MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION
10.3.2006
pursuant to Rule 108(5) of the Rules of Procedure
by Thierry Cornillet
on behalf of the ALDE Group
on the Fourth World Water Forum
B6‑0164/06
European Parliament resolution on the Fourth World Water Forum
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico City on 16-22 March 2006,
– having regard to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the 2005 final report of the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Water and Sanitation, entitled 'Health, dignity and development: what will it take?',
– having regard to the second edition of the UN World Water Development Report, 'Water, a shared responsibility', launched on 9 March 2006,
– having regard to the G8 Water Action Plan adopted at the Evian Summit in 2003, which was confirmed in the G8 Gleneagles declaration of 7 July 2005,
– having regard to the EU Water Initiative (EUWI) launched at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002,
– having regard to the ACP-EU Water Facility launched in 2004,
– having regard to the 2003 European Parliament resolution on water management in developing countries,
– having regard to Rule 108(5) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas half the world's population suffers from lack of sanitation or lack of access to drinking water, and whereas there is clear evidence of a looming global water crisis, threatening not only sustainable development but also peace and security,
B. whereas the European Parliament considers that 'since water is a shared resource of mankind, the management of water resources should not be subject to the rules of the internal market' (resolution of 11 March 2004 on internal market strategy - priorities 2003-2006),
C. whereas MDG target 10 is to 'halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation',
D. whereas women suffer disproportionately from insufficient access to drinking water and sanitation,
E. whereas the European Union and its Member States provide some € 1.4 billion per year for water and sanitation in developing countries, making the EU the largest aid provider in the world in this sector,
F. whereas the EUWI aims to increase international mobilisation for achieving the MDGs and WSSD targets for drinking water and sanitation, through strategic regional partnerships involving all stakeholders - governments, civil society, local authorities and the private sector,
G. whereas the ACP-EU Water Facility aims, in the context of the MDGs and the WSSD targets, to 'boost the sustainable delivery of water and sanitation infrastructure and improve water governance and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) practices in ACP countries by helping to address the financing gap',
1. Considers that access to water, as set out in international conventions, is a fundamental right for each person and invites all participants at the World Water Forum to create the conditions in order to provide access to water for everybody;
2. Considers that water problems are particularly acute in Africa; underlines the importance of promoting regional cooperation in Africa within the framework of NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development);
3. Regrets the limited involvement of the private sector in the Water Facility so far; believes that public-private partnerships can often provide answers to some of the barriers to access to water and sanitation, and calls on the Commission to draw up a report on the reasons which have led the major private-sector groups to hang back;
4. Underlines the need for sustainable service delivery of water supply and sanitation, requiring long-term investment and the involvement of all actors from the local to the international level and, in particular, the involvement of government; calls for all programmes to value local and regional expertise as a key factor for success in water policy-making;
5. Welcomes the G8 commitment to promoting access to clean water and sanitation in developing countries and the partnership with the African Development Bank initiative on rural water and sanitation; calls for regular follow-up reports on the implementation of the Water Action Plan;
6. Welcomes the allocation of € 500 million from the 9th EDF, added to earlier funding of € 475 million from the 9th EDF for water supply and sanitation, for the launching of the ACP-EU Water Facility; calls for water supply and sanitation to be adequately funded in the 10th EDF;
7. Underlines and supports the findings of the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Water and Sanitation, according to which MDG target 10 will be missed unless a number of preconditions are met, including:
- -increased development assistance for and increased targeting of the least developed countries,
- -a reallocation of resources from low- and middle-income developing countries to the poorest,
- -increased involvement of all relevant actors to create real ownership of water supply and sanitation initiatives and to focus on community mobilisation;
8. Calls for innovation and the use of new technologies to be an integral part of programmes on water supply and sanitation; stresses that small, locally operated water supply and sanitation systems can often compete both in quality and cost with large-scale centralised systems;
9. Calls for all programmes on water supply and sanitation to include specific efforts directed at addressing gender inequalities - so as to ensure equal distribution of benefits and opportunities resulting from them - and at supporting women's role in the supply, management and maintenance of water resources;
10. Stresses that action to improve water supply and sanitation must not be taken in isolation, but should rather be part of a coherent and cross-cutting development strategy which includes other policy areas such as health and education, infrastructure, capacity-building and good governance, as well as sustainable development strategies;
11. Stresses the importance of early prevention of latent regional water-related conflicts, especially in regions where countries share a common basin; calls, in this context, for further EU and international efforts to improve regional water policy coordination and to promote the setting up of regional water management bodies;
12. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the ACP governments and national parliaments, the Heads of State of the G8 and the World Water Council.