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FAO and the Government of the Netherlands are
organising an International Conference on Water for Food and Ecosystems,
from January 31 - February 5, 2005 in the Hague. The conference
will provide a high level platform for around 350 participants
around the globe, including a ministerial segment.
The prime objective of the WFE Conference
is: to help governments identify management practices, practical
lessons learned and the necessary enabling environments that lead
to sustainable water use at the river-basin level and the harmonization
of food production and ecosystem management with a view to implementing
already internationally agreed commitments
The outcomes of the International Conference
in The Hague will provide a direct input to the CSD-13, which
has a focus on water issues. In addition it will help to implement
working programmes under international conventions as the Convention
on Biodiversity and the Cop 9 of the Ramsar convention, as well
as the Plan of Implementation of the WSSD (Johannesburg 2002).
The Conference will be fed and shaped by several
other events:
- The E-Forum: The public domain to share
your experiences and views, and bring forward your recommendations
for the conference statements and outcomes.
- An African Pre-Conference, Addis-Ababa
4-6 November 2004, to focus on the specific issues and concerns
of the African Nation States in shaping Water for Food and Ecosystems.
- Regional Partner Seminars: Sharing more
insights and shaping recommendations for the conference by concentrating
on thematic/regional cases and issues.
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OVERVIEW.
Water is essential to life on our planet. The availability of sufficient
amounts of good quality water is fundamental to all biological processes,
for maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystems and for primary and
secondary production functions. Natural ecosystems and agriculture
are by far the biggest consumers of the Earth's freshwater. Competition
between them has intensified with human population growth and the
expansion of agriculture, to the point where agriculture is often
seen as jeopardizing the ecosystem's sustainability. But it is equally
important to underline that such threatened ecosystems can no longer
provide their water purifying and regulating services to sustain
agricultural production and livelihoods. Although the competition
for water by agriculture and ecosystems is often stressed, focussing
on their mutual dependency will present the key to successful implementation
of our international commitments.
