Istanbul, Turkey (GLOBE-Net) - The World Water Council (WWC), a multi-stakeholder group based in Marseilles, France, has developed a draft declaration, the Istanbul Urban Water Consensus.  The declaration is a call out to city leaders around the world to develop better water management strategies in order to prepare for future, perceived drought conditions.

The declaration encourages authorities to improve water availability through technological solutions, land-use reform, and greater collaboration with the business sector. The agreement also outlines specific targets, such as asking cities to set goals for preventing water loss and improving water treatment.

"The current state of urban water resources is generally considered unsustainable in all countries due to long-term non-synchronized development and piecemeal solutions to problems," the declaration says.

The draft includes potential actions such as:

• Considering a range of water, sanitation and storm water management techniques to respond to urbanization and uncertainty and variability associated with global changes.
  
• Diversifying sources of water supply via new storage facilities, sustainable groundwater extraction, inter-basin water transfer, water conservation, recycled water and desalination to provide more flexibility for an indeterminate future.
  
• Protect environment against cumulative impacts of urban development and climate change through integrated management. Ensure important aquatic habitats function.
  
• Restrict land-use to protect water resources and dependent biodiversity.
  
• Work with industry and the business sector to optimize water efficiency and reuse in processes and products and to stop pollution.

In the draft the WWC also calls upon federal governments and ministries, engineers, scientists and financial institutions to adopt the declaration, indicating that water scarcity is more than just a municipal problem and requires management from all sectors.

The declaration was drafted in Istanbul, Turkey in recognition of growing water scarcity issues stemming from poor sanitation, mismanagement over consumption and climate change.

According to the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) two thirds of the glaciers in the Himalayas are receding, drastically reducing drinking water supplies for 40% of the people living in South Asia for whom the glaciers are the main source of water.

Rainfall - the other main source of water for many - is also a matter of concern. Changing weather patterns are affecting rainfall, resulting in drought conditions in many parts of the world. Experts believe that increased average temperatures associated with climate change have made drought conditions in Southern Europe and much of Africa far more severe.

More than 2 billion individuals living in developing countries lack access to basic sanitation and safe drinking water the UN says.

Conversely, developed countries are using water at an unsustainable rate.  Canadians consume 350 litres of water a day per capita, second only to Americans.  By comparison, the average global citizen uses between 20 and 40 litres of water a day for drinking and sanitation.

A 2007 report from the European Commission states that water use in the European Union could be reduced by about 40%

By 2025, the United Nations estimates that two-thirds of the earth’s population will be living in areas suffering from water scarcity. With so many water issues facing the planet there is a global movement to prevent catastrophe.  In the past there has been a debate as to whether or not the public sector or private sector should control water supplies.

Many believe that economic incentives from the private sector would help limit over use, while other believe that water is a basic human right and should be publicly controlled.

Currently 5% of the global water supply is privatized, but according to the World Bank, privatization has had little positive effect on the overall water supply in developing areas. This is largely due to the fact that most of the people who desperately need clean water are unable to pay enough to warrant the capital investments needed to ensure its reliable and safe supply.

This, coupled with violent anti-privatization protests at the last World Water Forum in Mexico in 2006, have many believing that multinational corporations controlling water access is "no longer viewed as an acceptable approach," according to Nancy Alexander, former director of the Citizens’ Network on Essential Services, a populist advocacy organization.

The Istanbul Water Consensus aims for common ground: a public-private partnership.

Instead, public-private partnerships are growing in popularity. In these agreements, private companies help provide initial investments and manage water services, but the government retains control of the resource itself.

Public-private partnerships could help meet many of the declaration’s goals if water is properly valued. Water must be priced so that all residents can afford it, while also ensuring it will not be depleted.

The declaration is expected to be ready for signature by October. In March of 2009, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas will ask city leaders from around the world to adopt the statement at the fifth World Water Forum, a conference of industry, governments, and nongovernmental organizations.

"The attempt is to get as many mayors of cities as possible to sign on to a document saying…for water to have a greater priority," said Dani Gaillard, the forum’s coordinator. "There’s a need for much more political commitment with respect to water issues."

The consensus is available online and the WWC is accepting comments until July of 2008.  The WWC has also requested municipal authorities around the world circulate the consensus for discussion.

---

For More Information: World Water Forum