The Mandate
The United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in its third session held in Nairobi in 2017, adopted UNEP/EA.3/Res.10 on “Addressing water pollution to protect and restore water-related ecosystems”. The resolution recognizes that water from terrestrial, coastal and marine sources is essential for human health, well-being and livelihoods, ecosystem functioning and services, and the survival of all living species. It established a number of vital premises which constitute the foundation for the creation of a pathway towards a World Water Quality Assessment.
The importance of water
Without good water quality, the health and well-being of humans and ecosystems would disappear. No living species can survive without water from either terrestrial, coastal or marine sources. Therefore, the dangers that pollution on land and in the sea, climate change or severe pathogen contamination, present to both the quantity and quality of water, in turn exacerbated by human activities such as urbanisation, industrial and agricultural activity and a lack of basic sanitation in many regions, represent some of the principal trials which society must undergo in the coming decades. These are scientific, ecological and social issues. It is the poor, the vulnerable, the discriminated, indigenous peoples, the woman and the child who are at most risk to the effects of water quality degradation and scarcity and who bear the brunt of the consequences of extreme weather events and the mismanagement of water resources.
From data into action
In order to overcome these concerns, UNEP/EA.3/Res.10 outlined an urgency to eradicate the gaps in society’s knowledge of the state of water quality resulting from a lack of data and regular monitoring. It invited member States to establish and improve water quality monitoring networks and to enhance public access to relevant information on water quality status. It stated the case for the promotion of the employment of safe and efficient water use whilst augmenting water quality data collection and subsequent data sharing in order to support the implementation of the water-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Encouraging all stakeholders to embrace the concept of the engagement, at all political levels, of the public, private, academic, cultural and civil sectors (known collectively as the Quintuple Helix) supported by a strong programme of capacity development, the resolution reiterates that the availability and accessibility of adequate, predictable and sustainable resource mobilisation from all sources, technology development, dissemination, diffusion and transfer, on mutually agreed terms, and capacity-building are important to the effective prevention, reduction and management of water pollution.
Effective data communication
It is necessary to understand and communicate to all stakeholders, ranging from the hitherto uninformed layperson to the highly specialised expert, from the political decision maker to the individual affected by a specific water quality-related event, what both the key drivers and key pressures are at any given time, in a manner which is accessible and therefore comprehensible to all. Perhaps the most effective means of presenting water quality indicators in order to effectively inform policy makers is what is known as the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) Framework. DPSIR is widely used to analyse and understand complex global environmental changes. It provides a systematic means of assessing the impact of human activities on the environment, as well as identifying ways to address such impacts. It takes into account Drivers (the social, economic, political, and technological forces that influence human behaviour and drive environmental change such as population growth, urbanisation, and changes in consumption patterns), Pressures (the environmental factors that are affected by human activities such as pollution, habitat destruction, and resource depletion), State (the current condition of the environment, including the quality of air and water, the health of ecosystems, and the availability of natural resources), Impacts (the ecological, social, and economic consequences of environmental changes and Response (the actions taken to address environmental problems such as policies, regulations, and technological innovations).
The DPSIR framework constitutes a comprehensive modus operandi and as such has influenced the manner in which the digital product presented here has been planned, so that it is capable of supporting tangible efforts to address a wide array of serious water quality-based threats and issues which were identified in UNEP/EA.3/Res.10 by the United Nations Environment Assembly at its third session in 2017.
Why is the assessment digital?
This digital product is a pathway to comprehensive World Water Quality Assessment. It responds to the request formulated by the United Nations Environment Assembly to work with relevant international organisations to develop a World Water Quality Assessment.
Being a digital platform permits the Pathway to the World Water Quality Assessment to be constantly updated and expanded. Just as importantly, it invites all people, no matter their level of expertise, to learn about water quality and how this is one of the topics that touches on all aspects of the triple planetary crisis of nature, pollution and biodiversity. The information contained here is presented in a manner accessible to all audiences by keeping a simple design, permitting the reader to obtain, if required, more in-depth analyses at the click of a button. This user-centred platform is aimed at satisfying the demands of any individual or entity who require information regarding water quality.
The future
The objective and ambition behind this digital social platform are that within a relatively short period of time, the Pathway to a World Water Quality Assessment becomes a comprehensive assessment, which, by combining research articles, access to data hubs and the inclusion of input from diverse sources of water quality information from around the globe, constitutes the principal point of reference for all water quality stakeholders, a meeting place for all concerned actors and an inspiration to society as a whole to understand, and take action on water pollution, one of the principal risks facing modern society especially in a world where we are not on track to achieve the environmental dimension of the Sustainable Development Goals.