WCC 9th Assembly, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 14-23 February, 2006

Water is a symbol of life. The Bible affirms water as the cradle of life, an expression
of God’s grace in perpetuity for the whole of creation (Gen. 2:5ff). It is a basic
condition for all life on Earth (Gen. 1:2ff.) and is to be preserved and shared for
the benefit of all creatures and the wider creation. Water is the source of health
and well-being and requires responsible action from us human beings, as part-
ners and priests of Creation (Rom. 8:19 ff., Rev. 22). As churches, we are called
to participate in the mission of God to bring about a new creation where life in
abundance is assured to all (John 10:10; Amos 5:24). It is therefore right to speak
out and to act when the life-giving water is pervasively and systematically under
threat.

Access to fresh water supplies is becoming an urgent matter across the planet. The
survival of 1.2 billion people is currently in jeopardy due to lack of adequate water
and sanitation. Unequal access to water causes conflicts between and among people,
communities, regions and nations. Biodiversity is also threatened by the
depletion and pollution of fresh water resources or through impacts of large dams,
large scale mining and hot cultures (irrigation) whose construction often involves
the forced displacement of people and disruption of the ecosystem. The integrity
and balance of the ecosystem is crucial for the access to water. Forests build an
indispensable part in the ecosystem of water and must be protected. The crisis is
aggravated by climate change and further deepened by strong economic interests.
Water is increasingly treated as a commercial good, subject to market conditions.

Scarcity of water is also a growing source of conflict. Agreements concerning international
watercourses and river basins need to be more concrete, setting out measures
to enforce treaties made and incorporating detailed conflict resolution mechanisms
in case disputes erupt.

Both locally and internationally there are positive and creative responses to raise
the profile of Christian witness to water issues.

Churches in Brazil and in Switzerland, for instance, have made a Joint Ecumenical
Declaration on Water as a Human Right and a Common Public Good – by itself
an excellent example for ecumenical cooperation. The Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew states that water can never be regarded or treated as private property
or become the means and end of individual interest. He underlines that indifference
towards the vitality of water constitutes both a blasphemy to God the
Creator and a crime against humanity. Churches in various countries and their specialized
ministries have joined together in the Ecumenical Water Network in working
for the provision of fresh water and adequate sanitation and advocating for the
right to water. Access to water is indeed a basic human right. The United Nations
has called for an International Decade for Action, Water for Life, 2005 to 2015.

It is essential for churches and Christian agencies to work together and to seek
cooperation with other partners, including other faith traditions and NGOs, and
particularly those organizations that work with vulnerable and marginalized populations
who hold similar ethical convictions. It is necessary to engage in debate
and action on water policies, including dialogue with governments and multilateral
or corporate institutions. This is essential to promote the significance of
the right to water and to point to alternative ways of living, which are more
respectful of ecological processes and more sustainable in the longer term.

Resolution:
That the Ninth Assembly, meeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 14-23 February, 2006:

adopts the statement on Water for Life and calls on the churches and ecumenical
partners to work together with the aim to:

a) promote awareness of and take all necessary measures for preservation and
protection of water resources against over-consumption and pollution as an
integral part of the right to life;

b) undertake advocacy efforts for development of legal instruments and mechanisms
that guarantee the implementation of the right to water as a fundamental
human right at the local, national, regional and international levels;

c) foster cooperation of churches and ecumenical partners on water concerns
through participation in the Ecumenical Water Network;

d) support community-based initiatives whose objectives are to enable local
people to exercise responsible control, manage and regulate water resources
and prevent the exploitation for commercial purposes;

e) urge governments and international aid agencies to give priority to and allocate
adequate funds and other resources for programmes designed to provide
access to and make water available to local communities and also promote
development of proper sanitation systems and projects, taking into
account the needs of people with disabilities to have access to this clean
water and sanitation service;

f) monitor disputes and agreements related to water resources and river basins
to ensure that such agreements contain detailed, concrete and unambiguous
provisions for conflict resolution;

g) contribute to the International Decade for Action, Water for Life, 2005-2015,
by exploring and highlighting the ethical and spiritual dimension of water
crisis.