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CSD-6 Intersessional Meetings

Freshwater

  • REPORT OF THE EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON STRATEGIC APPROACHES TO FRESHWATER MANAGEMENT
    Harare, Zimbabwe, 27- 30 January 1998

    The Expert Group Meeting was hosted by the Government of Zimbabwe and organised by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The main objective of the Meeting was to provide an expert contribution to the forthcoming deliberations on «Strategic Approaches for Freshwater Management» that will take place in the Ad hoc Working Group of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (New York, 23-29 February, 1998) and, later, during the sixth Session of the CSD (New York, 20 April – 1 May, 1998).

    The Meeting was Co-Chaired by Mr. Robert Ainscow of the United Kingdom and Mr. Sibekile Mtetwa of Zimbabwe. The Meeting was attended by more than 170 experts from developed and developing countries and countries with economies in transition, international organisations from both within and outside of the United Nations, and from the non-governmental organisations and major groups of the civil society.

    In addition to the Plenary meetings, four Working Groups were established in order to ensure an in-depth consideration of a number of specific themes on the agenda, namely:
    «I. Water as the Key Resource in Sustainable Development»
    «II. Freshwater Ecosystems and Water Quality»
    «III. Economic and Financial Issues» and
    «IV. Participation and Institutions for Integrated Water Resources Management».

    The deliberations in each of the Working Groups were led by two Moderators as follows: Working Group I - Mr. James Bruce (Canada) and Ms. Krishna Singh (India); Working Group II – Mr. Ingvar Andersson (Sweden) and Mr. Armando Bertranou (Argentina); Working Group III – Mr. Torkil Jonch-Clausen (Denmark) and Mr. Sékou Touré (Côte d’Ivoire); and Working Group IV – Mr. Mohammed Jellali (Morocco) and Mr. Jean Claude Vial (France).

    The Report of the Meeting is presented as the Co-Chair’s summary prepared in collaboration with the moderators. It attempts to assess - in broad terms - the overall outcome of the Meeting and to draw a number of key conclusions from the discussions held. The co-chairmen’s summary is accompanied by the reports of the four Working Groups (Annex I - IV). These annexes outline in much greater detail the main recommendations and proposals made by the participating experts regarding actions required – at the local, national and international levels – in order to expedite the implementation of Chapter 18 and other water-related provisions of Agenda 21. Some of the proposals and recommendations included in the report may not enjoy the support by all of the participating experts and may therefore need to be further discussed in the future, in particular in the context of the policy dialogue on the strategic approaches to freshwater management under the aegis of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

    For more information contact Johan Kuylenstierna, Project Coordinator, UNDESA, New York, NY 10017, US; tel.: +1 (212) 963 3794; fax: +1 (212) 963 1795; e-mail: kuylenstierna@un.org.

  • International Conference on Water and Sustainable Development
    This conference will take place in Paris from 19 - 21 March 1998 and is sponsored by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment. The main goal of the Paris Conference is to take part in the implementation of strategies aimed at improving water management, being in rural areas or in urban ones, to guarantee a better supply in drinking water, sanitation and irrigation. For information contact Anne Perrin, at S-Eau s/c GRET, 211-213 rue La Fayette 75010 Paris, France; tel.: +33 (0) 1 40 05 61 30; fax: +33 (0) 1 40 05 61 10/11; e-mail:     anne.perrin@gret.org

Sustainable Consumption