His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange
Statement of His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange
At the opening session of the
Twelft Meeting of the Commission on
Sustainable Development
of the
UNITED NATIONS
NEW YORK, April 19, 2004
PERMANENT MISSION OF
THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
TO THE UNITED NATIONS
235 EAST 45TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10017
Excellencies, honourable
It is an honour and a pleasure to have been invited here today by your Chairman, Borge
Brende, Norway's Minis ler of the Environment, and the CSD Bureau, to address you at
the opening of the twelff session of the Commission on Sustainable Development .
Mr Chairman,
The Millennium Development Goals have been set and we all know that water underlies
most of them, directly or
review session to focus o
important in achieving n
target safe drinking wate
Johannesburg, but also the other Goals .
It is now almost two years since the Johannesburg summit . At this session today, the time
has come to identify constraints and obstacles which prevent us from achieving the
Millennium Development Goals . This session will set the tone for a steadfast, deliberate
approach to implementing the Johannesburg action programme . The success of your
work in this forum will b
workable agenda will be
blueprint for a better, mo
indirectly. That is why it is so important for this first CSD
n water, sanitation and human settlements . Your efforts will be
t only the Millennium Development Goals that specifically
and the goal on sanitation, which was added at the WSSD in
delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
measured next year . At the thirteenth session, a clear and
:)n the table, in which all parties will be able to identify the
e equitable global environment. It will be an agreement on a
comprehensive set of act 'ons aimed at clearing the list of obstacles .
i
Your work, which is starting here today, needs to prove to the world that tangible
progress can be made . Tl' at the CSD agenda, starting off with water, sanitation and
human settlements, will show us where we need to focus our action to enable us to roll
back unsustainable policies and practices . Our settlements, our health, the food on our
tables, our sanitation, our basic human rights, our industrial processes, our energy and our
environment all depend on the quality and quantity of water, and our management of
water as the single most precious, life-sustaining resource .
1
1
11
Nothing less is at stake in this session than how we choose to shape tomorrow from a
today that is already precarious . In twenty short years a future is predicted in which one
third of the world's popul tion will live under moderate to severe water stress . Many
cities are already short of water . Where will we find enough for drinking and how will we
provide adequate sanitation? How can we secure the access to clean water, sanitation and
affordable health, whethelt peole live in cities, towns or villages?
How will we grow the food to feed two billion more people, when it takes one ton of
water to grow a pound of cereal or 3,000 litres of water for a kilogram of rice? Rising
prosperity as well as gro mg population will drive world cereal demand up by 50%
between 1997 and 2020. e already use more than 75% of the water we extract for
agriculture . Can we truly ~magine expanding this figure, to the peril of our environment
and ourselves?
Mr Chairman,
The reports of the Secret ry-General on freshwater management and sanitation clearly
indicate what tasks lay ahead of us . More than 80% of people with no access to safe
t
drinking water live in rur l areas and two billion people will need to gain access to
sanitation facilities betty en now and 2015 if the international sanitation target is to be
reached. Enormous chall -,nges await us here .
Many countries in Asia are on track to meet the target of halving the number of people
without access to safe dr nking water by 2015 . In other regions however, entire
I
2
In the past several years I have had the opportunity to draw the world's attention to water
as a national, regional an global concern . In the course of my work with the Global
Water Partnership I have ecome convinced that integrated water resource management
planning is the key to ensuring that all stakeholders are involved . Such planning will
ensure an effective, balanced path towards sustainable development for all . I believe that
integrated planning appli d to the sustainable use of water will serve as a model for the
other sectors on which ycu will focus in the coming years . For example, to anticipate the
impact of energy use and climate change .
populations are struggling . To meet the target, 1 .6 billion people should be provided with
access to drinking watery 2015 and investments in the drinking water sector should be
doubled . Contaminated water sources, inadequate operation and maintenance of pumps
and distribution systems, leakage of water from pipes are just a few of the problems that
need to be overcome first.
These investments in hardware need to be supported by public-private partnerships, since
they will attract more investment . And they need to be accompanied by programmes to
raise awareness of and i prove hygiene and sanitation, particularly in schools . Women
need to be involved in th entire planning and decision-making process, since they are
usually directly response le for securing domestic water supplies and for family hygiene .
In developing countries most fresh water is used for irrigation, while an increasing
amount is used for industry . There is great potential, in both agriculture and industry, for
more efficient use and less pollution . The Global Water Partnership has published
guidelines on the basis of several years' study of this issue . They outline nine main areas
in which countries need t make changes as they make the transition to a more integrated
approach, and include appropriate laws and regulations, capable institutions, adequate
financing and cost recovery mechanisms . Environmental needs should never be left out .
Achieving the Millenniu
finance new infrastructur
challenge . In fact, provisi
in the developing world h
by half in Latin. America
quantum leap in capacity
and training institutes . Th
Education and its partners
Resources Management
Another relevant Millenn
improving the lives of at
developing countries live
Development Goals is not only a matter of finding money to
There is an equally important institutional and human
onal figures indicate that managerial and professional capacities
ve to double in Asia and triple in Africa and need to be raised
o achieve the water and sanitation goal. This calls for a
building, in the form of greatly increased support to education
efforts of, for instan4kce, the UNESCO-IHE Institute of Water
and the Capacity Building Network for Integrated Water
APNET) need to be stepped up .
urn Development Goal for this CSD session envisages
east 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 . Many people in
in dreadful conditions, compounded by a rapid increase in
3
migration to urban areas . The Goal for water and sanitation must be achieved in human
settlements, in cities, town and villages, where water will be consumed and waste
generated . There - in human settlements, and in slums especially - is where barriers are
high, but where actions have to be coordinated and managed .
I would like to stress the i portance of building partnerships to address the following
tour key challenges in this process:
First : to increase knowledge exchange; the circle must be broadened to include not just
water specialists, but also
areas such as forestry, ene~gy, finance, health, population and education .
Second: to enhance public and political commitment and improve policy and legislation
to increase the effectivene s of water and sanitation governance.
Third: to build capacity to
Fourth and one of the big
sector.
As a Dutchman, I am only too well aware that the process is essential ; it is only half a
century since almost two thousand people lost their lives when our water management
systems failed and we were flooded once again . I know that the planning and investment
processes are never finish d . We are now looking at projections for climate change,
rising sea level and what this will mean for Dutch populations and farmlands . We must
continue to practice Integrated Water Resource Management in our country, and in the
wider European Union .
Mr Chairman:
I hope that your work wil lead to a process of building partnerships, ensuring success in
the struggle for sustainab e development . Everything depends on human effort and
willingness, and the creat'vity and innovative thinking of all stakeholders . How can a
4
eople involved in developing policies and frameworks in
bring the knowledge to those who need it for implementation .
est challenges : to seek new sources of investment in the water
I
6k
solution that works in one part of the world be applied in other regions? Global networks
have to be extended to grassroots level . I believe that developing and working in
partnerships will be a cle~ signal of solidarity and will help to bring the forces required
together .
Your dedication will ensure the momentum needed to implement the Johannesburg action
programme . You are responsible for staying on course . Your determination to move
forward and to formulate clear recommendations will prepare the way for the political
decision-makers at the H gh Level Meeting next week, enabling them to find common
ground and identify the s eps ahead . By taking the lead together, you can bring hope to
the world's people that fixture generations will indeed have quality of life and equal
opportunities. No water, io future!
At the Johannesburg Waterdome, President Mandela, Ambassador Salim Ahmed Salim
and I called for action to solve the crisis in water resource management . Now the time
has come to review existing policies, programmes and activities to ensure the political
momentum of the Johannesburg summit is maintained and progress is made in
implementing the act'o rogramme . I congratulate the Commission on its initiative to
bring us together this we k to follow up on the targets for water and sanitation and human
settlements . In doing so, it is taking us past the point of signed agreements, conventions
and protocols. Instead, it s inspiring us to take the actions required to bring about
sustainable development and a better life for all, especially the poor .
Let me end by expressin the wish that your discussions are both honest and meaningful .
Thank you.
At the opening session of the
Twelft Meeting of the Commission on
Sustainable Development
of the
UNITED NATIONS
NEW YORK, April 19, 2004
PERMANENT MISSION OF
THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS
TO THE UNITED NATIONS
235 EAST 45TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10017
Excellencies, honourable
It is an honour and a pleasure to have been invited here today by your Chairman, Borge
Brende, Norway's Minis ler of the Environment, and the CSD Bureau, to address you at
the opening of the twelff session of the Commission on Sustainable Development .
Mr Chairman,
The Millennium Development Goals have been set and we all know that water underlies
most of them, directly or
review session to focus o
important in achieving n
target safe drinking wate
Johannesburg, but also the other Goals .
It is now almost two years since the Johannesburg summit . At this session today, the time
has come to identify constraints and obstacles which prevent us from achieving the
Millennium Development Goals . This session will set the tone for a steadfast, deliberate
approach to implementing the Johannesburg action programme . The success of your
work in this forum will b
workable agenda will be
blueprint for a better, mo
indirectly. That is why it is so important for this first CSD
n water, sanitation and human settlements . Your efforts will be
t only the Millennium Development Goals that specifically
and the goal on sanitation, which was added at the WSSD in
delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
measured next year . At the thirteenth session, a clear and
:)n the table, in which all parties will be able to identify the
e equitable global environment. It will be an agreement on a
comprehensive set of act 'ons aimed at clearing the list of obstacles .
i
Your work, which is starting here today, needs to prove to the world that tangible
progress can be made . Tl' at the CSD agenda, starting off with water, sanitation and
human settlements, will show us where we need to focus our action to enable us to roll
back unsustainable policies and practices . Our settlements, our health, the food on our
tables, our sanitation, our basic human rights, our industrial processes, our energy and our
environment all depend on the quality and quantity of water, and our management of
water as the single most precious, life-sustaining resource .
1
1
11
Nothing less is at stake in this session than how we choose to shape tomorrow from a
today that is already precarious . In twenty short years a future is predicted in which one
third of the world's popul tion will live under moderate to severe water stress . Many
cities are already short of water . Where will we find enough for drinking and how will we
provide adequate sanitation? How can we secure the access to clean water, sanitation and
affordable health, whethelt peole live in cities, towns or villages?
How will we grow the food to feed two billion more people, when it takes one ton of
water to grow a pound of cereal or 3,000 litres of water for a kilogram of rice? Rising
prosperity as well as gro mg population will drive world cereal demand up by 50%
between 1997 and 2020. e already use more than 75% of the water we extract for
agriculture . Can we truly ~magine expanding this figure, to the peril of our environment
and ourselves?
Mr Chairman,
The reports of the Secret ry-General on freshwater management and sanitation clearly
indicate what tasks lay ahead of us . More than 80% of people with no access to safe
t
drinking water live in rur l areas and two billion people will need to gain access to
sanitation facilities betty en now and 2015 if the international sanitation target is to be
reached. Enormous chall -,nges await us here .
Many countries in Asia are on track to meet the target of halving the number of people
without access to safe dr nking water by 2015 . In other regions however, entire
I
2
In the past several years I have had the opportunity to draw the world's attention to water
as a national, regional an global concern . In the course of my work with the Global
Water Partnership I have ecome convinced that integrated water resource management
planning is the key to ensuring that all stakeholders are involved . Such planning will
ensure an effective, balanced path towards sustainable development for all . I believe that
integrated planning appli d to the sustainable use of water will serve as a model for the
other sectors on which ycu will focus in the coming years . For example, to anticipate the
impact of energy use and climate change .
populations are struggling . To meet the target, 1 .6 billion people should be provided with
access to drinking watery 2015 and investments in the drinking water sector should be
doubled . Contaminated water sources, inadequate operation and maintenance of pumps
and distribution systems, leakage of water from pipes are just a few of the problems that
need to be overcome first.
These investments in hardware need to be supported by public-private partnerships, since
they will attract more investment . And they need to be accompanied by programmes to
raise awareness of and i prove hygiene and sanitation, particularly in schools . Women
need to be involved in th entire planning and decision-making process, since they are
usually directly response le for securing domestic water supplies and for family hygiene .
In developing countries most fresh water is used for irrigation, while an increasing
amount is used for industry . There is great potential, in both agriculture and industry, for
more efficient use and less pollution . The Global Water Partnership has published
guidelines on the basis of several years' study of this issue . They outline nine main areas
in which countries need t make changes as they make the transition to a more integrated
approach, and include appropriate laws and regulations, capable institutions, adequate
financing and cost recovery mechanisms . Environmental needs should never be left out .
Achieving the Millenniu
finance new infrastructur
challenge . In fact, provisi
in the developing world h
by half in Latin. America
quantum leap in capacity
and training institutes . Th
Education and its partners
Resources Management
Another relevant Millenn
improving the lives of at
developing countries live
Development Goals is not only a matter of finding money to
There is an equally important institutional and human
onal figures indicate that managerial and professional capacities
ve to double in Asia and triple in Africa and need to be raised
o achieve the water and sanitation goal. This calls for a
building, in the form of greatly increased support to education
efforts of, for instan4kce, the UNESCO-IHE Institute of Water
and the Capacity Building Network for Integrated Water
APNET) need to be stepped up .
urn Development Goal for this CSD session envisages
east 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 . Many people in
in dreadful conditions, compounded by a rapid increase in
3
migration to urban areas . The Goal for water and sanitation must be achieved in human
settlements, in cities, town and villages, where water will be consumed and waste
generated . There - in human settlements, and in slums especially - is where barriers are
high, but where actions have to be coordinated and managed .
I would like to stress the i portance of building partnerships to address the following
tour key challenges in this process:
First : to increase knowledge exchange; the circle must be broadened to include not just
water specialists, but also
areas such as forestry, ene~gy, finance, health, population and education .
Second: to enhance public and political commitment and improve policy and legislation
to increase the effectivene s of water and sanitation governance.
Third: to build capacity to
Fourth and one of the big
sector.
As a Dutchman, I am only too well aware that the process is essential ; it is only half a
century since almost two thousand people lost their lives when our water management
systems failed and we were flooded once again . I know that the planning and investment
processes are never finish d . We are now looking at projections for climate change,
rising sea level and what this will mean for Dutch populations and farmlands . We must
continue to practice Integrated Water Resource Management in our country, and in the
wider European Union .
Mr Chairman:
I hope that your work wil lead to a process of building partnerships, ensuring success in
the struggle for sustainab e development . Everything depends on human effort and
willingness, and the creat'vity and innovative thinking of all stakeholders . How can a
4
eople involved in developing policies and frameworks in
bring the knowledge to those who need it for implementation .
est challenges : to seek new sources of investment in the water
I
6k
solution that works in one part of the world be applied in other regions? Global networks
have to be extended to grassroots level . I believe that developing and working in
partnerships will be a cle~ signal of solidarity and will help to bring the forces required
together .
Your dedication will ensure the momentum needed to implement the Johannesburg action
programme . You are responsible for staying on course . Your determination to move
forward and to formulate clear recommendations will prepare the way for the political
decision-makers at the H gh Level Meeting next week, enabling them to find common
ground and identify the s eps ahead . By taking the lead together, you can bring hope to
the world's people that fixture generations will indeed have quality of life and equal
opportunities. No water, io future!
At the Johannesburg Waterdome, President Mandela, Ambassador Salim Ahmed Salim
and I called for action to solve the crisis in water resource management . Now the time
has come to review existing policies, programmes and activities to ensure the political
momentum of the Johannesburg summit is maintained and progress is made in
implementing the act'o rogramme . I congratulate the Commission on its initiative to
bring us together this we k to follow up on the targets for water and sanitation and human
settlements . In doing so, it is taking us past the point of signed agreements, conventions
and protocols. Instead, it s inspiring us to take the actions required to bring about
sustainable development and a better life for all, especially the poor .
Let me end by expressin the wish that your discussions are both honest and meaningful .
Thank you.
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