Quotes

Drew Parker, UNICEF

Water is a source of conflict and conflict resolution. Politics and influence have decided where resources are before wars and disasters, and often will do so again afterwards. We need to think about how to build back better in the aftermath of these events.

Andrew Cotton, Director, Water Engineering and Development Centre

What’s missing is the synthesising of knowledge across sectors. There’s a surprising lack of documentation of the WASH emergency that’s out there. Is it of any interest to those outside this room what we say? How do we key WASH into other people’s priorities?

Dr. Ritesh Arya, Arya Drillers

Receding glaciers present problems for high deserts and mountain areas, especially in terms of flash floods. The lower altitudes should be concerned about this. The earth is like a body - if your head is alright, the rest of you is alright. If not…

Erik de Ruyter, UNESCO-IHE

In your adaptation methods, try to create as much flexibility as possible. If things move faster than expected, be ready to take a few steps beyond.

Abel Meija, World Bank

In Latin America we have high nominal network coverage but the quality of the service is declining.

Peter White, Proctor &  Gamble

We need to change sustainability from a responsibility into an opportunity.

Thomas Welander, Anox/Kaldnes (Veolia)

Being recognised by the Stockholm Industry Water Award allowed the technology to become established. It’s quite a conservative market we’re in. The award told people we’re doing the right thing and it told the market that this product is something.

Andrew Kirkwood, Sydney Water

We’re putting this beautiful drinking water on a golf course, when it only needs fit-for purpose water.

Gérard Payen, UNSGAB

The water footprint is a quantative estimate…it doesn’t capture the quality of water even though this is absolutely essential for people.

Arjun Thapan, Asian Development Bank

Asia's water security is being challenged, paradoxically, by its own successes. The continent's impressive growth in recent times has brought rapid urbanization, high rates of industrialization, and higher incomes in its wake. These have put huge pressures on Asia's ability to manage its water resources. Our focus on solutions has been too narrow, and this has compromised poverty reduction efforts, productivity and growth.

Colin Chartres, International Water Management Institute

In the wake of a major global food crisis in 2007 and 2008, cereal prices are expected to be higher and more volatile in the coming years. Asia’s food and feed demand is expected to double by 2050. Relying on trade to meet a large part of this demand will impose a huge and politically untenable burden on the economies of many developing countries. The best bet for Asia lies in revitalizing its vast irrigation systems, which account for 70 percent of the world’s total irrigated land.

Hon. Rejoice Mabudafhasi, Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, South Africa

- Some of our rivers run dry. Desertification is creeping in. The result is more poverty, hunger, and disease.
- Transboundary river basins are inherently political and economic. Thus there cannot be a one-size-fits-all solution.
-  Meeting growing water demand is essential for the economic growth of the SADC region and Africa generally, and in particular for the reduction of poverty.

Mr. Munqueth Mehyar, Chairperson and Jordanian Director, Friends of the Earth Middle East, Jordan

- Of the 1.3 billion cubic meters that would flow to replenish the Dead Sea, 100 million cubic meters is all that is left. The river has seen over 95% its waters diverted.
- Governments of Israel, Palestine and Jordan have signed agreements to restore the river. These statements have yet to be followed up by any action.
- Palestinians must get direct access to the river and Palestine deserves a share of the water as an equal riparian.
- The budget for sustaining conflict and supporting wars is very large. Peace and restoration activities will only require a very small percentage of that budget.

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, India & Stockholm Water Prize Laureate

- People started laughing when we suggested making toilets available in all important public places. Now we have installed more than 7,500.
- Thanks to the Sualabh toilet millions of scavengers have been relieved from subhuman occupation of bucket toilet cleaning.
- These technologies [Sualabh composting toilet and biogas technology] are free of patent - this is very important - any country can take it and use it.

Dr. Ger Bergkamp, Director General, World Water Council (WWC)

- We must stop looting our hydrological resources.
- As we said in at the World Water Forum in Istanbul, the time of easy water is over. The water extravaganza is finished. The days of ignoring leaks have passed.
- Affirming the right to water is a key step. People are asking their leaders to enshrine the right to water and sanitation in their countries.
- Managing water requires democratic and decentralized institutions.

Mr. Jan Eliasson, Chair, WaterAid Sweden, President of the United Nations General Assembly 2005-2006

- The lack of water is also a contributing factor to the conflict [in Sudan].
- Water can be a catalyst for conflict or a catalyst for cooperation.
- It is about time we took away the orphan child image of sanitation.
- There can be no lasting peace or sustainable development without respect for human rights.
 - Nobody can do everything in this field, but everyone can do something.
- Water and sanitation must be given a higher priority in the governments, in the nations, in the municipalities, in the countries where the problems are.
- We need to move from fact finding and early warning to fact facing and early action.

Hon. Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for International Development Cooperation, Sweden

- The link between water management, growth and poverty reduction is obvious. By increasing access to water we can change the lives and health of poor women, men and children for the better.
- Nearly 4 million people die every year due to water- and sanitation-related diseases, diseases that not only take lives and affect health but also impact on subsistence agriculture and economic activities.

Mr. Anders Berntell, Executive Director, SIWI

- All the other sectors of our society depend on water. When we affect the availability of water, we affect food production, we affect the energy production, we affect forestry, we affect the health status of countries and so on. All functions of our society will be affected when water is affected.
- We can provide Astronauts with a safe supply of drinking water when they travel to the moon, but we cannot provide the same service to slum dwellers in Kibera, Nairobi or Dharavi Mumbay. Very clearly, your economic situation can be a barrier to an equitable share of the resource. We need to find the solutions that enable the poorer segments of our societies access to these services, while at the same time ensures that the institutions that deliver those services are economically viable.
- The mandate before our world is to prevent the avoidable and adapt to the unavoidable. Even with the best mitigation strategies, water related effects of climate change will come. The challenge for many nations is, how to adapt.
- Climate Change is in effect Water Change, since it will be through water that the changes will be realized first and foremost.