Access to fresh water and sanitation
Resolving the crisis of water and sanitation may be humanity’s next great step forward.
Kevin Watkins
Editor-in- chief of the World Report on the Human Development United Nations Development Program, 2006
(Credit: Eric Lefeuvre)
The world’s population will increase by 40 to 50% over the next 50 years.
Population growth, with its corollaries of industrialization and urbanization, will have multiple consequences, chiefly for the environment. This development will make the issue of access to water and sanitation ever more pressing, while irrigation requirements will also rise.
Because over 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries, the risk of conflicts over access to this vital resource could become increasingly serious.
Although the international community has begun mobilizing to deal with this challenge, notably by adopting an action plan for water in 2003 at the G8 summit in Evian, there remains much to be done. We are far from achieving the Millennium Objectives, which are to cut in half the populations lacking access to water or purification facilities by 2015.
Today in the world:
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The Fondation Chirac’s projects
Water for Peace and Peace for Water
The joint management of water ressources is a necessity because 90% of the world's population live in countries sharing water resources with others. It is not a dream; it has become reality with the Senegal river or the Indus river for example. The Conference on November 13, 2008 offered other attainable initiatives to apply this type of management where needed.
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Equipping Timbuktu, in the circles of Niafunke, Dire, and Gundam
For the last three years, the region of Timbuktu, the Rhône-Alpes region, and the Veolia foundation have worked together on the Support Project for Local Development (SPLD) of Timbuktu, led by project manager Dédéou Traore. The Fondation Chirac decided to join them and support the second step of the project. It aims to implement development programs, backed by the Regional Assembly of Timbuktu, to improve the living conditions of populations and thus promote economic development in the region.
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Purifying the water in Haiti’s High Central Plateau hill lakes
The Fondation Chirac and the AquaOrbi Association are sponsoring the construction of purification plants for the water in the hill lakes of Haiti's High Central Plateau.
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Plan for strengthening capacity in rural areas in Mali
The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI) is one of the main initiatives of the Bank to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa. It was initiated in 2002 to address the problem of low access to water supply and sanitation in rural Africa where the majority of the population lives.
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Managing Director and Scientific Committee
Philippe Brongniart is the Managing Director for access to fresh water and sanitation. He is assisted by Juliette Karpa.
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News and events
Jean-Michel Severino has been elected President of the French water partnership
Member of the board of directors of the Fondation Chirac, Jean-Michel Severino has been elected President President of the French water partnership on July 8, 2010. > Read more
Construction begins on the Pandiassou Pilot Facility
The first phase of the project to render hill catchment pond water potable started in February 2010 at Pandiassou. The construction started on a pilot water treatment facility... > Read more
Preparing for the 6th World Water Forum in 2012 – Marseille
Philippe Brongniart, Managing Director of the Fondation Chirac’s program for Access to Clean Water and Sanitation participated in the Kick-Off Meeting for the World Water Forum in Marseille on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 June, 2010. > Read more
