World Water Forum

The World Water Forum consisted of

• themed sessions
• Regional Days
• other events

At the conclusion of the Forum, organizers drafted a brief summary statement documenting the main outcomes of the Forum to be presented to Forum participants and participants of the Ministerial Conference.

Themed Sessions

The 351 sessions organized into 38 themes provided delegates with an opportunity to discuss the challenges of implementing the Millennium Development Goals and the World Summit on Sustainable Development and other water-related commitments.

Each theme was addressed through a plenary session, a broad selection of 15 to 20 sessions, and a short closing plenary session. The following are summaries of nine of these sessions.

• Water and Climate
• Water Supply, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Water Pollution
• Water, Nature, and Environment
• Water and Governance
• Agriculture, Food, and Water
• Water and Poverty
• Financing Water Infrastructure
• Public-Private Partnerships
• World Water Assessment Programme

Water and Climate

The Water and Climate sessions were coordinated by the International Secretariat of the Dialogue on Water and Climate. The emphasis, based on the observation that the poorest countries are the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change, was on developing countries (i.e., small island states, Bangladesh, Mozambique, all coastal African countries, and many others around the world).

Participants noted that the impacts of extreme weather events have tripled over the past three decades and that the capacity to adapt must be an integral part of development strategies and integrated water resource management strategies. In addition, participants agreed that the financial and human costs of climate change are escalating as a result of the direct impact it has on national development and ecosystems.

Participants focused on what politicians, water managers, and climate specialists can do now to adapt. Building climate-sensitive planning into sustainable development agendas was examined as a potential solution. This was supported by the observation that even though climate change is driven by global processes, most adaptation actions need to be taken at the community, basin, national, and regional level.

Water Supply, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Water Pollution

The Water Supply, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Water Pollution sessions were coordinated by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Japan Water Research Center, and the Japan Sewerage Committee for the 3^rd World Water Forum.

Throughout many of the sessions, participants supported expanded supply and sanitation initiatives that focus on soft approaches, including demand management and ecological treatment, as opposed to relying solely on hard infrastructure. Public participation and low-cost financing were also widely accepted as important core components.

Throughout the sessions many participants shared examples of how gender equity is dramatically affected by water supply and sanitation, in particular, access to education and health conditions.

Water, Nature, and Environment

The Water, Nature, and Environment sessions were coordinated by the World Conservation Union and the United Nations Environment Programme. Participants held wide-ranging discussions and shared agreement on the importance and value of water for ecosystems and the returning values derived from ecosystems.

In many sessions, participants also acknowledged that economic and ecosystem uses are equally valid. Discussions often moved toward debating how to maximize ecosystem protection and manage the negative effects associated with economic uses. They also highlighted several obstacles, such as generating finance for ecosystem protection, managing transboundary basins, and protecting ecosystems in poverty-stricken areas struggling to meet basic needs.

At the closing plenary session, Jennifer Moore (Environment Canada) summarized the wide variety of tools and options available to address these obstacles, including the valuing of natural capital, a scientifically valid understanding of ecosystems, and effective governance based on openness, transparency, and inclusion.

Three recommendations for future efforts were made at the closing plenary session: manage competing uses through the ecosystem approach to water management; address threats from pollution; and increase efforts to conserve ecosystems and their biodiversity. Other speakers noted how the World Summit on Sustainable Development goal of integrated water resource management plans can be used to as a starting point to implement these basic recommendations.

Water and Governance

The sessions on Water and Governance were coordinated by the Global Water Partnership. During the two days of sessions, there was consensus that governance is an important element of poverty reduction and access to water and sanitation. The water crisis was qualified as one of governance and not as one of scarcity.

A representative from WaterAid presented five characteristics of good governance: ethical leadership, available and reliable information, mechanisms for dialogue and conflict resolution, connected decentralization and the addressing of corruption issues.

A number of participants expressed concern about how to improve civil society participation in all governance aspects. There was also a consensus that, given the nature of integrated water resource management, decentralization was a crucial factor of success.

On the issue of public-private partnership, the majority of participants argued that the public should remain in control of the ownership of the resource to ensure equitable access. A number of representatives from civil society also stated that local public control over water resources should have precedence over international trade issues and argued that water should not be part of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). This was consistent with views from other sessions that observed that public-private partnerships require strong governance mechanisms to be effective.

It was stressed that governance is a difficult concept for people to understand, which explains the need to make statements in such a way that they are understandable by communities.

A representative of the World Wildlife Fund emphasized that there is a need to ensure the sustainability of water systems, as opposed to focusing only on the short-term goal of increasing access to water.

There was debate on whether water should be considered an economic good. Participants also noted that the effectiveness of many governance mechanisms is dependent on supporting enforcement capacity.

Agriculture, Food, and Water

The Agriculture, Food and Water sessions were coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, and the Japanese National Committee of ICID (JNC-ICID).

Noting the Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015, participants stressed the need to raise land productivity and food production and urged greater water efficiency in agriculture. Given that 40% of food is produced on irrigated land and 60% is produced by rain-fed agriculture, participants agreed that both types of agriculture should be improved. Greater gains can be made, however, through irrigation efficiency, as it uses 80% of freshwater resources, is costly, and often results in negative environmental impacts. To support this, participants called for technical, managerial, and institutional reform in irrigated agriculture.

Participants also underscored the link between agricultural production and poverty reduction and called for "leveling the playing field"; creating inclusive and transparent water institutions; and investing in water supply, management, and research and development.

In addition, participants discussed how irrigation contributes to the gross domestic product (GDP) and poverty reduction by increasing food production, which in turn requires moving from "more crop per drop" to "more crop less drop", modernizing irrigation, reforming institutions, internalizing externalities, and enhancing investments in irrigation schemes.

Water and Poverty

The 16 sessions on Water and Poverty were coordinated by the Asian Development Bank. Participants discussed several topics that connect water and poverty.

The recurring topic in many of the sessions was how to ensure that the poor have access to safe water. Strategies to reach the poorest people were presented, including examples of user-pay principles adapted for the poor and of empowerment and participation. A good example presented was the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All campaign (WASH), which focuses on awareness of the importance of sanitation and explores a new way (more inclusive of key stakeholders such as women and children) to address water issues.

Participants agreed that the Millennium Development Goals were achievable if they focus on the poorest and apply pro-poor strategies. It was reported that the UN Task Force on Millennium Development Goals is looking at the Goals in an integrated and synergetic way and has prepared a strategy paper for use by countries in preparation of their poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs). Generally, it was observed that water and sanitation are given low priority in PRSPs. It was also noted, however, that the next round of PRSPs will present another opportunity to better integrate the Millennium Development Goals.

Financing Water Infrastructure

The sessions on Financing Water Infrastructure were coordinated by the Global Water Partnership and the World Water Council. Water and finance, finance for local water management, future water needs, public and private sector management, urban investment, environmental financing strategies, and the need to mobilize local capital were some of the topics discussed in the sessions.

The final report of the World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure, which was chaired by Michel Camdessus, former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, was discussed. This highly publicized report, entitled "Financing Water for All", contains 85 proposals on actions to attract financing for water infrastructure. It also offers specific proposals on how this can be achieved by governments, donors, regions, civil society, the private sector, development banks, and small-scale providers.

The panel presenting the report, chaired by Margaret Catley-Carson (President of the Global Water Partnership), successfully pointed out varying perspectives on the report despite a brief interruption by a demonstration of NGOs and other anti-corporate activists. Activists bitterly opposed the report's recommendation on the role of the private sector in water services, arguing that there is absolutely no role for the private sector in the provision of water services, which, as an essential public good, must remain in the control of public authorities.

The Dutch Minister for Development (a member of the panel) stressed the responsibility of government in oversight and regulation, and the South African minister on the panel stated that the "acid test" of public-private partnerships is the provision of affordable and quality services for the poor. Overall, the report did not provide the results that the French and Japanese delegates hoped for and received mixed reviews, with, at best, partial support from governments.

Public-Private Partnerships

The sessions on Public-Private Partnerships were coordinated by the World Water Council and the Council of Canadians. The topic was one of the most frequently discussed and controversial issues of the Forum.

Throughout the discussions, participants presented a number of examples of failed public-private partnerships (e.g., a World Bank project in Cochabamba, Bolivia), while others stressed the need to move past the ideological debate and start with the objective of achieving a well-functioning utility and then choosing the most appropriate means to achieve this objective.

Many participants with on-the-ground experience in water projects in developing countries, including NGO representatives, advocated a pragmatic approach and a case-by-case assessment of the appropriate role of the private sector. Some noted that public-private partnerships can fill gaps where governments cannot operate, in particular, providing people who live in slums with access to water. Others, including NGOs such as WaterAid, emphasized the importance of focusing on the involvement of the local community in decision making, financing, and, in particular, choosing the appropriate technology.

The closing session ended with separate statements by the co-convenors. The World Water Council's statement presented public-private partnerships as one of several options that must be considered to keep pace with population growth and to close the gap in access to water and sanitation that exists for the poor. Alternatively, the Council of Canadians summary statement disputed public-private partnerships as an option based on arguments that they are a step toward commodification of water.

World Water Assessment Programme

A special session was convened to give the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) an opportunity to formally release its first World Water Development Report (WWDR), entitled Water for People, Water for Life.

The WWAP's mandate is to identify and describe the nature of water crises; assess the coping capacity of societies and the effectiveness of policies; develop indicators to monitor and report progress in reaching targets; and enhance the capacities of participating countries to perform in-country assessments.

The WWDR reviewed progress on 11 challenges, including the provision of water for basic needs and health, the enhancement of food security, the promotion of cleaner industry, the development of energy, the protection of ecosystems, the mitigation of risk, and the governing of water resources.

Regional Days

In addition to the themed sessions, there were five days featuring sessions focused on one of five geographical regions:

• Asia and the Pacific
• Europe
• the Americas
• the Middle East and the Mediterranean
• Africa

Day of Asia and the Pacific

The morning session of the day devoted to Asia and the Pacific presented many of the successful global water partnerships currently taking place in Asia, most notably in South Asia. During this session, observations that floods are a main cause of poverty in Asia were shared. The afternoon session examined strategies and actions that China is taking to address water management problems. These were complemented by other sessions including Water Governance in Southeast Asia, Regional Cooperation in Central Asia, Gender and Water, and Asia and Pacific Issues in the World Water Context.

Day of Europe

Among other issues, sessions devoted to Europe examined the decaying infrastructure, the legacy of Soviet-era policies on ecosystem health, and large transboundary basin management (Danube). The European Union also took this opportunity to profile its Water for Life Initiative, an initiative announced at the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

Day of the Americas

The Day of the Americas focused primarily on Central and South American water issues, especially how those regions are faced with growing problems of population growth, urbanization, poverty, and limited resources. One of the sessions that was directly relevant to Canada included a presentation by Howard Mann, from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, based on his paper "Who Owns Your Water", which examines water management and trade and investment law.

Day of the Middle East and the Mediterranean

Members of the Canadian delegation were directly involved in the Day of the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Dr. Eglal Rached, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, and Dr. Elly Baroudy, Coordinator of the Water Demand Management Forum, both from the International Development Research Centre, presented the results of the four meetings of the Water Demand Management Forum, which studied four different yet equally important complements to water supply management: wastewater reuse, water valuation, public-private sector partnerships, and decentralization and participatory irrigation management. Dr. Rached was a member of the panel of the final session and, with other panelists, took part in a press conference at the conclusion of this event.

Throughout the day, participants identified key strategic actions for reform in the water sector in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, including adopting integrated water resource management as the key process in addressing water challenges; using water more efficiently for most value and benefit through technical instruments and economic incentives; mobilizing stakeholders to promote participatory and decentralized approaches and facilitating public-private partnerships; and promoting regional and international partnerships to foster technical and financial cooperation on water issues.

Day of Africa

The Day of Africa was convened to highlight the challenges facing the continent as it pursues its water sector agenda in fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) goal of halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Given the daunting task Africa faces in meeting these goals and the Forum's focus on implementing the goals, the Day of Africa was the centre point of the Regional Days.

The main issues identified for Africa in the session included improved access to water and sanitation; integrated water resource management in national and shared water basins; water-related disaster prevention, mitigation, and management; the financing of interventions required to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and WSSD targets; and water policies that foster good governance, capacity building, and gender equity.

It was widely agreed, however, that the issue confronting African governments is not a lack of knowledge of the magnitude of the problems or how to deal with them, but the means by which to deal with them. Given this, participants shared some of the successes that have already been achieved, including the formation of the Africa Ministerial Council on Water and the establishment of an Africa Water Facility to serve as a conduit and facilitator for pooled funds for capacity building and investment support in Africa.

The discussions concluded with a number of recommendations, including the following: prepare the water agenda of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD); develop a common African regional water strategy and national integrated water resource management and water efficiency plans by 2005; ensure the sustainability of water supply and sanitation investments; and foster greater partnerships between the public, communities, and the private sector to tap human and capital resources for WSSD requirements.

Delegates from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) were active participants in the Day of Africa sessions and made a presentation on CIDA's programming in the water sector, including the $50 million water management initiative that was announced at the last G8 Summit in Kananaskis in support of the G8 Africa Action Plan and the NEPAD.

Other Events

The Forum also included a set of special panel sessions, a Water Fair and Festival, Water Expo, the Citizen's House of Water, cultural events, and award ceremonies.

Panels

Panel sessions included a Water Journalist Panel, a CEO Panel, a Children's World Water Forum, a Gender and Water Panel, a Union Panel, a Water Development Partners Panel, and a Science, Technology and Management Panel.

Organized as a day-long session titled Gender in Court, the Gender and Water Panel was one of the best attended panel sessions. The objective of this session was for gender activists and practitioners to demonstrate the need for, and utility of, a gender perspective in water-related projects. Presented in the style of prosecution and defense, the panel was successful in elevating interest in the issue and facilitating spirited debate.

Water Fair and Festival

The Water Fair and Festival had over 50 exhibitors from all over the world, including the International Flood Network, the Word Health Organization, the Government of the Netherlands, the City of Milan, the Red Cross, and the World Water Council.

As part of the Water Fair, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) hosted an information booth, which received a large number of visitors interested in obtaining information on IDRC and how it could benefit their country.

Summary Forum Statement

On March 23, the Forum concluded with the issuing of a preliminary Summary Forum Statement. The purpose of this statement was to provide a brief draft summary documenting the main outcomes of the Forum. Session coordinators and convenors submitted their session reports after the Forum and all participants were invited to submit comments on the draft Summary Forum Statement via the Web.

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