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Dear colleagues and friends,

„Water for Africa“ is certainly one of the great challenges of the 21^st century. Nowhere else have such great parts of the population no access to safe water. Climate change will make it even more difficult to find solutions. The Ecumenical Water Network is therefore organizing a conference “Churches for Water in Africa”, bringing together church leaders, activists, and NGOs to explore how the churches and their partners can put into practice their commitment to lifting up people’s lives and rights. The conference will take place May 21-25 in Entebbe, Uganda.

While preparing this conference, we have also been following the OHCHR’s study on water and sanitation. In the previous newsletter, we invited you to get involved and submit your views to the OHCHR. If time was too short for you in April, you have a second chance now: Following a suggestion made by the EWN, the OHCHR agreed to accept further submissions on this issue until May 31. The questions raised during the consultation on May 11 in Geneva and in the respective discussion guide provided by the OHCHR might help you in this.

Also, we would like to use the opportunity to invite those of you who will participate in the German Protestant Kirchentag in Cologne from June 6-10 to pass by to pick up materials and talk to us about these issues and more!

Your team from the Ecumenical Water Network,
Maike Gorsboth & Guillermo Kerber

Contents of the Newsletter:

1. “Churches for Water in Africa,” May 21-25

2. Consultation “Human rights obligations with regard to water and sanitation”

3. Water and the EWN at the German Protestant Kirchentag

4. Online Survey UNESCO-IHE and Co-operative Programme on Water and Climate
   
   

1.“Churches for Water in Africa,” May 21-25

In sub-Saharan Africa, 314 million people lack adequate access to safe water. What can the churches do to assure water and life for the people of the African continent? Already next week, representatives of churches and their partners from more than 20 different African countries are going to meet in a conference convened by the Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) in Entebbe, Uganda.

From May 21-25, project officers, programme managers, NGO experts, together with church leaders will discuss the role of the churches facing the African water crisis. Space will be provided for exchanging practical experiences and ideas as well as for reflection on the ethical and theological implications of the crisis. A whole day will be dedicated to visiting different rural and urban water and sanitation projects in the area.

Given that there are many causes for people’s lack of access to water, our conference will deal with a wide range of issues, from technologies to adapt to climate change, mediating conflicts around natural resources, to the privatization of water and human rights advocacy.

We will make available presentations, photos, and results after the conference on the website of the Ecumenical Water Network http://water.oikoumene.org

Further information:

The programme of the conference “Churches for water in Africa” is available at

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/activities/ewn-home/ewn-news-and-events-containers/english-news-container/single-news/article/2958/ecumenical-water-network.html

2. Consultation “Human rights obligations with regard to water and sanitation”

Important questions concerning the meaning and definition of the human right to water were raised in a consultation on “Human rights obligations with regard to equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation” which took place at the United Nations on May 11 in Geneva, Switzerland. The consultation was organized by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human rights (OHCHR) and gave different stakeholders the opportunity to provide their views on the content and scope of the respective study that is being prepared by the OHCHR.

While none of the participating government representatives openly questioned the existence of the human right to water, a number of them such as the representatives from Germany, Argentina, and Bolivia, explicitly expressed their support and commitment. There was also a general agreement among participants that the water crisis with regard to drinking water was only weakly linked to water scarcity and more related to lack of resources, inadequate water supply management, and the absence of political will, priorities, and concepts for implementation.

Issues highlighted by participants representing NGOs included:

• A human rights perspective cannot exclude ecological concerns. Preventive action to “protect water while it is still in the eco-system” is needed, especially to protect the right to water of women and indigenous people who, more often than other groups, depend on this water.

• Individual rights need to be clearly prioritized over “corporate rights”. There is a need for strong international mechanisms to prevent the abuse of the right to water by corporations. The inadequate capacity of many governments in the South to regulate and monitor the private sector needs to be taken into account.

• Decentralized and participatory structures and processes are implied by a human rights approach.

Regarding the question of international mechanisms, NGOs supported a mandate for a Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Water who would monitor the realization of the human right to water and contribute to the further development of its definition.

Shortly before the meeting, a discussion guide was published by the OHCHR pointing to some of the major questions that the study would need to address (pages 7/8). Upon a suggestion by the Ecumenical Water Network, chairperson Maria-Francisca Ize-Charrin (OHCHR) agreed that further and additional submissions could be made until May 31.

Further information:

• Discussion guide and agenda of the consultation: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/water/consultations.htm

• How to provide submissions to the OHCHR for its study: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/water/index.htm

3. Water and the EWN at the German Protestant Kirchentag

Experiencing water and learning how to treat it in a more responsible way is the goal of a “pilgrimage cruise” which starts on May 17 in Villingen-Schwenningen and will move along German rivers up to Cologne. The exhibition ship will arrive there just in time for the German Protestant Kirchentag, which is taking place from June 6-10 in Cologne, Germany. (Pilgerfahrt unter dem Motto "EinFluss erfahren - Schöpfung bewahren"). 

The Württemberg Protestant Church has not only organized the cruise and the exhibition on the ship but also a number of related lectures and panel discussions taking place June 6-9 during the Kirchentag.

The Ecumenical Water Network itself will be present at the German Protestant Kirchentag. You can find resources to pick up and people with whom to discuss the issues at the stand of the World Council of Churches (5.1 A11).

Further information:

• More information on the pilgrimage cruise and the events organized by the Wuerttemberg Protestant Church (German only): http://www.einfluss-erfahren.de/

• Website of the German Protestant Kirchentag:

English: http://www.kirchentag.net/index.php?id=2&L=1
French: http://www.kirchentag.net/index.php?id=2&L=2
Deutsch: http://www.kirchentag.net

• Search the Programme of the Kirchentag for thematic, spiritual and cultural events related to water and other issues of your interest (German only): http://www.kirchentag.net/index.php?id=pgh_db&no_cache=1

4. Online Survey UNESCO-IHE and Co-operative Programme on Water and Climate

Together with UNESCO-IHE, the Co-operative programme on Water and Climate is conducting an on-line survey to assess the need for capacity-building on water and climate-related issues. To be able to supply the right kind of capacity-building services, UNESCO-IHE and CPWC are conducting a web survey to assess the need for, and the specific interest in, knowledge and improved use of climate information for the specific responsibilities of water sector specialists.

If you are working on: policy development, planning, operations in utilities, hydropower generation, agriculture and/or nature management, please take a few moments and fill out the survey. UNESCO-IHE and CPWC will use the results of this survey for the development of education and training materials on water and climate.

The survey will take only 5 minutes of your time. Click here to download the survey.

If the link does not open properly, please copy the URL below in your web browser:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=744133235744