The water forum ends with mixed conclusions
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 24, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The 5th World Water Forum, which started last week with the participation of 155 countries, ended on Sunday with mixed conclusions as the final declaration of the ministerial statement did not characterize water as a ’human right’ but instead stated it was a ’basic human need’.
While the 5th World Water Forum began in Istanbul last Monday with the aim of striving for clean water and sanitation around the globe and "bridging divides for water," the week’s events - especially the forum’s conclusion on Sunday - showed a significant divide in opinion.
Opening ceremonies featuring addresses by world leaders were dampened by hundreds of protesters from local and international NGOs demonstrating against the privatization of water, saying, "water is life, and cannot be sold." As hundreds of companies from all over the world presented services, products and other water-related projects at the forum’s water fair, activists criticized the exhibition as a mere "trade show."
The general chaos created by these events, and the record-breaking attendance from 155 countries, became more orderly toward the end of the week as shocking figures and statistics were released and the true scope and urgency of the world water crisis became recognized. Reports released at forum conferences noted that 8 million annual deaths worldwide are attributable to water shortages, and that 1.1 billion people around the globe have no access to water.
Fast and effective solutions
With 25,000 policymakers, water specialists and grassroots workers in attendance - including representatives from three tiers of political power, national governments, local authorities and parliaments - the common interest in finding fast and effective solutions was addressed on both vast and detailed scales. "Water is not enough of a political issue," said Daniel Zimmer, associate general of the World Water Council, the event’s chief organizing body. "One of the targets is to make politicians understand that water should be higher up on the domestic agenda to insure welfare, stability and health of their populations."
The global financial crisis will have effects on large-scale infrastructure projects and - the World Bank announced - could set back the development of water utilities by a decade. Speaking at the Istanbul forum, the World Bank’s director of energy, water and transport said water utilities worldwide would have to boost efficiency to convince cash-strapped governments that they are a sound investment. On a more positive note, the World Health Organization, or WHO, said projects for providing clean water provide a high return on investment, reporting that every $1 spent on water and sanitation can bring economic benefits averaging between $7 and $12. Moreover, the WHO said healthcare agencies could save up to $7 billion a year while employers gain 320 million productive days. Such investments would also result in an additional 272 million school attendees annually and 1.5 billion more healthy days for children under the age of 5. The divisions of opinion at the forum were especially made apparent on the final day of the forum where ministers failed to reach a joint consensus. The 5th World Water Forum ended Sunday, on World Water Day, with the general consensus that every day should be a water day where people are made aware of the alarming facts forecast by the United Nations. The UN predicts that the number of people without water will rise to rise by 2.5 billion by 2050. However, the concluding Ministerial Statement published that same day after a three-day meeting did not declare water as a human right - terminology opposed by Brazil, Egypt and the United States - instead recognizing it as a basic human need.
"We acknowledge the discussions with the U.N. system regarding human rights and access to safe drinking water and sanitation," the statement read. "We recognize that access to safe drinking water and sanitation is a basic human need."
Water ’a human right’
Some countries on the other side of the debate signed a separate document recognizing water as a "human right" and asking for future water forums to be organized by the United Nations, not by a private institution like the World Water Council.
The topic of water as a human right was much debated throughout the course of the week. A three-day Alternative Water Forum held at Bilgi University’s SantralIstanbul campus was the main stage for defending water as a basic right for all human beings. Water activists hosted workshops, seminars and lectures as part of their campaign against the privatization and commoditization of water.
The Ministerial Statement also declared that the world is facing rapid and unprecedented global changes - including population growth, migration, urbanization, climate change, desertification, drought, degradation and land-use changes - and set out recommendations, including greater cooperation to ease disputes over water and address floods, better management of resources and the curbing of pollution in rivers, lakes and aquifers. James Leape from the World Wildlife Fund, criticized the declaration, saying, "The water crisis is obviously a problem of water management, but the ministerial declaration flowing from the World Water Forum is more a collection of platitudes than a plan for action."
Opening ceremonies featuring addresses by world leaders were dampened by hundreds of protesters from local and international NGOs demonstrating against the privatization of water, saying, "water is life, and cannot be sold." As hundreds of companies from all over the world presented services, products and other water-related projects at the forum’s water fair, activists criticized the exhibition as a mere "trade show."
The general chaos created by these events, and the record-breaking attendance from 155 countries, became more orderly toward the end of the week as shocking figures and statistics were released and the true scope and urgency of the world water crisis became recognized. Reports released at forum conferences noted that 8 million annual deaths worldwide are attributable to water shortages, and that 1.1 billion people around the globe have no access to water.
Fast and effective solutions
With 25,000 policymakers, water specialists and grassroots workers in attendance - including representatives from three tiers of political power, national governments, local authorities and parliaments - the common interest in finding fast and effective solutions was addressed on both vast and detailed scales. "Water is not enough of a political issue," said Daniel Zimmer, associate general of the World Water Council, the event’s chief organizing body. "One of the targets is to make politicians understand that water should be higher up on the domestic agenda to insure welfare, stability and health of their populations."
The global financial crisis will have effects on large-scale infrastructure projects and - the World Bank announced - could set back the development of water utilities by a decade. Speaking at the Istanbul forum, the World Bank’s director of energy, water and transport said water utilities worldwide would have to boost efficiency to convince cash-strapped governments that they are a sound investment. On a more positive note, the World Health Organization, or WHO, said projects for providing clean water provide a high return on investment, reporting that every $1 spent on water and sanitation can bring economic benefits averaging between $7 and $12. Moreover, the WHO said healthcare agencies could save up to $7 billion a year while employers gain 320 million productive days. Such investments would also result in an additional 272 million school attendees annually and 1.5 billion more healthy days for children under the age of 5. The divisions of opinion at the forum were especially made apparent on the final day of the forum where ministers failed to reach a joint consensus. The 5th World Water Forum ended Sunday, on World Water Day, with the general consensus that every day should be a water day where people are made aware of the alarming facts forecast by the United Nations. The UN predicts that the number of people without water will rise to rise by 2.5 billion by 2050. However, the concluding Ministerial Statement published that same day after a three-day meeting did not declare water as a human right - terminology opposed by Brazil, Egypt and the United States - instead recognizing it as a basic human need.
"We acknowledge the discussions with the U.N. system regarding human rights and access to safe drinking water and sanitation," the statement read. "We recognize that access to safe drinking water and sanitation is a basic human need."
Water ’a human right’
Some countries on the other side of the debate signed a separate document recognizing water as a "human right" and asking for future water forums to be organized by the United Nations, not by a private institution like the World Water Council.
The topic of water as a human right was much debated throughout the course of the week. A three-day Alternative Water Forum held at Bilgi University’s SantralIstanbul campus was the main stage for defending water as a basic right for all human beings. Water activists hosted workshops, seminars and lectures as part of their campaign against the privatization and commoditization of water.
The Ministerial Statement also declared that the world is facing rapid and unprecedented global changes - including population growth, migration, urbanization, climate change, desertification, drought, degradation and land-use changes - and set out recommendations, including greater cooperation to ease disputes over water and address floods, better management of resources and the curbing of pollution in rivers, lakes and aquifers. James Leape from the World Wildlife Fund, criticized the declaration, saying, "The water crisis is obviously a problem of water management, but the ministerial declaration flowing from the World Water Forum is more a collection of platitudes than a plan for action."