U.S. Congratulates U.N. on the Water Action Network Database

This has been a great week at the World Water Forum. I'd like to thank, especially, our Mexican hosts.

I am encouraged to hear about the substantive discussions on a number of a number of issues of critical importance to addressing water and sanitation challenges. Technical sessions and partnership meetings, especially on financing and health issues, were extremely valuable and have spawned a number of new initiatives.

One of the challenges we face is how to share all the lessons learned and best practices with our colleagues who work on these issues but don't come to the Forum. This brings me to CSD WAND.

I want to thank the Under Secretary General, the governments of Japan and Mexico , and especially the team at UN DESA that put together WAND. You have all done remarkable work in a very short period of time. I'd like to mention a few reasons that I think WAND is such a valuable contribution.

First, WAND is about sharing information on implementation and best practices – not just with other delegates here, or at the United Nations, but with the people on the ground doing the work throughout the world. WAND will connect people so that they can learn from one another, explore new technologies together, and identify new partners to implement projects and programs. In fact, with this initiative, we would no longer have to wait until the next Forum, or CSD, or Stockholm Water Week, to share our experience. Instead, we would have a framework for communication that links one meeting with the next, one set of conversations with the next.

WAND also demonstrates a new way in which the UN can take action. In the era of implementation, we will need mechanisms that provide real time data on what works and what doesn't. One-time reports that sit on a shelf will have less value. Managing information, making it widely available through virtual, distributed networks, this is a new and important role for the United Nations. We commend Under Secretary General Ocampo and UN DESA for their leadership and vision.

I believe WAND represents and important step forward towards meeting the commitments that governments made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg and at the 13 th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development last year in New York . I thank you for your dedication, and I commend your work. Thank you.