The World Summit on Sustainable Development
10 years after the Earth Summit...
The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. Over 22,000 people attended the Summit, including 100 heads of State and Government, national delegates, and leaders from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), businesses, and other major groups - to take action towards improving people's lives and conserving our natural resources
21 August, 2002
Weaving a dream into reality
The wetland habitat of kuta - a weaving plant that has been used for hundreds of years in the Fiji Islands - has become more and more marginalised through deforestation, weed infestation, and agricultural run-off. However a successful community project has revived interest in the tradition of kuta weaving and led to the restoration of their ponds.
7 August, 2002
Peace in Afghanistan requires good water management
By Biksham Gujja
The karez system of Afghanistan - an ancient and extensive system of underground irrigation tunnels - has received much attention as a hiding place for the Taliban. But this system also offers a chance for lasting peace in the country, by providing sustainable water management in this parched part of the world.
1 August, 2002
Fixing the global water crisis needs more than taps and toilets
By Jamie Pittock
Government leaders meeting at the World Summit on Sustainable Development will take decisions that shape how water is managed over the next ten years. WWF is concerned that Summit preparations have so far only focused on water delivery and sanitation, while ignoring the crucial issue of water supply.
17 July, 2002
Pipe dreams for Spain's water
By Guy Beaufoy
The Spanish government's plans to pipe water from the north of the country to the more arid south goes firmly against the EU's principles of sustainable development and environmental responsibility.
Protecting Wetlands for a Water-Secure Future (DOC: 177 KB)
Since January 2002, nine countries have each designated more than 500,000ha of freshwater sites as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention. These new sites amount to more than 22-million ha and take the total wetland area under Ramsar to 110-million ha - representing almost 10% of the world's estimated total wetland area of 1,280-milllion ha. The national summaries compiled by WWF and the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar 1971) describe the names, size, location and characteristics of the freshwater sites registered in 2002 under the Ramsar Convention.
Living Waters - Conserving the source of life (PDF: 272 KB) - a 2 page fact sheet on WWF's Living Waters Programme with basic background information on our most essential resource freshwater, and WWF's common objectives to safeguard the world's precious but threatened freshwater systems.
The World Summit on Sustainable Development: Freshwater (ZIP: 135 KB)
- a 4 page background information paper on the global freshwater crisis, its relation to the WSSD and WWF's freshwater asks for the WSSD.
Water in Africa - a 2 page fact sheet with facts and statistics on the water situation in the world's second driest continent. Downloand PDF in En (182 KB) | Fr (390 KB)
Enhancing the Mandate and Funding for the Convention on Wetlands
- a 2 page WWF brief on why the mandate of and funding for the Convention on Wetlands (RAMSAR) should be enhanced at the World Summit.
Freshwater Trends and Projections: Focus on Africa (PDF: 1.80 MB) -
This report shows that Africa has experienced the largest population rise between 1990 and 2000 of any region but still has the lowest total water supply coverage. The discrepancy is underscored by the fact that even though between 1999 and 2000, about 816 million more people worldwide gained access to some form of improved water supplies, nearly 1 billion rural inhabitants in the developing world still lack access to clean water, most of them in Africa.
Tackling Poverty and Promoting Sustainable Development: key lessons for integrated river basin management (PDF: 202 KB) - The WWF report on managing water wisely shows that collectively, 261 transboundary rivers worldwide drain 45% of the Earth’s surface, account for 80% of river flow by volume, and are home to 40% of the world's human population. Using research and extensive field experience, the report provides the basis for the seven guiding principles for managing rivers and their basins. Maintaining the health of these river basins is the key to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people without access to both clean water and adequate sanitation by 2015.
A Source book for Conducting Biological Assessments and Developing Biodiversity Visions for Ecoregion Conservation. Volume II: Freshwater Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund, 2002 (PDF: 6.80 MB)
This sourcebook is intended for anyone engaged or interested in the conservation of freshwater biodiversity within an ecoregional framework.
River basins map (PDF: 646 KB) - a poster map entitled "WWF's Living Waters Programme - River basins for Action (status 2002)" shows the world's key river basins with ongoing or planned WWF basin-oriented conservation work and the seven key principles for managing them.
Visit the Freshwater - Precious sources photo gallery - a special collection of pictures showing the power and need of freshwater around the world.
