Date:22/03/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/03/22/stories/2003032202931200.htm

International

`Water vital for rural development'

By G. Venkataramani

Shiga (Japan) March 21. ``Water is essential for broad-based agricultural and rural development in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals to improve food security and poverty alleviation. The challenges of sustainable water use and enhancing the partnership of all stakeholders in all aspects of agricultural water use, development and management and in providing increased access to water resources by all will be recognised and assigned top priority.'' This is the essence of the declaration adopted by the Ministerial Meeting on Water for Food and Agriculture at the third World Water Forum here today.

``We emphasise that achieving the objective of food security and poverty alleviation for an increasing world population will require the mobilisation of all resources of financing and increased investment in water-related infrastructure, research and development to sustain productivity gains and create new opportunities for the sustainable development and integrated management of water resources,'' said the Ministers responsible for food and agriculture and the representatives of international organisations assembled here.

Outlining a plan of concrete actions, the participants said, "We will promote improved governance of agricultural water use through integrated water resources management including non-agricultural water use. This process should be efficient and equitable. It would involve the active participation of all user groups, including women and the poor in local water resources settings.''

Several social and environmental activists protested the ministerial and other declarations favouring the private sector involvement in managing the water resources, and prevented the proceedings of the session in Kyoto. They took out a procession shouting slogans and waving banners condemning the blatant support of the international development agencies to privatisation of water. "Water is for people and not for profit. Let people and water remain the nature's way.''

In the session on `Rainwater harvesting and educational awareness', K.R. Gopinath, Chairman of the KRG Rainwater Harvesting Foundation, a civil society organisation from India, highlighted the successful case studies of poor communities in Limdi municipality, Gujarat, being converted into multi-purpose "clean-green park''. Using a multimedia presentation, he explained how integrated waterharvesting models have become a reality benefiting more than 3,000 families in the rural areas of Gujarat and other pockets in India. "We need to create more awareness among children, and we have done this successfully by employing simple, visible projects in the rural and urban centres in the country,'' explained Mr. Gopinath.

The World Water Council, meeting in Kyoto at the time of the outbreak of the hostilities in Iraq, has expressed serious concern about the sufferings that may be caused to innocent civilians by the destruction of water supply and sanitation infrastructures. The council intends to send a team of experts, at the earliest possible moment, to the affected areas to evaluate damage and recommend measures for emergency relief and rehabilitation of stricken systems.