Press release 08 November 2006
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Ministry of the Environment

UN development report focuses on water issues

Minister for International Development Cooperation Gunilla Carlsson and Minister for the Environment Andreas Carlgren will take part when the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launches this year's Human Development Report.

The UN report "Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis" calls for a global action plan for water and sanitation issues.
"It is positive that the UNDP has chosen to emphasise water and sanitation in this year's report. These are tremendously important areas that are often forgotten. The global water and sanitation crisis is an obstacle to economic progress in many developing countries," says Ms Carlsson.
Currently, 1.1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water and 2.6 billion people lack access to wastewater and sanitation facilities.
"The water issue is very important for environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development. Careful management of natural resources both in this country and around the world is therefore necessary in both the short and long term," says Mr Carlgren.
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The 2006 Human Development Index will also be presented at the launch of the report. The Index describes the state of human development in the countries of the world.