elcome to the first of what we are sure will be the coolest enviro-magazine on the globe, packed with facts, fun and thought-provoking ideas.

It has been christened Tunza, which is the same name as UNEP’s new young person’s initiative. Why Tunza?

Well, UNEP is headquartered in Kenya, East Africa, where Kiswahili is the regional language. So we wanted a dynamic, trendy-sounding name that says something about you and something about us.

Tunza means ‘to treat with care and affection’. So all in all it seemed the right name, with the right message which will guarantee we are right on track.

2003 is the International Year of Freshwater. Tunza is being launched to coincide with the annual World Environment Day whose theme is Water: Two Billion People are Dying for It!!

It doesn’t matter where you look. Water is the top environment, health, agricultural, security issue of the 21st century. Disease-ridden water daily claims the lives of 6 000 – mainly children, mainly in developing countries. It is the equivalent of a quarter of a big city like London being wiped out every year. Try out the maths yourself on your own village, town or city. It is scary stuff.

Meanwhile the world is going to have to get used to a new word - hydro-diplomacy - so as to avoid squabbles that could boil over into conflict over increasingly scarce water resources.

We hope this first issue of Tunza wins your vote. The plan is to have up to four editions a year. The magazine is ‘what it says on the tin’. For young people, by young people and about young people.

We look forward to your feedback. If we are ever boring, if something is rubbish, let us know. If we are getting it right, let us know too. Your views, your questions on the environment, are what will make Tunza tick.