Washington, D.C., 9 December 2014 - The United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for North America (UNEP RONA), UNEP Division of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI) and nationally-syndicated cartoonist Jim Toomey announced today the release of the video "Wastewater: A widespread threat and missed resource," which portrays the impacts of wastewater on coastal communities and ecosystems, and the benefits of improving its management. This new video is part of a series of innovative ocean awareness videos titled Two Minutes on Oceans with Jim Toomey.
The short video aims to educate the general public about the impacts of wastewater on human health, water bodies and coastal ecosystems, and to highlight that, when adequately managed, wastewater can be a valuable resource. It is estimated that 1.8 million children under the age of five die each year due to water-related diseases. In addition to this ongoing human tragedy, unmanaged wastewater destroys aquatic environments worth trillions of dollars in goods and services. Wastewater contributes to "dead zones," water environments that are almost completely void of life, it contaminates beaches and threatens tourism, and it releases greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Improving the management of wastewater before it reaches our oceans has countless benefits. For example, when properly treated, wastewater can be reused for agriculture in water-scarce areas, and its sludge can be used to manufacture construction materials, and to generate biogas and biofuel.
Using animation and humor, the videos in this series provide, in clear and simple language, information about cutting-edge science and policy issues regarding our oceans, their importance to human well-being and the many challenges they face. The videos address a wide range of topics including: blue carbon, the true value of our oceans, the impacts of climate change, and pollution threats such as marine litter and nutrient runoff. Each video ends with a call to action for individuals, decision-makers and organizations across the world inviting them to do their part in solving the problem. The videos are released using web-based marketing tools and are free for all those who want to show or air them.
The launch of this latest video in the series will take place during the UNEP North American Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on December 9, 2014, in Washington, D.C. This forum is aimed at discussing implementation of the outcomes of the first United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), which took place in June 2014, in Nairobi, Kenya, and exploring opportunities for collaboration.
Click here to watch the video
To help UNEP promote this ocean-awareness initiative, please share these links with your networks or post them to your webpage.
UNEP Regional Office for North America (RONA)
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading authority on the environment within the United Nations system. RONA's mission is to build support in the region for UNEP's work, to promote effective responses to international environmental challenges and to foster cooperation on environmental issues between North America and the broader international community. To achieve this mission, RONA's strategy is to promote collaboration between UNEP and all sectors of North American society, including U.S. and Canadian governmental institutions, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and other civil society groups.
UNEP/GPA Global Wastewater Initiative
The Global Wastewater Initiative (GW2I) is a voluntary multi-stakeholders platform which comprised UN agencies, international organizations, governments, scientists, private sectors, industries and Major groups and stakeholders to provide the foundations (including information, tools and policy mechanisms) for partnerships to initiate comprehensive, effective and sustained programmes addressing wastewater management. The GW2I intends to bring a paradigm shift in world water politics; to prevent further pollution and damage and emphasize that wastewater is a valuable resource for future water security. The GW2I is structured around a multi-stakeholder partnership forum, an international Steering Committee (ISC) of 15 members and a Secretariat provided by UNEP/GPA. It is currently co-chaired by UNEP and UN-Habitat.
