WATER

THE VEIN OF

LIFE

HEALTH There can be no life without water. Human beings

depend heavily on water for survival. They, for example, do not eat food for several days, but cannot survive without drinking water. The use of water includes water for drinking, cooking, bathing, washing and other purposes. Today, 1.1 billion people lack access to an improved water resource and over three million people, mostly children, die annually from water-related diseases. Therefore, it is obvious that water quality is of crucial importance to human health. Short-term impacts of water quality refer to the sudden or in-day consequences of drinking and consuming water. Unsanitary water, especially contaminated and non-boiled water containing a number of viruses and harmful germs can be detrimental to human health. Drinking contaminated water, in medical term, may cause water-related diseases including diarrhea, bacterial dysentery, cholera, typhoid and many other contagious illnesses. Chlorine, bacteria-disinfecting substance in water can also cause eyes and nose irritation. There is no doubt that poor quality drinking water poses a threat to human health. 

Economy Water affects the economy of a country in many

respects. Rivers and streams are used for transportation, acid rain leads to forest damages and health problems caused by water pollution not only reduce the quality of life but also entail economic costs (just to mention a few examples). Mainly though, from an economic perspective, water is an input that is needed directly or indirectly for the production of most goods and services. Water is needed for irrigation in agriculture, serves as a coolant in power stations and is used for cleaning purposes in the chemical industry. The often minor monetary value of water only insufficiently reflects the importance of this most relevant natural resource also for the world economy. This paper will start with a short overview over the economic role of water, the demand for water and its supply in different world regions. This information can then be used to deduce the economic effects of increasing water scarcity on a global level - caused by an increasing demand for water and by climate change. Furthermore, distorted water prices and trade in virtual water will be discussed.

Gender It has become increasingly accepted that women should

play an important role in water management and that this role could be enhanced through the strategy of gender mainstreaming.

The importance of involving both women and men in the management of water and sanitation and access-related questions has been recognized at the global level, starting from the 1977 United Nations Water Conference at Mar del Plata, the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade and the International Conference on Water and the Environment in Dublin, which explicitly recognizes the central role of women in the provision, management and safeguarding of water..

The differences and inequalities between women and men influence how individuals respond to changes in water resources management. Understanding gender roles, relations, and inequalities can help explain the choices people make and their different options. Involving both women and men in integrated water resources initiatives can increase project effectiveness and efficiency.

Without specific attention to gender issues and initiatives, projects can reinforce inequalities between women and men and even increase gender disparities.

Education Education is critical for breaking the cycle of

poverty and yet over half of the world's schools lack access to safe water and sanitation facilities.

Lack of clean water has serious effects on student's academic performance and attendance rates. The lack of safe water can cause even the best students to lose momentum as they deal with stomach pains and diarrhea from disease and hunger.

Students miss class to go fetch water, or to care for sick parents or siblings. In many places HIV/AIDS has already caused a large percentage of children to become orphans, requiring students to drop out and find work to provide food and care for younger siblings. If teachers are sick, classes get cancelled for all students.

Schools cannot run programs if they cannot provide water to students, faculty and their families.

With the many additional burdens that a lack of clean water brings, education simply becomes less of a priority. This sets up an unfortunate cycle of poverty and inequality as without a proper education, there is little chance of improving one's situation later in life. The Water Project is working to break this cycle. Sometimes the first public voice the women of a community ever have, comes from an individual woman who is part of a water committee.

Progress on Water and Sanitation Millennium Development Goal 7According to the United Nations MDG report (2011), progress has been good on increasing access to clean drinking water. The global target is likely to be surpassed, although rural areas are lagging behind and more than one in ten people may still not have full access to safe drinking water by the 2015 deadline. While some regions, such as east and south-east Asia, have already gone beyond the target, progress varies widely. Sub-Saharan Africa remains far behind: Despite having almost doubled the number of people using an improved water source between 1990 and 2008, coverage was still only 60% in 2008. The 2011 report shows slower worldwide progress with regard to basic sanitation, where the picture is quite bleak. The percentage of the world’s population using an adequate toilet rose just 7% from 1990 to 2008, from 54 to 61%. Almost half the population in developing regions do not have access to sanitary facilities, and an estimated 1.1 billion people practice open defecation, exposing themselves and their communities to major health risks. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 24% of the rural population were using an improved sanitation facility.

Water In Lebanon

Water supply and sanitation in Lebanon is characterized by a number of achievements and challenges. The achievements include the reconstruction of infrastructure after the 1975–90 Civil War and the 2006 war with Israel, as well as the reform of the water and sanitation sector through a water law passed in 2000. The law created four Regional Water Establishments to consolidate numerous smaller utilities.

The challenges include poor service quality, in particular intermittent water supply that persists despite the availability of relatively abundant water resources; the slow implementation of the water reform; the separation of responsibilities between various entities such as the Council for Development and Reconstruction, which are de facto in charge of investment, and the Regional Water Establishments, which are in charge of operation and maintenance; limited institutional capacity in the public sector, and in particular the Regional Water Establishments; politicization of decision-making; the absence of an autonomous regulatory agency; poor information about water resources, sector performance and assets; a very low share of metering and the absence of volumetric water tariffs; a high level of water distribution losses; limited cost recovery for water supply; and no cost recovery for sewerage and wastewater treatment. These challenges persist more than two decades after the end of the Civil War.

The Lebanese water and sanitation sector has received and continues to receive substantial foreign aid in the form of grants and soft loans from a dozen Western and Arab donors.

Conservation Of Water

• When washing dishes by hand, don't let the water run while rinsing. Fill one sink with wash water and the other with rinse water.

• Some refrigerators, air conditioners and ice-makers are cooled with wasted flows of water. Consider upgrading with air-cooled appliances for significant water savings.

• Adjust sprinklers so only your lawn is watered and not the house, sidewalk, or street.

• Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.

• Choose shrubs and groundcovers instead of turf for hard-to-water areas such as steep slopes and isolated strips.

• Install covers on pools and spas and check for leaks around your pumps.

• Use the garbage disposal sparingly. Compost vegetable food waste instead and save gallons every time.

• Plant in the fall when conditions are cooler and rainfall is more plentiful.

SOURCES https://www.google.com.lb/search?q=water&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=GoJBUYbGG8SSONzVgZgK&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1241&bih=584#hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=water&oq=water&gs_l=img.3..0l10.437002.437948.8.438461.5.5.0.0.0.0.289.808.2j1j2.5.0...0.0...1c.1.5.img.hG8UDpezrH8&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.43287494,d.ZWU&fp=801f385b6ed8bb89&biw=1241&bih=584

http://sunnarin.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/how-does-water-quality-affect-human-health/

http://thewaterproject.org/education.asp#.UUGdS2-Qa1k

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Lebanon

http://wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/

http://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/Evaluation%20insights%20WASH%20final%20draft.pdf

DONE BY Reem

Ramadan

Lyn Attar

Lyn Labban

Razan Tabaja