Randy Wilson (left) of the Appachian delegation to the Commission on Sustainable Development shares a lighter moment with Freshwater Caucus member Jeffrey Barber of Integrative Strategies Forum. Photo: L. Selde/CWS

May UN Update: Water and Indigenous Issues

By Lynda Selde, Associate Director for Analysis and Advocacy
CWS Education & Advocacy Program
CWS UN Office

The month of May at the United Nations is usually very busy, and this year has been no exception. Three major events will have taken place by month’s end: the 15th session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) started off the month and was followed by the Fifth Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Ending the month will be the three-day United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS. Church World Service has been involved in each of these meetings, bringing the voices of our partners to these forums.

CSD and water

We approached the Commission on Sustainable Development with a strategy to work collaboratively with other organizations which share our interest in the issues relating to water. Assisted by Ron Cruikshank, a volunteer from Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, we targeted those meetings that impacted water and met with representatives from Africa, the US, Asia/Pacific, and Latin America.

Water has bearing on many CSD issues. For example, Beyan Ashe of the African Rivers Network brought case studies expressing the concerns of Africans hoping to avoid the problems caused in the global north by hydropower projects. One young Bolivian spoke about access to water for the poor, and sought to learn more about the topic of water quality. The Appalachian Delegation from Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia shared stories of environmental degradation caused by coal mining and learned how other countries are trying to remedy the impact of mining on the environment and the water supply. Delegate Donetta Blankenship held up a jar of water from her tap swirling with large brown particles. The delegation left New York at the end of the conference with new ideas gleaned from work underway in regions on the other side of the globe.

Indigenous Forum

The Fifth Session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues brought indigenous representatives to the United Nations for an annual opportunity to provide input to the UN Economic and Social Council. A good friend of Church World Service, Bishop Eugenio Poma of Bolivia, was among those who came to share in the work of the Forum. We were delighted to have the opportunity to meet with him to discuss programs in the works for the Gran Chaco region and new program ideas.