Report of the High Level
Meeting on Water
Resources Management and Rural and Agricultural Development,
Tehran, 2 4 September 2007
Report of the meeting:
1.
The High Level Meeting on Water Resources Management and Rural and
Agricultural Development was organized by the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran on 2 4 September 2007 in Tehran as a consequence of
the mandate given by the 13th Summit of the Heads of State and
Government of the Group of Fifteen to organize a High Level follow up
meeting to the G 15 Seminar/Workshop on “Rural and Agricultural
Development and the Management of Water Resources” held in Geneva in
July 2006. The main purpose of the Meeting was to explore the
possibility of establishing a G 15 mechanism or clearinghouse for the
exchange of experiences on rural and agricultural development and the
management of water resources aimed at enhancing good practices and
information sharing among member countries.
2.
In acknowledgement of the importance of the subject in G 15 countries,
39 high level officials, experts and diplomats participated in the
Meeting from the majority of the member countries of the Group. The
proceedings of the Meeting were enriched by the contribution of Prof.
Noboyuki Tamai, President of the International Association of Hydraulic
Engineering and Research. (The List of Participants is attached as an
Annex).
3.
In his Opening Speech, the Chairman of the inaugural session, H. E. Mr.
A. Sheikh Attar, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, expressed his appreciation to all participants
attending the Meeting and expressed the hope that with a constructive
exchange of views on this important subject, the Meeting will produce
new ideas for the attainment of common G 15 goals. As the first meeting
outside of Geneva under the Chairmanship of the Islamic Republic of
Iran, he hoped that it would infuse new dynamism into the Group. He
emphasized the importance of good water management strategies and its
efficient utilization with a view to improving the quality of life and
social well being of the present and future generations. Noting the
importance of rural and agricultural development, he called for
concrete efforts on the part of member countries to eradicate poverty
and develop sustainable agriculture as well as to ensure the active
participation of all stakeholders in this regard. He expressed optimism
that the outcome of the Meeting will lead to the adoption of
recommendations that would strengthen South South cooperation among
member countries.
4.
In his address, the Minister of Energy of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
H. E. Mr. S. P. Fattah, remarked that water resources management has
become one of the most important challenges of the present century due
to population pressure, excessive demand on natural resources and
decrease in environmental quality, among others. He therefore observed
that complex water resources development problems should be considered
in an integrated manner. In this regard, he called for a comprehensive
plan based on resource availability and its efficient use in the areas
of water allocation in different sectors such as agriculture, domestic
use, industry, hydropower generation and environmental protection. In
light of the vast experience and knowledge within member countries, he
urged the Meeting to consider the establishment of a platform to
promote capacity building and networking in the area of water resources
among G 15 member countries. To this end, he stated that the Islamic
Republic of Iran was prepared to provide the initial platform that
would serve as a clearing house. In view of the critical
importance of water financing, he said that the Islamic Republic of
Iran proposes the establishment of a G 15 Water Fund. He similarly
proposed the formation of a G 15 Water Council to facilitate joint or
collective participation in international activities in the water
sector to ensure outcomes that are favourable to G 15 member countries.
He concluded on the note that a productive outcome of this meeting
would contribute significantly to the achievement of the goals of the G
15.
5.
In his remarks, Dr. F. Yazdandoost, President of the Water Research
Institute of the Islamic Republic of Iran and focal point for the
organization of the meeting, observed that the meeting was designed in
a manner that practical issues would be addressed to create more
momentum in the activities of the Group of Fifteen. He observed further
that progress would be made by focusing on the challenges in the field,
namely, Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), Capacity Building
and Networking, Water Financing, Rural and Agricultural Development, as
well as the cross cutting theme of a Water Council. He expressed the
hope that upon presentation of country reports by the esteemed
delegates, deliberations on the thematic issues would provide the basis
for further cooperation between the member countries.
6.
On behalf of Algeria, the preceding Chairman of the G 15 under whose
stewardship the theme was introduced, Mr. Larbi Baghdali, Director in
the Algerian Ministry of Water Resources recalled that a
Seminar/Workshop on Rural and Agricultural Development and Management
of Water Resources was held in Geneva in July 2006 as part of the
preparations for the 13th Summit. He remarked that experts exchanged
views and came out with conclusions and recommendations, which the
Summit directed, should be further considered in this meeting. He
therefore expressed the hope that this meeting would succeed in coming
out with joint strategies towards improving the economic and social
conditions in the regions of G 15 countries.
7.
The inaugural session was followed by presentation of Country Reports
on water resources management and agricultural and rural development as
implemented by each country, a brief background of respective country
positions on water resources management and views and visions on the
thematic issues as a means of facilitating IWRM approaches through
collaboration between member countries. It was obvious from the
presentations that member countries shared a number of similarities in
addition to specific national peculiarities in these sectors and in
particular in the implementation of IWRM. A verbatim copy of the
Country Reports was provided in CD format to all participants.
8.
Five Thematic Sessions followed the presentation of Country Reports.
The proceedings of the Thematic Sessions are summarized below:
Capacity
Building and Networking
9.
Participants underlined the importance of water as a critical natural
resource and a basic human need and that, given the ever growing
challenges facing the G 15 countries and the global community in the
water sector, it was imperative to liaise, integrate and exchange
knowledge, information and experiences on the pressing issues of water
management between the G 15 countries. It was observed that this was an
opportune time to hold discussions on water issues given that 2005 –
2015 had been declared as the International Decade for Water and Life
by the United Nations.
10.
It was acknowledged that water resources management must be adaptive to
changing conditions and goals over time. To this end, participants
agreed that this will require continued education and capacity
building, community sensitization, research, monitoring and relevant
measures to be taken to result in sustainable development and sound
management plans and policies. They also recognized the need to plan
and investigate measures to minimize threats from water related risk
elements such as floods and droughts within the G 15 countries. They
therefore stressed the need for collaboration and exchange of
information, knowledge and experience between member countries,
particularly between related institutions.
11.
Participants reiterated that capacity development, research and
education are recognized as the bases for sustainable development and
their decisive role in water management should not be ignored. They
recommended the development of mechanisms for sharing of best practices
in water resources development and management issues, improved
communication and outreach between G 15 countries.
12.
With a view to creating a dynamic platform for dissemination of
knowledge and experiences within the G 15 countries in line with the
mandate given by the 13th Summit, the meeting discussed and recommended
the creation of a mechanism with the following possible features:
- To
serve as a forum for the exchange of technical knowledge and
experiences among member countries with a view to identifying best
practices which could add value to the efforts of member countries;
- The
forum could take the form of technical meetings, workshops,
seminars and web based interaction amongst technical experts in the
field of rural and agricultural development and the management of water
resources;
- To
consider establishing a G 15 database, as deemed appropriate, on
activities of member countries in the areas of water resources,
agriculture and rural development. To this end, to seek the active
support and collaboration of all member countries;
- Following
the pattern established by the G 15 Human Resources Training
Programme, the proposed mechanism could provide a collective avenue
through which each member country could offer or avail itself of
training opportunities aimed at enhancing national capacity building as
well as networking;
- The
facilitation of networking amongst training institutions, research
centres and relevant agencies of member countries;
- To
explore the possibility of facilitating cooperation and support
between sub regional and regional institutions with mandates in the
area of capacity building for water resource management as well as
rural and agricultural development to complement similar efforts in G
15 countries;
- To
explore avenues for mobilizing support and technical cooperation for
its activities from the international donor community;
- To
assign to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the task of hosting the
proposed website as a starting point for the take off of the envisaged
activities.
13.
The meeting agreed to recommend the establishment of a “Working Group
on Water”, under the coordination of the Chairman of the Group to
further explore the subject and modalities for the operationalization
of the mechanism.
Water
Fund
14.
Participants stressed the need for adequate financing of water related
activities because of the increasing challenges of water resource
management today. In order to increase investment and attract financial
resources for activities in the water sector, as well as cooperation
programmes among G 15 member countries, it was generally felt that the
existence of some kind of facility or vehicle for the mobilization of
resources in support of efforts of member countries was necessary.
Therefore, it was emphasized that further discussions among member
countries was required. To this end, it was agreed to recommend that
the proposed Working Group on Water, under the coordination of the
Chairman of the Group should explore the modalities for achieving this
goal.
Agriculture and Rural Development
15.
In their interventions, participants emphasized that human development
is one of the important aspects in agricultural and rural development.
It was recommended in this regard that collaboration among the G 15
countries could be done through training programmes to upgrade the
knowledge and skills of the farmers and agricultural workers. Exchange
of information among G 15 countries on effective extension services was
considered imperative in order to transfer their research findings and
new technologies to farmers. In research and
development, it was stated that collaboration could be implemented
through exchange of research findings, networking as well as
participation in research programmmes. It was acknowledged that many G
15 countries had a vast pool of best practices that others could draw
upon for the benefit of their rural populations. Some member countries
pledged their readiness to extend to other member countries their
training facilities, despatch of technical experts and scientists as
well as to implement joint research projects in rural and agricultural
development.
16.
The Meeting agreed to recommend the establishment of a G 15 Working
Group on Rural and Agricultural Development and endorsed the offer made
by the Islamic Republic of Iran to serve as the focal point for both
Working Groups.
Water
Council
17.
Given the attention that water has received globally in recent years
and the pivotal role it can play in future collaborations between
member countries, it was agreed that the proposed Working Group on
Water would meet, under the coordination of the Chairman of the Group,
on possible coordination in international fora such as the forthcoming
5th World Water Forum to be held in 2009 in Turkey.
Integrated
Water Resources Management
18.
There was general agreement that water resources should be managed in a
holistic and integrated manner as laid out under the Dublin Principles
and Rio Declaration. The Meeting reaffirmed the commitment of member
countries to achieve the internationally agreed goals on Integrated
Water Resources Management which were instrumental to attaining
sustainable development goals as reiterated in several international
fora such as the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the World
Water Forum and in the World Water Assessment Report. In this regard,
there were suggestions that the concept should be broadened to link the
idea of development or sustainable development to IWRM. It was noted
that there were no universal blueprints for IWRM because its
implementation would of necessity take into account various national
circumstances. Most of the member countries reported that they were in
various stages of implementing IWRM and while the situation was
different in the various countries, and there was no “one-size fits
all” solution, there was general recognition that success stories and
good experiences in some countries could provide examples of Best
Management Practices for others. Many member countries expressed a
willingness to share their experiences on IWRM, and a desire to learn
from the experience of other member countries. In view of the
fact that IWRM was a crosscutting and overarching concept, it was
agreed that it could be discussed by the Working Groups already
recommended.
19.
The Meeting agreed that the present report should be submitted through
the Personal Representatives of Heads of State and Government of the
Group of Fifteen to the next Meeting of the Foreign Ministers for
consideration and approval.
20.
The participants expressed their gratitude to H. E. Mr. Fattah,
Honourable Minister of Energy of the Islamic Republic of Iran as well
as President and staff of the Water Research Institute for the
organization of the meeting and the warm hospitality extended during
the period of their stay in Tehran. The participants also expressed
their appreciation for the support and cooperation of other related
organizations in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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