Year after year the international community works together to make access to water and sanitation a reality for all.
The International Water Agenda
The standard definition, as defined by WHO (World Health Organisation), is that for each individual there is "the availability of at least 20 liters of water per day from a clean source within one kilometer of the user's dwelling".
The definition of access to sanitation - i.e. the treatment of wastewater, essential for maintaining the health of communities and environmental quality - is yet to be formulated
Summits for Further Progress
At the World Water Forum at The Hague in March 2000 the ministers and delegation heads outlined the goal of "safeguarding water supplies in the 21st century".
Seven challenges were identified in order to achieve this. These were as follows: satisfying basic needs; safeguarding food supplies; protecting the ecosystems; sharing water resources; managing risks; making price of water reflect cost; and managing water in a responsible manner.
Then during its general assembly in New York in September 2000 the UN set a new course for its "Millennium Goals". This was to halve by 2015 the number of people who do not have sustainable access to drinking water.
Two years later the Johannesburg Conference saw further progress in that this goal was expanded to include sanitation.
The "Financing Water for All" report was presented at the World Water Forum in Kyoto in 2003. It gives recommendations and outlines the responsibilities of each stakeholder in order to achieve the goals that have been set.
As for the Water Forum in Mexico in 2006 all stakeholders acknowledged the necessity of the effective right to water for all and confirmed the major role that local authorities play in the management of water and wastewater services.
An Initiative by the European Union
As a contribution towards the Millennium Goals, the European Union launched its "European Water Initiative" in 2002.
This initiative really got off the ground in 2004 with the setting up of a "Water Facility" with funding of €500 million. This money will be allocated to projects that provide water and wastewater services to countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
