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| | Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of World Water Day (22 March 2005)
22-03-2005 - It can never be repeated enough that “water is life”, or that human society is facing a water crisis for which action must be taken today if we are to avoid deprivation, suffering and perhaps even conflict in the future*. |
Today we can have new hope that water will receive the attention it deserves and requires at both the local and national levels, and within the international community. For the first time, there is widespread recognition of the importance of water for sustainable development. There is growing political and public attention and debate. There are also many attempts to sharpen and focus action at all levels.
World Water Day 2005 marks an important moment for UNESCO and the international community at large. It is a moment when we are jointly taking important steps to address water issues and to accelerate moving towards solutions based on international cooperation and on sound scientific knowledge and understanding. To give a few concrete examples :
- The General Assembly of the United Nations has decided to launch an “International Decade of Action, Water for Life”, beginning officially on World Water Day. This Decade will provide a framework to mobilize actors at all levels around water and sustainable development issues.
- A five year review of progress made in attaining the Millennium Development Goals will take place in September 2005 at the United Nations. One of the targets under the goal of environmental sustainability is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation. To that end the Millennium Project, commissioned by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, recently published the report of its Task Force on Water and Sanitation. The overriding objective of the Millennium Development Goals is to extend the benefits of globalization to the world’s poorest citizens and to make real progress, by 2015, in tackling the most pressing issues facing developing nations.
- In April 2005 the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development will hold its second session devoted to water, sanitation and human settlements, with the participation not only of governments, but also non-governmental organizations, the private sector, the scientific and technological community, and others. This will be a unique occasion for all relevant stakeholders to exchange views and jointly arrive at solutions for the benefit of all.
Water and associated ecosystems is a principal priority within UNESCO. Work on water related to science, education and culture is undertaken primarily by the International Hydrological Programme (IHP), which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this year, the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education located in Delft, The Netherlands, and the UN World Water Assessment Programme, which is hosted by UNESCO. These three “pillars” of UNESCO action are supported by IHP National Committees in some 170 countries and by a network of international and regional water centres operating in different parts of the world under the auspices of UNESCO. These centres focus on scientific and educational themes such as water-related risks, sedimentation, urban water management, traditional hydraulic structures, humid tropics, and drylands. This year UNESCO is launching two major new international efforts: the International Flood Initiative and the International Sedimentation Programme. These two new initiatives will further promote scientific cooperation and exchange of experience, new research and education, training and capacity-building in UNESCO’s Member States. They will also go a long way in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
I urge all actors – from governments to nongovernmental organizations to the private sector, as well as each and every citizen, to take part in moving the vital agenda of water forward in their communities, countries and regions.
Koïchiro Matsuura
* For more information see the UNESCO Water Portal and the World Water Development Report, produced in 2004 by the World Water Assessment Programme in which 24 UN agencies participate.
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Office of the Spokeswoman
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