WORLD WATER DAY CELEBRATION

22 March 2010

National Workshop on

Water Conservation and Quality Challenges: Towards Adaptive Strategies

Organised by

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in collaboration with, UNICEF and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)

Water quality and conservation are important indicators of the overall growth of a community as it is intrinsically linked to human health, socio-economic growth, major ecosystems, environmental goods and services and sustainable development. With regard to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), water quality would be a major factor in achieving our objectives within the stipulated time period. In addition, climate change poses a great threat to both the quality and quantity of water resources; it is worsening the already existing scarcity and the regional inequality of the resource. As a result, it is a subject of conflict among countries, states and communities as well. Since water is a public good, its protection is a shared responsibility and if protected and managed well, it will be a major common benefit to all communities.

Clean water quality is a basic necessity for a healthy and prosperous world. The causes of water pollution are many, but we have now come to a consensus that the anthropogenic input to the problem is of an unprecedented nature. Whether it be sewage, mining, solid waste or natural disaster related, water quality has been subject to a lot of stress and TERI believes that this issue can be understood and worked upon but through a shared vision and integrated approach. Since its very beginning and as part of its core principles, TERI has been trying to develop cleaner, more sustainable means of development along with finding ways to remediate and improve the ‘polluting’ ways that have become very prominent and evident.

About TERI: For many years, TERI has been gaining momentum in the sector of water resources management, conservation and policy. Projects such as HighNoon (which investigates the effect of retreating glaciers and erratic monsoons on the water resources of Northern India) and MYWATER (Mobilising Youth for WATER conservation) have given TERI the edge in both the scientific and social aspects of water resource management. Reaching out internationally, TERI also co-organized a side-event with World Environment Centre during COP15, in December 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, which put forward several “strategies and practices for emerging water management and governance challenges”, in the context of climate change and water vulnerability. As a definitive glimpse into the future, TERI will also be taking responsibility as the Knowledge Hub for water and climate change adaptation in South Asia, an initiative endorsed by the Asia Pacific Water Forum (APWF), supported by PUB Singapore, the UNESCO, UNESCO-IHE and the Asian Development Bank.

About UNICEF: Following a human-rights based approach, the well known United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) are constantly advancing the cause for childrens rights and working to provide them with an adequate standard of living. In that light, UNICEF has developed the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programmes with which, they are aspiring to achieve significant improvements in the supply of safe drinking water, sanitation access and hygiene practices globally. Keeping the Milennium Development Goals in clear sight, UNICEF has set a target to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.

About HUL: Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), who are also the organisers of this event, have taken a keen interest in water conservation and watershed management. In addition to the quality of water, the supply, conservation and overall management are of paramount importance. Maintaining the quality and abundance of water resources must be complimented with proper conservation and management methods. They were heard loud and clear when their Watershed Management pilot project in Khamgaon, Maharashtra, led to the conversion of a 5 hectare semi-barren area to a forest of over 6300 trees. This project was based on a simple idea of practicing the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle, recover and renew, which are the cornerstones of sustainable growth.

Realizing the significance of a dialogue on various dimensions of this very important theme of water quality, TERI and HUL are organizing the workshop on World Water Day on the 22 of March 2010, to mark this day. The event will be a dynamic platform for the representatives of different areas in the water sector to collaborate and voice their opinion and concern on the subject.

Interested members may please contact the organisers at the earliest.

ORGANIZERS’ CONTACT INFORMATION

Chairman: Mr. Ashok Jaitly, IAS (Retd)
Distinguished Fellow and Director
Water Resources Division
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
India Habitat Centre
Lodi Road
New Delhi 110 003

Email: ajaitly@teri.res.in

Tel. (91)(11) 2468 2100 or 4150 4900

Coordinator: Dr. Sreelakshmi K

Fellow and Area Convener, Water Resource Policy and Management (WRPM),
TERI, Email: klakshmi@teri.res.in
Tel. (91)(11) 2468 2100 or 4150 4900 ext: 2302
Mobile: 9711671466

DATE & TIMINGS

Monday, 22 March 2010
Registration and refreshments - 9:30 to 10:00
Main event – 10:00 to 17:30

 VENUE

Jacaranda II
India Habitat Centre
Lodi Road
New Delhi 110 003

BRIEF AGENDA

Tentative Agenda

National Workshop on

Water Conservation and Quality Challenges: Towards Adaptive Strategies

World Water Day Celebration;Monday, March 22, 2010

Venue: India Habitat Centre; Time: 10.00 – 5.30 pm

Registration and Refreshments: 9.30 -10.00 am

Organized by

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), UNICEF, Hindustan Unilever Ltd

Around 100 participants are expected