Brief introduction to the EU Water Initiative

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) conference held in Johannesburg in September 2002, the EU launched a Water Initiative (EUWI) designed to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and WSSD targets for drinking water and sanitation, within the context of an integrated approach to water resources management.

 The key objectives of the Initiative refer to water supply, sanitation and integrated water resources management, and are detailed hereafter; to:

Ø      Reinforce political commitment to action and raise the profile of water and sanitation issues in the context of poverty reduction efforts;

Ø      Promote better governance arrangements: This includes encouraging the public and sectors and local stakeholders to work together better. It also includes efforts to strengthen institutional capacity at the regional, national and local levels, by providing expertise and promoting good practice, improved partnerships for sharing technology, information, research and knowledge and awareness raising;

Ø      Improve coordination and cooperation in the way that water-related interventions are developed and implemented. This includes a shift away from stand-alone projects towards sector wide approaches on the one hand, but also towards functional cross-sectoral links (e.g. agriculture/forestry/livestock and water; hygiene education and health outcomes). It also includes establishing multi-stakeholder processes to reinforce partnerships for action and promoting south-south collaboration and cooperation;

Ø      Encourage regional and sub-regional cooperation on water management issues, using the integrated water resources management approach (at national and transboundary levels). As part of the Initiative, the EU will be supporting the development of IWRM and water efficiency plans by 2005, including the adoption of policy, planning and management processes on a river-basin scale;

Ø      Catalyse additional funding, through the development of new, flexible and innovative funding mechanisms to attract new partners, and through supporting the establishment of the enabling environment for increased investment.

The Mediterranean Component (MED EUWI) is one of the regional components of the EUWI and shares its overall objectives. The full description of the EUWI can be found at www.euwi.net