WRITTEN QUESTION E-3752/97 by Johanna Maij-Weggen (PPE) to the Commission (21 November 1997)

Subject: Water management in ACP countries

At the ACP-EU Assembly in October 1997 in Lomé, various delegates observed that, in some ACP regions, water problems are becoming increasingly serious and that there is an increasingly urgent need to agree regional water management initiatives and programmes.

What has the Commission so far done in this field, and what budget items can be drawn on directly or indirectly for such measures?

Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (18 December 1997)

Water supply has been a key sector in successive European Development Funds as part of rural and urban water engineering projects and microprojects, whether or not integrated into rural or urban development programmes.

In terms of financial resources, water is the second biggest sector in the infrastructure field after transport. Drinking water supply and sanitation, along with irrigation, are among the classic types of project supported by the EDF in many African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

The international conferences in Dublin on water and the environment and in Rio de Janeiro on environment and development (1992) stressed the fundamental principle that water is a limited resource which needs to be managed according to economic criteria respecting the environment.

Against that background, the Commission is preparing guidelines for the water resources sector, the aim of which is to improve the quality and impact of Community assistance with a view to integrated and sustainable management of water resources.

A number of measures laying stress on the knowledge and management of water resources at national and regional level can be cited. For example, a study is in progress in Eritrea on an inventory of water resources and their utilisation. The hydrological cycle observing system (HYCOS) project for the Southern Africa Development Community countries is designed to set up a regional network of hydrological stations in that part of the world. The solar regional project in West Africa and in the Sahel funded via the interstate committee on drought control in the Sahel (CILSS) has the aim of ensuring regular and sustainable water supply in rural areas and secondary towns.

In addition to the EDF, recourse is also made to budget headings under heading IV, external action for developing countries, for activities in the water sector conducted as part of the food security policy in rehabilitation programmes, via cofinancing with NGOs and decentralised cooperation, and also in South Africa.

On top of this comes the budget heading covering the environment in the developing countries, which is used for supplementary measures such as pilot projects and policy framing in this field.

As for international coordination, a necessary criterion of effectiveness, the Commission and the Member States set up a water resources coordination group in 1995. The group is involved in preparing sectoral guidelines. The Commission is also taking part in establishing the global water partnership which was created in 1996 to provide coordinated assistance to developing countries on integrated water resources management. In May 1997, together with the Dutch presidency, the Commission organised a conference on the management of cross-border rivers in southern Africa.

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) set up at the Rio Conference has urged the international community to put the water sector at the top of its development policy priorities. With that end in view the Commission is closely involved in preparing the Water 21 action programme for the CSD's next meeting in 1998. Two key stages will be a workshop in Harare in January and March 1998 on strategic approaches to water resources management and a ministerial conference in Paris.