No. 089/04
Berlin, 01.04.2004

The fight against poverty requires access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation

Conclusion of the Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Jeju, Korea

This year’s Global Ministerial Environment Forum, organised by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), drew to a close on Wednesday evening in the South Korean city of Jeju. The ministers’ discussions focused on a host of concrete proposals for implementing the goals relating to drinking water and basic sanitation that had been agreed at the World Summit in Johannesburg and the UN Millennium Summit.

The environment ministers agreed that the conservation of our natural environment, in particular its vital water resources, and the provision of basic sanitation are crucial elements in the fight against poverty in developing countries. Particular emphasis was placed on finding adequate solutions for meeting funding requirements as well as for the conservation and efficient use of water resources.

Margareta Wolf, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Environment Ministry, represented the German government at the conference. "We also have to adopt new approaches to funding," declared Wolf in Jeju. "The national budgets of developing countries cannot carry the financial burden alone, nor is additional development aid the final answer. It is necessary for international financial institutions to develop more flexible funding concepts. We must also succeed in securing greater involvement on the part of private industry".

Wolf therefore welcomed the provision of 500 million euros from the EU Water Fund and commented that the German government’s development policy attaches considerable importance to water and basic sanitation projects, particularly in Africa.

The strengthening of the UN Environment Programme, headed by Klaus Toepfer, played an important part in the discussions at the Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Korea, where the German government and the EU were able to ensure that this topic remains high on the international environmental policy agenda.