Some countries were also very clear on their support for a dedicated Water Goal during the official session of the UNGA, e.g. Switzerland and The Netherlands
Maggie's speech:
Excellencies,
ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you
for giving me the floor, my name is Maggie White, I am a member of the steering
committee of a global network encompassing more than 190 CSOs and NGOs called
the Butterfly Effect.
Our members
work on water and sanitation related issues in different regions and from
different perspectives but have joined forces to jointly stress the importance
of the water agenda for sustainable development.
We highly
welcome the input from Switzerland, Netherlands and Colombia and the other
countries represented here that push for water and sanitation in their main
priorities in the post 2015 agenda.
We expect
the GA of the UN to decide on 1 process to reach 1 set of goals in 1 governance
structure for the sustainable development of our world, converging the
development and the sustainable development agenda. In doing this chances of success will be increased
by creating a sense of purpose and one forward looking vision. Ownership of the
goals will be shared and this will reinforce a progressive global partnership
through cooperation of all stakeholders.
This will
not only increase effectiveness and create a believable license to operate,
that people can understand, but on top of that, it will enhance focused and
coherent facilitation and funding to achieve these goals.
With that in mind, we call for an explicit goal aiming for a water safe world – in quantity, quality, accessibility and affordability.
This goal
should be based on normative principles of equitable
and reasonable use, participation, pollution prevention and causing no
significant harm and also on the Human right to safe water and sanitation in
order to prevent inequality and discrimination. It should therefore be characterized
by the
availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of affordable water for health,
livelihoods, ecosystems and production. And be coupled with a manageable level
of water related risks to people, environments and economies.
We believe that we must aim for the shared
benefit of a water safe world through SMARTER targets on :
-
universal, sustainable
gender-responsive access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene be it
at home, schools, work
-
integrated management of water resources - the application of the 3R principals
- establish water
governance systems that apply the principles of transparency, accountability,
access to information, participation and cooperation
- always incorporate capacity development
- ensure prioritization of water resource
management in national plans
- ensure better financing of the WASH sector also in
emergency contexts,
In conclusion, it is clear that water and
sanitation are key determinants in all aspects of social, economic and
environmental development and must therefore be a central focus of any
post-2015 framework. And while recognizing that water is cross cutting for all the other
goals we want to achieve, we are calling upon the governments present here to
work towards and push for an explicit goal on water it being widely recognized
that sustainable water management is the basis for the achievement of all
sustainable development.
Water is the key to a shared prosperity!
(And to keep reminding you, and further the
discussions, we would like to share with you a short summary of our input and
post cards that illustrate the pivotal role of water in a joined sustainable
agenda.)
