22-03-2000

Ministerial Declaration of The Hague on Water Security in the 21st Century

1. Water is vital for the life and health of people and ecosystems

and a basic requirement for the development of countries, but around

the world women, men and children lack access to adequate and safe

water to meet their most basic needs. Water resources, and the

related ecosystems that provide and sustain them, are under threat

from pollution, unsustainable use, land-use changes, climate change

and many other forces. The link between these threats and poverty is

clear, for it is the poor who are hit first and hardest. This leads

to one simple conclusion: business as usual is not an option. There

is, of course, a huge diversity of needs and situations around the

globe, but together we have one common goal: to provide water

security in the 21st Century. This means ensuring that freshwater,

coastal and related ecosystems are protected and improved; that

sustainable development and political stability are promoted, that

every person has access to enough safe water at an affordable cost to

lead a healthy and productive life and that the vulnerable are

protected from the risks of water-related hazards.

2. These threats are not new. Nor are attempts to address them.

Discussions and actions started in Mar del Plata in 1977, continued

through Dublin and were consolidated into Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 in

Rio in 1992. They were reaffirmed in Paris 1998, CSD-6 and in the

Second World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference. The process will

continue in the meeting in Bonn in 2002 ("Dublin+10"), through the

10-year review of implementation of Agenda 21, and beyond. These and

other international meetings have produced a number of agreements and

principles that are the basis upon which this and future statements

should be built. The goal of providing water security in the 21st

Century is reflected in the unprecedented process of broad

participation and discussion by experts, stakeholders and government

officials in many regions of the world. This process has profited

from the important contributions of the World Water Council, who

launched the World Water Vision process at the First World Water

Forum in Marrakech, from the formation of the World Commission on

Water in the 21st Century and from the development of the Framework

for Action by the Global Water Partnership.

The Main Challenges

3. To achieve water security, we face the following main challenges:

Meeting basic needs: to recognise that access to safe and sufficient

water and sanitation are basic human needs and are essential to

health and well-being, and to empower people, especially women,

through a participatory process of water management.

Securing the food supply: to enhance food security, particularly of

the poor and vulnerable, through the more efficient mobilisation and

use, and the more equitable allocation of water for food production.

Protecting ecosystems: to ensure the integrity of ecosystems through

sustainable water resources management.

Sharing water resources: to promote peaceful co-operation and develop

synergies between different uses of water at all levels, whenever

possible, within and, in the case of boundary and trans-boundary

water resources, between states concerned, through sustainable river

basin management or other appropriate approaches.

Managing risks: to provide security from floods, droughts, pollution

and other water-related hazards.

Valuing water: to manage water in a way that reflects its economic,

social, environmental and cultural values for all its uses, and to

move towards pricing water services to reflect the cost of their

provision. This approach should take account of the need for equity

and the basic needs of the poor and the vulnerable.

Governing water wisely: to ensure good governance, so that the

involvement of the public and the interests of all stakeholders are

included in the management of water resources.

Meeting the Challenges

4. We, the Ministers and Heads of Delegation, recognise that our

gathering and this Declaration are part of a wider process, and are

linked to a wide range of initiatives at all levels. We acknowledge

the pivotal role that governments play in realising actions to meet

the challenges. We recognise the need for institutional,

technological and financial innovations in order to move beyond

"business as usual" and we resolve to rise to meet these challenges.

5. The actions advocated here are based on integrated water

resources management, that includes the planning and management of

water resources, both conventional and non-conventional, and land.

This takes account of social, economic and environmental factors and

integrates surface water, groundwater and the ecosystems through

which they flow. It recognises the importance of water quality

issues. In this, special attention should be paid to the poor, to the

role, skills and needs of women and to vulnerable areas such as small

island states, landlocked countries and desertified areas.

6. Integrated water resources management depends on collaboration and

partnerships at all levels, from individual citizens to international

organisations, based on a political commitment to, and wider societal

awareness of, the need for water security and the sustainable

management of water resources. To achieve integrated water resources

management, there is a need for coherent national and, where

appropriate, regional and international policies to overcome

fragmentation, and for transparent and accountable institutions at

all levels.

7. We will further advance the process of collaboration in order to

turn agreed principles into action, based on partnerships and

synergies among the government, citizens and other stakeholders. To

this end:

A. We will establish targets and strategies, as appropriate, to meet

the challenges of achieving water security. As part of this effort,

we support the development of indicators of progress at the national

and sub-national level. In carrying this forward, we will take

account of the valuable work done for the Second World Water Forum.

B. We will continue to support the UN system to re-assess

periodically the state of freshwater resources and related

ecosystems, to assist countries, where appropriate, to develop

systems to measure progress towards the realisation of targets and to

report in the biennial World Water Development Report as part of the

overall monitoring of Agenda 21.

C. We will work together with other stakeholders to develop a

stronger water culture through greater awareness and commitment. We

will identify best practices, based on enhanced research and

knowledge generation capacities, knowledge dissemination through

education and other channels and knowledge sharing between

individuals, institutions and societies at all appropriate levels.

This will include co-ordination at regional and other levels, as

appropriate, to promote arrangements for coping with water-related

disasters and for sharing experiences in water sector reform. It will

also include international co-operation in technology transfers to,

and capacity building in, developing countries.

D. We will work together with stakeholders to increase the

effectiveness of pollution control strategies based on polluter pays

principles and to consider appropriate rules and procedures in the

fields of liability and compensation for damage resulting from

activities dangerous to water resources.

E. Against the background of the preparatory work for and discussions

in The Hague, we will work within multilateral institutions,

particularly the UN system, International Financial Institutions and

bodies established by Inter-Governmental Treaties, to strengthen

water-related policies and programmes that enhance water security,

and to assist countries, as appropriate, to address the major

challenges identified in this Declaration.

F. We call upon the Secretary General of the United Nations to

further strengthen the co-ordination and coherence of activities on

water issues within the UN system. We will adopt consistent positions

in the respective governing bodies to enhance coherence in these

activities.

G. We call upon the Council of the Global Environmental Facility

(GEF) to expand activities that are within the mandate of the GEF in

relation to freshwater resources by catalysing investments in

national water management issues that have a beneficial impact on

international waters.

H. We welcome the contribution of the World Water Council in relation

to the Vision and of the Global Water Partnership with respect to the

development of the Framework for Action. We welcome follow-up actions

by all relevant actors in an open, participatory and transparent

manner that draws upon all major groups in society.

I. We note the statements (attached to this declaration) made by the

representatives of the major groups and welcome them as a clear

reflection of their readiness to work with us towards a secure water

future for all.

8. Recognising that the actions referred to in paragraph 7, including

progress on targets and strategies, are important and ambitious, we

will review our progress periodically at appropriate fora, including

the meeting in Bonn in 2002 and the 10-year review of the

implementation of Agenda 21.

9. The Ministerial Conference acknowledges with appreciation that a

range of issues were discussed during the Second World Water Forum,

and that the Chair of the Forum presented these issues to the

Ministerial Conference. The importance of these issues is

unquestionable; we will raise them for further consideration in

relevant fora in the future and will consider their implications for

our individual national situations.

10. The challenges are formidable, but so are the opportunities.

There are many experiences around the world that can be built on.

What is needed is for us all to work together, to develop

collaboration and partnerships, to build a secure and sustainable

water future. We will, individually and acting together, strive to

achieve this and stimulate and facilitate the contributions of

society as a whole. To this end, we note with appreciation that

pledges were made at The Hague (attached to our declaration). This

Declaration reflects the determination of our governments and

represents a critical step in the process of providing water security

for all.

11. We, the Ministers and Heads of Delegation, thank the government

and people of The Netherlands for their vision and for their

hospitality in hosting this conference and forum.

Agreed to on Wednesday 22 March, 2000,

In The Hague, The Netherlands