Summary of the Dialogue Session on Global Water Governance – 17 August 2010
2nd International Conference:
Climate, Sustainability and Development in semi-arid regions
Fortaleza/CE-Brazil

The 2nd International Conference: Climate, Sustainability and Development in semi-arid regions was held in Fortaleza/CE-Brazil from 16 to 20 August 2010.  On that occasion, Prof. Benedito Braga, Vice-President of the World Water Council, chaired a dialogue session on 17 August 2010 to discuss the perspectives on an effective global framework for water governance.

Based on the concept paper prepared by the National Water Agency of Brazil (ANA), the participants shared their views on water governance and recommended that the discussion focus on global framework for water governance rather than global water governance, thus making it clear that this proposal does not infringe on the sovereignty of national governments but rather aims at facilitating water governance among all global stakeholders.

This dialogue session was organized as part of the ongoing preparatory process of the 6th World Water Forum to be held in March 2012 in Marseille/France. This summary and the concept paper will be submitted to the International Forum Committee on the occasion of its upcoming meeting scheduled for September 2010.  It will provide guidance to the work of the thematic, regional and political committees.
 
The objective of this session was to engage the dialogue on ways to enhance international efforts that can promote increased linkages between policy dialogues and national priorities to the water sector, thus contributing to the global debate on the need to strengthen the coordination of international initiatives in the water sector, especially in light of the projections of climate change and their impacts on water resources.  

The participants emphasized on the need to create a body that can integrate the work of all UN agencies and other water related institutions into one coordinating body responsible for improving water governance at the national level.  

The discussion can be summarized as follows:

• Water is a multifaceted issue that requires a coordinated and aligned approach;
• The participants recognized that the 24  UN agencies and Programmes specialized on water issues contribute significant technical knowledge to the water sector but lack the structure necessary to incorporate their technical findings into the political agenda of national governments;
• There is a need to reinforce existing internal mechanisms such as the UN Water that can promote coordination and support local and regional initiatives among all various agencies carrying water-related programs. All 11 institutions  that participated in the meeting recognized that the UN Water is not the instrument that can effectively coordinate the actions of all 24 UN agencies and programmes and their partners;  
• The participants agreed on the need to create a facilitating Unit under the mandate of Secretary General of the United Nations to coordinate the establishment of a global framework for water governance.  
• This coordinating body will be task-oriented and will provide policy recommendations on the water sector to support national governments move water to the forefront of the political agenda.
• Its mandate will be to strengthen legislation, water decision-making bodies, capacity building and human resources, financial resources, and institutional capacity at the national level;
• The dialogue need to be carried forward with the support of UN member states that will help promote this initiative in the context of international summits including ICID+18, Rio+20, World Water Forum.

Participants included representatives of the National Water Agency - ANA/Brazil, the Water Center for Arid and Semi-Arid Zones in Latin America and the Caribbean - CAZALAC/Chile, the National Department of Environment - DINAMA/Uruguay, the Department of Water Affairs - DWA/South Africa, Georgia Institute of Technology - GATECH/USA, the National Institute of Meteorology - INMET/Brazil, the Ministry of Science and Technology - MCT/Brazil, the Federal University of Pernambuco –UFPE/Brazil, the Water Assessment and Advisory Global Network - WASA-GN/Spain, The World Bank, the World Water Council – WWC.