PREMIER WATER FORUM UNITES EXPERTS, LOCAL, AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ISTANBUL 000133 SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO STEVEN PIERCE AT USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ENIV ENRG PHUM PREL SENV TU UNDP UNEF UNEP SUBJECT: PREMIER WATER FORUM UNITES EXPERTS, LOCAL, AND NATIONAL LEADERS IN ISTANBUL REF: ISTANBUL 128 ISTANBUL 00000133 001.2 OF 004 Summary ¶1. (U) Over 25,000 people, including more that 100 ministers and several heads-of-state, attended the Fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul, March 16-22. The U.S. delegation to the Forum was led by USAID Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham and included 70 technical experts from more than 10 U.S. agencies. U.S. objectives were to demonstrate U.S. commitment to water and sanitation issues; build developing country capacity; and advance U.S. partnerships, projects and programs. Key issues of the Forum were water and climate, financing, and a right to water. End summary. Overview of the Fifth World Water Forum ¶2. (U) The World Water Forum (WWF) is held every three years and is the largest international event on water and sanitations. The Forum represents an important opportunity to demonstrate U.S. commitment to water and sanitation issues; advance U.S. projects and programs; and build developing country capacity. The World Water Council (WWC) and the government of Turkey hosted the 5th WWF in Istanbul from March 16 to 22, 2009. Over 25,000 people from 155 countries attended the Forum including more than 100 ministers and several heads of State. ¶3. (U) The theme of the 5th WWF was "Bridging Divides for Water." The WWF was organized into three parts: Thematic sessions - over 100 sessions where technical experts could exchange best practices and lessons learned on a range of water and sanitation related topics; Exhibition/Fair - a collection of exhibits and demonstrations by governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and civil society; and Senior Official / Ministerial Process - to generate greater political will to address water and sanitation issues. The 5th WWF also included a learning center, side events, partnership meetings, a two-day Youth World Water Forum, and a series of events for local government officials and parliamentarians. ¶4. (U) Notable participants at the WWD included Abdullah Gul, the President of Turkey, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, Emomalii Rahmon, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Moroccan Prime Minster Abbas El Fassi, South Korea Prime Minister Seung-Soo, the Crown Prince of Japan, the Prince of Monaco, and the Prince of Orange, from the Netherlands. ¶5. (U) The U.S. delegation was led by USAID Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham. Other senior members of the U.S. delegation included OES Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Environment Dan Reifsnyder and the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lieutenant General Van Antwerp. While the formal U.S. delegation to the WWF number 15, more than 60 experts from U.S. technical agencies participated. This included representatives from DOS, USAID, USACE, USGS, USDA, NOAA, USBR, NASA, MCC, DOD, EPA, and NSF Key Outcomes and USG Participation at the World Water Forum ¶6. (U) Thematic Sessions: Technical sessions were organized around six themes: Global Change and Risk Management; Advancing Human Development and the MDGs; Managing and Protecting Water Resources; Governance and Management; Finance; and Education, Knowledge, and Capacity Development. U.S. experts chaired 24 technical seesions, and participated in dozens more, at the Forum. Many of these sessions ISTANBUL 00000133 002.2 OF 004 demonstrated the results of U.S. partnerships with other organizations and countries, including joint work with the World Health Organization and the World Bank. ¶7. (U) The Learning Center: During the week, space and time were set aside for experts interested in teaching short-courses on innovative approaches to addressing water and sanitation challenges. These were legitimate capacity building opportunities with as many as 60 to 70 participants spending several hours in a classroom-like setting with instructors. USG agencies hosted at least six learning center courses, training WWF participants on topics such as dam safety, river management, finance, and water information systems. ¶8. (U) Exhibition/Fair: More than 100 exhibitors sponsored booths at the World Water Expo. The Department of State partnered with the American Society of Civil Engineers to create a USA Pavilion. The Pavilion brought together exhibitors from USG agencies and U.S.-broad based nongovernmental and private sector organizations under one banner to increase visibility to U.S. efforts. While modest in comparison to many of the other exhibits, U.S. technical agencies were extremely pleased with the traffic it generated and the opportunity to reach out to new partners. ¶9. (U) The Senior Officials Meeting - Final Discussions on the Ministerial Statement: On March 17, the GOT and the WWC convened a meeting of senior government officials to finalize preparations for the ministerial meetings. Many delegations pressed to re-open the draft ministerial declaration on a number of issues, including the right to water, transboundary water issues, and human security. (While any declaration from the WWF in non-binding, both the WWC and the GOT pushed for a ministerial declaration similar to previous WWFs.) The U.S., along with several others, opposed re-opening the draft. (The ministerial declaration was the product of a long, transparent, fully consultative preparatory process. All governments were invited to participate but not all did. The final draft presented to senior officials had no brackets. While the declaration was far from perfect, we did not wish to spend additional time in negotiations.) Once it became clear that many paragraphs would have to be renegotiated many governments reversed their position. The draft was never formally adopted and several delegations - notably Bolivia, Switzerland, and Japan - expressed strong dissatisfaction with the process and vowed to bring these concerns into the ministerial meetings. ¶10. (U) Heads-of-State Summit. On March 16, the GOT convened attending heads of state for a one-day meeting intended to raise the political profile of water and sanitation issues. Attendees included Presidents of Turkey, Tajikistan, and Iraq, Prime Ministers of Japan, Azerbaijan, Morocco, South Korea, Tuvalu, and Kyrgyzstan, Price Albert II of Monaco, Somali Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange from the Netherlands, UN Under-Secretary-General Sha Zukang, UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura, and OCED Secretary General Angel Gurria. Heads of discussed challenges such water security, climate adaptability and international solidarity through more strategic water use. ¶11. (U) The ministerial meetings. USAID Acting Administrator Alonzo Fulgham delivered remarks at the opening session of the ministerial meetings reinforcing U.S. commitment to water and sanitation issues. Ministers then engaged in a series of round table discussions. AA Fulgham chaired the ministerial round table on financing. The discussions focused on ISTANBUL 00000133 003.2 OF 004 developing and implementing national financial plans and strategies; building financing facilities to reduce the risks and mobilize resources; and improving the "bankability" of project proposals. OES DAS for the Environment, Dan Reifsnyder, participated in the water and climate roundtable. DAS Reifsnyder reinforced U.S. commitment to addressing climate change, urged strengthening the linkages between the water and climate communities, and suggested that the water community bring their expertise to the World Meteorological Organization's upcoming World Climate Conference -3. The ministerial meeting ended on March 22 after Turkey declared the ministerial statement adopted. Key Issues/Themes Emerging at the Forum ¶12. (SBU) Water as a human right. Establishing water/sanitation as a "right" (versus a "need") was a goal of many at the forum including the WWC. The U.S. opposed recognizing water as a right in the ministerial statement. This raised the ire of many governments (Switzerland and several Latin American countries) and nongovernmental organizations that see recognition of water/sanitation as a right as a symbolic step necessary to advance access to water and sanitation services. At the closing Ministerial session, the Executive Director of the World Water Council Loic Foucon framed the entire WWF within the context of a right to water. As one of only a few countries that vocally oppose a right to water, the U.S. is likely to come under increasing pressure from both U.S. -based and international NGOs to reconsider its position. Note: While the U.S. does not oppose any government adopting a national right to water or sanitation as part of its own domestic policy, we do not support anything that would a) require all countries to adopt a national right to water or b) imply that an international right to water already exists. End Note. ¶13. (SBU) Water and climate change. Throughout the meeting, evidence was presented to suggest that climate changes may have a profound impact on water resources and water-related disasters. Many in the water community fear that these issues are not receiving appropriate attention in global discussions related to climate change - particularly on adaptation. Some of these issues were taken up in the ministerial round table on climate and water but DOS may want to give thought to how the water community might productively support the international processes on climate. ¶14. (U) The financial crisis. There was general concern that the ongoing financial crisis might reduce support for water and sanitations activities. While acknowledging that these were legitimate concerns, many felt that the financial crisis also represented an opportunity to focus attention on fundamentals like strengthening governance and improving operations and maintenance. Other Events of Note ¶15. (U) A video message from Senator Richard Durbin was shown during the session for parliamentarians. In the video, Durbin described his proposed Water for the World Act, which aims to ensure that 100 million people by 2015 have access to sustainable water and sanitation. ¶16. (U) The G8 Water Experts Group met on the margins of the WWF. The group came to agreement on a concept paper describing a new G8-Africa Partnership on water and sanitation. The proposed partnerships will work to better integrate bilateral assistance mechanisms at the country ISTANBUL 00000133 004.2 OF 004 level. The group also began discussions with African partners on the draft. ¶17. (SBU) The forum itself was not without controversy. The opening ceremony was briefly interrupted by protesters who unfurled a banner on the balcony saying "no risky dams," and anti-riot police used water cannons to disperse some 300 demonstrators who gathered outside the forum (reftel). The tension reached into the forum with unpleasant rhetoric from some speakers and questioners over issues including the privatization of water, the human right to water, and the ongoing cleavage between Turkey and Cyprus. The USG was targeted when Cuba noted during the Ministerial Opening that they provide water and sanitation to 95% of their people despite suffering an "unlawful embargo" from one of the world's most powerful nations. Comment ¶18. (SBU) The WWF is one of the largest international environmental event in the world. The WWC has long believed that the key outcomes of the WWFs are the numerous declarations made by heads-of-state, ministers, parliamentarians, and others. We disagree. Unlike the negotiated outcomes of the WWFs which are not binding and add little new to the international discourse on water and sanitation issues, the strength of the Forum lies in its capacity to bring together a wide range of policy-makers to technical experts to identify and implement innovative approaches to addressing critical water and sanitation challenges. In other words, the WWF's strength and focus should be on those activities that can meaningfully advance projects and programs that make a measurable contribution to the lives of people on the ground. This includes the number of people trained, number of new partnerships launched, and the additional resources mobilized. This is the approach the USG took to the Forum. The U.S. delegation successfully demonstrated commitment, broadly shared knowledge and experience, and took full advantage of the opportunity to meet old partners and make new ones. End Comment. ¶19. (U) For copies of the daily sitreps reporting in details on key events a the WWF, please contact OES/ENV's Ingrid Specht at spectik@state.gov Wiener