From the Third to Fourth World Water Forum:
"From Japan to Mexico"

Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto
Chairman of the National Steering Committee of the 3rd World Water Forum
President of the Japan Water Forum

At this, the opening of the 4th World Water Forum, I would like to thank you most cordially for the wonderful time I am able to share with all of you. It is a great honor for me to deliver this speech as Chairman of the National Steering Committee of the 3rd World Water Forum.


Water is the source of all life. However, the world is in water crisis, and is facing imminent and worse water crises that demand immediate and concerted action. Even today, around the world, nearly 1.1 billion people are living without access to safe drinking water. This is destroying their health and livelihoods. Approximately 2.6 billion people live without access to basic sanitation. This is a threat to their dignity as well as their health. Water pollution is getting worse in many places across the world. Moreover, water-related disasters are widespread. These are serious natural disasters that cause catastrophic damage to human lives.


Water problems are fundamental causes of endemic disease, hunger, gender inequality, lack of education and jobs, endangered ecosystems and other socio-economic and environmental problems across the world. Most of the Millennium Development Goals cannot be achieved without solving water problems.


The 3rd World Water Forum
In order to solve various water issues around the world, the 3rd World Water Forum was held just three years ago in Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka which share the same water resources, Lake Biwa and the Yodo River. The Forum took place under the three guiding principles: "open to all", "created through participation by all" and "dedicated to translating vision into concrete actions and commitments". We held the Forum in this location because we felt that all the concerned organizations in the river basin should work together for the proper management of water resources in order to resolve their common problems. Despite the news during the Forum that U.S and British forces had launched military operations in Iraq, we still had more than 24,000 participants from 183 countries and regions. I would again like to thank all the participants for their lively discussions during those days.


When we think of the 3rd World Water Forum, we think not only of the eight-day event, but also of the three-year preparations prior to the Forum. The torch of the World Water Forum was passed on to us by His Royal Highness Prince Willem Alexander of The Netherlands, Chair of the 2nd Forum. Throughout the preparatory process, both The Netherlands, the host country of the 2nd Forum, and Japan made collective efforts in various projects. In the "Water Voice" project, more than 2,000 messengers collected 28,000 "Water Voices" or water-related messages, from all over the world. In the "Virtual Water Forum" held on the internet, many people engaged in heated debates even before the actual Forum began. Therefore, it may be said that the 3rd World Water Forum spanned three years, including the preparation period.


At the 3rd Forum, many commitments were made and many recommendations were presented. I will report on the progress towards meeting these commitments and on new global developments related to water during the ensuing three years. I hope our report will contribute to fruitful discussions at the 4th Forum.




Global Developments Related to Water after the 3rd World Water Forum


UN and Summits
At the UN General Assembly in December, 2003, it was declared that the years from 2005 to 2015 should be "The International Decade for Action, 'Water for Life'". At the twelfth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-12) and also the thirteenth session (CSD-13), discussions centered on water and sanitation. The results were compiled into a document entitled Decisions. This established the direction that the UN would take.


In March, 2004, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announced the establishment of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation and I was appointed as Chair. I accepted the assignment, hoping that my experience would help solve water issues around the world. The first meeting was held in July, 2004, at UN Headquarters in New York and the fifth meeting was held just before the opening of the 4th Forum here in Mexico City. I would like to present the outcome of these meetings on behalf of the Advisory Board at another session later on.


At the G8 Summit, the Evian Summit, held just after the 3rd World Water Forum, participants agreed on the G8 Action Program on Water. At the Gleneagles G8 Summit, held in 2005, the outcome was compiled into the report "G8 Response to the Indian Ocean Disaster and Future Action on Disaster Risk Reduction." This created a platform for the collaboration of eight developed countries towards the resolution of water issues.


Networks
Various networks have been created. The African Ministerial Conference (AMCOW), which aims to work together to address water problems in Africa, got rolling after the 3rd Forum. The Northern Water Network (NoWNET) was created, which aims to foster international cooperation among developed countries. It tries to bring about friendly relationships among national organizations including various stakeholders in Australia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, Korea, France and Japan. Some countries have established new organizations in order to become members of the NoWNET. Thus, the NoWNET is gradually expanding.


We have seen dynamic movement in the preparations for the 4th World Water Forum. An initiative called the Asia Pacific Water Forum was proposed during the preparatory process. All the countries in the Asia-Pacific region will work together for the resolution of water issues in this region, where sixty percent of the world population lives. I am glad to know that this initiative was proposed during the preparatory activities and will be launched on Asia Pacific Day, 21st March.


River Basin Networks
The basin-level networks, such as the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO) or the Network of Asian River Basin Organizations (NARBO), are working actively. Various basin-level networks such as the Lake Biwa-Yodo River Basin Network, which was born at the time of the 3rd World Water Forum, have started to make progress.


Assessment of the Present Status of Water Issues and Monitoring
Eight goals to be met by 2015 were identified in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) compiled at the Millennium Summit held in September, 2000. One of these goals is to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. A Mid-Term Assessment of Progress was submitted by the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for water supply and sanitation, which monitored progress towards the goal. This report has shown us the unfortunate reality that there are many problems left to address.


World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) published the 1st UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) entitled Water for People, Water for Life at the 3rd World Water Forum. Three years having passed, the 2nd edition of the Report will be formally presented on World Water Day at the 4th Forum. At Johannesburg in 2002, an international commitment was made to "develop integrated water resources management and efficiency plans by 2005". Monitoring of this initiative has been conducted by several international organizations including the Global Water Partnership (GWP). It is regrettable, however, that this initiative has not been completely successful.


The World Water Council (WWC) has launched another framework for monitoring named the Water Monitoring Alliance. It tries to aggregate information about the international organizations which collect and analyze water-related data. I hope it will contribute to more effective data collection.


Concrete Action
We have conducted a follow-up survey of the progress towards meeting the commitments made at the 3rd Forum. We feel it our responsibility to conduct the follow-up survey as an organizer of the Forum.


More than 500 commitments were made during the Forum. We sent a questionnaire to nearly 400 session conveners and thematic coordinators to survey the progress regarding each commitment. Only 14 questionnaires have been returned. Nevertheless, we are happy to find that some of the initiatives have made great progress.


Concerning the commitment to providing safe drinking water to inner-city districts and rural areas, we have had a report from India, saying that they are able to supply safe water to more than 90 extra villages with the financial help of the UN and other organizations. This goal has been realized through the strenuous efforts of NGOs, which conducted hearings among local women and village farmers. On the other hand, concerning the commitment to encouraging governments to develop concrete policies for the resolution of water issues, we have found that progress is far behind schedule because the governments have given policies for promoting economic and social development priority over policies relating to water.


It is regrettable that we have not received many responses. However, we have to keep our commitments to realizing. It is vital for us to find out what actions have been taken following the commitments made at the 3rd Forum and what the results in order to plan new activities. To this end, the follow-up survey is necessary and its implementation must be reinforced.


We have also surveyed the development of grass-roots activities relating to water. We have sent questionnaires to about 870 groups which applied for the Water Action Contest held during the 3rd Forum. The questions are about their activities and their contributions to local communities during the intervening three years.


Sixty-seven groups have responded. There is happy news from Ghana. One grass-roots group in Ghana has been engaged in planting fruit trees. The purpose of this activity is to raise public awareness of the water environment and also to limit soil erosion. As there was no governmental organization specializing in water in Ghana, this activity has helped raise awareness of water issues among policy-makers. This in turn has led to the establishment of a new ministry specializing in water issues. Many other groups have been struggling to meet their goals. One of their common problems is the difficulty in securing funding. Therefore, it is crucial to establish a new financing system in order to provide sufficient funds.


One of the themes of the 4th Forum is concrete activities, known as "local actions". We hear that there have been as many as 1,600 local actions registered so far. It is very important to continue monitoring these actions over a long period. This will help encourage further action.


Youth and Children's Activities
I feel encouraged to find that young people and children, who are our future, are actively involved in various water-related events. The Youth World Water Forum, which was born at the time of the 2nd Forum and grew significantly at the 3rd Forum, has been actively participating in local activities to tackle water problems. Members of the Youth World water Forum will make various presentations at sessions which they have organized on their own. I look forward to hearing from them.


Children's activities have also gained momentum. I attended the first Children's World Water Forum held during the 3rd Forum. I was interested to note that the meaning of "safe water" differed greatly between the Japanese children and the children from Sierra Leone or Chad. Their earnest discussions have awoken people across the world to the fact that children, who will inherit the world from us, are important stakeholders. I look forward to the steady growth of the Children's Forum, where they think about and discuss global water issues from a children's point of view.


Conclusion
There are many water problems left to address. While we are buried in our discussions, children are suffering and dying from water-attributable diseases. Even today, many people live without access to the water necessary for sustaining their lives. Now that the global population has exceeded 6.5 billion, it would be no exaggeration to say that the day will soon come when people will fight over a handful of water in order to survive. All people are vulnerable to the risk of water shortages caused by climate change and abnormal weather. We are at a crossroads. Now is the time we must bring together the wisdom and experience of people from across the globe, and translate it into concrete action towards the resolution of water problems.


I hope we will be able to share valuable information and experiences through our discussions at the 4th World Water Forum, which commences today. I look forward to a successful Forum.


Thank you for your kind attention.