Report to the World Water Forum
The way forward
In this concluding session I am reporting back to you on my interaction with the Ministerial Conference on your behalf. My two reports have been made available to you so I will not repeat their content. From my contacts with the Ministerial Conference I am certain that the Ministers are taking your points very seriously and that there is hope that they will be at least partly adopted.
Report to the World Water Forum
The way forward
In this concluding session I am reporting back to you on my interaction with the Ministerial Conference on your behalf. My two reports have been made available to you so I will not repeat their content. From my contacts with the Ministerial Conference I am certain that the Ministers are taking your points very seriously and that there is hope that they will be at least partly adopted.
There has been a certain amount of confusion concerning the role of the Commission report and the Vision report. My conclusion is that it shows clearly how important it is for all concerned that once a process has been started on an open transparent and participatory basis, this approach should be continued consistently to the very end.
I will now share with you what I see as the key achievements of this Forum and a possible way forward.
With four and a half thousand colleagues, I have participated in the largest international water policy gathering in history. As one of the organisers I have also told the Ministerial Conference that I was proud to report the active participation by women's groups, young people, NGOs, trade unions, and business executives.
Has the Forum made a difference? Was it worth spending millions? Has it advanced the water movement ? Let us reflect on that for a moment.
You may have heard that the NGO platform has recommended to the Ministerial Conference to essentially reject the Vision and Framework for Action reports and the draft Ministerial Declaration because they found the process not participatory and the content not acceptable. While I have some doubts whether all NGOs share this opinion and whether their criticisms are really justified, we accept their position.
We also could have written a "traditional Vision", based on expert knowledge. We might not have had any participation - nor protests. Would that have been useful? No, such a Vision would have had little or no impact. Just more paper on the shelves.
In a way I am therefore happy that there are these protests. I do know that hundreds of organisations and thousands of individuals have actively participated. As a result, now, hundreds of others feel left out - and would have liked to be involved. That is great. Please do join the next steps, because this campaign is far from over! I know that some NGOs have complained that they were not really involved in the design of the Vision exercise in an early stage. That is true. But you have to start somewhere.
I am satisfied that we have made a good start involving many non-traditional groups. And I am one hundred percent convinced that the participation that did take place was taken seriously and had an impact. Participants from regions where water is scarce - such as the Middle East, the Nile Basin and Southern Africa - showed here how they managed to turn water into a source for increased cooperation. I call on you to rise to the occasion, look forward and commit to cooperation in constructive dialogue mode. I think this was started during the preparation of the Vision and was strongly confirmed here during the Forum.
In the same spirit I am pleased to tell you that the Global Water Partnership will produce a supplement to the Framework for Action. This is intended to reflect the discussions at the Forum and embrace a broader cross-section of stakeholder views, through consultations involving NGOs, trade unions and sector Vision representatives. It will focus on actions required at regional and national levels.
Everybody has had a chance to say at the Forum what he or she wanted. After the opening session there were several good sessions on dams. The session organised by the World Commission on Dams, for instance, brought together participants from across the Spectrum. This included the International Rivers Network that has issued several scathing press releases. I was therefore very pleased to read in the report that the International Rivers Network participated and expressed their appreciation of the open and inclusive process of the World Commission on Dams. I conclude that there is hope - even for such a controversial issue.
So, have we made an impact? Have we put water on the political agenda? Have we increased the public awareness of the water crisis? I dare say, yes!, yes! and yes!
We have also heard of commitments:
- The Netherlands government committed to doubling the investments in the water sector through international cooperation; to support a major initiative related to water for food; and establish a UNESCO Institute for Water Education in Delft.
- The UK government has pledged to increase its focus on water in the next three years.
- The CEO of the Global Environment Facility announced a doubling of the water-related budget.
- The local governments session pledged to set up a water-cities network and report their progress to the Third World Water Forum.
- A group of organisations pledged to form a Water and Gender Alliance.
- Through the campaign of getting individuals to fill out their personal pledges on the "make a wave" forms - a start was made to get people to think about their own contributions as well as those of governments.
A noted environmentalist from India said: You certainly have not reached everybody yet. Making water everybody's business will be long and hard work. But the Vision has certainly ended the notion that water is the business of governments and water professionals alone. That is an important accomplishment.
Personally I feel proud to have been involved in the endeavour from Vision to Action and I think you, as participants, can be proud too.
The Vision was a stone in the pond that created little ripples. We are now ready to start making a wave! I call on all of you, when you go home after this exciting Forum, to become ambassadors. To make water everybody's business! As my personal contribution to making the wave I pledge to be one of those ambassadors!