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INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FRESHWATER
2003
Declaration of
The Hague
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.
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