PRESS CONFERENCE TO MARK LAUNCH OF INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FRESHWATER 2003

PRESS CONFERENCE TO MARK LAUNCH OF INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF FRESHWATER 2003

Partnerships and community efforts and initiatives in protecting and improving water resources were urged by speakers at a Headquarters press conference, which followed today’s official launching of the International Year of Freshwater 2003, proclaimed by the General Assembly three years ago.

Speaking to the press were Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs; Alex Matthiessen, Executive Director and Hudson Riverkeeper; and Gourisankar Ghosh, Executive Director of the Geneva-based Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.

Mr. Desai, who was Secretary-General of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (26 August-4 September 2002), said water was a strategic issue.  He recalled the Summit’s decisions in setting goals for water supplies and sanitation by 2015, with a focus on integrated water management and water efficiency.  He also spoke of the partnerships and initiatives that were announced at the conference and the major commitments made by governments to address the issue of water resources.

He said a number of forums would be organized in connection with the International Freshwater Year 2003, including an international conference to be held in the autumn of that year, possibly September, in Dushambe, Tajikistan.  He recalled that the Government of Tajikistan was the driving force behind the Freshwater Year proclaimed by the General Assembly in December 2000.

Mr. Matthiessen described the initiatives of local and community activists, which led to the establishment of a non-profit organization to protect and safeguard the Hudson River valley and New York City drinking water supply.  The organization, working with environmental laws, helped local communities to understand the connection they had with local water resources and the need to protect them.  Its programmes were now being replicated in a number of countries around the world, including Japan, Canada and Australia.

He said the ultimate goal was to have a waterkeeper on every major and minor waterway around the world.  “Only then will local communities -- empowered to take responsibility for their local water resources -- begin to address the problem.” He said clean water was a fundamental and inalienable right of all human beings, and every citizen had a responsibility to work to protect natural resources.

Mr. Ghosh also stressed the importance of partnerships in dealing with water resource problems.  He informed correspondents of the WASH -– “water, sanitation and hygiene” –- campaign, aimed at drawing attention to the billion people in need of clean water and the 2 billion who lacked safe sanitation.

He said a survey had shown that nearly 70 countries were on track to reach the goals set at the Johannesburg conference to halve the proportion of people lacking adequate sanitation by 2015.  The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, which was established at the end of the International Water Decade in 2000, planned seminars in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America in

connection with the International Freshwater Year.  It was working at country level, creating and fostering partnerships at least in 50 countries.

Responding to questions, Mr. Matthiessen spoke of the litigation his organization employed in enforcing environmental laws to protect the Hudson River from pollution.  He also stressed the importance of grass-roots movements.

Mr. Desai also emphasized the importance of community involvement in the solution of local problems, while Mr. Ghosh urged reintroduction of rainwater harvesting in communities.

According to information material distributed at the briefing, world leaders pledged at the United Nations Millennium Summit to cut in half by 2015 the proportion of people unable to reach or afford safe drinking water.  It was currently estimated that approximately $30 billion per year was spent worldwide on meeting drinking water supply and sanitation requirements.  It was also estimated that an additional $14 billion to $30 billion per year would be needed to meet the targets on water and sanitation.

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