Confronting fresh water crisis
in the Mediterranean Basin.
What role for the European Union?
UNESCO Paris, May 29, 2008
The international community recognises access to water and sanitation as being critical for human development. Objective 7 (point 10) of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) aims to “halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation,” by 2015. Furthermore, the time period 2005-2015 was declared by the United Nations General Assembly as the “International Decade for Action, Water for Life” and 2008 the “International Year of Sanitation”.
In the Mediterranean basin countries, fresh water is becoming scarcer and more unequally distributed. In 2000, 130 million people in the Mediterranean region were living in water stressed countries (less than 1000 m3/inhabitant/year) and 45 million people were living in water scarce countries (less than 500 m3/inhabitant/year). Today, 30 million people in the region do not have access to clean water, notably in the southern countries and the eastern region, and 27 million people do not have access to basic sanitation.
Climate change, the growing demand for water in agricultural and urban development, as well as the expanding tourism industry, have further aggravated the hydric stress on the region. According to estimates, the number of people living in areas with water shortages will increase to 63 million by 2025.
The increasing pressure on water resources has raised a diverse range of concerns, most notably:
- Policy and governance issues (the role of the state, the private sector and civil society; good governance; international/decentralised cooperation)
- Socio-economic issues (the distribution of water; the model of economic development; financing infrastructures)
- Ecological issues (water pollution; climate change; desertification; loss of biodiversity)
- Sanitation problems (morbidity and mortality related to lack of access to safe drinking water)
- Scientific et technical issues (improved efficiency in water delivery; the use of water-saving technologies ; desalinisation)
- Issues of peace and stability (cross-border water resources management; social conflicts; food security; migration)
In 1995, the European Union strengthened its relations with ten Middle Eastern and North African countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey) by initiating the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP, also known as the Barcelona Process or Euro-Mediterranean Partnership).
France will assume the European presidency in the second half of 2008 and has already announced that reinforcing the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation will be one of its main priorities, as reflected in the proposal to create the “Union for the Mediterranean”. During its presidency, a conference with the European and Mediterranean ministers in charge of water policies will be organized among others.
Although water is a major issue for development of the entire Mediterranean region, it is often given a backseat in the EMP. Discussions on water management tend to focus on technical rather than on social and political aspects. In this context, it is necessary to heighten public and political attention to water related problems and ask what Europe and specifically France can do to help solve the fresh water crisis in the Mediterranean basin.
In cooperation with the World Water Council (WWC), Plan Bleu, Unesco-IHP, IDDRI (Institute for sustainable development and international relations) and the Center for Sustainable Development at Sciences Po, this conference aims to attract the French public’s attention to the problems related to fresh water in the Mediterranean basin. Considering the possible consequences for the EU’s Mediterranean policy, especially under the French presidency starting on July 1, 2008, this conference will offer a place to develop and discuss ideas that can assist policy advisers and policy-makers from both the European Union and Mediterranean countries. It will bring together speakers with a wide range of perspectives, from multiple countries in the Mediterranean region and from diverse backgrounds – business, public administration, NGO and academia.
