Part of OECD Water Policy and Finance Set - Buy all four reports and save over 30% on buying separately! The provision of water supply, sanitation and wastewater services generates substantial benefits for public health, the economy and the environment. Benefits from the provision of basic water supply and sanitation services such as those implied by the millennium development goals are massive and far outstrip costs. Benefit-to-cost ratios have been reported to be as high as 7 to 1 for basic water and sanitation services in developing countries. Wastewater treatment interventions can generate significant benefits for public health, the environment and for certain economic sectors such as fisheries, tourism and property markets, although these benefits may be less obvious to individuals and more difficult to assess in monetary terms. Finally, protecting water resources from pollution and managing water supply and demand in a sustainable manner can deliver clear and sizeable benefits for both investors in the services and end water users. Investments in managing water resources are going to be increasingly needed in the context of increasing water scarcity at the global level. The full magnitude of the benefits of water services is seldom considered for a number of reasons. Non-economic benefits that are difficult to quantify but that are of high value to the concerned individuals and society, i.e. non-use values, dignity, social status, cleanliness and overall well-being are frequently under-estimated. In addition, benefit values are highly location-specific (depending on the prevalence of water-related diseases or the condition of receiving water bodies, for example) and cannot be easily aggregated. Visit the IWA WaterWiki to share material related to this title: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/GoldenTruthsaboutWaterSanitationandHygiene

Released every three years since March 2003, the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR), a flagship UN-Water report published by UNESCO, has become the voice of the United Nations system in terms of the state, use and management of the world's freshwater resources. The report is primarily targeted at national decision-makers and water resource managers, but is also aimed at educating and informing a broader audience, from governments to the private sector and civil society. It underlines the important roles water plays in all social, economic and environmental decisions, highlighting policy implications across various sectors, from local and municipal to regional and international levels. Similarly to the first two editions, this report includes a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of several key challenge areas, such as water for food, energy and human health, and governance challenges such as institutional reform, knowledge and capacity-building, and financing, each produced by individual UN agencies.

Entering the 21st century, the Earth is the home for six billion people. Many of those live in wealth. But one billion people lack safe drinking water and almost three billion people (half of the world's community) lack adequate sanitation. This situation is humiliating, morally wrong and oppressive. Unhygienic conditions and the lack of sanitation and water services cause more than two million children to die each year from water-related diseases. Over a quarter of the developing world's people live in poverty, of which the lack of a healthy living environment is a major component. Poverty also reigns in many sections of the new independent states and the industrialised world. There too, unhygienic conditions often prevail. The global community has made advances in many fields but it has failed to ensure these most basic needs of deprived people. In order to change these conditions, a Vision is offered of a clean and healthy world in which every person has safe and adequate water and sanitation, and lives in a hygienic environment. Priority is given to sections of society, both urban and rural, where these basic provisions are lacking. Everywhere else actions are needed to safeguard existing services, on which this Vision places great value. Leaders and decision-makers all over the world are urged to commit themselves to achieve VISION 21. It can be done. The technology and resources can be available, provided a collective will exists. This document is the start of a collective movement forward toward making the world a better place. With the active commitment of people in urban and rural communities, their leaders, and sector professionals, water, sanitation and hygiene will be fundamental building blocks for human development and for the elimination of poverty.

UCLG’s Third Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD III) examines basic service provision and the current state-of-play of the local governance of basic services around the world. Basic Services for All in an Urbanizing World examines the enormous challenge of ensuring the universal provision of basic services in a world that is being shaped by rapid global urbanization, climate change, and economic, social and technological transformation. The world’s urban population is predicted to reach 5 billion people within the next 20-30 years. The report analyses the conditions necessary for local governments to provide these new urban residents with quality basic services. Water, sanitation, waste management, transport and energy are essential, not only for the preservation of human life and dignity, but also in driving economic growth and ensuring social equality. Each chapter examines a world region, drawing on existing research and consultation with local authorities on the ground. The chapters review access levels, legal and institutional frameworks, and the different ways in which basic services are managed and financed, as well as showcasing diverse examples of innovation in the local and multi-level governance of services. It concludes with a set of recommendations for all stakeholders with a view to making the goal of basic services for all a reality. This report contributes to discussions on the Millennium Development Goals and the UN Post-2015 Development Agenda. The findings of GOLD III will also be essential to promoting the vision of local governments at the 2016 UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat III).

Access to water and sanitation is internationally recognized human right. Yet more than t wo billion people lack even the most basic of services. The latest United Nations World Water Development Report, Leaving No One Behind, explores the symptoms of exclusion and investigates ways to overcome inequalities.

This report draws together and summarises existing information on the benefits of water and sanitation.