Water issue remains unresolved
Water issue remains unresolved
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Nusa Dua, Bali
The United Nations meeting on sustainable development in Bali now has another stumbling block to clear as the debate on water issues remained unresolved during the senior officials meeting.
It is likely to be brought directly into the ministerial meeting beginning Wednesday.
After a long week of discussions of the action plan on sustainable development, known as the Chairman's Text or the Bali Commitment, groups of countries insisted on holding to their stance on the water issue, while some delegates continued to seek a compromise.
Indonesia's Minister of Resettlement and Regional Infrastructure Soenarno, said on Monday that issues of "time targets" for clean water provision, the privatization of water companies and cross-border water trading issues were the main sticking points in negotiations.
"Certain developed countries have some political interests that make it difficult to compromise," Soenarno told a press briefing.
Water is one of the five top issues named by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that will most likely be addressed by heads of states during the World Summit in Johannesburg later in August and September.
The UN is aiming to reduce by half the 1.1 billion people who do not have access to clean water by 2015. And this is supported by developing countries in the current negotiations.
Japan, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand grouped under the JUSCANZ negotiating block opposed the time target. They contended that the most important thing would be to pursue partnerships among stakeholders to provide clean water.
To ensure the efficient distribution of clean water, the U.S. suggested partnerships between private companies that could build infrastructure for the supply of water.
Soenarno, however, contended that governments should be allowed to continue their attempts to provide water for their people and claimed that partnerships would cause an increase in the price of water.
"For developing countries, such an idea would be out of the question because we, the government, want to be the sole providers for our people, and that is a basic right. How can we make people pay more for clean water?" he complained, while not providing any evidence as to why it would cost more.
The stance of many developing countries on the water issue got a boost from the European Union (EU), which did support the time target's inclusion in the Chairman's Text.
"The European countries have agreed to put water as one of the key issues in the Johannesburg meeting as the global threat to water is a threat for sustainable development," Frederick Bach, EU representative on water issue, told the same press conference.
He also said that the EU had gathered 15 donor countries and allocated US$1.4 billion annually to finance water, sanitation and hygiene programs in developing countries, mostly in Africa.
"Water issues should be recognized in the political agenda...there should be a clear focus and a target for water provision," Bach added.
Uganda Minister for Water, Land and the Environment Maria Mutagamba E. Lubega appealed to world leaders to support the time target.
"We must have a time target. We appeal to everybody to support the future of time target," she remarked.