Europe's Water Vision Unveiled01/07/2008 |
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| During a special meeting on 30 June 2008 with Richard Seeber, Member of the European Parliament, EWP has launched the initiative of Europe's Water Vision. An international gathering took a few hours to discuss about which message Europe should have regarding water and its use. The vision for 2030, is that ‘Europe should have achieved sustainable water management and universal access top modern and safe water supply and sanitation because we value water in all its dimensions - in its economic, social, environmental and cultural importance'. |
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The vision then was presented by the President of European Water Partnership to Richard Seeber and Stavoros Dimas. Like a ‘message in a bottle', the vision was received and all attendees of the gathering were invited to write their say on little drops. They were collected and will be used for further discussion later in the process.
Jean-Claude Vial talked about the French water situation which is diverse. Pierre Victoria concluded the session focussing the attention on the upcoming World Water Forum in Istanbul.
All guests then were invited for an informal cocktail, networking and talking about the new European Water Vision. Because, the discussion about the vision should not be closed yet!
The opening session, from left to right Tom Vereijken and Fritz Barth (both EWP), Richard Seeber, Janez Podobnik and Stravros Dimas.
An attentive audience for the discussions.
The Turkish delegation making use of the opportunity to contribute to the discussion.
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Opening speeches were presented by Janez Podobnik, Minister for Environment and Spatial Planning (Republic of Slovenia) and Stravros Dimas, Commissioner for Environment. They set the stage for water as a valuable resource that needs careful management.
A High Level Policy discussion then set the scene on Europe's Water Vision to 2030, with contributions from Richard Seeber, Pekka Personen (COPA-COGECA), Tony Baynes (Coca Cola HBC), Tony Long (WWF), Sharon Hunes (IBM), Mitja Bricelj (Republic of Slovenia) and Peter Gammeltoft (Acting Director DG Environment, European Commission). This discussion was lead by Fritz Barth (Vice Chairman of the EWP). Questions that were raised touched the price of water: affordibility or real cost? The social dimension of water was an addition of Bricelj: ‘Water is everybody's business', he said. Tony Long put it clearly: ‘Let's know the value of water before the well is empty' and Sharon Nunes emphasised the need for IT systems to serve as a decision support system. ‘We see a lack of data about the use of water - but we are able to make them available to everybody'. This presentation was followed by a discussion where the audience also was invited to have their say.
In the closing remarks, Hans-Gert Poettering, President of the European Parliament, said that water resources are clearly threatened, however not that prominently in Europe. ‘About 20% of the surface water in Europe is seriously threatened by pollution. We should introduce a water-caring culture. People should change their habits: have a shorter shower or stop the tap running whilst cleaning their teeth.'
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