One can understand the reason for choosing Kyoto even better when looking in the history of this beautiful city. It has now been established that the historical access to groundwater has been a decisive element for building a city on this very spot. The positions of some key buildings in Heiankyo, the old capital city, are directly linked to the main access points to this groundwater reservoir. Is it not amusing that geologists recently found a huge natural groundwater reservoir right under the city? With a capacity estimated at over 21 billion cubic meters this reservoir is almost as large as Lake Biwa itself!

Ever since the Netherlands began preparing for the 2nd World Water Forum I have closely followed the growing world water movement. At the Forum in The Hague it was inspiring to hear participants discuss their visions of the way we should manage water in the year 2025. Manage it to meet the social and economic needs of the growing world population, while sustaining the ecosystems that supply us with all our needs, including water.

At the 2nd World Water Forum I pledged to be an ambassador for the world water movement. I therefore agreed to support the UN Secretary General in his preparation as member of his Panel of Eminent Persons for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg and prepared a paper under the title "No Water No Future".

On the way to Johannesburg many activities on organizing water policy and new initiatives took place. That made it possible to put water on the agenda of the Johannesburg Summit.

The water sector really came together in Johannesburg, at the WaterDome, organized so well by the Africa Water Task Force.

One of the main goals the organisers of the 3rd World Water Forum have in mind is : to translate visions into concrete actions. The intention was to organize a forum that will not be a platform for presenting technical papers, defining theoretical concepts or discussing research design. Instead the forum invited experts to share experience with proven actions and best practices supported by sound research, science and theory that have facilitated sustainable solutions to water problems.

When I see the agenda I am impressed. And according to various informative meetings I have had I am convinced that the organisers are successful in working out the idea of creating a forum where an exchange of practical information and experiences can take place.

Of course there must also be room for so called new subjects. As a result of the second World Water Forum many actions started and I like to mention a few. Dialogue on Water and Climate and Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment started.

Managing water wisely is not only a question of new institutions or establish new organisations to govern the distribution of water or to maintain the infrastructure. It is also to keep in mind the relation between water and climate. According to scientific reports our climate is changing. The conclusions are not very encouraging. The temperature is rising, arid area's are becoming more arid and the so called "wet countries" are becoming wetter.

The Dialogue on Water and Climate is bringing together climate and water scientists with water managers and other stakeholders to learn how to better manage today's climate variability.

The Dialogue on Water, Food and Environment works with stakeholders at the local level to determine how we can bridge the gaps in understanding between agriculturalists and environmentalists over water.

The debate on access to water often focuses only on domestic water use. The two Millennium Development Goals on water, for example, focus on access to drinking water and sanitation. But for many poor people, access to water for productive purposes is a crucial basic need as well - as a key factor in agriculture and for other forms of economic activity vital to the livelihoods and opportunities for the poor. In addition, we often forget that to sustain environmental quality and biodiversity we should leave 20-50 percent of river flows in nature. I trust that the Water Task Force of the Millennium project will indeed embrace such a holistic approach to water resources management!

Water values that are widely shared across sectors and stakeholders in society is a first step towards investment decisions in water resources management and development that have broad support in society. I am convinced that achieving shared water values in society has a direct and positive impact on the availability of investment funds for water projects.

This is supported by the recent report of the Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure, chaired by Michel Camdessus, former Managing Director of the International Monetary fund. The report showed that lending and investments of all kinds has been falling since 1997 and the current prospects for a reversal are poor. Investments will only increase substantially if measures are taken to reduce the risks involved. More needs to be done then, to demonstrate the effectiveness of investments in the water sector to achieve developmental goals. Only then can we realistically expect the water share of ODA and Non ODA to go up.

National and international development plans and budgets must recognize that water resources management and development are critical to achieving all of the world's development goals. The Camdessus Panel has made a number of concrete recommendations on how the flow of financial resources may be improved when the demand has been expressed. I recommend these for your attention.

Indeed, at the global scale, there is enough water to provide 'water security' for all, but only if we change the way we manage and develop it. In this International Year of Freshwater we should appreciate the efforts of water managers to resolve the world water crisis. At the same time, however, we must recognize that their efforts must be multiplied and accelerated. This is the conclusion of World Water Actions, the report prepared by the World Water Council for this Forum.

You may have noted that we held the 2nd Forum during the International Year of the Oceans, focusing on saline water. This time the United Nations was kind enough to make 2003, the year of the 3rd Forum, into the International Year of Fresh Water. I think all that remains for us is to ask that 2006, the year of the 4th Forum, will be declared the International Year of Wetlands - with a focus on brackish water!

We ask the ministers and senior officials that have come and will come to Kyoto to listen carefully and to take action. I know this is not a formal UN meeting, but the charm of this more informal process is that it allows us to be innovative and creative.

In The Hague our motto was "From Vision to Action" and we agreed to make water everybody's business. In Johannesburg many water-related commitments were made right under the roof of the WaterDome. Here, in Kyoto, I am fully confident we will have our focus sharply trained on action at all levels. I wish you all a very, very successful 3rd World Water Forum- let this Forum be a giant step on the road towards water security!