Ministerial
Declaration of The Hague
on
Water
Security in the 21st Century
1. Water is vital for the
life and health of people and ecosystems and a basic requirement for the
development of countries, but around the world women, men and children lack
access to adequate and safe water to meet their most basic needs. Water
resources, and the related ecosystems that provide and sustain them, are under
threat from pollution, unsustainable use, land-use changes, climate change and
many other forces. The link between these threats and poverty is clear, for it
is the poor who are hit first and hardest. This leads to one simple conclusion:
business as usual is not an option. There is, of course, a huge diversity of
needs and situations around the globe, but together we have one common goal:
to provide water security in the 21st Century. This means ensuring that
freshwater, coastal and related ecosystems are protected and improved; that
sustainable development and political stability are promoted, that every person
has access to enough safe water at an affordable cost to lead a healthy and
productive life and that the vulnerable are protected from the risks of
water-related hazards.
2. These threats are not
new. Nor are attempts to address them. Discussions and actions started in Mar
del Plata in 1977, continued through Dublin and were consolidated into Chapter
18 of Agenda 21 in Rio in 1992. They were reaffirmed in Paris 1998, CSD-6 and in
the Second World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference. The process will
continue in the meeting in Bonn in 2002 ("Dublin+10"), through the 10-year
review of implementation of Agenda 21, and beyond. These and other international
meetings have produced a number of agreements and principles that are the basis
upon which this and future statements should be built. The goal of providing
water security in the 21st Century is reflected in the unprecedented process of
broad participation and discussion by experts, stakeholders and government
officials in many regions of the world. This process has profited from the
important contributions of the World Water Council, who launched the World Water
Vision process at the First World Water Forum in Marrakech, from the formation
of the World Commission on Water in the 21st Century and from the development of
the Framework for Action by the Global Water Partnership.
The Main
Challenges
3. To achieve water
security, we face the following main challenges:
Meeting basic needs:
to recognise that access to safe and sufficient water and sanitation are basic
human needs and are essential to health and well-being, and to empower people,
especially women, through a participatory process of water management.
Securing the food
supply: to enhance food security, particularly of the poor and vulnerable,
through the more efficient mobilisation and use, and the more equitable
allocation of water for food production.
Protecting
ecosystems: to ensure the integrity of ecosystems through sustainable water
resources management.
Sharing water
resources: to promote peaceful co-operation and develop synergies between
different uses of water at all levels, whenever possible, within and, in the
case of boundary and trans-boundary water resources, between states concerned,
through sustainable river basin management or other appropriate
approaches.
Managing risks: to
provide security from floods, droughts, pollution and other water-related
hazards.
Valuing water: to
manage water in a way that reflects its economic, social, environmental and
cultural values for all its uses, and to move towards pricing water services to
reflect the cost of their provision. This approach should take account of the
need for equity and the basic needs of the poor and the vulnerable.
Governing water
wisely: to ensure good governance, so that the involvement of the public and
the interests of all stakeholders are included in the management of water
resources.
Meeting the
Challenges
4. We, the Ministers and
Heads of Delegation, recognise that our gathering and this Declaration are part
of a wider process, and are linked to a wide range of initiatives at all levels.
We acknowledge the pivotal role that governments play in realising actions to
meet the challenges. We recognise the need for institutional, technological and
financial innovations in order to move beyond "business as usual" and we resolve
to rise to meet these challenges.
5. The actions advocated
here are based on integrated water resources management, that includes
the planning and management of water resources, both conventional and
non-conventional, and land. This takes account of social, economic and
environmental factors and integrates surface water, groundwater and the
ecosystems through which they flow. It recognises the importance of water
quality issues. In this, special attention should be paid to the poor, to the
role, skills and needs of women and to vulnerable areas such as small island
states, landlocked countries and desertified areas.
6. Integrated water
resources management depends on collaboration and partnerships at all levels,
from individual citizens to international organisations, based on a political
commitment to, and wider societal awareness of, the need for water security and
the sustainable management of water resources. To achieve integrated water
resources management, there is a need for coherent national and, where
appropriate, regional and international policies to overcome fragmentation, and
for transparent and accountable institutions at all levels.
7. We will further advance
the process of collaboration in order to turn agreed principles into action,
based on partnerships and synergies among the government, citizens and other
stakeholders. To this end:
A. We will establish targets
and strategies, as appropriate, to meet the challenges of achieving water
security. As part of this effort, we support the development of indicators of
progress at the national and sub-national level. In carrying this forward, we
will take account of the valuable work done for the Second World Water Forum.
B. We will continue to
support the UN system to re-assess periodically the state of freshwater
resources and related ecosystems, to assist countries, where appropriate, to
develop systems to measure progress towards the realisation of targets and to
report in the biennial World Water Development Report as part of the overall
monitoring of Agenda 21.
C. We will work together
with other stakeholders to develop a stronger water culture through greater
awareness and commitment. We will identify best practices, based on enhanced
research and knowledge generation capacities, knowledge dissemination through
education and other channels and knowledge sharing between individuals,
institutions and societies at all appropriate levels. This will include
co-ordination at regional and other levels, as appropriate, to promote
arrangements for coping with water-related disasters and for sharing experiences
in water sector reform. It will also include international co-operation in
technology transfers to, and capacity building in, developing countries.
D. We will work together
with stakeholders to increase the effectiveness of pollution control strategies
based on polluter pays principles and to consider appropriate rules and
procedures in the fields of liability and compensation for damage resulting from
activities dangerous to water resources.
E. Against the background of
the preparatory work for and discussions in The Hague, we will work within
multilateral institutions, particularly the UN system, International Financial
Institutions and bodies established by Inter-Governmental Treaties, to
strengthen water-related policies and programmes that enhance water security,
and to assist countries, as appropriate, to address the major challenges
identified in this Declaration.
F. We call upon the
Secretary General of the United Nations to further strengthen the co-ordination
and coherence of activities on water issues within the UN system. We will adopt
consistent positions in the respective governing bodies to enhance coherence in
these activities.
G. We call upon the Council
of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) to expand activities that are within
the mandate of the GEF in relation to freshwater resources by catalysing
investments in national water management issues that have a beneficial impact on
international waters.
H. We welcome the
contribution of the World Water Council in relation to the Vision and of the
Global Water Partnership with respect to the development of the Framework for
Action. We welcome follow-up actions by all relevant actors in an open,
participatory and transparent manner that draws upon all major groups in
society.
I. We note the statements
(attached to this declaration) made by the representatives of the major groups
and welcome them as a clear reflection of their readiness to work with us
towards a secure water future for all.
8. Recognising that the
actions referred to in paragraph 7, including progress on targets and
strategies, are important and ambitious, we will review our progress
periodically at appropriate fora, including the meeting in Bonn in 2002 and the
10-year review of the implementation of Agenda 21.
9. The Ministerial
Conference acknowledges with appreciation that a range of issues were discussed
during the Second World Water Forum, and that the Chair of the Forum presented
these issues to the Ministerial Conference. The importance of these issues is
unquestionable; we will raise them for further consideration in relevant fora in
the future and will consider their implications for our individual national
situations.
10. The challenges are
formidable, but so are the opportunities. There are many experiences around the
world that can be built on. What is needed is for us all to work together, to
develop collaboration and partnerships, to build a secure and sustainable water
future. We will, individually and acting together, strive to achieve this and
stimulate and facilitate the contributions of society as a whole. To this end,
we note with appreciation that pledges were made at The Hague (attached to our
declaration). This Declaration reflects the determination of our governments and
represents a critical step in the process of providing water security for all.
11. We, the Ministers and
Heads of Delegation, thank the government and people of The Netherlands for
their vision and for their hospitality in hosting this conference and forum.
Agreed to on Wednesday 22
March, 2000,
In The Hague, The
Netherlands.
