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Summary
1. Since the creation of UNEP, water has played a key role in its programming. In fact, the Regional Seas Programme was one of its first flagship initiatives and remains today a strong keystone programme for UNEP. Since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development took place in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the issues related to freshwater resources management have taken on an increasingly prominent role in the international arena. UNEP has reacted to this through various initiatives and activities. The importance of freshwater issues continues to rise at the local, national, subregional, regional and global levels as elaboratedupon in the Millennium Development Goals, the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Commission on Sustainable Development and other forums. UNEP must continue to evolve its programming to address such freshwater issues andhas thus developed the present policy and strategy.
2. The UNEP water policy and strategy as it relates to freshwater is outlined in the annex to the present report. UNEP starts from the premise that the water policy is defined by the mandates of UNEP as requested by the UNEP Governing Council and the United Nations General Assembly and is also guided by other relevant international bodies and forums (e.g., Agenda
21, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Commission on Sustainable Development). Taking into consideration the guidance of relevant forums and the specific mandates of the Governing Council the overall goal for the UNEP water policy and strategy is: to contribute substantively to environmental sustainability in the management of water resources, utilizing
integrated ecosystems approaches, as a contribution to the internationally agreed targets and goals relevant to water and socio-economic development. The freshwater strategy is herein elaborated through a set of principles designed to focus UNEP work by outlining the conceptual considerations- ecosystems-based approaches, sound economic and social considerations and addressing risk-and operational means - building capacity, partnerships and stakeholder participation-through which UNEP will implement its waterrelated activities.
3. As pointed out in chapters II and IV of the annex, UNEP mandates on oceans and coasts and their associated strategies are provided through the Global Programme of Action on Land-based Activities and the regional seas conventions and action plans. In the light of that fact, the present document does not attempt further to elaborate a strategy on oceans and coasts, but
specifically focuses instead on freshwater issues. Nonetheless, this freshwater policy and strategy, as do the GPA and Regional Seas Programme, recognizes the freshwater-coastal link and UNEP will work to address that linkage from both the upstream (freshwater) and downstream (coasts and oceans) ends.
4. Three key components of UNEP freshwater work are identified as assessment, management and cooperation and are tied together within aframework of integrated water resources management (IWRM). As IWRM has many elements, UNEP, with full consideration of the multi dimensional and multi-institutional approach of IWRM, will focus on mainstreaming environmental considerations into IWRM at the regional, subregional, national and local levels, as well as on upscaling such considerations to the work of other actors involved in national poverty reduction strategies and sustainable development planning.
5. The UNEP water policy and strategy as set out in the annex to the present report will be in operation for a six-year period from 2 007 through 2012 and will be operationalized through the UNEP biennial programme of work. Implementation of the policy and strategy will be monitored by the Governing Council against the expected accomplishments and indicators outlined in appendix I to the policy and strategy. Recommendations for review of the water policy and strategy will be made prior to 2012.
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