222893e

WATER COOPERATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND POVERTY ERADICATIONImage: Antonie de KempImage: Rita TesselaarA local community in Eastern Province, Zambia benefitting from water cooperationprojects supported by the NetherlandsWater governance is essential when countering increasing pressure onwater resources. Children play alongside a polluted river in Egyptcal economy. In principle, water is a renewable resource, but thereare physical and ecological boundaries that limit its use. How wemake those choices depends on the institutional ‘setting’ for decision-making.For example:• Who has power, and who has control over transboundarywater resources?• Who is involved in decisions?• Are these decisions transparent?• Is there adequate information?• Is there sufficient accountability?Examples from different parts of the world illustrate that sustainablewater use has everything to do with the politics around distribution,within and between countries. It is essential to involve all sectorsof society with a stake in shared water resources, and to developinstitutional capacity and a culture of cooperation well in advanceof costly, time-consuming crises which could threaten lives, regionalstability and ecosystem health. It can be done.Take the Netherlands. Water has long constituted an integral part ofour spatial planning. Having the right amount of water for water usersat the right time, in the right place, and at socially acceptable costs isone of the key targets. But being a delta country, transboundary cooperationwas crucial too. In the twentieth century water quality becamea serious issue. Due to industrialization across Europe, the Netherlandsbecame the soakage pit of Europe. During the period 1973-75, at thepoint where the Rhine flows into the Netherlands, the river carried anaverage of 47 tons of mercury, 400 tons of arsenic, 130 tons of cadmium,1,600 tons of lead, 1,500 tons of copper, 1,200 tons of zinc, 2,600 tonsof chromium, and 12 million tons of chlorides every year. 17 Clearly,something had to be done. Decades of international cooperation andthe development of international rules with riparian countries upstreamfor the protection of these shared resources followed. 18 Although ittook many years, the Rhine, Meuse and Schelde river basin countriesconcluded treaties about the integrated management of these rivers.We invested heavily in knowledge, learning by doing, and innovation.The public and private sectors have joined forces with the knowledgeinstitutes to foster innovations. Now biodiversity in our rivers is thrivingagain, and these waters are safe for agricultural andrecreational use.The Netherlands is committed to contributing to aworld where disputes over water are settled in consultationwith those concerned. Our long-lasting supportto river basin organizations and programmes directed attransboundary management of river basins such as theNile, the Mekong and the Senegal rivers, are an exampleof this commitment. By their transboundary nature, thesemulti-country water resources represent regional publicgoods that provide national water and food security, andthe protection of important international ecosystems.The Netherlands development cooperation programmefurther supports water programmes in Kenya, Ghana,Benin, Mali, Ethiopia and South Sudan, in addition tointegrated delta management programmes in Egypt,Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mozambique, and Viet Nam.In March 2013 the Netherlands hosted the celebrationof World Water Day, as part of the United Nations asthe International Year of Water Cooperation. A strongappeal was made to the world community to ensurewater security and a sustainable future for all. It wasrecommended that water security should be establishedas a sustainable development goal to which the worldwill commit itself from 2015.“Thousands have lived without love, not one withoutwater”, the poet W. H. Auden once famously said. Waterscarcity and poor water quality may in future devastatethe most sacred thing given to us: human life andhuman dignity. Based on our history of integrated watermanagement, and our experience with risk assessments,spatial planning, adaptation strategies (including watersafety, fresh water supply and developing resilient urbanareas) as well as international water governance, theNetherlands stands ready to work in partnership withother countries for a water secure world. Tomorrow’sworld demands nothing less.[ 198 ]