Water challenges demand comprehensive governance approach to protect, use and share water responsibly, stresses OSCE Economic and environmental Forum Preparatory Meeting

VIENNA, 27 January 2015 – More than 200 representatives of OSCE participating States, Partners for Co-operation, non-governmental organizations, academia and international organizations discussed ways to further develop the OSCE’s role in the area of water governance at the first Preparatory Meeting of the 2015 OSCE Economic and Environmental Forum.

Opening the Meeting, the Chair of the OSCE Permanent Council, Ambassador Vuk Zugic said: “Water is fundamental, water unites, and water connects”. . He emphasized that the 2014 devastating floods in the Western Balkans showed the importance of transboundary co-operation in case of natural disasters. “Our vision is to promote dialogue on good water governance in the OSCE area, through the sharing of best practices and lessons learned”

Calling for a comprehensive and inclusive approach to good water governance, the OSCE Secretary General, Lamberto Zannier said: “If we want to be serious about conflict prevention, we have to address water-related challenges to security”.  

Halil Yurdakul Yigitguden, the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, stressed that the “OSCE has built a strong record of projects supporting participating States in strengthening water governance in the  national and transboundary context, and most of this work takes place within the Environment and Security (ENVSEC) Initiative.

“A timely exchange of information is of great importance, since it is the main instrument for prevention of damage caused by significant water pollution” noted Stana Bozovic, State Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection in the Republic of Serbia.

Professor John Anthony Allan of the King’s College in London, the pioneer of the virtual water concept drew attention to the determining role of political and social factors in water governance.

Dr Muhammed Ait-Kadi, Chair of the Global Water Partnership Technical Committee, reminded the participants that with climate change, water security is an increasingly pressing global concern that can threaten social and political stability.

The meeting will be followed by a second preparatory meeting in Belgrade (Serbia) in May and a concluding meeting in Prague in September.