ATHENS, May 7, 2003— Calling for a new form of environmental diplomacy, an
Athens Declaration today applauded the potential of two new cooperative water programs – the
Southeastern Europe Transboundary River Basin and Lake Basin Management Program and the
Mediterranean Shared Aquifers Management Program.
The declaration was adopted at the May 6-7 conference entitled, “Sustainable Development for Lasting Peace: Shared Water, Shared Future, Shared Knowledge”. Organized by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs – in collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Environment, Planning and Public Works, within the context of the Greek Presidency of the EU – and the World Bank, the conference, held in Vouliagmeni (Athens), Greece, assembled public sector officials, civil society actors, and international experts for a thematic review of opportunities and constraints related to transboundary management of river basins, lake basins, and shared aquifers in Southeastern Europe and Mediterranean.
The Athens Declaration endorsed a new form of Diplomacy for Environment and Sustainable Development to enhance cooperation on water at all levels of foreign and domestic policy, among governments, international agencies, private industries, and the full array of nongovernmental organizations.
George Papandreou, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, called for a new concept of integrating environmental concerns into the external affairs of the EU. “A new aspect of diplomacy, the environmental or ‘green’ diplomacy could represent, first, a tool for promoting cooperation in environmental issues and, second, a means of alleviating regional crisis. ‘Green’ diplomacy may represent the core of a proactive policy and a policy of approach among peoples.”
Commenting on the two regional framework programs,Ian Johnson, Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank, said “Based on the sustainable management of water resources as a means to promote responsible growth and stability, these cooperative programs represent the way forward in scaling up the positive lessons from the ongoing programmes such as the Danube River Basin Program as well as the Lake Ohrid Conservation Project shared by F.Y.R. of Macedonia and Albania.”
The Southeastern Europe Transboundary River Basin and Lake Basin Management Program would focus on the series of transboundary river basins lying south of the Danube River Basin, which flow into the Adriatic, Aegean, Black, and Ionian Seas, and on the series of transboundary lake basins in this area.
The program would assist countries of the region, in cooperation with key stakeholders, to draft integrated water resources management (IWRM) and water use efficiency plans for all major river basins, and would include a range of complementary interventions in individual river and lake basins, with a coordination mechanism to allow for exchange of information and experience between activities. It is noteworthy that the Informal Council of Environment Ministers from the European Union Member States, the New Member States and the countries of Southeastern Europe, held in Lagonisi-Athens, May 3-5, 2003, recommended such a program to be considered as an element (‘building block’) of the Mediterranean Component of the European Union Water Initiative and be considered for support by other international and national sources.
The EU Water Initiative supports efforts to improve access to safe water and sanitation; it also endorses the use of integrated river basin management (http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/water-initiative/index_en.html)
The Mediterranean Shared Aquifers Management Program will link ongoing programs to: facilitate broader of exchange of planning, management, and implementation experience; develop a mechanism for initiating cooperative work on additional shared aquifers on a case by case basis; and provide a means for development and dissemination of information on good practices. The program would play a valuable role in highlighting the importance of management of shared aquifers. The knowledge gained in the Mediterranean could be transferred to other regions of the world that have less experience on this critical topic. It is proposed that this program also be considered as an element of the Mediterranean Component of the European Union Water Initiative and be considered for support other international and national sources.
The Athens Declaration recommends that a comparative assessment be made of regional and national frameworks for implementation of IWRM in countries of the Southeastern Europe and Mediterranean regions. This comparative assessment would review the status of policy, legal, management, and technical frameworks for both transboundary and national level application of IWRM. The assessment would make specific reference to the European Union’s Water Framework Directive and IWRM Guidelines prepared by the Global Water Partnership. It would identify actions that could be taken on a cooperative and/or individual basis to more fully address IWRM in planning and management programs. An element of the assessment would be the identification of lessons learned and good practices in the application of IWRM in the two regions. The EU Water Framework Directive, adopted in 2000, embraces a range of policy goals, including expansion of the scope of water protection to surface and groundwaters alike, as well as water management based on river basins (http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/water/water-framework/index_en.html ).
The Athens conference carries forward the recognition made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg during August-September 2002, that the international community needs to revisit, reorient, and enhance its efforts at the international, regional, and national levels to promote peaceful and mutually beneficial management of shared natural resources in order to achieve the goal of sustainable development in a peaceful world. The Athens Declaration will be forwarded as a contribution to the Kiev International Conference “One Environment for Europe”, in the framework of which, transboundary issues will be of key importance .
BACKGROUND ON THE ATHENS CONFERENCE
The Future Water Crisis
Nearly half of the world’s population lives in areas where the water – transboundary rivers, lakes, and aquifers – is shared among many countries. These basins contain more than 80 percent of the planet’s entire flow of freshwater from rivers, and encompass almost half of its land surface. Over 260 major river and lake basins and countless shared aquifers cross-administrative boundaries across the globe, more than 150 in Europe, 15-20 in Southeastern Europe. Thus, for millions of people, their local water source is also an international water body or shared aquifer. Yet, the World Commission on Water projects that by 2025 more than 60 percent of the world may be living in areas that are under water stress; many aquifers are being used at rates that are unsustainable over the medium- and long-term.
The WSSD recognized that a looming water crisis, associated with both the quantity and quality of water, is foreseeable in the future, affecting everything from ecosystems and the environment, to health, human rights, and cultural heritage. Such a crisis could shape significantly the policies and politics within and among countries, which are at different levels of economic development; give rise to serious stress within countries; and may provoke conflicts at various levels. The WSSD Plan of Implementation includes the target for IWRM and water use efficiency plans to be developed by 2005.
In the Southeastern Europe and Mediterranean regions, both surface and ground water resources are scarce, vital, and under various natural and man-made pressures. Since these resources often need to be shared among many users disputes on water were not uncommon in the past and there exist risks for further conflict in the future. The objective is to turn them into opportunities for cooperation.
The Athens Conference
The event is a sub-regional contribution to the ongoing global dialogue on water issues — a building block in the Marrakech–Hague–Bonn–Johannesburg–Kyoto continuum. The conference provides input to the Kyiv “Environment for Europe” Conference (May 21-23, 2003); the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Mediterranean to be discussed at the Mediterranean Commission for Sustainable Development (MCSD) in Dubrovnik (May 14-16, 2003); and the
G-8 Summit in Evian (June 1, 2003).
Key conference participants included: H.E. George Papandreou, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Greece; Ian Johnson, Vice President, Sustainable Development, World Bank; His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople; H.E. Vasso Papandreou, Minister for Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, H.E. Andjelka Mihajlov, Minister for the Protection of Natural Resources and Environment of Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro; H.E. Rodoula Zisi, Deputy Minister for Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works, Emad Adly, President, Arab Network for Environment and Development; Shigeo Katsu, Vice President Designate, Europe and Central Asia Region, World Bank; Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Soledad Blanco, Commission of the European Union; among others.
For more information on the Athens Water Conference, please click here.
For information on the World Bank and water, visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/watsan/
or
http://www.worldbank.org/water
For information on Europe and Central Asia's work on water, visit: http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ECA/ECSIE.nsf/ExtECADocByUnid/B578999E6897398C85256CE800639F4C?Opendocument&Start=1&Count=5
For information on Europe and Central Asia's Natural Resources Management visit: http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ECA/ECSSD.nsf/ECADocByUnid/80BE622C5C4AA6E385256A990057B12E?Opendocument&Count=10&Start=1
