Environmental aspects of freshwater, sanitation and human settlements

As a contribution to the 8th Special Session of the UNEP GC/GMEF in March 2004, and the 12th Session of the CSD in April 2004, the EMG Secretariat in consultation with the UN-Water Group prepared an information paper on the EMG members’ activities in the field of environmental aspects of water, focusing upon environmental aspects and the ecosystem approach in particular. The Information paper was finalised and approved at the 6th Session of the Group on 6 February 2004 and was submitted for the consideration of the above-mentioned fora. The paper focuses on the three major areas of:

· Ecosystem approaches in integrated water resource management (IWRM)
· Environmental dimensions of sanitation
· Water, health and poverty

It includes information on the UN system’s current and planned activities and partnership programmes in specific areas relating to environmental aspects of water. It also contains some issues for consideration as emerging topics of great importance to the water agenda, to which the UN system could respond by further joint action.

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