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Commission on Sustainable Development, 12th Session
Panel on "Water: Empowering stakeholders to ensure participation,
in particular, women as agents of change"
21 April 2004
Statement by Ms. Kerstin Müller, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office,
Germany
Ladies and gentlemen,
water and sanitation issues are among the most pressing problems on the international agenda: Access
to safe drinking water and basic sanitation plays a crucial role in the daily life of every person.
Therefore, to a large extent, water management requires action at the community and the household
level. Women, in particular, play a fundamental role in meeting the international water and sanitation
targets. They are important agents of change - their experience and knowle dge are crucial assets in the
management of these precious resources.
I am convinced that all our activities can only be successful if we conduct them on a participatory
basis. The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development describes the implementation as
"an inclusive process, involving all major groups and Governments". In other words: stakeholder
participation is a key to success.
In many places active involvement of stakeholders requires a strategy of empowerment. They must be
actively engage d in water management. Empowerment combines education and capacity building in
the water sector with decentralization processes, giving everybody the right to participate in decisionmaking.
It aims to give stakeholders greater control over water policy, by enabling them to make their
voices heard and to choose between different options - between different technologies, for example.
Empowerment therefore is a key to a sustainable water management. By the same token, it is one of
our development cooperation priorities.
The active involvement of women and the adequate provision for their particular needs is of utmost
importance. This is, as you know, one of the important cross-cutting concerns regarding
implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action.
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In most cultures, women play a central role in establishing hygienic practices within households, in
managing domestic water use and in maintaining sanitation facilities. They are usually the custodians
of family health. Women are the ones who suffer most from degradation of water and other natural
resources. They are the best advocates of clean water and the first to notice water-threatening
practices. Therefore, women have a key role in environmental protection, and in promoting water
conservation activities. This makes their equal participation in decision making bodies, such as local
water committees, a crucial one.
The German government, as host of the Bonn Fresh Water Conference in 2001, considers
international water issues a high priority. That is why we have made sure all the water and sanitation
sector projects funded under our development cooperation programme are designed to enhance the
participation of women.
Let me give you two examples: Under a project in Zambia aimed at reforming the water sector socalled
"water kiosks" ? stalls where water is offered for sale ? are being set up.The goal is that at least
half the kiosks are run by women, who are thus able to earn an income of their own.
Another example is a programme in Bolivia to improve access to safe drinking water and basic
sanitation in small and medium-sized towns. The programme lays a special focus on the involvement
of women in decision making at community-level.
At this year's CSD session we are taking stock by analysing existing gaps and the challenges ahead of
us. Our deliberations will lay the basis for CSD-13 where we will decide about policy
recommendations for an improved implementation of the international water and sanitation targets.
The EU strives is keen to see concrete steps, incorporating measurable and trackable short and
midterm targets, with responsibilities clearly identified and reports on progress.
As far as the topic of our panel is concerned, the following aspects deserve further consideration at
CSD-13:
Firstly: Integration of gender aspects into water and sanitation policy at all levels and at all stages ?
from policy planning to implementation and evaluation. This has to take into account the social
realities for women and girls in communities, including their heavy workload in domestic water
management;
Secondly: the involvement of women in all spheres and at all levels of water management, i.e. at the
domestic and local level as well as within national policy making. They must become active
participants in the management of water related public services and similar private sector activities,
also in line with the established principles of gender -mainstreaming;
Thirdly: Education of stakeholders in the field of water and sanitation; this issue should also be a
focus of the international decade "education for sustainable development";
And finally: Adequate public sanitation facilities, including in schools, especially for women and
girls.
Thank you very much for your attention!
