7 September 2016
UNEP Publications Identify Water Pollution Impacts, Promote Sustainable Sanitation and Wastewater Management
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In tandem with World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released two publications on water issues, which identify the impacts of increased waterway pollution, and propose sustainable solutions for sanitation and wastewater management.

UNEP SEI30 August 2016: In tandem with World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) released two publications on water issues, which identify the impacts of increased waterway pollution and propose sustainable solutions for sanitation and wastewater management.

The report titled, ‘A Snapshot of the World’s Water Quality – Towards a global assessment,’ was developed in preparation for a global water quality assessment. The Snapshot report identifies hotspots around the world where freshwater quality is deteriorating, describes the pollution sources, and notes potential impacts on human health and food security, including impacts on fisheries. Pollution sources include untreated sewage, inorganic fertilizer and saline wastewater. In particular, sewage systems that dump untreated wastewater are responsible for increased pathogen pollution, affecting around one-quarter of Latin American rivers, one-tenth to one-quarter of African rivers and up to half of Asian rivers.

The report includes case studies of locations where water quality has declined, including sites in Brazil, India, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia and the US, as well as Central Europe and West Africa. The authors note that, despite rising water pollution on the continents of Asia, Africa and Latin America, many rivers are generally still in good condition, offering the potential for recovery and restoration activities.

In a separate publication, UNEP and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) present proposals for sustainable sanitation and wastewater management. The report titled, ‘Sanitation, Wastewater Management and Sustainability: From Waste Disposal to Resource Recovery,’ suggests ways to use sewage and wastewater as resources for productive functions. The report showcases technology used to safely reclaim water and nutrients from waste, including examples of: reclaiming water from municipal sewage in Windhoek, Namibia; reusing sewage sludge in agriculture in Paraná State, Brazil; and farming in a semi-desert area with water and nutrients from sewage in Sohag Governorate, Egypt.

The authors conclude that making available scarce resources, particularly water, fertilizer and clean energy (in the form of biogas) can lead to productivity gains in other sectors, such as community development, transportation, agriculture, aquaculture and forestry. They note that while most wealthy cities and countries have well-developed sanitation and wastewater management systems, these systems are not well suited to resource recovery, which is what will be needed to shift the world to a sustainable development path, and to realize the sustainable development vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [A Snapshot of the World’s Water Quality – Towards a global assessment] [UNEP Press Release] [Sanitation, Wastewater Management and Sustainability: From Waste Disposal to Resource Recovery]


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