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1. Water is vital for the life and health of people and
ecosystems and a basic requirement for the development
of countries, but around the world women, men and children
lack access to adequate and safe water to meet their most
basic needs. Water resources, and the related ecosystems
that provide and sustain them, are under threat from pollution,
unsustainable use, land-use changes, climate change and
many other forces. The link between these threats and
poverty is clear, for it is the poor who are hit first
and hardest. This leads to one simple conclusion: business
as usual is not an option. There is, of course, a huge
diversity of needs and situations around the globe, but
together we have one common goal: to provide water
security in the 21st Century. This means ensuring
that freshwater, coastal and related ecosystems are protected
and improved; that sustainable development and political
stability are promoted, that every person has access to
enough safe water at an affordable cost to lead a healthy
and productive life and that the vulnerable are protected
from the risks of water-related hazards. |
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2.
These threats are not new. Nor are attempts to address
them. Discussions and actions started in Mar del Plata
in 1977, continued through Dublin and were consolidated
into Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 in Rio in 1992. They were
reaffirmed in Paris 1998, CSD-6 and in the Second World
Water Forum and Ministerial Conference. The process will
continue in the meeting in Bonn in 2002 ("Dublin+10"),
through the 10-year review of implementation of Agenda
21, and beyond. These and other international meetings
have produced a number of agreements and principles that
are the basis upon which this and future statements should
be built. The goal of providing water security in the
21st Century is reflected in the unprecedented process
of broad participation and discussion by experts, stakeholders
and government officials in many regions of the world.
This process has profited from the important contributions
of the World Water Council, who launched the World Water
Vision process at the First World Water Forum in Marrakech,
from the formation of the World Commission on Water in
the 21st Century and from the development of the Framework
for Action by the Global Water Partnership.
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| The
Main Challenges |
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3.To
achieve water security, we face the following main challenges:
Meeting basic needs: to recognise that access to
safe and sufficient water and sanitation are basic human
needs and are essential to health and well-being, and
to empower people, especially women, through a participatory
process of water management.
Securing the food supply: to enhance food security,
particularly of the poor and vulnerable, through the more
efficient mobilisation and use, and the more equitable
allocation of water for food production.
Protecting ecosystems: to ensure the integrity
of ecosystems through sustainable water resources management
Sharing water resources: to promote peaceful co-operation
and develop synergies between different uses of water
at all levels, whenever possible, within and, in the case
of boundary and trans-boundary water resources, between
states concerned, through sustainable river basin management
or other appropriate approaches.
Managing risks: to provide security from floods,
droughts, pollution and other water-related hazards.
Valuing water: to manage water in a way that reflects
its economic, social, environmental and cultural values
for all its uses, and to move towards pricing water services
to reflect the cost of their provision. This approach
should take account of the need for equity and the basic
needs of the poor and the vulnerable.
Governing water wisely: to ensure good governance,
so that the involvement of the public and the interests
of all stakeholders are included in the management of
water resources.
Meeting the Challenges |
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| 4.
We, the Ministers and Heads of Delegation, recognise that
our gathering and this Declaration are part of a wider
process, and are linked to a wide range of initiatives
at all levels. We acknowledge the pivotal role that governments
play in realising actions to meet the challenges. We recognise
the need for institutional, technological and financial
innovations in order to move beyond "business as
usual" and we resolve to rise to meet these challenges. |
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| 5.
The actions advocated here are based on integrated
water resources management, that includes the planning
and management of water resources, both conventional and
non-conventional, and land. This takes account of social,
economic and environmental factors and integrates surface
water, groundwater and the ecosystems through which they
flow. It recognises the importance of water quality issues.
In this, special attention should be paid to the poor,
to the role, skills and needs of women and to vulnerable
areas such as small island states, landlocked countries
and desertified areas |
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| 6.
Integrated water resources management depends on collaboration
and partnerships at all levels, from individual citizens
to international organisations, based on a political commitment
to, and wider societal awareness of, the need for water
security and the sustainable management of water resources.
To achieve integrated water resources management, there
is a need for coherent national and, where appropriate,
regional and international policies to overcome fragmentation,
and for transparent and accountable institutions at all
levels. |
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7.
We will further advance the process of collaboration in
order to turn agreed principles into action, based on
partnerships and synergies among the government, citizens
and other stakeholders. To this end:
A. We will establish targets and strategies, as appropriate,
to meet the challenges of achieving water security. As
part of this effort, we support the development of indicators
of progress at the national and sub-national level. In
carrying this forward, we will take account of the valuable
work done for the Second World Water Forum.
B. We will continue to support the UN system to re-assess
periodically the state of freshwater resources and related
ecosystems, to assist countries, where appropriate, to
develop systems to measure progress towards the realisation
of targets and to report in the biennial World Water Development
Report as part of the overall monitoring of Agenda 21.
C. We will work together with other stakeholders to develop
a stronger water culture through greater awareness and
commitment. We will identify best practices, based on
enhanced research and knowledge generation capacities,
knowledge dissemination through education and other channels
and knowledge sharing between individuals, institutions
and societies at all appropriate levels. This will include
co-ordination at regional and other levels, as appropriate,
to promote arrangements for coping with water-related
disasters and for sharing experiences in water sector
reform. It will also include international co-operation
in technology transfers to, and capacity building in,
developing countries.
D. We will work together with stakeholders to increase
the effectiveness of pollution control strategies based
on polluter pays principles and to consider appropriate
rules and procedures in the fields of liability and compensation
for damage resulting from activities dangerous to water
resources.
E. Against the background of the preparatory work for
and discussions in The Hague, we will work within multilateral
institutions, particularly the UN system, International
Financial Institutions and bodies established by Inter-Governmental
Treaties, to strengthen water-related policies and programmes
that enhance water security, and to assist countries,
as appropriate, to address the major challenges identified
in this Declaration.
F. We call upon the Secretary General of the United Nations
to further strengthen the co-ordination and coherence
of activities on water issues within the UN system. We
will adopt consistent positions in the respective governing
bodies to enhance coherence in these activities.
G. We call upon the Council of the Global Environmental
Facility (GEF) to expand activities that are within the
mandate of the GEF in relation to freshwater resources
by catalysing investments in national water management
issues that have a beneficial impact on international
waters.
H. We welcome the contribution of the World Water Council
in relation to the Vision and of the Global Water Partnership
with respect to the development of the Framework for Action.
We welcome follow-up actions by all relevant actors in
an open, participatory and transparent manner that draws
upon all major groups in society.
I. We note the statements (attached to this declaration)
made by the representatives of the major groups and welcome
them as a clear reflection of their readiness to work
with us towards a secure water future for all. |
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| 8.
Recognising that the actions referred to in paragraph
7, including progress on targets and strategies, are important
and ambitious, we will review our progress periodically
at appropriate fora, including the meeting in Bonn in
2002 and the 10-year review of the implementation of |
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| Agenda
21. |
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| 9.
The Ministerial Conference acknowledges with appreciation
that a range of issues were discussed during the Second
World Water Forum, and that the Chair of the Forum presented
these issues to the Ministerial Conference. The importance
of these issues is unquestionable; we will raise them
for further consideration in relevant fora in the future
and will consider their implications for our individual
national situations. |
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| 10.
The challenges are formidable, but so are the opportunities.
There are many experiences around the world that can be
built on. What is needed is for us all to work together,
to develop collaboration and partnerships, to build a
secure and sustainable water future. We will, individually
and acting together, strive to achieve this and stimulate
and facilitate the contributions of society as a whole.
To this end, we note with appreciation that pledges were
made at The Hague (attached to our declaration). This
Declaration reflects the determination of our governments
and represents a critical step in the process of providing
water security for all. |
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| 11.
We, the Ministers and Heads of Delegation, thank the government
and people of The Netherlands for their vision and for
their hospitality in hosting this conference and forum.
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Agreed to on Wednesday 22 March, 2000,
In The Hague, The Netherlands.
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