Tal
6 september 2010
Gunilla Carlsson, Biståndsminister
Gunilla Carlssons inledningsanförande vid Världsvattenveckan (engelska)
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here with you again this year and would like to express my gratitude to SIWI (the Stockholm International Water Institute) for hosting this event for the twentieth time and for inviting me to take part.
During the twenty years that SIWI has hosted the World Water Week, it has grown to become one of the world's best-known and most dynamic arenas for dialogue and constructive collective thinking among practitioners, researchers and policy makers in the water world.
In my remarks today, I will focus primarily on some major issues related to this year's theme. I will talk about the challenges we face with regard to water, and what we can do to overcome them. Water and its quality have key democracy, human rights and equality dimensions that must be addressed if we are to move towards sustainable development and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
A great deal has happened since World Water Week was launched 20 years ago. For example, today, almost two billion more people have access to safe drinking water compared with twenty years ago, and around 1.5 billion more people have access to sanitation. The provision of safe water has actually outperformed global population growth and given more than eight million people, roughly the population of Sweden, access to safe water every month - for 20 years!
Hence the global water sector, which you represent here today, is performing well and producing results. The millions of people who have better access to water and sanitation services translates, in practice, into lighter burdens, better schooling, greater dignity and safety - especially for women and children - and better, longer and healthier lives. In short: development! And [I believe that] you - the world's water community - have every reason to be proud of your achievements.
Let me also talk about the challenges we face today. We are all aware of the severe situation in Pakistan. The floods that have ravaged the country have caused unprecedented damage. We now run the risk of more people dying as a result of waterborne diseases, epidemics, skin infections, malaria and dengue fever then of the actually floods.
I am deeply concerned by the situation and we, the international community, need to make sure that we increase our efforts to support the people of Pakistan, not the least by ensuring peoples access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
This is why the Swedish government has contribution to the flood response with almost 20 MUSD. Swedish Rescue teams are in place and provide efficient water purification and thus ensure that basic need are covered for those affected by the floods.
We also face other problem within the water field. Bacteriological contamination of surface and ground water resources takes a huge toll on people's health as well as on the world's environment; half of the population in the developing world is suffering from one or more of the main diseases associated with inadequate provision of water and sanitation, and diseases related to poor water quality fill half the hospital beds in developing countries.
Poor water quality is also a result of industrial effluents from the production and consumption of, for example, chemicals, cars and computers. We are all too aware of the disastrous effects that oil drilling, mining and other extractive activities can have on water quality. The people worst affected are often poor people, who do not have the opportunity to make their voices heard and participate in dialogue and decision making.
These problems are becoming more severe due to climate change. Access to clean water for both drinking and cleaning, but also water for agricultural production and other economic activities will decrease and become more erratic in some parts of the world, having a devastating impact on already vulnerable groups, as well as on economic growth. This problem is likely to become more acute where adequate water supplies for households often compete with requirements for irrigation, tourism and other interests,
One of the most serious effects of climate change, as the situation in Pakistan clearly shows, is that we are likely to experience more droughts and more floods. This will further impact water quality, as floods tend to flush out high amounts of pollutants while droughts reduce the amount of water that can dilute and disperse contamination.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have only five more years to the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. In just a few weeks, the world will come together in New York for a UN summit that will take stock of what we have achieved, as well as the goals and targets that still remain major challenges, particularly for Africa.
Safe and sound drinking water is essential for a healthy life and proper nutrition. Successful implementation of the commitments in the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals includes reducing by half the proportion of people who lack access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.
Ensuring access to water and sanitation is central to sustainable development. It requires partnerships among a range of responsible and accountable actors - governments, local authorities, civil society organisations, researchers and the private sector´- globally, regionally and at national levels, if we are to reach the MDG:s
Ladies and gentlemen,
As you are well aware, water is also an indispensible resource for food production. Much of the progress in world food security over the past few decades, notably in Asia, has been linked to increased access to water for irrigation.
Today, one billion people worldwide still suffer from hunger and malnutrition which, to a large extent, are both the cause and result of a vicious circle of low productivity and disease. To break this circle, we need to take priority action both at a strategic level and in the practical work on the ground. People must have the freedom and opportunity to express their own views and priorities for development. More often than not, these concern their basic needs - such as water, food and shelter. In this sense, I see open democracy as a key process for setting priorities, demanding accountability and ensuring that basic services are delivered.
In many developing countries, women and girls are responsible for the provision of water, energy, sanitation measures and agricultural production at household and local community levels. Several hours a day must be set aside to collect water, a chore that is often carried out by young girls, whose school attendance may therefore suffer. The fact that women and girls are responsible for water collection often means fewer opportunities for self-development. Highlighting social equity and gender equality issues in water management policy and decision making therefore leads to positive development effects that benefit individuals, families and communities, as well as nations.
My government has adopted several new policies this year that have a direct bearing on water access, quality and management. They are based on Sweden's policy for global development and the objective of achieving equitable and sustainable global development through policy coherence.
In July this year, we adopted a gender policy for the period 2010-2015 that sets out the Government's basic position regarding gender equality and women's rights and role in Sweden's international development cooperation. The policy emphasises that women as well as men are key agents of change, and that they must have equal access to resources such as water. This includes access to technology for water management, including participating in efforts to improve the monitoring of water quality. In connection with water resources management, women's full enjoyment of their human rights with respect to land and other property through inheritance and acquisition are crucially important.
An overall priority for Sweden's international development cooperation is to increase the capacity of vulnerable people and countries to adapt to adverse climate change impacts and improve risk management. Improved environmental conditions, including the sustainable use of natural resources and ecosystems, will help realise the significant potential for economic growth and prosperity, and ultimately lead to social equity, gender equality, peace, stability and security.
Ladies and gentlemen,
A great deal has been achieved over the past 20 years. But as pressures on this vital resource increase, there is an urgent need to achieve even more in the 20 years to come. We now have a number of strong global and national policy frameworks in place to guide our responses to the challenges I noted earlier. Hopefully, we will not be discussing the same issues 20 years from now.
[I wish you fruitful deliberations during this year's World Water Week.]
Thank you.
