Transcript Documents for the Charter of a water-conscious citizen

Documents for the
Charter of a
water-conscious citizen
Presented by Gymnasium Kenzingen
Water as a human right
• The United Nations
have declared water
as a human right but
it is not enforceable.
Legal claims
• availability
• quality
• acceptability
• accessibility
• affordability
Decade for Action:
Water for Life, 2005-2015
• Why?
• No life without water
• Important for hygiene and health
• When?
• Target 10 in the „Millenium Development goals“ 2000
• Began on the World Water Day, March 22, 2005
• What?
• To promote the respect of international commitments
• Where & Who?
• All over the world people can help
• Everyone is welcome
Water in different cultures
On the photo Indian people are
washing themselves in the river
Ganges because this is a holy
tradition.
Water is a very important
element in cultural and religious
life all over the world.
It is painted, sung, told and
celebrated, involved in
architecture and gardens and
transformed into music in order
to illustrate life, time, emotions
and uncountable other things.
“We want to acknowledge the value of water because it is venerated and
adored in all cultures and religions.”
The access to fresh water detects social inequalities
•On the picture you can
see many houses and
every house has its own
swimming pool and a big
garden.
•Everybody uses big
quantities of water just for
luxury and amusement.
•In Somalia the daily
consumption of water per
person is 15 liters, in the
US it is 600 liters.
„We want to reduce our selfishness and share the water resources
equally with the people in the developing countries.”
Water in the developing countries
• Half of the world‘s population
•
•
•
doesn‘t have a direct access
to water => for example in
Africa 16 %
Their living conditions are bad
and they suffer from diseases
like colera and typhus.
Many women have to walk a
long way to get water from
wells or ponds.
Therefore, their
(wo)manpower is lost for the
community and for the
development of their country.
„We want to fight for better acces to clean water for people lacking it
by supporting initiatives for building wells and water pipes.“
Water, transmitter of diseases
• In lots of poor countries
humans and animals use
the same water sources.
• They have an awkful
hygienic problem because
the dirty water transmits
diseases.
• Per minute, worldwide,
three children die because
of polluted drinking water.
„We want to improve the quality of water and combat diseases in
the developing countries by building sanitary systems.“
The sea as the centre of the water circuit
The sea, rivers and the atmosphere are
connected by the general water ciruit.
Worldwide, two million tons of excrements
are discharged into the water circuit.daily
and six million tons of chemicals yearly.
„We want to effect that the
humanity takes better care
of waste water and chemical
liter and reduces water
pollution in order to protect
animals, people and the
water circuit.“
Water in daily life
The picture shows people
who have a picnic on the
bridge ‚Ponts des Arts‘ in
Paris.
Rivers are important to
bring water into towns.
Water and especially
rivers have a high
recreation value and they
valorize the social and
physiological environment.
“We want to protect and appreciate our rivers, keep them clean and
conserve their natural course.”
Arid environment: where water is the limiting factor
This animal – a spider - is adapted to
the desert and it can survive a long
time without water. But sooner or
later it needs water all the same.
Although humans, animals and
plants adapt to it, desertification is a
big problem.
The ongoing climate change causes
the problem. Only by stopping the
climate change, we can stop the
desertification.
„We want to fight against desertification by producing fewer
greenhouse gases and thereby abating the climate change.“
.
Rivers used for everything
A bank dam produces energy
and retains drinking water.
But a lot of people suffer
because there‘s less water
coming to lower or downstream
areas.
Also people must leave their
homes and villages which are
swallowed by the lake resulting
of a dam.
“We want that politicians in countries where bank dams are built
respect the interests of the local people who are affected by the
impact.”
When humans modify the flow of water
• houses ruined by a river
• very dirty water  swirled earth
• the consequences of the
modification of a river  flood
• Each year  half a billion
people are affected
„We want to appeal to governments to make responsible
decisions when modifying the course of a river.“
Flood disasters
Consequences:
• Hundreds of dead persons
• Hunger disaster (because of
the damages)
• Epidemics (because of
destroyed medical structures
• No living spaces (homeless
people and animals,..)
• High costs
Change for the better:
• Aid organisations (special aid
for flood victims)
• Appeals
• Prevention by the own
government
„We want to inform about flood disasters
• Other states shall assist and help for example by collecting money)“
Wetlands : half land half water
On the picture you can see
three elephants which cross
a swamp at Okavango-Delta
in Botswana.
The wetlands are places
which are pretty rich of
animals and plants and they
are primordial for their
survival.
Therefore, in 1971, 158
nations have subscribed to
the Ramsar Convention for
their protection.
„We want to support the Ramsar Convention and protect and
conserve the wetlands, because their disappearance would
implicate the extension of many species.”
Different aid organisations
• Different organisations help to advance water facilities:
- Leben braucht Wasser
- UNICEF
- Caritas
- Welthungerhilfe
„We want to inform about these organisations and help them by
collecting donations“
Virtual Water
• Water that is used for the production of textiles,
•
food, etc…
Every day, we need much more virtual water than
real water:
70 l
2.400 l
11.000 l
400.000 l
We want to save water!
• Virtual water:
– Buy regional products
– Don‘t eat much meat
– Use recycling
– Don‘t buy more clothes than necessary
• Real water:
– Use rainwater for example for the garden
– Pay attention for the dropping tap
– Take a shower and not too many baths
Sources:
Une exposition pédagogique d'affiches sur l'énergie
mise gratuitement à disposition de toutes les écoles,
collèges et lycées de France.
Un projet de la Fondation
GoodPlanet
Photographies de Yann Arthus Bertrand