World Water Week
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Ladies and gentlemen,
The next COP Conference in Copenhagen is only three months away. It is already five months since we, as water community, met during the Fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul. Meanwhile the climate community met several times in Bonn.
We concluded in Istanbul that water management is central in the adaptation agenda. Because water is the primary transmitter of climate change impacts on societies and the environment. Therefore I think water management is a key factor to climate change adaptation. After all it is a cross-cutting issue, not just a sector. From Istanbul to Stockholm I’m glad to notice that this idea has become common ground. Water management can largely contribute in meeting the challenges in the fields of agriculture, health, energy and the environment.
In this panel I would like to address the following points:
- The attention given to water in National Adaptation Strategies
- The consistency between climate change adaptation and development cooperation
- The need of sharing knowledge and best practices.
First, the adaptation strategies. One of the four blocks of negotiations in Copenhagen will be adaptation. What I learned from Bonn is that many countries started their interventions with the severe problems of droughts and floods they are already facing today. This clearly shows that water management deserves due attention and can’t be missed in the adaptation strategies of any country. And therefore it would be unthinkable that water won’t be mentioned in the final Copenhagen Agreement.
According to the draft negotiation text, adaptation is the responsibility of national and local authorities. But in my view water adds an international dimension to climate change adaptation. Water does not respect borders. The special focus of this Stockholm Water Week on transboundary waters is therefore well chosen. Climate adaptation needs to be placed in the context of river basins and major watercourses. Events like the World Water Forum and this Stockholm World Water Week give us the opportunity to share our visions, knowledge and experiences.
Second, the link with development co-operation. For a lot of countries, climate change adaptation is one of the many challenges. In developing countries, tackling poverty is by far the most urgent. In particular water management can be a driving force behind the development of regions and countries. Water for farming, combats hunger. Providing clean drinking water reduces infant mortality, while women and children don’t have to walk long distances to get water from the well for safe drinking water. This means that more children can go to school. Good water management is essential for reaching several of the Millennium Development Goals. That is what I’ve experienced during my recent visit to Bangladesh.
In Istanbul we concluded that the water- and the climate communities should grow more close. It is my conviction that we have a lot in common with the development community too. Therefore we should join forces and face our challenge together. Integrated water management in the context of climate change adaptation enables us to contribute to the sustainable development of developing countries.
Third, knowledge sharing and best practices. In Istanbul we recommended that knowledge and best practices should be shared at all levels, from global to local. We Dutch know what it is like to live in a low lying delta. We have to protect ourselves from floods, sea level rise, the effects of salinisation, and also droughts. In that field of water management we are ready to share our knowledge and our best practices with other low lying deltas. Against this background we think about creating a platform for sharing knowledge and best practices with more delta countries.
In my own country I started a Deltaprogramme for adaptation looking ahead one hundred years. Within this programme we have chosen an integrated approach of water, economics, environment and agriculture.
In the context of the UNECE Water Convention the Netherlands together Germany and Italy, have taken the lead in developing guidelines on water and climate change adaptation. These guidelines deal with adaptation in a transboundary context, and give recommendations that are also relevant for countries outside Europe. Hopefully they give us also inspiration on the road to Copenhagen.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Now it is time to act on adaptation. We must prepare ourselves.
This is why it is essential for both the water and development community to take up the issue of climate adaptation. Only a few months remain until Copenhagen. The water community has an offer: our expertise and contribution to a sustainable development. Wouldn’t this be a major opportunity for the developing community to link water and climate adaptation for reaching the Millenium Development Goals. Let us join forces, and give water management a prominent place within the adaptation agenda at the Copenhagen Conference.
Thank you.