worlds largest river basins run through thinly populated regions. It also shows how much water was withdrawn and consumed, in cubic kilometres per year, by each continent at the end of the 1990s. Gridarendal provides environmental information, communications and capacity building services for information management and assessment. Reprinted courtesy of cdc public health image library. Unep environmental data explorer the environmental.
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