Manage water more efficiently for sustainable growth

The United Nations has urged the governments of Asia and the Pacific to address the critical gaps in access to water and sanitation, by increasing water efficiency for a more balanced and sustainable growth and development.

The call was made at the regional observance of World Water Day 2016, in Bangkok yesterday, organised jointly by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), UNESCO, ILO, and the World Water Development Report 2016 (WWDR).

The theme of the day was "Water and Jobs", which focused on the relationship between decent work and water, both in terms of how greater access to clean and affordable water can support health, livelihoods and the economy, and also how meeting water needs can create employment.

The UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Shamshad Akhtar, highlighted that more than 1.7 billion people in Asia-Pacific still live without access to improved sanitation, which costs economies in the region the equivalent of between 0.5 percent and 7.2 percent of their annual GDPs, according to a press release received from Bangkok.

Ramasamy Jayakumar, chief of natural sciences, UNESCO Bangkok, said, "The 2016 edition of the WWDR demonstrates how opportunities for employment growth and decent jobs are contingent upon the sustainable management of water resources and the provision of water-related services."

The observance, held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, featured an interactive dialogue that reflected on generating sustainable employment and green growth in the Asia-Pacific region.