World Water Forum
Kyoto 2003
Introduction
The 3rd World Water Forum was a landmark event held from March 16 to 23, 2003, uniquely hosted across three key locations in Japan: Kyoto, Shiga, and Osaka. As the first Forum to be held in Asia, it was strategically situated in the area sharing the Lake Biwa and Yodo River Basin. This setting was deliberately chosen to send a powerful message: that the critical issue of water management must be considered within the natural unit of basin areas.
The Forum occurred during the International Year of Freshwater and rapidly grew into the largest gathering of the global water community ever held. It exceeded all expectations, attracting over 24,000 participants from over 150 countries. This massive assembly included official government delegations from 170 countries and territories, along with representatives from 48 international organisations who attended the high-level Ministerial Conference.
Crucially, the Forum’s proceedings continued despite a backdrop of rising international tensions, with the world’s attention focused on the imminent military action in Iraq, announced during the event. The fact that sessions proceeded, and the majority of Ministerial Delegates remained active in the World Water Forum, underscored a strong, unified global determination to maintain water security and sustainability at the forefront of the political agenda.
3rd World Water Forum: “From Vision to Action”
Building on the foundation laid by the previous forum in The Hague, the 3rd World Water Forum was designed to transform the World Water Vision into tangible and concrete actions and commitments. The organisers adopted a unique, action-oriented approach, viewing the preparation as a “three-year-long Forum” to build momentum for change.
The Forum was built on a “ground-up approach” to maximise inclusivity and multi-stakeholder participation, particularly incorporating voices from developing countries and marginalised groups. Two key instruments facilitated this:
- The Virtual Water Forum (VWF): an innovative online platform designed to facilitate dialogue and share water-related challenges and successes, especially from developing countries, on the largest possible scale. This ensured that knowledge was not limited to those who could physically attend.
- The Water Voice Project: a dedicated initiative aimed at formally enhancing the collaboration and participation of diverse civil society organisations and local communities, ensuring their practical experiences informed the global debate.
“We cannot shut our eyes to the fact that one child is losing his or her life every eight seconds due to a deteriorating water environment.”
Highlights of the 3rd World Water Forum
Unique Dialogue between Forum Participants and Ministers
A highly significant political feature was the direct, open dialogue conducted over two rounds between nearly 200 Water Ministers and 300 Forum participants (including session conveners and stakeholders). This unprecedented interaction forced ministers to directly engage with on-the-ground practitioners and activists, focusing the debate on prioritising key issues like Water and Poverty and identifying the most important, fundable actions for the post-Forum period.
G8 Political Alignment
A direct measure of the Forum’s political impact was the subsequent adoption of its outputs and focus areas into the “Water, A G8 Action Plan” at the Evian Summit in June 2003. This demonstrated that the Forum successfully elevated water issues onto the agenda of the world’s most powerful economies, ensuring resources and political capital would be directed toward achieving the MDG targets.
The Ministerial Conference
This high-level gathering convened approximately 130 ministerial-level officials from 170 countries. Its central objective was not just to meet, but to generate a unified Ministerial Declaration that strongly reaffirmed global political will to tackle the water crisis and accelerate actions toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
What can we remember from this forum?
The 3rd World Water Forum turned out to be a critical turning point that translated global dialogue into concrete, action-oriented commitments. The sheer scale of the event, attracting over 24,000 participants, underscored the massive global urgency surrounding the water crisis. Moving past policy statements, the Forum produced an impressive total of over 100 new, concrete commitments from various stakeholder groups. Financially, a core initiative was the joint Asian Development Bank (ADB) and UN-HABITAT launch of the “Water for Asian Cities Programme”. This program committed $500 million in ADB loans over five years to directly fund infrastructure necessary to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Asia. A crucial political mechanism was the symbolic launch of the International Water Cooperation Facility, intended to provide neutral diplomatic and technical support for transboundary water solutions. The rights of often-marginalised groups were addressed through the Indigenous Peoples Kyoto Water Declaration. This formal commitment established a network to protect the customary water rights of local communities and integrate their traditional ecological knowledge into global water governance.
The Forum also established a major legacy by inaugurating the prestigious First King Hassan II Great World Water Prize, designed to reward excellence in water cooperation. To ensure continuity, the subsequent Japan Water Forum committed to the critical task of monitoring reforms in the water sector. Ultimately, Kyoto is remembered for transforming the global water agenda from a theoretical vision into a framework for demonstrable, measurable action.
In terms of cooperative mechanisms, the Forum served as the symbolic launch platform for the new International Water Cooperation Facility. Established through a consortium involving the World Water Council, UNESCO and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, this facility’s mandate was to promote and provide structured, neutral platforms for transboundary water solutions, offering diplomatic and technical assistance to nations sharing river basins and aquifers to ensure peaceful and cooperative resource management. The event also highlighted practical technological solutions, formalising a commitment to support the Technology Transfer of the On-site Treatment System of Domestic Wastewater to developing countries, recognising its importance in rapidly improving water quality and combating water-related diseases without reliance on expensive centralised infrastructure. The Forum also inaugurated a lasting tradition of excellence by presenting the First King Hassan II Great World Water Prize, a prestigious award established to recognise and reward outstanding achievements in water resource management and cooperation.
Beyond finance and technology, the Forum’s legacy was significantly shaped by its emphasis on rights and recognition, ensuring that the momentum generated would lead to lasting institutional change. A major outcome for civil society was the issuance of the Indigenous Peoples Kyoto Water Declaration. This formal document was a commitment by indigenous participants to form a dedicated network to strengthen their collective voice and empower local, often marginalised, communities struggling to protect their specific customary and inherent water rights, thereby integrating traditional ecological knowledge into water governance. Furthermore, a successful Journalists’ Competition saw 51 winners attend the Forum, significantly enhancing media engagement and amplifying accurate reporting on water issues globally. This commitment to continuous engagement was solidified by the subsequent Japan Water Forum, which pledged to undertake the crucial task of monitoring reforms in the water sector, ensuring that the promises and momentum established at Kyoto translated into measurable results.
Cooperation at the centre of debates to enhance actions
In terms of cooperative mechanisms, the Forum served as the symbolic launch platform for the new International Water Cooperation Facility. Established through a consortium involving the World Water Council, UNESCO and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, this facility’s mandate was to promote and provide structured, neutral platforms for transboundary water solutions, offering diplomatic and technical assistance to nations sharing river basins and aquifers to ensure peaceful and cooperative resource management. The event also highlighted practical technological solutions, formalising a commitment to support the Technology Transfer of the On-site Treatment System of Domestic Wastewater to developing countries, recognising its importance in rapidly improving water quality and combating water-related diseases without reliance on expensive centralised infrastructure. The Forum also inaugurated a lasting tradition of excellence by presenting the First King Hassan II Great World Water Prize, a prestigious award established to recognise and reward outstanding achievements in water resource management and cooperation.
A Forum encouraging rights and recognition
Beyond finance and technology, the Forum’s legacy was significantly shaped by its emphasis on rights and recognition, ensuring that the momentum generated would lead to lasting institutional change. A major outcome for civil society was the issuance of the Indigenous Peoples Kyoto Water Declaration. This formal document was a commitment by indigenous participants to form a dedicated network to strengthen their collective voice and empower local, often marginalised, communities struggling to protect their specific customary and inherent water rights, thereby integrating traditional ecological knowledge into water governance. Furthermore, a successful Journalists’ Competition saw 51 winners attend the Forum, significantly enhancing media engagement and amplifying accurate reporting on water issues globally. This commitment to continuous engagement was solidified by the subsequent Japan Water Forum, which pledged to undertake the crucial task of monitoring reforms in the water sector, ensuring that the promises and momentum established at Kyoto translated into measurable results.
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