Financing Agenda 21 : freshwater

On cover: A paper prepared for The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. - 28 refs. - Also publ. as: Briscoe, John and Garn, Harvey A. (1995). Financing water supply and sanitation under Agenda 21. In: Natural resources forum ; vol. 19, no. 1 ; p. 59-70 This paper was prepared at the request of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, as a background paper for the ad hoc Working Group on Financing. The paper draws heavily on work done in the World Bank, and in particular, on the World Bank's recent Water Resources Management Policy Paper (see isn 10497). The paper assesses the financing challenges which have to be met by developing countries if water resources are to be managed efficiently, if the quality of the aquatic environment is to be improved, and if water-related services are to be delivered in a responsive, efficient, and equitable way. The paper takes the position that attaching price tags to the programme areas of Agenda 21, represents a misguided approach. What is needed, it is argued, is the articulation of clear principles which should underpin the financing of freshwater investments. This paper focuses mainly on the water supply and sanitation sector, sustainable urban development, and water resources management (which together represent about 75 per cent of the indicative financing specified in Agenda 21). The paper does not address the issue of water for sustainable food production.