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UNESCO’s contribution to sustainability

Zelmira May | 07 March 2013

Freshwater is vital for human health and security and is therefore crucial for sustainable human development. Moreover, water has a definite objective under the MDGs and is part of the post-2015 sustainable developments goals. Notwithstanding, there is a crucial need to exceed the previous MDG target of halving the percentage of population without sustainable access to safe drinking water, by understanding the ecological impacts not only of water projects but also of industrial water use and irrigation.

To date, one of the most important global drivers that will significantly change water-related risks in the near future is population growth, which will increase demand for water across its multiple uses. This steady increase in the world’s population only exacerbates the risks arising from other drivers that impact on water resources, such as land-use changes, urbanization, energy issues, and food production. These challenges are also applicable to the Latin America and the Caribbean region, where many of the largest cities of the world are located. In addition, predicted global climate change only poses additional pressure on water availability.

The current 2013 International Year of Water Cooperation lead by UNESCO constitutes an opportunity for raising awareness of both the potential for increased cooperation and the challenges facing water management. Cooperation between social and cultural groups, economic sectors, governments, and countries is essential to strike a balance between different needs and priorities, to ensure sound water management and achieve its sustainable and equitable use. Moreover, water can lead to peace by fostering relations between people and nations, can help eradicate poverty and increase social equity, generate economic benefits, and help protect the environment. The Year will aim at highlighting the history of successful water cooperation initiatives, as well as identify burning issues on water education, water diplomacy, transboundary water management, financing cooperation, national/international legal frameworks, and the linkages with the Millennium Development Goals. It will also provide an opportunity to capitalize on the momentum created by the Rio+20 Conference, and to support the formulation of new objectives that will contribute towards developing water resources that are truly sustainable.

As part of post-2015 development agenda, UNESCO can lead the way in developing national and regional plans to achieve community resilience for water security by fostering innovation and the contributions of the sciences. The main aim of UNESCO’s strategic plan - corresponding to the 8th phase of the IHP - is to enhance water security in response to local, regional and global challenges, dealing with all the complex and rapid environmental and demographical changes, promoting the process of transformation of information and experience, and building competences to meet the challenges of today’s global water challenges. It is essential to establish knowledge platforms where all the different entities can exchange and share the decision-making to address water security challenges.

Since water security depends largely on adequate policies based on sound scientific knowledge, the role of UNESCO in achieving water security might become of utmost relevance by providing advice to its member states. Moreover, UNESCO’s involvement can be the key in the development of capacities at multiple levels, including human and institutional ones. The value added of UNESCO, provided its multiplicity of views arising from its mandates in the field of science (natural and human), culture, and education, will pave the way towards the post-2015 agenda and the achievement of water security for sustainability.

Photo credit main picture: Zanini H.

Comments

South to south knowledge and experience transfer

Existing partnerships are the basic networks for cooperation in the global water sector. Partnerships (like WOPs) concentrates on peer-to-peer knowledge/information sharing. In itself it is a good way of sharing knowledge, but it might look as gifts. Gifts from north to south, done in projects. I would like to add south-to-south training in this triad: networking – information sharing – training. And preferably training for south to south, partly facilitated by north. The key is to combine water experiences and didactics.

The global water sector is a knowledge-oriented, but maybe mainly an experience-oriented sector. It is a relatively small sector, so especially the initial education, as the first part of life-long learning (from primary school to universities), on vocational level is too general for the specific water issues. On academic (university) level you can find more specific water-related studies. Based on the general education for future employees in the water sector, this means that the Life-long development part (work-based training; the participant is 100% worker and participates to improve the daily work) based on gathering experiences becomes of more importance.
Worldwide a scream for well-educated and/or well-trained practitioners can be heard, especially for technical matters. I think that the awareness of the problems with capacity building on executive level and middle-management in the water sector is even growing. In northern countries as the Netherlands, but actually in the south as well, managers and engineers on the higher level are educated and trained relatively well. Especially when you compare this with the lower/executive level and middle-management. Looking at the organisations’ pyramids, most of the persons working in the water sector (as utilities and (regional) water authorities) work at these levels.

We can improve the capacity on these levels, but we need a mind-shift in my perspective. Working at the executive level demands: experiences (experienced-oriented sector). It is about sharing and transferring practical knowledge and skills for the daily tasks. Who can transfer these experiences better than experienced direct colleagues? They know what to do. They are used to the working environment. They know about the daily working activities. They speak the same language.

A scientist or professor or teacher does not; so why using such persons to do that? Only because we think that training provision is a task of people working at initial education institutes?

That is why we should focus to use experienced practitioners as trainers. Key issue: didactics. Didactics (originating from the Ancient Greek word: didáskein, meaning to teach) is the theory of teaching, and in a wider sense, a theory and practical application of teaching and learning. The experienced practitioners, who are enthusiastic to transfer their knowledge and experiences, must be trained to become trainer. With a better understanding of didactics, practitioners become aware of how to transfer knowledge and skills adequately. They get tools and confidence to help and train colleagues on-the-job.

But the start to sustain these efforts (or even make it self-supportive), a focus on south to south knowledge and experienced transfer should be established. This can be partly facilitated by the north. Training of trainers combined with content related information transfer becomes a main step to improve the capacity (sustainably) at executive level worldwide.

Johan Oost | March 27, 2013 | Respond