by
Ian Johnson
Vice President, Sustainable Development
The World Bank
New York, NY, April 28, 2004
Mr. Chair, Honorable Ministers and Delegates,
This meeting is an important watershed. It represents a real change in bringing together international public policy-making and national implementation while focusing on specific critical issues. We wish to congratulate Minister Brende for his leadership.
Johannesburg helped to end to an era of fragmentation in our efforts to foster a sustainable planet. Johannesburg promoted a series of partnerships, alliances, and knowledge networks.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are also ensuring that we make the link between poverty and sustainability.
As a result, cooperation between the United Nations and the World Bank Group has increased.
The CSD offers considerable promise for us to strengthen our partnerships even further. The World Bank has attended many of the meetings here, and we have enriched our understanding of the issues under discussion.
The provision of potable water and, here I stress and, Sanitation for all is a moral, economic, social, and ecological imperative. The United Nations has embraced water and sanitation targets under the Millennium Development Goals, although none of us should be satisfied until we have done our best to ensure that all people have access to clean water and decent sanitation.
Mr. Chair, there has been much discussion on the issues of water and sanitation - from pricing policies, to the respective roles of the public, private, and non-government sectors.
We believe that there are pragmatic ways forward in which governments must play the leadership role. There are, in our view, many ways in which clean water can be delivered - we have witnessed excellent examples of public, private, and NGO provision, and creative combinations of all three. We should recognize that investment to meet the water and sanitation targets will need to increase dramatically.
The World Bank Group is committed to sustainable development, including water resource management, water and sanitation, and sustainable human habitats.
As part of our response to countries' increased commitment to sustainable development and the MDGs, we have increased our attention to infrastructure, including water resource management.
For example, our lending for water and sanitation has increased substantially.
The projects and programs we finance are all embedded in country-owned strategies, such as the PRSPs.
We have also promoted broad-based partnerships and knowledge networks.
Finally, Mr. Chair, we note that overall Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to the water sector has declined, and has focused upon a small number of developing countries. As a donor community we need to work even more closely together to reverse this trend.
Mr. Chair: Thank you.
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