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International Commitments related to water for food and ecosystems
to which the international community has subscribed in past global conferences,
summits and conventions
Full Background document
on Int'l Commitments (WFE)
[686Kb]
Annex A+B - Annex
C1 - Annex C2 - Annex
C3 - Annex D - Annex
E+F
World Water Forum II
 The World Water
Forum serves to raise water on the political agenda, deepen discussions
towards the solution of international water issues in the 21st century,
formulate concrete proposals and bring their importance to the world's
attention. At the first World Water Forum, held in Marrakech in 1997,
the World Water Council was mandated to develop a "World Water Vision"
aimed at strengthening commitment to a water-secure future. Developed
by the World Commission on Water, it was presented at the World Water
Forum II (The Hague, 2000):
A Vision of Water for Food, Agriculture and Rural Development
"At the heart of our vision of water for agriculture and rural
development is a world of healthy people with access to adequate nutrition.
This picture encompasses both cultivators, and those who work at other
things and purchase their food. Surrounding the people are other features
of our vision:
Vibrant rural communities comprising both young and old, living
in security, with educational opportunities, social services, employment
opportunities in and out of agriculture providing reliable access
to food, good transportation and communication links with market and
administrative centres and regional and world economies.
A healthy natural environment, with clean water in streams, lakes,
rivers and underground aquifers, and stable and diverse natural ecosystems.
Opportunity for farmers and other rural residents to participate
in the global rise in standards of living.
Agriculture in rainfed, drained and irrigated areas, operating on
a sustainable basis in an equitable price environment, using water
efficiently.
Women, men, and communities in reasonable control over their livelihoods
and their resource base, supported by responsive public agencies."
 World
Water Vision
Millennium Development Goals
 The Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) commit the international community to to vigorously
promote human development as the key to sustaining social and economic
progress, and have been commonly accepted as a framework for measuring
development progress. The member states of the United Nations unanimously
adopted the Millennium Declaration in September 2000, and later recognized
the MDGs as part of the "road map" for implementing the Millennium
Declaration. MDGs relevant to relevant to water for food and ecosystems:
- MDG-1: "to halve by the year 2015 the proportion of
the world’s people who suffer from hunger";
- MDG-7: "Integrate the principles of sustainable development
into country policies and programmes; reverse the loss of environmental
resources".
Millennium
Declaration
Millennium
Development Goals (UN)
Millennium
Development Goals (World Bank)
World Summit on Sustainable Development
Held in Johannesburg in September 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable
Development addressed the slow rate of progress in implementing the
goals set by the UN "Earth Summit" of 1992. As an implementation-focused
Summit, Johannesburg established important new targets, such as halving
the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015,
and achieving by 2010 a significant reduction in the loss of biological
diversity. Water-related recommendations:
- To reverse the current trend in natural resource degradation as
soon as possible, it is necessary to implement strategies which should
include targets adopted at the national, and where appropriate, regional
levels to protect ecosystems and to achieve integrated management
of land, water and living resources, while strengthening regional,
national and local capacities. (24)
- Sustainable agriculture and rural development are essential to the
implementation of an integrated approach to increasing food production
and enhancing food security and food safety in an environmentally
sustainable way. (40)
- Develop and implement integrated land management and water-use plans
that are based on sustainable use of renewable resources. (40b)
- Reverse the declining trend in public sector finance for sustainable
agriculture [...] support efforts in developing countries and countries
with economies in transition to strengthen agricultural research and
natural resource management capacity. (40j)
- Develop integrated water resources management and water efficiency
plans by 2005. (26)
- Achieve by 2010 a significant reduction in the current rate of loss
of biological diversity. (44)
Johannesburg
Summit
Convention on Biological Diversity
 One of the
key agreements adopted at 1992 Earth Summit was the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), a pact among the vast majority of the world's governments
that sets out commitments for maintaining the planet's ecological underpinnings
while continuing economic development. The Convention establishes three
main goals: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable
use of its components, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits
from the use of genetic resources. Of relevance to water for food and
ecosystems are:
- Work programme on Inland Waters, implemented in close co-operation
with Ramsar Convention and others, focusing on status and trends;
assessments; taxonomy; and national measures
- Work programme on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity, focusing on Integrated
Marine and Coastal Area Management, sustainable use of marine living
resources; protected areas; and mariculture
- Work programme on Agrobiodiversity, implemented in close co-operation
with FAO, focusing on assessments; adaptive management; capacity building;
and mainstreaming
- Decisions elaborating 12 principles of the ecosystem approach
- Work programmes on dry and subhumid lands, forest biological diversity;
and mountains
Convention
on Biological Diversity
Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
 The Convention
on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework
for national action and international cooperation for the conservation
and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It was adopted in the
city of Ramsar, Iran, in 1971 and came into force in 1975. It is the
only global environmental treaty that deals with wetland ecosystems.
The Convention's member countries cover all the world's geographic regions.
Activities related to water for food and ecosystems include:
- Over three decades of international co-operation has resulted in
a coherent approach of policy, programmes and actions to promote the
conservation and sustainable use of wetland areas
- Specific attention has been given recently to reinforce co-operation
with agriculture at the international, national and local level
Ramsar
Convention
Third World Water Forum
 Held in Japan
in March 2003, the Third World Water Forum was attended by some 10,000
representatives of governments, international organizations and NGOs.
At the conclusion of the forum, Ministers and Heads of Delegation, assembled
in Kyoto, issued a declaration affirming that water is a driving force
for sustainable development, including environmental integrity, and
the eradication of poverty and hunger. The Declaration includes several
points specific to water for food and agriculture:
- Improve the development and management of water for agriculture
to meet the growing and changing demand for food, alleviate poverty
and sustain economic growth.
- Balance the use and development of water with available water resources;
preserve water quality in order to achieve sustainable patterns of
water use through integrated approaches linking water management with
the conservation and sustenance of ecosystems; and maintain the integrity
of land and water systems upon which agricultural production depends.
- Enhance the cooperation and partnership of all stakeholders in all
aspects of agricultural water use, development and management; increase
access to water resources; improve the productivity of rainfed and
irrigated farming systems; and equitably share benefits and risks.
- Water is essential for broad based agricultural production and rural
development in order to improve food security and eradicate poverty.
It should continuously contribute to a variety of roles incl. food
production, economic growth and environmental sustainability. We should
reduce unsustainable water management and improve the efficiency of
agricultural water use. To ensure a sustainable water supply of good
quality, we should protect and use in a sustainable manner the ecosystems
that naturally capture, filter, store and release water, such as rivers,
wetlands, forests and soils.
World
Water Forum III Ministerial Declaration [PDF]
World
Water Forum IV (Local Actions for a Global Challenge, Mexico 2006)
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ANTECEDENTES.
La Conferencia FAO/Países Bajos se basa en convenciones internacionales,
políticas y programas relacionados con el agua y sobre los
cuales se ha comprometido la comunidad internacional. Estas convenciones
y programas abarcan un amplio espectro de objetivos dirigidos a
políticas y programas específicos para obtener el
manejo sostenible del agua. Estos convenios, listados aquí,
son el punto de partida para la Conferencia FAO/Países Bajos,
enfocando la ejecución de esos compromisos internacionales
fundamentales para el agua para producción de alimentos y
para los ecosistemas.