5Th World Water Forum in Istanbul”
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No.35 – May 2008 World Water Council WWC News Update Editorial The catastrophe from which Burma is still reeling inspires feelings of both sadness and regret. Sadness for the death and the grief of a decimated population and a devastated country, and because a people’s suffering cannot be eased when faced with the destructive force of nature. cc creativecommons.org Regret at the silence and indifference of the Burmese authorities, who refuse the helping hands of the entire planet. Regret when considering this Focus on disregard for human life, which has resulted in such a tragic waste. This catastrophe must encourage us to increase our Food Crisis, water crisis efforts to improve the prevention of water-related disasters. It must also lead us to reinforce our While an unprecedented food crisis is affecting the capacity to evaluate the effects of such disasters. whole world, it is surprising to observe that very few experts, very few media link this crisis to the water This is the very essence of the mission entrusted crisis. by Mr. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, to a few organizations, including the World We might see the reason for this in the message Water Council, brought together in the form of a that the water community has been repeating group of experts. continuously over the last years: “the water crisis is mainly a crisis of governing.” In Marseilles, on June 9 and 10, this group of experts will come together to prepare simple, concrete Water is certainly not the only cause of the crisis, proposals, which can be easily implemented by all, but the difficulties in its mobilization for agriculture so that water-related catastrophes are no longer explain the increase of international food just misfortune, but also an expression of solidarity exchanges, within a context of strong economic shared between the citizens of the world. growth. LOÏC FAUCHON. To best manage water is, in particular for agriculture, certainly necessary, but it is not on the same scale as the problem we will be forced to face in the coming years. We must reconsider our messages: integrate the idea of the insufficiency or the lack of mobilization for water for agriculture and measure the implications. DANIEL ZIMMER cc creativecommons.org World Water Council - News Update WWC News WWC at CSD-16 On May 13th, Mr. Daniel Zimmer was one of four panellists on the Review Panel for Water and Sanitation that was held during the 16th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development at the UN Headquarters in New York. In the company of Ms. Margaret Catley-Carlson, Mr. David Molden and Mr. Mike Muller, Mr. Zimmer addressed the subject of international cooperation in the water field, underlining the following major points: • the essential but delicate nature of transboundary cooperation and the role of Parliamentarians in creating treaties that address the political nature of water issues; • the importance of exchanges of experience among local authorities in order to build capacity; • the mechanism of solidarity funds in north-south cooperation. In collaboration with the 5th Forum Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, the Council also participated in a side event entitled “Toward a Global Water Agenda: Preparing the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul”. Speakers included 5th Forum Ambassador Mr. Klaus Töpfer among others. Finally, Mr. Zimmer also participated as a panellist in a side event on water for food and agriculture co-organised with FAO*, IFAD* and ICID*, which exhibited the fact that there is a great diversity of views in the wa- ter community about the water-dimension of the current food crisis. *FAO: Food and agricultural organisation / IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural Development / ICID: International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage Zaragoza Participation Welcome to the New WWC As the Spanish city of Zaragoza is preparing to welcome Director 7 million visitors this Summer, two WWC representatives traveled to Spain 17 April to prepare the Council’s parti- Mr. Ger Bergkamp has been cipation in Expo Zaragoza 2008. The second objective appointed as General Director was to clearly establish the link between this event and of the World Water Council, the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul. The discussions effective June 1st, 2008. Mr. with the President of the Expo, Mr Roque Gistau and the Daniel Zimmer, who has served Director of the Water Tribune, Mr. Eduardo Mestre, cen- as Executive Director of the tered on a Forum Side Event to be held, as well as on the Council since November of 2001, various events in which the Council are involved in and will continue until June 2009 as one of the thematic weeks: “Water and Cities”. This week Associate Director in charge of will lead to a roundtable discussion between Mayors who the Preparation of the 5th World will work together on the Istanbul Water Consensus. The Water Forum. Read the press © WWC President of the Council and several Governors will be release on the WWC website: present at the Expo opening on 14 June. www.worldwatercouncil.org BioVision 2008 Mr. Daniel Zimmer, Executive Director of the World Water Council, was invited to Alexandria on 12-16 April to speak about Integrated Wa- ter Resource Management during the session: “Water Resources: The Global Concern”. Mr. Zimmer also gave a presentation on the reasons for the current water crisis and the importance of including all types of water,( blue water, and also green water and virtual water) in the reflection on resources for an increased ‘hydro solidarity’ The conference report is available on the site http:// www.bibalex.org/biovisionalexandria/ cc creativecommons.org 2 World Water Council - News Update Collective Chart for Water and Sanitation in Togo Within the framework of the Council’s programme: “Strengthening Local Authorities”, a national dialogue on water and sanitation was organized in Lome, Togo, in partnership with “Institut de la Gestion Déleguée“ (IDG) and the Union of Togo Municipalities under the patronage of the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water in Togo. As an outcome of the meetings, the participants signed a resolution listing the urgent actions to be taken to strengthen local authorities and improve the management of water and sanitation services. A working programme was also established and a collective chart for water and sanitation in Togo is currently being prepared. The implementation of this chart will be supervised by the Inter-ministerial Steering Committee for essential services in Togo. A local dialogue will be organized in Atakpamé in June 2008. © WWC King Hassan II Great World Water Prize: Call for candi- datures The government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the World Water Council have launched the third edition of the King Hassan II Great World Water Prize – to be awarded at the 5th World Water Forum in March 2009. The Prize is awarded to an individual or an organization in honor of outstanding achievements in any aspect of water resour- ces. Candidatures are open until 15 October 2008, and all related information will soon be published on the 5th Forum website. Contact the secretariat for more information: cc creativecommons.org [email protected]. Mr Bzioui appointed Advisory Status at AIEA Mokhtar Bzioui, WWC treasurer, has been appointed by the International Agency for Nuclear Energy (AIEA), to be part of an advisory group of 20 experts. This group will be in charge of advising the General Director on nuclear implemen- tation in AIEA’s activities in food, agriculture, health, water-resources, marine and terrestrial environment evaluation and management, the production of radioisotopes and radiation technology. The Council wishes to present him its sincere congratulations on his appointment In Brief... WaterAid on Google Earth A label for Water consumption Water Aid is working with Goo- Indicating on consumer product labels the quan- gle Earth on a new programme tity of water was used in production is one of the that will let users see their suggestions resulting from the international confe- projects on ground. Millions of rence «Toilets Down Under 2008», organized in Internet users including dona- Adelaide from 15 to 17 April, 2008. The economist tors, fund-raisers, politicians James Hazelton argues that this initiative would and governments, will be able make it possible to the consumers to make their to access the data on water purchases with full knowledge of the facts. Labe- and sanitation in the countries ling would also feed public discussion, and would where this international orga- offer industrialists the occasion to set themselves nization is established. http:// apart from their competitors by showing their ef- www.wateraid.org/international/ forts to save water http://www.theaustralian.news. about_us/newsroom/6541.asp com.au/story/0,25197,23547185-23289,00.html cc creativecommons.org 3 World Water Council - News Update 5th World Water Forum European Water Partnership: On the Road to the 5th The Arab Water Council Prepares for the 5th Forum Forum in Istanbul The European regional process for the 5th Forum is now The first meeting for the Arab regional prepara- well underway with numerous activities and a strong po- tory process of the 5th World Water Forum was litical mobilization. On 11 April, various partners gathered held in Cairo on 14 April. The participants from in Marseille to discuss the latest advancements, among the Arab Water Council (AWC) and the World them, the drafting of the ‘European Vision for Water,’ Water Council discussed the food crisis in Egypt whose results will and the need to emphasise this global crisis be presented as The European Water Partnership (EWP) during the 5th Forum. A list of 12 priority topics, recommendations recently launched the ‘European Wa- questions and expected outputs for the Forum at the Forum minis- ter News’- a Europe-wide information sessions was established as well as a first draft terial agenda.