Statement of African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW)at the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan, 23 March 2003

"Water is Life - Without water there can be no future"

We, the Ministers responsible for water in African countries, meeting in Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt on 5-6 February 2003 on the occasion of the 3rd meeting of the African Ministers' Council on Water - AMCOW, having adopted the Johannesburg Declaration;

Noting:

The continuing process of improving the management and care for water resources through a series of international events including:

Governmental processes-

  • The adoption of the Rio Principles in 1992;

  • The adoption, by the African Heads of State and Government of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) in 2001;

  • The statement by the Ministers responsible for Water Resources from African Countries attending the International Conference on Freshwater (Bonn, December 2001);

  • The priorities for the development of the African Continent held by the African Union, 2001.

  • The United Nations Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, South Africa, 26 August - 4 September 2002. (Adoption of the MDGs for Water and Sanitation at the Millennium Summit)

  • Broad stakeholder processes (not all the contents of which are accepted by all African countries)-

  • The adoption of the Dublin Principles in 1992;

  • The adoption of the African Water Vision for 2025 during the Second World Water Forum held in the Hague, Netherlands in 2000;

  • The Accra Declaration of the Regional Stakeholders' Conference for Priority Setting, "Water and Sustainable Development in Africa", April 2002;

  • The Statement of the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa on 4 September,2002;

Express concern that:

  • Although water is abundant in Africa on a regional scale, it is unevenly distributed by nature. While a few African countries have high annual averages of rainfall, many already or soon will face water-stress or scarcity conditions where the population cannot be sustained with available water resources.

  • It is projected that over 400 million people will be living in at least 17 water-scarce African countries by the year 2010. Their lack of adequate water will severely constrain food production, ecosystem protection and socio-economic development.

  • Due to climate variability, the potential impacts of climate change on water resources, recurring droughts leading to chronic water shortages, and floods in many parts of Africa, many African countries and people are becoming increasingly vulnerable to water related crises.

  • Over 300 million people in Africa still do not have reasonable access to safe drinking water. An even greater number of people lack adequate sanitation.

  • Almost half the people of the African continent suffer from water-related diseases.

  • Aquatic species, habitats and ecosystems are at risk. With increasing water demand throughout Africa to provide for greater food demands, industrial expansion, rural and urban growth, less water is available for maintaining aquatic ecosystems.

  • Two or more countries share more than 50 major watersheds, river basins, groundwater and lakes in Africa. Most of them are without any agreements on equitable use and/or environmental protection. Few have effective institutional arrangements for consultation and cooperation. Procedures for avoiding or resolving international disputes over water are largely lacking.

Recognise that:

  • Integrated Water Resources Management is a priority
      • The integrated management, utilization, development and protection of water resources, which recognizes social, economic and environmental needs, is a national and regional priority for all the member countries of the African Ministers' Council on Water.
  • Water, food security, environment and access to international markets are inter-related
      • Efficient and sustainable use of limited water resources, effective application of science and technology, and regional investment in irrigated agriculture and aquaculture should focus as much on economic development and income generation as on food security. Partnerships should be built and the regional and international trade situation examined to remove trade barriers restricting the trade of African produce and to create a fair exchange of agricultural produce.
  • Many countries and peoples in Africa are vulnerable to climate variability and change
      • With per capita water storage in Africa 100 times lower than in Europe and North America and with higher climate variability, Africa, particularly its poor, is especially vulnerable to water-related disasters such as droughts, floods and desertification.
  • Most of Africa's water resources (watersheds, river basins, lakes and aquifers) are shared between two or more countries
      • National and international shared water resources are instruments for regional cooperation, development and integration. The lack of cooperative arrangements in these basins and the institutional and financial weaknesses of the existing ones undermine the potential benefits to the continent.
  • Inadequate water supply and sanitation continue to contribute to poverty, ill health and degradation of the environment
      • Specific action programs are required to address the huge challenge of ensuring that the proportion of Africans without access to safe drinking water and sanitation is reduced by half by 2015, including actions to promote improved hygiene and mainstreaming of gender into water and sanitation issues.
  • Water infrastructure requires adequate financing
      • There is a need for an annual investment level of US$20 billion for the development of water infrastructure, as articulated in the African Water Vision for 2025. Initial investment of US$10 billion per year is required to meet urgent water needs - [US$6 billion to meet basic water supply and sanitation targets, US$2 billion to promote irrigated agriculture and US$2 billion to support institutional development, capacity building, research, education and information management.]. Innovative financing and partnership mechanisms are required to be developed to meet the needs.
  • Risk Management
      • An integrated, multi-hazard, inclusive approach to address vulnerability, risk assessment and disaster management, including prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, is an essential element of a safer world in the twenty-first century.
  • Water Governance

      Improvement in the governance of water will consolidate the ownership of water management. This involves problem identification, capacity building, finance mobilization, strategy formulation and awareness creation.

Having undertaken the following actions:

  • formation of the Africa Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) to lead the development of sound policies and coordinate various water initiatives in Africa (eg. the EU and CIDA water initiatives).

  • preparation of the NEPAD water agenda, based on the Africa Water Vision and Framework for action, that provides a foundation to address the challenges for the MDG's in Africa.

  • development of an Africa Water Facility to serve as a conduit for pooled funds for capacity building and investment support in Africa.

  • launch of the Nile Basin, Nubian acquifer and other shared water resources initiatives as instruments for subregional integration and economic development, and mechanism for conflict resolution.

  • adoption of programmes targeted at women, rural and urban poor that aim at efficient and sustainable use of limited water resources that focus as much on economic development and income generation as on food security and actions to reduce and mitigate water-related disasters as well as vulnerability and adaptation studies to minimise the impacts of climate change.

Therefore, in the spirit of international cooperation and in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities,

Resolve :

To accord the highest priority to address the issues noted above within the principles and objectives of NEPAD and to this end

      1) Promote actions that will translate into reality the goals of AMCOW 1;

      2) Develop regional and sub-regional programmes of action on water to provide a framework for concrete actions in addressing key water-related concerns;

Call upon :

The developed countries to:

    1. recall the commitment they made at the Monterey Conference on Finance and development and the agreed United Nations target for official development assistance of 0.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to developing countries

    2. allocate a greater portion of those funds to the African Water Facility

    3. provide additional funding to support the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals

List of countries that attended the meeting:

Algeria

    Angola

    Benin Republic

    Burkina Faso

    Botswana

    Cape Verde

    Chad

    Comoros

    Congo

    Democratic Republic of Congo

    Cote D'Ivoire

    Djibouti

    Eritrea

    Egypt

    Ethiopia

    Ghana

    Guinea

    Guinea, Republic

    Kenya

    Libya

    Lesotho

    Malawi

    Mali

    Morocco

    Namibia

    Niger

    Nigeria

    Rwanda

    Senegal

    South Africa

    Sudan

    Tanzania

    Tunisia

    Uganda

    Zambia

    Zimbabwe

1 1: The Goals of AMCOW include

  • Plan and mange water resources to become a basis for national and regional co-operation and development

  • Co-operate on shared rivers among member States

  • Ensure sustainable access to safe and adequate clean water supply and sanitation especially for the poor