 | A broad consortium of
organizations, including United Nations agencies such as the Food and
Agriculture Organization, the World Water Council, the World Meteorological
Organization, the UN Environment Programme, UNESCO, the UN Development
Programme, and the World Bank, which supported the International Dialogue on
Water and Climate, are committed to continue building bridges between the
climate and water sector, and develop activities to better cope with climate
impacts. These organizations will form an International Water and Climate
Alliance. The relationship of climate to water supply accounted for more
than 20 commitments made at the Forum. |
| The United Nations
Development Programme has committed to creating a Community Water
Initiative, aimed at building on the power of local communities to solve
their own water and sanitation challenges. The initiative will provide
innovative communities with small grants to expand and improve their
solutions. The Community Water Initiative has an estimated target budget of
$50 million for 2003-2008. |
| Through the Indigenous
Peoples Kyoto Water Declaration, the indigenous participants of the 3rd
World Water Forum commit themselves to forming a network on water issues
that will strengthen the voice of indigenous people generally, and help
empower local communities struggling to protect their water rights. |
| The Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport of Japan has supported the establishment of the
International Flood Network, launched during the Third World Water Forum for
flood mitigation. The network's Global Flood Warning System project offers
the capacity to create the precipitation maps all over the world every three
hours. As a result, flood warnings in the world will be vastly improved,
benefiting up to 4.8 billion people. |
| A Water and Poverty
Initiative, led by Asian Development Bank, is being developed with
collaborating partner organizations for the 3rd World Water Forum. The bank
on Wednesday signed an agreement with UN Habitat on Water for Asian Cities
Program, which will provide $500 million in loans over five years. The bank
signed a parallel agreement with the Cities Alliance Program, which will
provide an initial $500,000 in grants for urban poor water supply and
sanitation improvements, leveraged against community commitments. Additional
funding for Water for Asian Cities has also been made available to
UN-HABITAT by the government of Netherlands. |
| A program to precisely
identify the benefits brought by sound water management and provide
governments with appropriate tools and analysis to be considered in priority
setting, planning, development, management, and budgeting for the water
sector is one commitment made by the World Water Council. The program will
be developed with a consortium of International financial institutions, UN
agencies, international non-governmental organizations, and research
institutions. |
| UNESCO and the World Water
Council committed themselves to promote, develop and support the
establishment and operation of an independent, easily accessible facility
that can help solve problems related to trans-boundary waters by providing
on request access to experienced technical advisers, tools, training
sessions and mediators. |
| Several international
organizations and research institutes are committed to financing and
continuing to develop Virtual Water, a website that simulates an actual
conference environment. It provides a discussion platform involving people
around the world beyond time, region and language barriers, using the latest
computer technology and the Internet. It aims to provide governments with
information and tools to utilize virtual water trade as an integral part of
any government's national and regional water, food and environmental
policies. |
| The Water and Sanitation
Program of the World Bank committed itself to funding national capacity
building projects for monitoring the achievement of Millenium Development
Goals. Candidate countries are welcome to apply. |
| PricewaterhouseCoopers, UN
Water and Care International commit to a Global Water Initiative, to bring a
substantial contribution to the Millenium Development Goals. It will start
soon with a pilot project in Africa supported by the French Government, with
results by the end of the year 2003. |
| Australia commits over A$80
million in the current financial year for water activities, primarily in
countries in the Asia-Pacific region. |
| Caribbean and Pacific
organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implement the Joint
Program for Action among 37 member states, providing for cooperation on
enhancing the freshwater environment, capacity building, data and
information management, applied research, and sharing of expertise. |
| The Netherlands will
concentrate its support to Africa and assist 10 countries in the development
of their national water and sanitation plans. Further, it is committed to
support the African Water Facility. |
| The European Commission is
committed through EUREAU to include benchmarking into the EU Water
Initiative. |
| The Mekong River Commission,
with the governments of Cambodia, Laos PDR, Thailand and Vietnam, will
prepare a navigation strategy and program by the end of 2003 to develop
sustainable, effective and safe navigation on the Mekong, and to increase
the international trade opportunities for the mutual benefit of the
Commission's member countries. |
