Iran
1
Statement of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the
thematic discussion on water and sanitation at CSD12
Conference Room1- 21 April 2004
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Mr. Chairman,
We fully support the statement made by the Chairman of the
G77&China at the beginning of our deliberations in CSD this week. For
Iran with an arid and semi-arid climate, prone to natural disasters and
with a young population, water implies the life. Being fully aware of the
strategic importance of water for the country, the Government in
implementing the three Five?Years Development Plans, consistently
invested in the water sector with the objectives of; controlling and
harvesting the ground-water, enhancing the quality of water, and
increasing the access of the people to safe water. To achieve these
objectives, more than 80 large dams have been constructed with the
capacity of 33 billions m3 of the ground water which previously wasted
and caused severe damage to the cities and farm lands. On water
quality, National Strategy to Control the Quality of Drinking Water is
implemented since long time ago. At present, 700 bacteriological and
water quality control laboratories administered by the Ministry of
2
Health and the Ministry of Energy have the important task of
monitoring the quality of water. As a result of these extensive
investments, more than 96% of urban areas have access to safe drinking
water. Despite all of these efforts and the gigantic investment of
Government in the water sector, the pace of the demand for the
provision of basic needs in the area of water and sanitation, has
exceeded the limited financial and technological capacity of the country.
The critical estimation by the Government shows that the total capacity
of water resources to be secured for the next 25 years is only about 12 to
15 billion m3 which does not commensurate, at all, with the growing
needs of the country. Furthermore, these investments and efforts have
been targeting mainly the quantity and quality of water rather than the
water efficiency and its integrated management. Even though there
have been efforts in these fields, there are still serious challenges
particularly in the field of water efficiency and IWRM. 94% of the total
water resources of the country is currently used in the agricultural
sector whose rate of water efficiency is about 40%. To enhance water
efficiency in the agriculture and other sectors, huge and enormous
investment, technology and time is required. There is also a clear need
to improve consumption patterns through various means including
training and awareness programs for the people. In addition, increased
demands for water supply and sanitation, the need for maintenance of
the water supply networks, lack of sufficient water purification facilities
in remote areas and delivery of water to these areas, lack of the
necessary facilities for the environmentally sound treatment and
3
recycling of wastewater and used water, and continued trend of
immigration from rural to urban areas pose major challenges to our
country as it is the case for many other countries. Moreover, over
exploitation and constant use of the existing water resources (both
ground and under-ground sources) in the absence of its sufficient
recharge, degradation and contamination of the limited water resources
by various sources of pollution; effluents, industrial and residential
swages and wastes, air pollution and natural disasters in particular
earth-quake, floods and droughts have severely and critically affected
the water resources. To address these challenges, the Government has
also taken practical measures to utilize all domestic resources in
particular private sector. Participation of local communities, in
particular women due to their important role in ensuring the
sustainability of water resources and protection of environment, as a
long tradition in Iran, has been further pursued. Against this
background, the expectation is from the IFI?s, UN funds, programs and
agencies as well as the GEF and our partners in the developed countries
to further fulfill their promises in regard to technology transfer and
financing the capacity building plans and projects of developing
countries in the above-mentioned areas. The task ahead of us is huge
and in particular requires a joint and cooperative work among more
than 24 UN entities involved in water issues. The existing interagency
collaborative mechanism within HLPC, is a proper framework at the
secretariat side for joint and cooperative work within the UN. What is
needed is the strong cooperation among UN bodies rather than
competition. This Cooperation should be done with full respect to the
mandate and comparative advantage of different UN
entities and with the objective of full realization of their potentials to
contribute to the process of implementation. To be successful in our
collective efforts to meet the targets contained in JPOI and MD
including in the areas of water sanitation and human settlement, it is
fundamental to maintain the integrity of the JPOI, adhere to the
program of work adopted at CSD11 as well as to respect the role of the
CSD as the high- level commission responsible for monitoring the
implementation of A-21 and JPOI.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Statement of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the
thematic discussion on water and sanitation at CSD12
Conference Room1- 21 April 2004
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Mr. Chairman,
We fully support the statement made by the Chairman of the
G77&China at the beginning of our deliberations in CSD this week. For
Iran with an arid and semi-arid climate, prone to natural disasters and
with a young population, water implies the life. Being fully aware of the
strategic importance of water for the country, the Government in
implementing the three Five?Years Development Plans, consistently
invested in the water sector with the objectives of; controlling and
harvesting the ground-water, enhancing the quality of water, and
increasing the access of the people to safe water. To achieve these
objectives, more than 80 large dams have been constructed with the
capacity of 33 billions m3 of the ground water which previously wasted
and caused severe damage to the cities and farm lands. On water
quality, National Strategy to Control the Quality of Drinking Water is
implemented since long time ago. At present, 700 bacteriological and
water quality control laboratories administered by the Ministry of
2
Health and the Ministry of Energy have the important task of
monitoring the quality of water. As a result of these extensive
investments, more than 96% of urban areas have access to safe drinking
water. Despite all of these efforts and the gigantic investment of
Government in the water sector, the pace of the demand for the
provision of basic needs in the area of water and sanitation, has
exceeded the limited financial and technological capacity of the country.
The critical estimation by the Government shows that the total capacity
of water resources to be secured for the next 25 years is only about 12 to
15 billion m3 which does not commensurate, at all, with the growing
needs of the country. Furthermore, these investments and efforts have
been targeting mainly the quantity and quality of water rather than the
water efficiency and its integrated management. Even though there
have been efforts in these fields, there are still serious challenges
particularly in the field of water efficiency and IWRM. 94% of the total
water resources of the country is currently used in the agricultural
sector whose rate of water efficiency is about 40%. To enhance water
efficiency in the agriculture and other sectors, huge and enormous
investment, technology and time is required. There is also a clear need
to improve consumption patterns through various means including
training and awareness programs for the people. In addition, increased
demands for water supply and sanitation, the need for maintenance of
the water supply networks, lack of sufficient water purification facilities
in remote areas and delivery of water to these areas, lack of the
necessary facilities for the environmentally sound treatment and
3
recycling of wastewater and used water, and continued trend of
immigration from rural to urban areas pose major challenges to our
country as it is the case for many other countries. Moreover, over
exploitation and constant use of the existing water resources (both
ground and under-ground sources) in the absence of its sufficient
recharge, degradation and contamination of the limited water resources
by various sources of pollution; effluents, industrial and residential
swages and wastes, air pollution and natural disasters in particular
earth-quake, floods and droughts have severely and critically affected
the water resources. To address these challenges, the Government has
also taken practical measures to utilize all domestic resources in
particular private sector. Participation of local communities, in
particular women due to their important role in ensuring the
sustainability of water resources and protection of environment, as a
long tradition in Iran, has been further pursued. Against this
background, the expectation is from the IFI?s, UN funds, programs and
agencies as well as the GEF and our partners in the developed countries
to further fulfill their promises in regard to technology transfer and
financing the capacity building plans and projects of developing
countries in the above-mentioned areas. The task ahead of us is huge
and in particular requires a joint and cooperative work among more
than 24 UN entities involved in water issues. The existing interagency
collaborative mechanism within HLPC, is a proper framework at the
secretariat side for joint and cooperative work within the UN. What is
needed is the strong cooperation among UN bodies rather than
competition. This Cooperation should be done with full respect to the
mandate and comparative advantage of different UN
entities and with the objective of full realization of their potentials to
contribute to the process of implementation. To be successful in our
collective efforts to meet the targets contained in JPOI and MD
including in the areas of water sanitation and human settlement, it is
fundamental to maintain the integrity of the JPOI, adhere to the
program of work adopted at CSD11 as well as to respect the role of the
CSD as the high- level commission responsible for monitoring the
implementation of A-21 and JPOI.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Stakeholders