Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ISTANBUL133
2009-04-01 16:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Istanbul
Cable title:  

PREMIER WATER FORUM UNITES EXPERTS, LOCAL, AND

Tags:  ECON ENIV ENRG PHUM PREL SENV TU UNDP UNEF 
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DE RUEHIT #0133/01 0911625
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P 011625Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8898
INFO RUCNBEH/BRASILIA ENVIRONMENTAL HUB COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZJ/HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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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

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