20000320

Global forum urges clean water for all

THE HAGUE: A major international conference opened on Friday pledging to try to meet an ambitious goal of guaranteeing fresh, clean water for all within 25 years.

Delegates from 130 nations were due to attend the Second World Water Forum in The Hague which runs until next Wednesday, designated as International Water Day.

Organisers said the conference aimed to draw international attention to the growing crisis over access to safe water.

"Finding a way to provide every human being with safe water for drinking, sanitation, food and energy at reasonable cost is our main goal," said Ismail Serageldin, Chairman of the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century.

He stressed that besides alerting people to the fact that billions of people lacked adequate water services, there was a need for community action, such as doubling investments by the private sector, and political will.

NAKED PROTESTS OVER DAM

The opening ceremonies were disrupted by protests against the building of the Itoiz Dam in Spain's Basque country which, environmentalists claim, will threaten nature reserves.

A man and woman stripped naked on the podium to reveal "Stop the Dam" painted on their backs, interrupting opening remarks by World Water Council President Mahmoud Abu-Zeid. They were promptly removed by security agents.

Two other men, however, proved more difficult to eject as they abseiled down a balcony and evaded security guards for several minutes.

Police said later they arrested six people for disturbing the public order.

Over 200 organisations, interest groups and companies will use the six-day conference to exchange views on water management policies before a ministerial conference, held in parallel on Tuesday and Wednesday, issues a Hague Declaration.

The declaration, backed by some 113 ministers from around the world, will give a clear signal of intent to respond to challenges such as sharing water resources, securing food supply and protecting fragile ecosystems.

Serageldin said he would like to see a fair value put on the world's water resources with people paying for what they use.

"Free water leads to wasted water," he said. "The poor should be subsidised, not the utility companies."-Reuters