PRESS BRIEFING ON OUTCOMES OF TWELFTH SESSION

 

OF COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The presence of more than 100 government ministers in this week’s ministerial segment of the Commission on Sustainable Development had enshrined the place of water, sanitation, and human settlements in the international agenda, Commission Chairman Børge Brende (Norway) said at a Headquarters press briefing this afternoon.

Briefing correspondents about the week’s main outcomes, he pointed out that learning centres, partnership fairs, interactive discussions, and breakfast meetings, had all helped to harmonize international thinking vis-à-vis water.  Ministers responsible for forestry, agriculture, and water had brought many different perspectives to the table.

Reiterating that the Commission should be a tough watchdog rather than a polite monitoring body, he said it definitely had its work cut out.  For example, only half of the world’s countries had prepared their integrated water resource management plans, in accordance with the 2005 target.  In that regard, developing countries had to bear some responsibility for completing their plans, though developed countries should be helping to solve the world’s water problems.  Such strategies were of utmost importance, because when governments had to allocate water between such interests as agriculture, drinking and industry needs, much coordination was required.

Only a third of the world’s governments were on track to meet their sanitation targets, he noted, adding that slums were growing at an alarming rate in many countries.  Targets could only be achieved through a high level of political commitment and the disbursement of the official development assistance (ODA) pledged at the Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development.

In short, he said, the international community was not on track.  Water had to be more greatly factored into Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs).  In addition, there was a need for more cooperation and coordination between the 26 United Nations agencies dealing with water, as well as greater awareness of sanitation and hygiene issues.

Asked about groundwater loss throughout the world, he replied that the problem was especially evident in the Indian cities of Jaipur and New Delhi.  Using groundwater could be compared to drawing funds from a savings account; once the water or money was gone, it was irretrievable.  Moreover, groundwater could easily get contaminated when waste water was not adequately treated.

Responding to a question about when the worldwide number of slum dwellers would double, he said that effect would be seen in 30 years.

Asked whether partnerships could truly balance public and private sector needs, he replied that the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development had stressed the importance of such partnerships, adding that no strategy should be neglected.  It was the responsibility of national governments to set up appropriate legal frameworks to govern the partnerships, but decentralization should allow municipalities to share costs and duties.

In response to charges that the Commission had ignored energy this week, he said that while cross-cutting issues were important, the Commission’s eleventh session had decided to deal with topics in clusters.  The fourteenth and fifteenth sessions would tackle energy issues, although there were important links between energy and water.  Desalinization, for example, required a lot of energy.

Asked if water-borne diseases could be made a political issue, as HIV/AIDS had become, he replied that the Commission’s main job was to build on political momentum and come up with policy recommendations.  Because it was not an implementing body, it did not have the power to emulate the HIV/AIDS campaigns.

To a statement pointing out that no health ministers had participated in discussions this week, he responded by saying there had been one.  More should be involved next year because the links between health and water were too important to ignore.

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