United Nations

‘Luxury water’ a growing trend among world’s privileged. What is it?

‘Luxury water’ a growing trend among world’s privileged. What is it?

Monsoon rains have finally passed and floods blocking the lone dirt road have retreated enough for a small truck to climb these Himalayan foothills to a gurgling spring. It spews water so fresh that people here call it nectar. Workers inside a small plant ferry sleek glass bottles along a conveyer. The bottles, filled with a whoosh of this natural mineral water, are labeled, packed into cases and placed inside a truck for a long ride. Ganesh Iyer, who heads the operation, watches like a nervous dad, later pulling out his phone, as any proud parent might, to show the underground cavern the waters have formed in this pristine kingdom, the world’s last Shangri-La. This is no ordinary water. It will travel hundreds of miles to some of India’s luxury hotels, restaurants and richest families, who pay about US$6 per bottle, roughly a day’s wage for an Indian laborer. Millions of people worldwide don’t have clean water to drink, even though the United Nations deemed water a basic human right more than a decade ago.

Protesters call for inquiry into Kanesatake environmental crisis

Protesters call for inquiry into Kanesatake environmental crisis

The MP brandished a container of gray and opaque water in front of the journalists, demanding a Parliamentary commission concerning the alleged toxic discharges into a watercourse adjacent to the G&R Recycling site at the northwest end of Kanesatake. “If that’s water that we find on the ground in Kanesatake because of an illegal dump that is contaminated, no one wants to live in an environment like that,” the MP said.

Protesters call for inquiry into Kanesatake environmental crisis

Protesters call for inquiry into Kanesatake environmental crisis

A group that claims to speak on behalf of citizens of Kanesatake is calling for an independent commission of inquiry with the participation of the United Nations on the crisis in the Mohawk community of Kanesatake. NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice participated in a demonstration that brought together about 25 people in front of the office of the Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller Tuesday in Montreal. The MP brandished a container of gray and opaque water in front of the journalists, demanding a parliamentary commission concerning the alleged toxic discharges into a watercourse adjacent to the G&R Recycling site at the northwest end of Kanesatake.

Canada’s freshwater is our greatest asset; governments are failing to protect it

Canada’s freshwater is our greatest asset; governments are failing to protect it

In 2015, the world committed itself to 17 global goals that became known as the Sustainable Development Goals with the intent of serving as a “universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity,” according to the United Nations. Goal 6, which commits the world to ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation, has been in the headlines ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference which will launch the Water Action Agenda with commitments from countries across the globe to promote water security.

UM Delegation to attend UN 2023 Water Conference in New York

UM Delegation to attend UN 2023 Water Conference in New York

Access to clean and safe drinking water is an internationally recognized human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life. Yet, it is under immediate threat. Indigenous communities around the world have historically been excluded from many important decisions on water policy. There is now a growing global acknowledgement that Indigenous Peoples should play a significant role in decision-making about water-related policies.

Youth welcomed with ‘open arms’ to UN water conference

Youth welcomed with ‘open arms’ to UN water conference

The conference, set to take place in New York from March 22 to 24, is the first in almost 50 years solely devoted to creating a water action agenda. It aims to address the “alarmingly off-track” progress on water-related goals and targets that are “jeopardizing the entire sustainable development agenda,” the United Nations wrote on its website. The conference is a unique opportunity to solve the world’s water problems, said Dousse, 36. “The 21st century will be blue or there won't be any other centuries for the generations to come,” Dousse said.

UN to recognize glacier preservation in 2025 thanks to Canadian researchers

UN to recognize glacier preservation in 2025 thanks to Canadian researchers

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution to declare 2025 the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation — a concept Coldwater Lab director John Pomeroy says is rooted close to home in Canmore, Alta.  The declaration is something researchers in Canada hope will help wake up the world that it needs to change course. More than symbolic, it's a year when scientists will release findings and share climate models and projections linked to the disappearance of glaciers, and conferences will raise the profile of this issue. 

Iconic glaciers of Kilimanjaro, Yellowstone to disappear by 2050 due to global warming: UN

Iconic glaciers of Kilimanjaro, Yellowstone to disappear by 2050 due to global warming: UN

Some of the world's most famous glaciers, including in the Dolomites in Italy, the Yosemite and Yellowstone parks in the United States, and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are set to disappear by 2050 due to global warming — whatever the temperature rise scenario, according to a UNESCO report. UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, monitors some 18,600 glaciers across 50 of its World Heritage sites and said that glaciers in one-third of World Heritage sites will disappear by 2050 regardless of the applied climate scenario.

The UN just recognized access to a healthy environment is a universal human right. It’s time for Canada to take action

The UN just recognized access to a healthy environment is a universal human right. It’s time for Canada to take action

The authors are all professors at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. David Boyd is also the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment. The world’s future became a little bit brighter recently. On July 28, for the first time in history, the United Nations General Assembly recognized that everyone, everywhere, has a right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Now it’s time for Canada to step up and take action to ensure that right for all its citizens.

Here's how a young First Nations clean water activist is captivating global audiences

Here's how a young First Nations clean water activist is captivating global audiences

Seventeen-year-old Canadian indigenous rights activist and designated "water protector" Autumn Peltier is empowering young people to protect the environment. As the chief water commissioner for Anishinabek Nation, she has spent nearly half her life speaking about the importance of clean water to organizations including the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. Peltier, who grew up in Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Ontario's Manitoulin Island, first became aware of the need for water advocacy at just eight years old. When visiting a neighboring indigenous community, she discovered that they were unable to drink their tap water due to pollution. That kickstarted her career as an activist.

The importance of global water quality and access

The importance of global water quality and access

Clean drinking water is a critical component for sustainable development—from poverty reduction to economic growth and environmental sustainability. Currently, according to the United Nations (UN) there is a global water crisis affecting almost 2.2 billion people who lack access to safe water. To raise awareness of the crisis and support the global work advancing Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation the UN identified March 22 as World Water Day.

Q and A with the experts: Current and future challenges facing Canada’s groundwater supply

Q and A with the experts: Current and future challenges facing Canada’s groundwater supply

World Water Day, annually observed by the United Nations on March 22, celebrates water and raises awareness to the billions of people living without access to safe water. This year’s theme is groundwater: making the invisible visible. But what are the current and future challenges facing this natural resource in Canada? University of Waterloo’s Earth and environmental sciences professor and groundwater expert David Rudolph answers this and other questions.

Indigenous youth activist advocating for clean water for all Canadians

Indigenous youth activist advocating for clean water for all Canadians

After its acclaimed debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2020, The Water Walker, which followers the Anishinaabe Indigenous rights advocate Autumn Peltier on a journey to speak in front of the United Nations, has been picked up by HBO Canada and will be available to stream on Crave in April. At only 17, Peltier has over 100,000 Instagram followers and has spoken to prominent world leaders while advocating for safe and easy access to water as a fundamental human right.

A Canadian in Iceland: The country's first lady on how her adopted home is tackling climate change

A Canadian in Iceland: The country's first lady on how her adopted home is tackling climate change

But it's the wetlands and bird sanctuary, just a few metres away on the presidential estate, to which Reid and her husband, President Guðni Jóhannesson, draw the attention of a visiting CBC News crew. "We had ditches there," Jóhannesson said, pointing to a grassy area close to the shoreline. "They were dug in the 1930s to cultivate the land. Now, we are filling up those ditches [with water]. It's a case of wetland reclamation."

From degrees to drops: Putting water on COP26’s agenda

From degrees to drops: Putting water on COP26’s agenda

Water will be on every lunch and dinner menu at the upcoming international climate conference COP26 — but it won’t be on the agenda. That’s not for lack of effort at Copenhagen in 2009, Lima in 2010 or Paris in 2015, where a separate “Paris Pact” addressing water was not formally adopted. Even events hosted by the UN, which formally recognized water as a human right in 2010, tacitly treat water as a commodity. Between droughts, floods, and fires, it should be clear this is not enough. Not only should we measure the changing surface temperature of our planet in degrees, we must count every drop.

UN report warns climate change could spell global water crisis

UN report warns climate change could spell global water crisis

Much of the world is unprepared for the floods, hurricanes and droughts expected to worsen with climate change and urgently needs better warning systems to avert water-related disasters, according to a report by the United Nations' weather agency. Global water management is “fragmented and inadequate,” the report published Tuesday found, with nearly 60% of 101 countries surveyed needing improved forecasting systems that can help prevent devastation from severe weather.

Canada falling short on sustainable development goals

Canada falling short on sustainable development goals

Lack of access to safe water is not just a so-called Third World problem. In fact, many First Nations communities in Canada do not have access to safe water. Is Canada failing Indigenous communities when it comes to SDG 6? “I guess it’s more of personal opinion, but yes, I feel there is a long way to go in Canada to achieve SDG 6,” Julie Truelove, head of program development and advocacy at WaterAid Canada, replied. And she emphasized that the SDGs apply to every country in the world, including Canada.

'Hope is not a plan': Northerners call for action after harrowing UN climate report

'Hope is not a plan': Northerners call for action after harrowing UN climate report

Arctic lands and water aren't what they used to be. Redfern says conditions are less predictable. Annual freeze-ups are happening later, and breakups earlier. Places where ice was once frozen solid are now more precarious. All this is a grim reminder that the consequences of climate change are being felt right now. On Monday, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a harrowing assessment of the planet's present and future climate.

What is the truth?

What is the truth?

Sometimes, perhaps like you, I wonder what really is the truth behind some stories. Here are some of the things that puzzle me today…and I wonder what is the truth. 73 per cent of First Nations’ water systems are at high or medium risk of contamination. In 2010, the United Nations declared that water and sanitation were basic human rights, acknowledging they are essential to the realization of all other human rights. But if we can build oil lines going through Indigenous land, why can’t we bring water lines to those lands? What is the truth?

Seeking sustainable solutions for the global challenge of safe drinking water

Seeking sustainable solutions for the global challenge of safe drinking water

Lead is not the only danger when it comes to drinking water - harmful bacteria can also find their way into the water we consume despite treatment prior to distribution. In the face of water scarcity and aging infrastructure, there is a need for innovative, affordable, and portable solutions to sustainably provide safe drinking water across the globe. Engineering researchers from the University of Pittsburgh will use a $500K CAREER award from the National Science Foundation to create a sustainable material design framework to mitigate pathogen exposure in this invaluable resource.