前几章阐述了若干重要挑战和问题，若要实现与水相关的国际商定的目标，这必须解决这些挑战和问题。以往在国际论坛中已经确认了大多数此种挑战和问题，但是，基于两个因素，必须再次对这些挑战和问题进行讨论。首先，获得饮水的问题在国际议程上已经居较高地位，目前已被认为是一项“基本人权”。第二，随着大会宣布2005～015年为国际“生命之水”行动十年，可持续发展委员会第十二届会议为国际社会进一步了解吸取的经验教训和促 进执行工作提供了重要机会。
提供安全饮水。为了防止每年许多人因与水有关的疾病而死亡和患病，为了减少贫穷和实现可持续发展，就必须增加获得安全饮水和卫生的机会。为了迎应这一挑战必须解决的最关键的问题包括：妥善确定补贴对象，确保赤贫者成为主要受益者，并且减少财政负担；制订价格结构——例如生命线定价——确保人人至少可以负担得起维持生活和健康所需的最低数量的用水；调动资源和扩大基础设施，进一步以农村和城市边远地区为重点，重视低成本的技术；改造现有的供水系统；促进私营部门参与提供可负担得起的服务，并对提供这种服务作出投资。必须改善当地施政以及定期运行和维护这些系统，从而维持这种服务。
扩大现有水资源的经济和社会利益。如何提高所有部门中水的生产率以及考虑到水在不同用途中的价值来分配数量极其有限的水，这对于促进可持续发展是一项重要的挑战。经验表明，在水的定价方面必须更多地收回成本，同时需要改善水的管理和施政机制。
提高水质。在许多国家和水域，尤其是在发展中国家，家庭废水、工业污水和农业排水造成的水污染现象日趋严重，对人的健康、生态系统和经济活动造成严重威胁。不断扩展的工业部门在采用清洁生产技术方面却止步不前，往往根本不存在废水处理设施或者这种设施不能运作。在许多国家中，实施现行法律和条例的政治意愿和积极性很薄弱。人们首先考虑的往往是污染管制行业的成本，而不是污染的社会成本的内在化。一般都没有足够的资源来定期对水质进行准确的监测。在大多数地方都刚刚开始试验采用经济手段来降低实现水质目标的成本。
实行水资源综合管理。供水部门面临的许多问题都是未切实执行水资源综合管理原则造成的。在可持续发展问题世界首脑会议上，各国同意在2005年底之间制订水资源综合管理和水效率计划，并向发展中国家提供支助，但是，执行这一目标需要在若干方面采取协调一致的行动。需要努力提高数据库和信息系统、包括水务核算系统的质量。体制结构不成体系，任务相互重叠，立法和政策框架不完整，这些都是妨碍水资源综合管理的重要因素。促进滨河国家之间开展对话，以便有效地管理和利用国际水域，这是同样重要的一项挑战。减少与水有关的灾害影响的行动计划应该成为国家规划进程中的优先事项。
提高农业用水的生产率。提供足够的水来生产粮食是一项严峻的考验，在缺少水的国家中尤其是如此。因此，必须大幅度提高生产率，这需要有鼓励在农业活动中节约用水的强有力的措施，并且提供投资更新现有的灌溉系统。农业必须能够减少用水，从而将水用于其他价值更高的用途，同时确保贫穷农民能够获得负担得起的用水。
保护生态系统。人们继续忽视维持宝贵的生态系统需要有大量高质量的水。机构改革和政策改革可以有助于改善这种状况，这种改革包括划定和鉴定负有保护生态系统职能的社区和机构的财产权，并且进一步制定和广泛应用对生态服务付费的概念。
调动财政资源。向可持续发展委员会提交的国家报告表明，缺少财政资源是妨碍实现水和卫生指标的主要因素。阻碍调动资源的主要原因如下：国内调动资源的政策不完备，对发展中国家的官方发展援助流动不足，缺少私营部门的投资。在国家一级、特别是联合国各机构通过完善的机制对捐赠者进行协调极为重要，可以促进采用低成本高收益的综合方式来满足会员国在实现与水有关的国际目标和指标方面的需要。
加强机构能力和技术能力。经验表明，长期的能力建设工作对于实现国际商定的目标具有重要作用。这需要增加预算拨款，包括来自国际捐赠者的资助。必须保持有效的监测和评估能力。此外，如果执行和实施能力比较薄弱，即便设计最完善的水务管理政策和方案也会失败。除了供水系统运作和维持等方面的技术训练之外，在设计切实有效的鼓励机制来促进实施水污染法律和条例方面，训练也十分重要。（全文完）
原文如下：
Continuing challenges
The preceding sections identify some important challenges and issues that need to be addressed to achieve the internationally agreed targets relating to water. Most of them have been recognized before in international forums, but two factors make it important to review them again. First, access to drinking water has moved higher on the international agenda and is now recognized as a “basic human right”. Secondly, with 2005-2015 declared by the General Assembly as the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, the twelfth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development provides an important opportunity for the international community to understand better the lessons learned and to impart a new impetus to implementation.
Providing access to safe drinking water. Increasing access to safe drinking water and sanitation is imperative to help prevent the large number of deaths and illnesses each year attributable to water-related diseases, to reduce poverty, and to achieve sustainable development. The most critical issues that need to be addressed to meet that challenge include: better targeting of subsidies to ensure that the very poor are the prime beneficiaries and to reduce the fiscal burden; devising tariff structures — e.g., lifeline rates — that ensure universal affordability of at least the minimum quantities needed to support life and health; mobilization of resources and expansion of infrastructure with more focus on rural and peri-urban areas and with an emphasis on low-cost technologies; rehabilitation of existing water systems; and promoting private sector participation and investment in the provision of affordable services. Access will have to be sustained through improved local governance and regular operation and maintenance (O&M) of the systems.
Maximizing economic and social benefits from available water resources.
Increased water productivity in all sectors and allocation of scarce water taking into ccount its value in different uses is an important challenge for promoting sustainable development. Experience suggests the need for greater cost recovery in water pricing, supported by improved water administration and governance mechanisms.
Improving water quality. In many countries and water basins, particularly in developing countries, water pollution from household wastewater, industrial effluent and agricultural runoff is on the rise, posing serious threats to human health, ecosystems, and economic activity. Growing industrial sectors have been lagging in introducing cleaner production technologies, and wastewater-treatment facilities are often absent or non-functional. The political will and incentives to enforce existing laws and regulations remain weak in many countries. Concerns over the costs to industry of pollution control often take precedence over the internalization of the social costs of pollution. Resources are generally inadequate for regular and accurate water-quality monitoring. Experimentation is only beginning in most places with the use of economic instruments to reduce the costs of achieving water-quality objectives.
Practising integrated water resources management. Many of the problems facing the water sector are due to poor implementation of the principles of integrated water resources management. While countries agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to prepare integrated water resources management and water efficiency plans by 2005, with support to developing countries, the implementation of that goal requires coordinated action on several fronts. Efforts are needed to improve the quality of databases and information systems, including water accounting systems. Fragmented institutional structures with overlapping mandates and inadequate legislative and policy frameworks are important impediments to integrated water resources management. An equally important challenge is to foster dialogue among riparian States for efficient management and utilization of international waters. Action plans to minimize the impact of water-related disasters deserve priority in national planning processes.
Improving agricultural water productivity. Providing enough water to produce food is an enormous challenge, especially in those countries where water is scarce. Therefore, substantial increases in productivity will have to be achieved, requiring both stronger incentives to water conservation in agriculture and investments in modernization of existing irrigation systems. Agriculture will have to be able to release water to other, high value uses while at the same time ensuring water accessibility and affordability to poor farmers.
Protecting ecosystems. There is continued neglect of water requirements for maintaining valuable ecosystems in terms of both quantity and quality. Institutional and policy reforms that could help to improve the situation include delineation and validation of property rights of communities and institutions charged with conserving ecosystem functions, together with the further development and wider application of the concept of payment for ecological services.
Mobilizing financial resources. The country reports submitted to the Commission on Sustainable Development indicate that lack of financial resources is a major impediment to achieving the water and sanitation targets. The main obstacles to mobilizing resources are: inadequate domestic resource mobilization policies, insufficient flow of ODA to developing countries, and lack of private sector investment. Donor coordination at the country level, especially among the United Nations agencies through a well-structured mechanism, will be critical to providing an integrated and cost-effective response to the needs of member States in implementing the international water-related goals and targets.
Strengthening institutional and technical capacities. Experience suggests that sustained capacity-building efforts will be critical to achieve the internationally agreed targets. That will require increased budgetary allocations, including support from international donors. Monitoring and assessment capacities need to be kept operational. Also, the best-designed water management policies and programmes fail when implementation and enforcement capacities are weak. Apart from technical training, for example in water supply system operation and maintenance, training would be useful in the design of effective incentive mechanisms to encourage enforcement of water pollution laws and regulations.
