Water Quality Monitoring by UNEP

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Water Quality Monitoring by UNEP

UNEP and Brazilian National Water Agency Team up to Foster Monitoring of Water Quality in Brazil and Other Developing Countries

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Brazilian National Water Agency (ANA) have signed a memorandum of understanding for the agency to host a regional center for water quality monitoring. ANA will become the national focal point for the Global Environment Monitoring System for Water (GEMS-Water), and also interact with other nations from Latin America and the Caribbean and from the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP).

The document was signed in July in São Paulo during a visit by the UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner to Brazil, and the President of ANA, Vicente Andreu. The UNEP Representative in Brazil, Denise Hamú, also participated in the meeting.

The GEMS-Water programme hosts a global network for water monitoring with more than 4,000 stations. Established in 1977, the network offers more than 4 million records collected in more than 100 countries, available on the internet for research centers, governments and other organizations.

"The efficient management of water resources and regional collaboration initiatives between developing countries, such as the ANA-GEMS-Water partnership, are key steps to ensure the sustainable use of water and protect this vital resource," said Mr. Steiner.

"Water, sanitation, and the related infrastructure are critical to economic development. Today, this challenge is compounded by the impacts of climate change on water resources, including increased water scarcity and damage to the infrastructure we use to transport and deliver water. All of this underscores the need to promote sound governance approaches and adaptive water institutions, including through South-South cooperation," he added.

Source: UNEP

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