World Water Development Report 2009

Water in a Changing World

The Third edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR3), “Water in a Changing World” was officially launched on March 16, 2009 at the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.

The WWDR3 builds on the work of previous studies, including the two previous WWDRs, “Water for People, Water for Life” (WWDR1), presented at the 3rd World Water Forum in Japan in 2003, and “Water: A Shared Responsibility” (WWDR2), presented in 2006 at the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico.

However, the third edition of the Report presents several changes from the previous two editions. Unlike the earlier Reports which were structured along UN agency lines, the third Report has a new, holistic format. A number of themes are addressed through out the report, including climate change, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), groundwater, biodiversity, water and migration, water and infrastructure, biofuels, etc.