A state-of-the-issue document, "The World Water Development Report - Water for People, Water for Life" was published last March to mark 2003 as the UN International Year of Fresh Water by a coalition of 23 United Nations agencies and programs. It details the impending water shortages.

The report states that to ensure our basic needs, we all need 20 to 50 liters of water free from harmful contaminants every day. A child born in the developed world consumes 30 to 50 times as much water resources as one in the developing world.

These and many other facts about water shortages are documented, but trained professionals and competent policy makers aware of the linkages between water, poverty, health, development and, indeed, survival, are lacking, Matsuura said.

Malaysian girl fills container with water. (Photo by R. Faidutti courtesy FAO)

"Water has reached the top of the international agenda, and I see it as our role to empower people, communities and institutions to achieve effective water management through education, training and research with the future water managers of the world," said the first director of the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Dr. Richard Meganck.

Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, president of the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND) participated in the event in his capacity as UNESCO special envoy for water. He announced the establishment of a multi-million dollar AGFUND-UNESCO Fund to support projects for the preservation and development of fresh water resources.

The "World Water Development Report - Water for People, Water for Life" can be found at: http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap/wwdr/