The "World Water Actions" report is the result of a participatory exercise conducted by the water community for the water community. By taking an inventory of the thousands of worldwide actions which affect the way water is managed, the report aims to raise awareness of solutions that are available to improve water resources management and anticipate emerging priorities which will serve as guidelines for future efforts. It presents tentative messages regarding what was done and what remains to be done to rise to the challenges facing the water community worldwide.
The actions which are being focused on, are decisions that are implemented in practical and tangible ways, and have a real effect on the way water is managed. These can include applied research, projects (planning, preparation or actual implementation), awareness-raising campaigns, and legal/institutional reforms, on water or related topics: water supply and sanitation, water-related diseases, irrigation, drainage, dams, river and lake basins, wetlands, groundwater, poverty, gender, capacity building, legislation, institutions, community participation, etc. The accent is placed on actions that are significant at the national level, and/or that show innovation and new approaches to recurring challenges.
Background
The World Water Council, by developing the World Water Vision, responded to the call for a worldwide study aimed at increasing awareness of the pending water crisis and developing a widely shared view of how to bring about the sustainable use of water resources. As the Vision is to be considered as an initial step in an ongoing process, the Council, with the aim of ensuring continuity, set-up an action-monitoring program to bring the World Water Vision to reality. This exercise was conducted by the Water Action Unit, which followed up on the pledges made at the 2nd World Water Forum (The Hague, 2000) "From Vision to Action", focusing on field actions, and on leading processes.
