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African Ministerial Commitments on Implementation and Partnerships for achieving the Water and Sanitation Targets

PREAMBLE

The water crisis in our region is a crisis of governance. There is a desperate need to accelerate our implementation efforts in our countries, sub-regions and regions as a whole. Water is one of the most critical natural resource issues and also a key to sustainable development in Africa. The international community, in both the millennium goals and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, underlined that the global water crisis is a threat to economic development, poverty reduction and the environment, and hence to peace.

The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development renewed commitment to fundamentally change the lives of those who suffer the consequences of global disparities while preserving the integrity of the natural environment for future generations. The World Summit reiterated the Millennium Development Goals and also agreed targets for safe drinking water and sanitation. As Africa is a rapidly urbanising continent, special attention must be given to the water and sanitation needs of the urban poor.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the Pan-African Conference was to determine how to urgently strengthen water governance in our region in order to collectively meet the WSSD targets and the Millennium Development Goals on safe drinking water and sanitation. Our main objective was to focus attention on the implementation and funding requirements for the many regional initiatives and international targets for the water sector in Africa.

ACHIEVEMENTS

A. Portfolio Of Water Initiatives and Projects

The conference endorsed a portfolio of key water initiatives submitted by each of the five sub-regions, i.e. Southern Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa, North Africa and Western Africa. This is the first consolidated portfolio of priority water initiatives from the sub-regional to regional levels and provides a stronger basis for supporting the objectives of the New Partnership for African Development.

B. Launching of Initiatives

The conference forged new partnerships on water in Africa in the context of which a number of significant initiatives were launched, including the following:

a) The signing of the joint declaration by the Chair of AMCOW and Director General for Cooperation of the European Commission on the implementation of the African-European Union Strategic Partnership on Water Affairs and Sanitation.

b) The African Water Facility with a targeted funding of over $600 million for medium term projects on water and sanitation. The Ministers appealed for the support of the development partners for the enlargement of the resources. African Development Bank will manage the facility under the policy direction of the Ministers on the AMCOW Executive Committee.

c) The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative supported by the African Development Bank.

d) The Water and Sanitation for African Cities (Phase II), with initial substantial funding from the Government of Canada. The Ministers appealed for expanded support from other development partners for the newly established UN-Habitat Trust Fund.

e) The G8 Action Plan on Water for Africa, within the framework of which an understanding was reached that support will be extended to a number of river and lake basin management plans. The Ministers noted with gratitude the commitment of the EU to continue support for Integrated Water Resources Management in Africa.

f) The African Water Journal was launched to provide an outlet to consolidate and disseminate knowledge, enhance capacity of professionals and practitioners and facilitate the documentation and sharing of African experiences. Ministers called for financial support for sustaining and expanding the publication.

C. Water Policy Challenges and Priorities

The Ministers confirmed the consensus on the following nine water management challenges and endorsed the key recommendations in each priority issues as presented in the Annex.

Meeting basic needs: water, sanitation and human settlements
Water for food security
Protecting ecosystems and livelihoods
Managing risks: water and climate
Financing water infrastructure
Integrated Water Resource Management/Shared water resources
Valuing and allocating water
Ensuring water wisdom
Governing water wisely

D. Millennium Development Goals

The Ministers also reached consensus on the central importance of achieving the new targets on water and sanitation, as follows.

To endorse the targets to reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe water and sanitation by 2015 and to provide safe water and sanitation for all by 2025.
Give special attention to the countries considered most likely to miss the target for safe drinking water and sanitation;
To incorporate the safe drinking water and sanitation targets as priorities in national development plans and budgets until the goals of safe drinking water and sanitation for all are achieved;
To establish in 2004 National Task Forces on Water and Sanitation to prepare national plans by June 30, 2005, with annual service delivery targets for achieving the safe drinking water and sanitation targets by 2015.
To integrate the national plans on water and sanitation with the national plans for IWRM and other Millennium Development Goals leading up to the 4^th World Water Forum in 2006.

E. Engagement with Civil Society

Ministers welcomed the active participation of civil society organizations in the conference and recognized the role that civil society can play in awareness raising, capacity building and in implementation and scaling up of water resources programmes at all levels, financially and technically. They undertook to ensure that civil society in general, and gender concerns in particular, are taken into account, through a recognised process of consultation with AMCOW, in policy formulation in all sectors of water, sanitation and human settlements.

FOLLOW-THROUGH IN 2004

At the national level:

To establish in 2004 National Task Forces on Water and Sanitation to prepare national plans for achieving the safe drinking water and sanitation targets by 2015.

At the sub-regional level:

To conduct negotiations with the development cooperation partners, Bretton Woods Institutions, and UN Agencies, on the portfolio of projects.

At the regional level:

To ensure that the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union endorses the commitments and recommendations of the conference outcomes.

At the global level:

To use the commitments and recommendations of this conference as a basis for developing an African common position and approach before and after CSD-12 which will focus on water, sanitation and human settlements (to be expanded on the basis of the plenary discussion on December 12).

Sustaining the Momentum and Monitoring Progress during the Freshwater Decade

The Ministers underscored the need for sustained implementation efforts. Expanding the new partnerships forged during the conference for implementing the results of the conference were accorded top priority. Progress made and needed will be monitored by AMCOW and reported to stakeholders over the coming year.ANNEX

Commitments and Targets

A. Achieving the MDG and WSSD Targets for water and sanitation:

a) To confirm the reference years and relevant water and sanitation data for all African countries used by the Joint Monitoring Programme for the 2003 World Water Development Report (WWDR);

b) To prepare indicative charts on the options for annual targets for achieving the overall safe drinking water and sanitation targets by 2015 at the national, sub-regional and regional levels;

c) To use the charts on the annual water and sanitation targets to estimate the financial resources and expertise/capacity building needed to achieve the targets as well as their impact on such key issues as water availability, demand and allocation;

d) To take into account how such measures as upgrading water and sanitation infrastructure and making more efficient use of available water can help to meet the water and sanitation targets in a cost-effective way.

B. Focusing on Key Water Policy Priorities and Goals

a) Meeting basic needs: Affordable access to safer water and sanitation are basic human needs which are essential for the health and well-being of families, communities and countries.

To significantly improve the provision of water supply and sanitation facilities in un-served human settlements. This will be strongly reflected in PRSPs and budget allocations commensurate with accelerated efforts and through ensuring that country action plans are prepared for reaching the MDGs, which include: data assessment; systematic targeting; collaboration strategies and strongly focus on community empowerment (all countries to report by 2005).
To support the Water and Sanitation for African Cities Programme and the Rural Water and Sanitation Initiative, aimed at building capacities and providing and enabling environment for pro-poor investments.
To increase information and communication for value based water education, hygiene education and sanitation in schools and communities. Strengthen infrastructure provision in poorly served schools and communities.

b) Water for food security: Reasonable food security is also a basic human need and right which is dependent on the availability of adequate and clean water. Agriculture is by far the greatest consumer of water, often competing with other sectors for this scarce resource. It is therefore essential that priority be given to efficient and sustainable use of water for agriculture.

To take the necessary measures aimed at increasing agricultural productivity and production through innovative technologies for sustainable and integrated agricultural water use, including pro-poor gender-sensitive, small scale irrigation, water-saving and storage techniques (rain-water harvesting);
To adopt innovative approaches to increasing public/private sector investments in the agricultural sector, the main engine of growth in Africa. In this respect the Joint Collaborative Programme On Opportunities For Investment In Agricultural Water Use, is identifying options for increased and more effective investments in water for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. The programme relies heavily on local knowledge and expertise.

c) Protecting ecosystems and livelihoods: Development that harms and destroys freshwater ecosystems and livelihoods is not sustainable and should not be called development.

To invest in ecosystem health and sustainable use of freshwater resources, as an integral part of IWRM strategies in order to secure livelihoods and maintenance of reliable supplies of clean water, as pollution and unsustainable use of water resources constitute a major threat to the health of the poor majority of our people and to the sustainability of the freshwater and coastal ecosystems on which their livelihoods and lives depend.
To incorporate water quality standards and environmental water allocations in all existing and future international agreements on shared water resources.

d) Managing risks: Too many preventable diseases and deaths and economic losses are caused by floods, droughts, pollution and other water-related hazards. Droughts, floods and storms are becoming more common and severe in Africa. The human and environmental costs of weather, climate and water related disasters have increased dramatically over the past 40 years. Equilibrium shifts are impacting the resilience of ecosystems, affecting water availability and creating increased water stress in many regions. Hydrological and meteorological data and information are essential for fundamental basis of IWRM.

To increase our funding to the institutions responsible for the maintenance and operation of the hydrological and meteorological networks in Africa and to enlist, for this purpose, the support of development of development cooperation partners and financial institutions.
To foster data and information exchange as a baseline requirement to ensure improved early warning and forecast, especially in trans-boundary basins. To support the expansion of the World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS) and other networking mechanisms to cover all regions and river/lake basins in Africa.

e) Financing water services: Innovative financial mechanisms are needed to meet the new water and sanitation targets and integrated water management programmes.

To allocate (at all levels) at least 5% of our budgets for water and sanitation within five years; increase billing and revenue collection, and set an example by ensuring that the institutions under our Ministries cover the costs of water services rendered.
To enlist, for this purpose, the support of donor countries regarding their commitments promised to incremental funding for services benefiting local communities.
To promote decentralisation policies (including budget re-allocations) aimed at leveraging local private capital, supporting local governments, and being responsive to local needs.
To undertake, in all our countries, comprehensive review of policy and regulatory frameworks prior to expansion of privatisation of water and sanitation services, including polluter pays policies.

f) Integrated water management/Shared water resources: Water resources shared by communities and countries must be jointly managed on an equitable and sustainable basis.

To undertake to prepare and adopt national IWRM plans or to embark on the process of their preparation by 2005.
To strengthen joint management of shared waters as a basic element of African development and integration.
To promote, in line with our shared vision, the effective and sustainable management of rivers, lakes and aquifers as a sine qua non. Priorities will include: (a) reliable and accessible data for effective management, (b) effective participation by civil society, (c) equitable sharing of benefits instead of just the resource, (d) considering the disparities of water distribution in Africa, inter-basin water transfer and desalination are options which may be used when feasible and cost effective.

g) Valuing and allocating water: Water valuation and allocation must reflect its economic, social and environmental values in all uses and give priority to the basic needs of the poor.

To develop comprehensive systems for valuing and allocating water resources, taking into account the economic, social and environmental values in all its uses, giving priority to basic needs of the poor, and considering climate variability and geographic conditions.
To adopt comprehensive approaches to valuing and allocating water resources, in order to strengthen cooperation at the sub-regional and international river basin level in areas, such as (a) water and energy, including dams and development; (b) water and agriculture for sustainable livelihoods; (c) water and health for poverty eradication; and (d) water for balanced economic development and job creation. These approaches will be supported by multi-stakeholder dialogue to ensure the improvement of decision-making frameworks.

h) Ensuring water wisdom: Water policies and management depend for their effectiveness on accurate and timely information being available to decision-makers.

To accelerate technical support and capacity building measures in order to strengthen the role of our countries, experts and civil society groups in international water quantity and quality monitoring and risk assessment programmes with priority attention to the protection of ecosystem and human health.

To ensure that new ways of collecting, analysing and disseminating information, and policies, and sharing knowledge are promoted. These include earth observing programs, a dedicated African Water Journal, an African Water Information Clearinghouse, joint monitoring programmes, the use of modern decision-supporting technologies and the promotion of networks and other systems to link the scientific community with governments and civil society.

i) Governing water wisely: Water policies also depend for their effectiveness on the involvement of all key stakeholders in planning, decision-making and implementation.

To strive to ensure good governance through involving the public and the interests of all stakeholders in the management of water resources.

j) Gender And Water Resources Management and Sanitation In Africa: Women and girls in Africa have a special knowledge and play a critical role in the management of water resources especially at household levels. Despite this, there are vast imbalances in women's access to, control and management of the water resources and sanitation facilities at all levels, with a negative impact on the girl child and the dignity of women.

To ensure that gender concerns are taken into account, through a recognised process of consultation with AMCOW, in policy formulation in all sectors of water, sanitation, human settlements, agriculture and food security including harmonization of policies and laws and the domestication of international treaties to create equity and equality by 2005.