Toespraak van de Prins van Oranje, voorzitter van de adviesraad voor Water en Sanitatie van de Secretaris-Generaal van de Verenigde Naties (UNSGAB), bij Global Water Operators Partnerships Congress te Kaapstad

Toespraak | 21-03-2011

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am joining you today as Chair of the Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. It is a pleasure to help wrap-up your dialogue among water operators, development partners, civil society, labour unions, and private sector partners.

As many of you know, I have participated in a lot of international meetings on water and sanitation over the years. In these meetings the desperate need for water and sanitation services is discussed along with how the absence of sanitation and clean drinking water leads to negative health, economic and environmental outcomes. But too often, the on-the-ground reality is not the starting point for our discussions. That is what is different about this meeting. Instead of starting with global commitments, we are focused on challenges faced by water operators working on the ground. It is one of the many reasons why I'm glad to be here today. Water utilities dedicate every day of the year to providing water and sanitation - essential services that we all need, but that so many of us lack.

You build knowledge. You prepare and implement policies. You build and manage water infrastructure. You make things happen in cities, towns and small communities. It is evident that without your professional contribution, no water or sanitation policy can work. But we need more. We need you to enhance your scientific, technical, managerial and administrative competence. In our Hashimoto Action Plan we explicitly emphasized the need to build the capacity of water utilities as the best way to meet the Millennium Development Goal targets for water and sanitation.

There are still millions - no, billions of people without satisfactory water or sanitation services. All deserve clean and affordable water, sanitation facilities, along with protection from contamination by others. That requires the strongest motivation of all professionals who are active in the sector. Despite the increased access to improved sources of water, 3 billion people do not benefit from tap water. The statistics do not tell the real story of billions of people who are not yet enjoying the benefits of a reliable supply of safe water. It is our collective responsibility to serve all citizens of the planet with a reliable supply of safe water and adequate sanitation services.

Business as usual, or simply improving service to people who already enjoy safe water supply, is not sufficient. For those of you who deliver water and sanitation services, reaching the "unserved" must be a core component of your action plans. For these reasons, the UN System and UNSGAB have entrusted UN-HABITAT with the task of building a global WOPs movement. It is gratifying to see the energy and enthusiasm generated since the Global WOPs Alliance launch in 2007, and the commitments and results that have followed. We're counting on everyone to continue this important work.

It is encouraging to see the numbers of water operators here today. The number of WOPs partnerships is growing. But let's not be too quick to applaud the results. Hundreds of new Partnerships have happened thanks to your hard work. However the estimate is that there are hundreds of thousands of public utilities delivering water and sanitation services worldwide, the vast majority of which can benefit from WOPs.

Making not-for-profit peer support happen at a scale necessary to meet the challenges ahead will require more systematic financing. One innovative means of securing financing is through legal mechanisms enabling utilities to dedicate revenue to solidarity efforts. I applaud the Global WOPs Alliance's effort to extend this legal mechanism, currently working in several European countries, to other nations and regions. This approach could potentially increase the financing available for WOPs internationally. While these WOPs do require some funding, compared to other programmes, these partnerships are a highly cost-effective way to build professional capacity. It is encouraging to see a growing number of regional development banks embracing them as a means of strengthening capacity so that utilities can secure investment loans.

We also need to learn more from Mentor Utilities who see WOPs not only as a good investment, but also as an exciting professional challenge for their staff. Mentors understand that WOPs serve as a Corporate Social Responsibility strategy and as a way to engage their customers in global water issues. These multiple benefits are fully consistent with the solidarity principles at the heart of WOPs. And these benefits need to be promoted to draw many more utilities into the network.

As the number of WOPs partnerships increases, the Global WOPs Alliance's role in facilitating, connecting and adding value to Partnerships around the world is as important as ever. At the same time, the Alliance must remain a light support structure rather than an implementer. As the movement grows, we don't want to lose its original spirit and so all must uphold the WOPs guiding principles when designing partnerships.

Our Board also invites you all to be part of our sustainable sanitation: five-year drive for sanitation. Our members triggered this initiative, which is now endorsed by a UN General Assembly Resolution. Decision makers have given their political support, we now need you to help stimulate interest and action in the neglected field of sanitation. Access to toilets, and wastewater treatment, are part of our challenge.

When UN Member States endorsed the five-year drive resolution, they encouraged all countries and stakeholders to approach sanitation in a broader context by encompassing sewerage, wastewater treatment and reuse in the context of integrated water management. Let's respond to this call! We have to use less and re-use more. We must treat polluted water through effective natural processes and appropriate treatment before returning it to the environment.

Lets join our efforts to ensure future generations enjoy the benefits of clean water for a healthy world. This means revolutionizing wastewater collection, treatment and reuse. It will not be easy. At a first glance wastewater treatment is not attractive to investors. It is our collective job to make these systems attractive by lowering construction costs while offering wastewater systems that use less water and by saving energy contribute to our climate change efforts. More affordable systems adapted to local conditions need to focus on the next use for the water - be as small as possible and only as big as necessary. These systems are out there. Now we need to globalize them. Let's look for champions who can help spread their expertise in innovative wastewater management through WOPs. There is no shortage of utilities to benefit from such know-how.

Effective financing mechanisms for water utilities continue to be a challenge. There are encouraging examples, however, on which we can build. Last year a group in Colombia successfully sold close to a million US dollars worth of water bonds, to finance water and sanitation projects, in 32 municipalities throughout the country. The bonds were offered for public sale on the Colombian stock exchange and were issued for a 19-year duration. This extended financing permits municipalities to build long term water and sanitation projects to meet local needs. This is an example of innovative financing arrangements that should be built on in the future, and which can greatly extend the benefits of WOPs.

To build on these successes, UNSGAB also encourages the Global WOPs Alliance to further develop a financing advisory facility. Such a facility should be utilized to provide technical support for financial management and to help utilities design bankability road maps. The Alliance should use its global network to connect these utilities to International Finance Institutions, regional development banks and donors who can fund these bankability road maps.

There is no doubt that WOPs can effectively build the capacity utilities require to formulate and implement projects that will extend water and sanitation services. You have learned from the experience shared at this Congress - in Latin America, Asia, Africa and elsewhere, development banks are recognising this potential for WOPs, but further investment is needed. The discussion you've had on regional platforms is an important one, because this is where the bulk of the twinning arrangements will happen. The regional platforms are also where development banks and other donors stand to make the essential linkages for follow-up investment.

All Partners, steering committee members and each and every one of you here today needs to use your networks to spread the word so that more WOPs can be established. Our Board members are your partners in this effort - we all promote WOPs through our networks and we have all been gratified to see the Alliance evolve. I look forward to taking what I've learned at this Congress to my discussions on global development objectives. Once again, on behalf of the Board, I thank you for your dedication and hard work. Without you, we would have no hope of meeting the Millennium Development Goal targets for water and sanitation, which as we all know are key for meeting all our development objectives.