Speech by His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange at the Second World Water Forum, Closing Session. The Hague, March 22, 2000
Today is World Water Day. Today five thousand children will die because their drinking water was not safe.
Today is World Water Day. Today hundreds of millions of women will spend several hours carrying water for their families.
Today is World Water Day. Today we may loose another species of aquatic life as a result of human pressure on the water resources of Planet Earth.
As a patron of the Global Water Partnership, I acknowledge the major role it can play in implementing the results of this 2nd World Water Forum. My fellow patron, Kader Asmal - who has just been announced as the winner of the 2000 Stockholm Water Prize - and I agreed that with the Framework For Action the GWP has gotten the opportunity to show the world that it can provide added value. But also that it must become more participatory and managed in an accountable and transparent manner.
The second World Water Forum has achieved a major goal: it has created awareness of the looming water crisis and put water high onto the political agenda. But I still have the feeling that outside this building people think that the only thing we are discussing is drinking water. Let us make it very clear that this is a money, not a water, issue. It needs targeted involvement of communities, governments and the private sector. The availability of water on our planet that is not the determining factor to provide the remaining people with access to safe and sufficient drinking water. It is for food production that our water resources may become the limiting factor.
I would like to take you on an imaginary exercise and try to develop a map of the world without subsidies to agriculture and other water uses in the North or the South. A world without any subsidies, be it low tariffs on diesel oil to pump and deplete fragile groundwater resources, or any other visible or invisible subsidy. What would such a world be like? It could lead to a massive redistribution of agricultural activities. It might lead to a far more equitable sharing of the world's income and resources. It may have many other unforeseen impacts. Maybe this could be a subject for the third World Water Forum?
I would like to thank the World Water Council for inviting me to chair the Forum. When I accepted this honor I did not foresee how much satisfaction and excitement it would bring to me.
The concept of the World Water Forum was conceived at Marrakech and has reached adolescence here at the Hague. A stage of life in which the character is clearly visible and able to deliver a constructive contribution. I have enjoyed this challenging work tremendously. This is largely due to the enthusiasm and dedication to the cause that has been displayed this week by all participants. As chair of the Forum the best complaints I received this week were from Forum participants that were exhausted from running from one interesting session to another!
The fact that we already know where we will meet again in 3 years indicates that the adolescent has a bright future to grow into full-blown adulthood. In fact, as an IOC member I know what it means to have many candidates to host the Olympics. I hope that one day a similar line-up of candidates will compete for the next World Water Fora!
As Chair of the Forum I think I speak on behalf of all participants when I turn to the organisers and the staff. The many people that worked behind the scenes, in the Fair and on the podia. The many artists that were an element in this Forum that reminded us constantly of the many forms, faces and values of water. All these workers in front and behind the scenes.
I salute you, and thank you all.