Impressions of the Third World Water Forum

Friday, March 21^st

Today is the sixth day of the World Water Forum and the second day of the activities in Shiga.The sessions include the ministerial conference and Water for Peace. How ironic to see that some countries fight over water and others over oil. We leave our hotel by taxi to transfer to another place to stay. We have accumulated so much paper that we can hardly carry everything simultaneously. The hotel is conveniently located next to Nijo castle and close to subway lines. It is more luxurious, but lacks the atmosphere of the Japanese Ryokan we were in.

We arrive in Shiga at 8.30 so we can attend the first sessions. “The Paletinian-Israeli water

Conflict” and “From potential conflict to cooperation potential”. In the first session we heard about the stressed water situation in the Palestinian areas: Palestine’s have no access to surface water, so they have to get all their water from groundwater. Palestinians usually make shallow wells, where Israelis make deep wells and use stronger pumps to pump up the water. As a result groundwater aquifers are depleted at a fast rate. Since water is of imminent importance to both peoples, who really need water for their existence, it is obvious that they have to find a solution on this issue together. In the Oslo Peace agreements of 1995, there was an article that dealt with the division of water between the two peoples. This was however a temporary facility, awaiting a definite one. Since then, Israeli and Palestinian governments have not reached an agreement and the water situation is becoming stressed more and more. From this case (and others) it is clear that Tran boundary river problems could easily result in armed conflict.

Shiga has a lovely setting at Lake Biwa, the biggest lake in Japan. During lunch break we have time to stroll around the waterside and see the children playing at the water show. We wanted to be at the Children’s Water Forum early afternoon; however, the forum is so chaotic that it is not very useful to stay. Instead we take the elevator to the top level for a nice cup of tea and the panoramic view.

Youth Waterday

The wrap up session of water for peace was excellent with the announcement of an agreement between Unesco, World Water Council and the International court of arbitration to set up an international service institute to support both prevention and resolution of Tran boundary water disputes. Mr Seregaldin, director of the library of Alexandria, called upon each of us to focus on improving the situation of the weakest in our Society. He inspired us with the message that if we act with a positive attitude we can make sure the Millennium Development Goals can be reached and even exceeded by the year 2015.

In the evening, Veronique and Edwin attended the welcome reception and party hosted by the City of Kyoto. Of course they were well entertained with great food, a nice atmosphere, Japanese performances and drinks. They also met briefly again with Mr Hirai, president of Kyoto Junior Chamber, who was also invited. Celeste had the opportunity to shake hands with Mr Gorbatchov at a small reception with members of the Green Cross International. Although there was no time to discuss water issues, she felt really honoured to meet with him and discovered his warm personality standing next to him for a picture. This forum offers new contacts and is a true inspiration to each of us.