CWS promotes water for all at ecumenical advocacy conference

November 19, 2007

Deputy Director of the Human Development Report office Cecilia Ugaz, a panelist at the Oct 31, 2007 presentation on water.

Photo: T. Abraham/CWS

“Water is not about scarcity, but about power and politics,” said the United Nations Development Program’s Cecilia Ugaz. She was one of four speakers on a panel on “Water for All” organized by Church World Service during the recent UN Advocacy Week in New York City.

The October 29 to November 2 advocacy week, held at the Church Center for the United Nations, was organized by the World Council of Churches. Over 70 international ecumenical leaders from councils of churches and ecumenical organizations such as Church World Service took part. The gathering is an annual event intended to strengthen advocacy at the UN by the WCC and the wider ecumenical community.

The track focused on water was one of four thematic foci this year which also included: the Middle East, nuclear disarmament, and the Horn of Africa. CWS organized the water track in cooperation with the WCC, based on the principles of CWS’ Water for All program and the Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) which partner together to lift up the need to ensure access to clean safe water.

CWS is a founding member of EWN, which is instrumental in bringing the water crisis to the attention of churches worldwide. Alongside numerous projects that provide access to water and improved sanitation, CWS advocates for community ownership and management of water supplies and resources.

During the Water for All gathering last month, Lynne West of CWS Education and Advocacy Program presented advocacy resources on water scarcity in West Bank Palestinian villages. CWS supports rainwater harvesting to help villagers supplement restricted water supply.

Dr. Ugaz, one of the primary researchers and writers of the UNDP Development Report on Water, presented hard facts of the water crisis facing our world.

“The poorer you are, the more you pay,” Ugaz said. “One bucket of water can cost ten times what those who are connected to the water system pay. Connection fees represent more than a year’s income of a poor family in Uganda.” She added that half the population facing added water stress from climate change lives below the poverty line.

Michael Windfuhr of Bread for the World, Germany, called for advocacy that strengthens legislation and international commitments that define water as a basic human right. “Knowing about rights is an enabling element for people,” Windfuhr said. “We’re still at the beginning of the discourse,” he added. “Governments don’t like to be scrutinized.”

Gaim Kebreab of Norwegian Church Aid urged participants to stop waiting on the international community or the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, and start ensuring provision of safe, clean water through local projects and partnerships with organizations like NCA and Church World Service.

The panelists said advocacy at local, national, and international levels for increased funding for water is vital. They also urged their listeners to join movements like the Ecumenical Water Network.

Although water was a major focus of the week, the participants were also addressed by UN and ecumenical leadership.

On the final days of the event, participants met with several permanent missions of various countries to take an advocacy message focused on the Horn of Africa.