Information package from the IRC International Water and Saniation Centre:
"Water is Life. Yet this precious resource is widely mismanaged. Unless we
change our ways of managing water we will face serious crises in the near
future".
These are the words of Ismail Serageldin, Chairman of the World Water
Commission, Vice President of the World Bank, and Chairman of the Global
Water Partnership (GWP). GWP is developing the Framework of Action that aims
to implement the World Water Vision at regional, national and global levels.
From 17 - 22 March thousands of participants and representatives of 140
countries will launch actions to translation vision into action during the
second Wold Water Forum and Ministerial Conference in the Netherlands.
The key elements of the Vision address basic issues such as:
- the right to water and sanitation;
- the challenging concept of more crops and jobs per drop;
- the essential water services provided by natural ecosystems;
- the risk of floods and droughts;
- the need for international co-operation and governance;
- to better address water issues.
In Towards Water Security: A Framework for Action the GWP summarizes the
following themes for action arising from the extensive Vision consultation
process:
- Making water governance effective:
The water crisis is mainly a crisis of
governance. Working towards effective water governance requires an enabling
environment that establishes appropriate institutional structures, which
allow stakeholders to work together for effective water management.
Financial practices must be realigned to support the sustainable use of
water resources.
- Generating water wisdom:
Water wisdom means applying all useful experience
and knowledge in pursuit of sustainable water resources management and use
and raising awareness of its importance. Innovative solutions are of
critical importance, particularly technical innovation as proposed in the
Commissioner's report. Water wisdom embraces concepts from many disciplines
in developing a globally accepted comprehensive and holistic approach to
water.
- Tackling urgent water priorities:
Five priority areas, common to much of the
world, emerged from the regional meetings These are: protecting and
restoring water resources, achieving water-food security, extending
sanitation coverage, meeting the challenge of urbanisation and improving
flood management. From these, sub-regions and countries will identify their
own urgent needs.
- Investing for the water future:
The various investor groups - domestic and
international; individual and institutional - will be called upon to play
their part in financing a secure water future. New sources of investment
must be developed.
The Themes for Action are intended to reflect issues arising from the
extensive Vision consultation process. As such they are not prescriptive;
from them, international, national and local stakeholders can choose a mix
tailored to their particular circumstances, existing resources, and needs.
VISION 21, Water for People concludes with the introduction of a Framework
for Mobilisation of Action. This places community and country action at the
centre - to prepare their own Vision and develop an action programme to
achieve it. The Framework aims to assist people at community, country,
regional and global levels to identify areas for action, to enlist the
commitment of national governments and their partners to take up the
challenge, to mobilise the global community to support the development of
country Visions and their subsequent achievement, and to provide supporting
tools.
Say "YES" Minister
Three affirmative decisions by Ministers present in The Hague, but also in
your capital city can make March 22, 2000 World Day for Water, a crucial day
for three billion of the world's most deprived people. They are the ones who
presently live their lives in squalor and misery, without access to any
proper means of hygienic personal sanitation.
Decision 1 - Say "YES" Minister
Confirm that access to affordable water and sanitation services and hygienic awareness is a basic human right.
Decision 2- Say "Yes" Minister
Encourage and enable local communities, local NGOs, local community
organizations, local entrepreneurs and enlightened local governments to work
in partnership to plan, initiate and manage improved water and sanitation
systems and hygiene education programmes.
Decision 3- Say 'Yes" Minister
Put water, sanitation and hygiene improvement programmes at the core of
human development and poverty alleviation.
IRC and its partners will assist implementation of this vision action in the
near future in four areas:
1. assisting further resource centre development, local learning and
capacity building through the Streams of Knowledge Global Coalition of
resource centres from improved water and sanitation that will be launched in
the Hague (see www.irc.nl/stream/index.html);
2. gender assessment work with partners a.) in follow up of the networking
done with many partners to mainstream gender in the Vision discussions and
documents and b.) in collaboration with the UNDP/World Bank's Global
Initiative on Gender and Participation;
3. on school sanitation and hygiene education two new projects with UNICEF
and local partners are starting: a new global programme in six countries
(Burkina Faso, Colombia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Vietnam and Zambia) and a
concrete support to development of a SSHE programme in India;
4. strengthening information and knowledge sharing to enhance efficiency in
water and sanitation programmes by using innovative electronic means and
enhancing information outlets and access to electronic networks in the
South.
On 22 March UNESCO is organizing the global World Water Day ceremony at the
end of the Second World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference in The Hague.
Check for more information:
- For the message of UNESCO: www.unesco.org/science/waterday2000.
- IRC' s World Water Day web site:
www.irc.nl/products/advocacy/wwd/index.html
Dick de Jong
Public Information/Advocacy Manager
IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre
P.O. Box 2869,2601 CW Delft,The Netherlands
mailto:jong@irc.nl
