The remarks of UN Deputy Secretary General at the opening of 7th World Water Forum 2015
April 14, 2015
Madam President,
Excellencies,
Honoured Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you for inviting me to join you at the important and world-renowned World Water Forum here in Daegu, Gyeongbuk. I bring you warm greetings from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
I would also like to thank the Government of the Republic of Korea for hosting this conference, and for its dedication to finding solutions to global water challenges and to promoting a sustainable future.
On my long flight over the Pacific Ocean to Asia from New York, I found plenty of time to see and think about water and what it means to our lives and to our civilization.
Water is a finite and scarce resource.
Only 2.5 per cent of the water on the planet is fresh water.
The rest is too salty to drink or use for agriculture.
Seventy per cent of freshwater is locked in icecaps and snowfields. Almost all the rest remains in the ground.
Less than 1 per cent is freely available for us to use.
Worldwide, water demand is projected to grow by over 40 percent by 2050. The global population at this time is estimated to be some 9 billion people.
This means 9 billion people who are to share a finite resource.
As water becomes even more scarce we see a growing risk of shortages, disputes between communities and of increased tensions among nations.
The word ‘rival’ literally means ‘someone sharing another’s stream’. When it comes to water, we are all rivals in that sense of the word.
What is interesting, is that history and some current events tell us that water is more often a cause for cooperation than conflict.
Different forms of water diplomacy, “hydro-diplomacy,” are at work across the world, where 148 countries share rivers or lake basins.
But let us remember that water continues to be a source of conflict in many places around the world. When I served as a mediator in the Darfur crisis 2007 – 2008, I experienced first hand how water was used as a weapon in the conflict. And as we speak, ISIL/Daesh in Iraq is exploiting water access to control territory and dominate people. This extremist movement has cut off water to some villages and flooded others.
This leads me to stress the need for making water a basis for cooperation.
Despite discriminatory practices of water distribution and allocation, water-use has been one area where limited cooperation in the Middle East has been possible between Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians. Still, a more equitable distribution of water between Palestinians and Israelis on the West Bank could be an important confidence-building measure in the troubled situation today.
I also want to highlight the water crisis in Gaza which exacerbates the already desperate situation for the population. There is an urgent need to accelerate major infrastructure projects, including a desalination plant to help address the chronic water shortages in the area.
Let me repeat, instead of seeing scarce water as a problem, we have to treat it as a challenge to collaborate, a challenge to engage in innovative hydro-diplomacy.
Nonetheless, we must beware of future risks of water conflict.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) projects that, by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity. And about two-thirds of the world population could then be living under conditions of water stress.
Let us admit that our water resources are distributed unequally, allocated inequitably and used excessively.
Most of the water we use can be traced to the food we consume. From farm to table, a kilogram of wheat uses 1,500 litres of water; a kilogram of beef uses 15,000 litres.
As poverty declines and standards of living rise, people around the world are demanding more meat in their diet -- with subsequent strains on water.
Agriculture already accounts for 70 per cent of all the water we use. The water which agriculture uses is generally not available for hydro-energy, for industry, for washing, drinking and sanitation.
All this means that we are now starkly facing the challenge of sustainable development.
Climate change is contributing to even more water scarcity and greater security risks.
At the same time we need more water to feed 9 billion people, to provide improved sanitation, and to give every individual, community, city and country a fair share of water resources.
But if water is a finite resource, what kind of action can we take?
The answer lies in better management – using the water resources more equitably, more sparingly and innovatively.
And that is – dare I say - where your vital role comes in.
This World Water Forum is taking place at a crucial time, a time during which the United Nations Member States are elaborating a universal post-2015 sustainable development agenda.
Member States have proposed 17 sustainable development goals. One of them is to ensure the “availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. This goal addresses water challenges in an integrated and holistic manner.
It involves all three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic -- by stressing affordability; the social -- through a focus on equitable access; and the environmental -- by aiming to reduce pollution and protect ecosystems.
This universal water goal gives us a framework to address water and sanitation in all parts of the water cycle. It also makes linkages to other sectors such as gender, energy and food, sectors which are cross-cutting and interrelated.
Generally, in today’s world we need to think and act horizontally – not vertically – and place the problem and the challenge in the center.
Madame President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thanks to the global mobilization behind the Millennium Development Goals, two billion people have benefitted from access to improved water sources.
This is substantial progress. It shows what can be done with sufficient political will and with smart investments and water policies.
Still, let us remember that 748 million people around the world lack access to safe drinking water.
Roughly 80 per cent of global water resources are discharged untreated into oceans, rivers and lakes.
Every day, nearly 1,000 children under the age of five die from diarrheal diseases due to a lack of safe water, sanitation and basic hygiene.
2.5 billion people do not have proper sanitation.
Over one billion people in 22 countries defecate in the open.
This is why I, in March 2013, launched a Call to Action on Sanitation on behalf of the UN Secretary-General.
And I am glad to say: the world is responding!
At the Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting in 2014, Ministers from 18 countries set the goal to end open defecation by 2030 while 39 governments committed to increase financing for sanitation and water supply.
Investing in water and sanitation must be a priority if we are to make tangible progress on sustainable development.
There is a cost to action, yes. But the cost of inaction is even greater.
Recent research shows that each dollar invested in eliminating open defecation will bring a $6 gain in economic benefits by keeping people healthy and productive.
Each dollar invested in access to safe drinking water will have a four-fold return.
At the same time, poor sanitation is costing countries between from 0.5 up to 7 per cent of their GDP.
It is gratifying that this Forum brings together the private sector, governments, academia, civil society and international organizations, unified by one concern to take action on the global water crisis.
No one can do this alone. Nobody can do everything -- but everybody can do something.
As we enter the post-MDG period, we need effective, future-oriented partnerships for action. The World Water Forum can play an important role in this process.
In particular, science and technology will be key to finding solutions which are sustainable, affordable and provide jobs for our youth – a prerequisite for meaningful life and for our future well-being.
The partnerships at this Forum provide crucial means of implementation for the post-2015 development agenda.
You can all in different ways play a vital role in mobilizing financial support, brokering and spreading global knowledge, as well as bringing the key actors together.
This Forum can also facilitate international cooperation on water and develop innovative global, regional, national and local initiatives, especially for shared water resources.
The UN system will continue to provide support, ranging from policy guidance to technical advice and on-the-ground action.
Madam President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is a Chinese proverb: ‘When you drink from the stream, remember the spring’.
Let us demonstrate respect for our most precious and basic resource – water. We cannot continue to exploit and destroy. It is high time for us all to make peace with Nature.
I urge you to use this meeting to help shape a new global practical vision for water management. This is imperative if we are to build a world of dignity for all, where no one is left behind.
I thank you for your attention and wish you a World Water Forum that makes a difference for millions and millions of people in need around the world.
Source: www.worldwaterforum7.org
