“Water is central to the well-being of people and the planet,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his video message for the International Year of Water Cooperation 2013. “We must work together to protect and carefully manage this fragile, finite resource.”

More than half of the world’s people depend daily on water resources shared by more than one country and 90 per cent of the global population live in countries that share river or lake basins. However, 60 per cent of the world’s 276 international river basins lack any type of cooperative management framework.

Ban stressed that with rising demands and changing climate conditions, it will be crucial for countries to work together to ensure every person has access to quality water.

“Each year brings new pressures on water,” Mr. Ban said. “One-third of the world’s people already live in countries with moderate to high water stress. Competition is growing between farmers and herders; industry and agriculture; town and country. Upstream and downstream, and across borders, we need to cooperate for the benefit of all – now and in the future.”

The General Assembly proclaimed 2013 International Year for Water Cooperation in 2010, following a proposal from Tajikistan. The Year will serve to raise awareness and prompt action on the multiple dimensions of water cooperation, such as sustainable and economic development, climate change and food security.

“Overexploitation, management, financing of water resources, all of these aspects are incredibly important and cooperation at different levels is therefore critical,” UNESCO Science Specialist Ana Persic said during a press conference to mark the start of the Year at UN Headquarters in New York.

Persic added that the benefits of intensifying cooperation include poverty reduction, equity, economic growth, and the protection of the environment. “We know water is critical for human life, but it is also critical for life on Earth if we want to protect and sustainably manage the planet we have.”

The UN representative of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Paul Egerton, underlined the link between climate change and water, stressing that extreme weather events result in desertification or extreme flooding in different areas and hinder development and access to safe water.

“Water scarcity triggers migration, refugees, situations where basic human rights are weakened or threatened,” Egerton said, adding that fewer resources can also trigger conflict and governments need to address these risks immediately.

The official launch of the Year took place today at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, France. Opened by the agency’s Director-General Irina Bokova, the event gathered representatives from inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organization (NGOs), scientists and policymakers from around the world to discuss themes such as existing mechanisms for water cooperation and regional, national and local cooperation around river basins.

As part of the launch, an exhibition entitled “Water at the heart of science” was inaugurated at UNESCO, and students from Japan travelled to meet their French counterparts to share their experiences related to water and prepare a youth declaration on water cooperation to be presented to the other participants.

Cooperation on water issues will also be the theme for World Water Day, observed on 22 March.

“Donor countries have fallen well short of their aid commitments and development assistance declined last year because of budget cuts, increasing the shortfall to $167 billion,” the lead author of the World Economic and Social Survey 2012: In Search of New Development Finance, which contains the proposals, Rob Vos (photo), said in a news release.

“Although donors must meet their commitments, it is time to look for other ways to find resources to finance development needs and address growing global challenges, such as combating climate change,” he added. “We are suggesting various ways to tap resources through international mechanisms, such as coordinated taxes on carbon emissions, air traffic, and financial and currency transactions.”

Produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), this year’s issue of the annual report on global development found that development aid declined in real terms in 2011, highlighting the need for additional and more predictable financing from new sources.

The report notes that while existing initiatives to fund programmes in the developing world have been successful, the scope for scaling them up or replicating them is too limited to meet the needs for developments financing in the next coming decades, and new funding sources need to be tapped.

Some of the new mechanisms to raise funds which were identified in the report include a tax on carbon dioxide emissions in developed countries, a tiny currency transaction tax, and earmarking a portion of the proposed European Union financial transaction tax. These measures would yield substantial revenues of $250 billion, $40 billion and $71 billion per year, respectively, for international cooperation.

“Such taxes also make economic sense, as they help stimulate green growth and mitigate financial market instability. In short, such new financing mechanisms will help donor countries overcome their record of broken promises to benefit the world at large,” said Mr. Vos, who serves as the Director of DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division.

According to DESA, a financial transaction tax (FTT) would also help to reduce the profitability, and thus the volume, of computer-operated high-frequency trades, which can be disruptive to equity markets. In addition, the tax would not be felt by non-financial customers and would fall on a sector that is not heavily taxed already.

“The FTT is a progressive tax inasmuch as poor people engage in relatively few transaction with financial institutions and the rich engage in many,” DESA states in briefing note on the potential of FTTs. “Financial and currency transaction taxes are technically feasible and economically sensible. They could readily provide the means of meeting global development financing needs.”

The World Economic and Social Survey 2012: In Search of New Development Finance also notes that current financing resources in many low-income countries have focused on allocating funds to fight specific diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and that while this has brought benefits for disease control, it has also contributed to the fragmentation of health systems in these countries.

The report concludes that it would be better to find new resources for a “global fund for health” which would support the improvement of countries’ overall health systems.

The Global Initiative for Resource-Efficient Cities was launched by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, just days ahead of the start of the high-level meeting of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).

The initiative, open to cities with populations of 500,000 or more, will involve local and national governments, the private sector and civil society groups to promote energy efficient buildings, efficient water use, sustainable waste management and other activities.

UNEP notes that by 2050, up to 80 per cent of the global population is expected to reside in cities, which are increasingly becoming the focus of international sustainability efforts.

Today, urban areas account for 50 per cent of all waste, generate 60-80 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions and consume 75 per cent of natural resources, yet occupy only three per cent of the Earth’s surface, the agency points out in a news release.

Yet water savings of 30 per cent, and energy savings of up to 50 per cent, can be achieved in cities with limited investment and encouraging behavioural change, it adds.

“In the context of rapid urbanization and growing pressures on natural resources, there is an urgent need for coordinated action on urban sustainability,” said UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner.

“This is essential both for preventing irreversible degradation of resources and ecosystems, and for realizing the multiple benefits of greener cities, from savings through energy-efficient buildings, or the health and climate benefits of cleaner fuels and vehicles,” he added.

UNEP also notes that the economic opportunities associated with making cities more sustainable are numerous. As centres of technology, cities can spearhead the creation of green jobs in sectors such as renewable energy. Projections show that some 20 million people could be employed in the wind, solar and biofuel industries by 2030, for example.

The practical steps that cities can take towards resource efficiency are the focus of a new UNEP report, also launched today at Rio+20.

Using case studies from China, Brazil, Germany and a host of other countries, Sustainable, Resource Efficient Cities in the 21st Century: Making it Happen highlights opportunities for city leaders to improve waste and water management, energy efficiency, urban transportation and other key sectors.

Rio+20’s high-level meeting runs 20-22 June, and is expected to bring together over 100 heads of State and government, along with thousands of parliamentarians, mayors, UN officials, chief executive officers and civil society leaders to shape new policies to promote prosperity, reduce poverty and advance social equity and environmental protection.

Members of the event’s Preparatory Committee are due to finish negotiations on the outcome document on Friday. Yesterday, the Rio+20 Secretary-General, Sha Zukang, urged them to take advantage of the new format whereby members split into various groups to better focus on different areas and accelerate the deliberation process.

“We are hoping that the multiplicity of contact groups speeds up negotiations so that we have closure on this as soon as possible,” the Rio+20 Head of Office, Nikhil Seth, told reporters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, today.

More than 100 heads of State and government, along with thousands of parliamentarians, mayors, UN officials, chief executive officers and civil society leaders are expected to attend Rio+20’s high-level meeting, from 20 to 22 June, to shape new policies to promote prosperity, reduce poverty and advance social equity and environmental protection.

In an interview, Mr. Seth described the atmosphere during negotiations on the outcome document as “extremely positive,” even though there are concerns that they are happening too slowly, with just one day left to reach an agreement.

“The atmosphere is very friendly and consensus-inducing,” Mr. Seth said. “The major problem is that progress is somewhat slow, that they [delegates] are not rapidly coming to a conclusion on many of the paragraphs.”

Meanwhile, thousands of civil society members participated in Rio+20’s various side-events, voicing their concerns on issues such as marine protection, deforestation, food security and workers’ rights.

“We are here to try to engage young people with the conference and get them to tell legislators and world leaders to stick to the promises they have made, and get them to renew their commitments on marine protection,” Ruth Desforges from the Zoos Zoological Society of London said in an interview. “We are heading to more youth events this afternoon and we are particularly excited about the global youth music contest on Saturday.”

Over 500 side-events are set to take place over the coming days, with people from all over the world attending talks, panels and workshops on range of issues. Many are also taking the opportunity to form partnerships and share knowledge.

“The networking opportunities are enormous and you have a chance to learn from people that work in similar or totally diverse fields,” said Illene Pevec from Susila Dharma International, an NGO working on small grassroots projects in various developing countries.

“I went to a meeting on youth engagement on development issues which was run by the Girls Scouts Association and that was by far the best meeting, because the young people do not have any power so they feel free to be honest and say exactly what is going on,” she added. “It is far more interesting to be with people that do not have a political line to follow. I always learn a lot.”

The General-Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Sharon Burrow, who participated in a press briefing on decent jobs and health for workers earlier Thursday, said the conference was a platform for workers to be heard by world leaders.

“We are here to demand that governments endorse the financial transactions tax,” she said. “It is time that governments stood up to the financial sector and said: you must make a contribution.”