Upload
challengefuture
View
1.438
Download
3
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Bilateral Partnership Programme
Envisioned disaster: Water Scarcity
Area: Disaster Prevention-Response
Prepared by: Lim Ruo Shuang (Peking University, China)
“By 2025, 1 800 million people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world population under stress conditions.”
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Definition & Significance Water Scarcity
“The lack of enough water (quantity) or lack of access to safe water (quality).”The Water Project
A crucial problem Affects 1 out of 3 people on every continent Affects many key aspects of daily life, including:
food supply, health, national development, social stability
Potential cause of conflicts, endangering world peace
Actual Problem & Existent History Actual Problem
Unequal natural distribution of water resources (quantity)Misuse and manmade degradation of existing water sources (quality)
Existent HistoryHas always existed
The extent has become increasingly severe
Where & When? Already existent in regions with naturally lesser
amounts of water sourcesWater deficits have already sparked grain crises and forced smaller countries to import large amounts of grainsAccording to UNICEF, 12.3m in Sudan, 5.0m in Venezuela, 2.7m in Ethiopia… live solely on contaminated water
Likely to spread to regions which are naturally richer in water sources, but lack good governanceGood governance promotes the practice of sustainable development
The Idea: Bilateral Partnership (Disaster Response)
What is it – Theory of Comparative Advantage
Countries willing to participate will be matched with another country which can complement it in terms of needs
E.g. An agriculture-based country currently experiencing a water crisis (A) can be paired with a country with the advanced technology but which has inadequate food supply due to the emphasis of its economy (B)
B exports/transfers all/part of its technology to A, thus enabling A to revive its agriculture and hence its economy.
As part of the partnership, A sells its produce to B at a slightly better price than market rate.
Plan Institutions Involved
Major international organisations (IOs) involved in current water efforts to provide guidance from their expertiseSetting up a central committee, comprising experts and representatives from the IOs, to match countries and oversee the bilateral partnership
TimelineTo start off with a pioneer batch of 3-5 pairs of countries
After 5 years, to expand the project to include more pairs
Effectiveness The use of only two countries per partnership
reduces the probability of the richer country defaulting on its promises and passing the buck to another country
Selecting two countries which complement each other more also narrows down the allowed exchange of benefits to prevent abuse of the partnership
FeasibilityHigh because many of such potential partner countries exist, e.g.:
Singapore and Israel, small countries which have excellent desalination technology that can be used to treat sea water, would benefit from cooperation with Ethiopia, whose economy is centered on agriculture
Innovation & Similar Existing Efforts
Represents a breakthrough from current international efforts that do not focus on a direct exchange (e.g. technology for agriculture)
Most existent efforts are NGO-initiated and involve going to the ground for building projects
Goals & TargetsPotential Positive Impact
Goals & Targets Alleviate water scarcity in many parts of the world through
initiating and expanding the partnership programme To have successful pioneer batches to increase its
attractiveness to countries in need which are reluctant to join
Potential Positive Impact Stronger bilateral ties Potential positive spillover effect when bilateral
partnership based on an initial exchange of two elements is expanded to include more mutually-beneficial areas
References Websites
World Health Organisation http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/water/water_facts/en/index.htmlWater.org http://water.org/learn-about-the-water-crisis/facts/ FAO http://www.fao.org/nr/water/art/2007/scarcity.html UNICEF http://www.unicef.org/specialsession/about/sgreport-pdf/03_SafeDrinkingWater_D7341Insert_English.pdf Getty Images