Forum Moves Water Higher Up Global Priority List

ISTANBUL, Turkey, March 18, 2009 (ENS) – Climate change, financial turmoil, energy supplies, biodiversity loss, food scarcity - all are competing for the attention of world leaders, but this week the focus is on the one resource essential for life - water. Participants from 192 countries are in Istanbul for the world's largest water event, the World Water Forum, which drew three princes, three presidents, five prime ministers, over 90 ministers, 63 mayors and more than 23,000 attendees.

Conflict over scarce shared water resources is increasingly likely as the planet's population grows and freshwater resources shrink, the International Union for Conservation of Nature told Forum delegates today.

But the world's largest environmental group advised that better cooperation over shared rivers can help governments avoid water crises.

"We cannot understate the importance of water for life on this planet; it's as necessary as the air we breathe," says Julia Marton Lefevre, IUCN's director general. "Governments must realize that river basins, not national borders, are the boundaries around which effective water management must be drawn."

"We have alternatives to oil but there is no alternative to water," said Marton-Lefevre. "During these times of financial crisis we cannot lose sight of the fundamental economic importance of water for life and commerce."

Waters from the Beas River in the Indian state of Punjab are allocated to India under the Indus Waters Treaty between India and Pakistan. (Photo by Randoment)

Rivers shared by neighboring countries provide an estimated 60 percent of the world's freshwater. There are 260 international river basins in the world, which cover nearly half of the Earth's surface and are home to 40 percent of the world's population.

Traditionally, the focus in negotiations over shared rivers has been the apportioning of water. Once the water is divided, each country tries to optimize management within its borders rather than across the shared basin. Yet, the new IUCN report released ahead of World Water Day on March 22, advocates that the focus should be not on the volume of water parceled out between competing consumers, but on basin-wide benefit sharing.

"The problem with shared rivers is that if nations don't cooperate; they can all end up trying to use the same water more than once," says Mark Smith, head of IUCN's Water Program. "When they do, the environment loses out on the water it needs, and development fails while tensions rise. Cooperation on rivers means the reverse; the benefits of a healthy environment and development can be shared, while promoting peace."

"A clear message is needed from governments in Istanbul as water users will only share water cooperatively when they believe it's their best option," said Marton Lefevre.

Held once every three years, the 5th World Water Forum will issue a ministerial declaration when it concludes on March 22.

From left: UN Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang; Prince of Orange Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands; the Crown Prince of Japan Naruhito Kotaishi at the World Water Forum (Photo courtesy Earth Negotiations Bulletin)

Crown Prince of Japan Naruhito Kotaishi, Prime Minister of Morocco Abbas Al Fassi, United Nations Assistant Secretary General Sha Zukang, the President of the World Water Council Loic Fauchon, Prince Albert II of Monaco, William Alexander of Orange and Turkish President Abdullah Gul are among the high profile participants.

On Tuesday, delegates heard a keynote address by Prince Naruhito, who said that water has the ability "to unite civilizations." The prince called on the international community to prevent global warming as all water issues are affected by a rising planetary temperature.

In his speech, Fauchon underlined the importance of a holistic and united approach to water management by the international community. "We need to recognize that technical solutions are not enough to face global water challenges and we need political agreement and consensus among stakeholders," he said.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul told delegates, "Humanity has entered a new era of challenges. Water is no longer considered to be an issue of the environmentalists as it used to be in the near past. Now it is everybody's concern. In this critical age, water should be a bridging force for the nations of the world."

Noting that one billion people lack access to water and 2.4 billion lack access to sanitation, Zukang said it is a "moral imperative" to provide these services, which must be mainstreamed into negotiations on financing for development.

Angel Gurria of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, emphasized the need to encourage governments to incorporate water projects into fiscal stimulus packages.

A world Forum Places Water High on Global Priority List is posing a new category of risk to business that many have not even begun to appreciate, World Water Forum delegates were told today.

The global conservation organization WWF and the Pacific Institute, a U.S. water research group, warned that disruptions in supply and increases in price are increasingly frequent, but have not been factored into the calculations of many businesses.

"If you are an efficient business sitting in a poorly managed river basin you are still exposed to extremely high water risk," said Stuart Orr, freshwater manager at WWF International.

"The companies that will best shield themselves from the unexpected will be those that have assessed water requirements and risks in both their direct and indirect operations and in an integrated way with other emerging risk categories such as with climate and energy," said Jason Morrison, program director at the Pacific Institute.

A Nigerian boy enjoys a drink of clean water. (Photo by Edward Obi-Akpere)

Business involvement in improved water management can include advocacy and lobbying for better policies in company with civil society and communities, infrastructure and other partnerships with governments and water authorities, and financial support for infrastructure and capacity building, a key factor in the developing world.

The World Water Youth Forum today called for global collective action on water issues. As water stakeholders of the future, about 200 young people from around the world called for concerted action of governments, local authorities, civic groups and individuals to protect and conserve the essential resource.

Global water statistics show dirty water kills more children than war, malaria, HIV/AIDS and traffic accidents combined. Every eight seconds a child dies from drinking dirty water.

Some 100 representatives of people's movements, civil society organizations and concerned individuals from India condemned the arrest, deportation and repression of two protestors at the World Water Forum opening day on Monday.

Two activists from International Rivers were arrested, detained and deported for unfurling a banner reading "No Risky Dams" at the opening ceremony.

The police detained Payal Parekh and Ann-Kathrin Schneider, and held them at an Istanbul police station until Tuesday, when Payal was deported to the United States, and Schneider was deported to Germany. They have been banned from re-entering Turkey for two years.

In a joint statement released today the groups from India said, "We condemn the undemocratic nature of the World Water Forum and urge the World Water Council to respect and support the rights of all people to speak freely and protest peacefully."

"We call on the participants of the World Water Forum to embrace democratic, smarter and cleaner solutions and recognize Right to Water as a fundamental right and not to advance the agenda of privatization and commercialization, with huge social and environmental costs," the groups from India stated. They are demanding that the World Water Forum should not be organized by the World Water Council, but by the United Nations.

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