Open Letter to the Third World Water Forum

The United States is pleased to join government and civil society representatives from more than 100 countries at the Third World Water Forum in Kyoto. Access to clean water by all people, and the responsible management and use of water is a major global challenge. The Forum is an important gathering to address these issues. Over the course of the meeting, policymakers and practitioners will share approaches and explore new technologies for addressing critical water issues. This is an opportunity to strengthen and expand growing partnerships among governments and between governments and civil society.

A few months ago, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, the United States joined with other governments and the private sector to announce several water-related partnerships focused on concrete actions. These include the Water for the Poor Initiative, the Safe Drinking Water Partnership, the White Water to Blue Water Initiative and the joint U.S.– Japan Initiative, Clean Water for People. The U.S. and our partners are making real progress on implementing these programs.

As was underscored by world leaders meeting in Monterrey in March 2002, addressing water and development needs is a shared responsibility of developed and developing countries. For donor countries, this meant a new commitment to providing the kind of development assistance required for sustainable development. For developing countries, this meant a new commitment to good governance, to investing in their own people and to creating the domestic conditions required to enable effective use of donor assistance and employment of all resources, particularly those in the private sector. These goals are especially critical in the water sector. We believe that governments everywhere must make water a priority in their national development strategies and poverty reduction plans.

During the Forum the United States will share our domestic experience of ensuring sound water management for the American people. We will also report on the significant progress made on water partnerships since the World Summit. The United States is committed to addressing world water issues and we thank the Government of Japan for hosting this important gathering.

Sincerely,

Paula Dobriansky
Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs
And Head of the U.S. Delegation