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18-452: During the first UN decade on water boreholes , hand-dug wells and tubewells were constructed and water pumps were provided to developing countries by various NGOs . Unfortunately this top down approach led to the installation of pumps, notable the India Mark II , that were difficult to maintain. VLOM pumps were designed to allow remote villages to maintain pumps themselves as part of

36-513: A biennial assessment of the state of global freshwater resources. The launch of the second International Water Decade during 2005-2015 will also provide much needed impetus for the assessment program. Water for Life Decade The United Nations General Assembly , in December 2003, proclaimed the years 2005-2015 as the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' . Its primary goal

54-440: A centralized maintenance service. VLOM has undoubtedly brought the answer to sustainability a little closer; however, the goal of easy maintenance remains elusive. Perhaps the greatest lesson is that there are currently no ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions which can bypass the need for effective government institutional community water point support. Wherever this problem is unresolved, and where there are no NGOs or other agencies to fill

72-487: A larger strategy to reduce the dependency of villages on government and donor agencies and provide more sustainable access to drinking water. The concept of Village Level Operation and Maintenance Management in relation to communal handpumps has gained wide acceptance in the rural water sector. Project and pump designs based on VLOM principles are now commonplace. However, implementation of handpump programs in accordance with VLOM criteria have been only partially successful and

90-480: A special emphasis will be placed on ensuring the participation and involvement of women in these development efforts. At the national level, it is expected that each country will take its own approach to organize activities around the 'Water for Life' Decade. All activities that promote public awareness of issues related to the 'Water for Life' theme are encouraged, including the organization of conferences, seminars, expositions and other such public events. UN-Water

108-740: Is coordinating the International Decade for Action 'Water for Life', 2005-2015. UN-Water is the United Nations system-wide inter-agency gathering of all relevant agencies, departments and programmes involved with water-related issues. UN-Water is the inter-agency mechanism for the implementation of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation water-related provisions and the Millennium Development Goals concerning freshwater. The terms of reference and modalities of work of UN-Water cover

126-442: Is increasingly seen as one amongst many components needed for the sustainable provision of village water supplies. Difficulties with the introduction of VLOM have called into question a number of inherent assumptions in the concept relating to the user community, the supporting environment and technology choice. Of particular importance is the assumption that introducing and supporting VLOM is an easier task for government than running

144-786: Is to promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water and water related issues . In the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. In March 2019, the United Nations General Assembly declared the years 2018-2028 as the Water Action Decade. In order to help to achieve the internationally agreed water-related goals contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration , and in Agenda 21 and

162-586: The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation of the World Summit of Sustainable Development (WSSD) the Decade focuses on water-related issues at all levels and on the implementation of programmes and projects, and the furtherance of cooperation at all levels. During the first UN Decade on Water from 1981–1990, it is estimated that more than a billion people gained access to safe drinking water . The primary goal of

180-718: The 'Water for Life' Decade is to promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015. These commitments include the Millennium Development Goals to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015 and to stop unsustainable exploitation of water resources. At the World Summit in Johannesburg in 2002, two other goals were adopted: to aim to develop integrated water resource management and water efficiency plans by 2005 and to halve, by 2015,

198-511: The VLOM approach to maintenance has been very difficult to realize in the field, especially in Africa. It was assumed that the private sector would take care of the distribution of spare parts, but most parts had to be imported and were difficult to get. Low profit margins on spares did not encourage the private sector to take up the role of importing and distributing spare parts. As a result, VLOM technology

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216-447: The communities have a reliable source of water with a local back-up. Unfortunately there are no simple one-fit-all solution on the horizon for sub-Saharan Africa, which experiences these problems most acutely. International Drinking Water Decade, 1981-1990 The International Drinking Water Decade or International Decade of Water or International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade , now known as The First Water Decade

234-655: The elements of a detailed inter-agency plan for addressing water as well as sanitation issues, and include mechanisms for interacting with non-United Nations system stakeholders. The chairmanship of UN-Water rotates and is currently held by the United Nations University (UNU), while the Secretariat for UN-Water is based at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). Within UNDESA,

252-458: The gap, sustainability will always be in doubt. Recently there have been attempts to involve the private sector, not only in selling spares and handpump repairs, but also in local pump sales and installation. This is called the "BlueZone" approach where a handpump dealer has its own region to take care of. Due to economies of scale, this would raise a more interesting business case and keep the handpump dealer interested to maintain this service while

270-555: The low level of public awareness about health, has drastically reduced many countries' abilities to keep up with need; and today, there are still almost 1.1 billion people who have inadequate access to water and 2.4 billion without appropriate sanitation. Since the decade ended in 1990, hopes for improvement are centred on the World Water Assessment Programme, a joint effort of the UN system and its member states, which includes

288-513: The obstacles were the following: whether developing countries will give water and sanitary disposal high enough priority to get results; if an effective organization can be created within countries to carry out a water and waste programme; how manpower training and financing can be accomplished; and whether or not appropriate technology will be used. This first water decade, brought water to over 1.2 billion people and sanitation to almost 770 million. However, growth and rapid urbanization, together with

306-419: The proportion of people who do not have access to basic sanitation. World Water Day , 22 March 2005, marked the official commencement of the ' Water for Life ' Decade. Central water related themes include: food, health, environment, disaster prevention, energy, transboundary water issues , scarcity, culture, sanitation, pollution and agriculture. As women play a central role in water provision and management,

324-481: Was the ten-year period 1981 - 1990 designated by the United Nations to bring attention and support for clean water and sanitation worldwide. The 1977 United Nations 'Water Conference' at Mar del Plata set up an International Drinking Water Decade, 1981-1990. Its aim was to make access to clean drinking water available across the world. The decade focussed on safe water and sanitation for everybody by 1990. Among

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