The French water stakeholders and Nelly Olin, the Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development, wished to mark World Water Day, on Thursday 22^nd March, by setting up the French Coordination for Water.

 

This partnership brings together the various public and private water stakeholders: the State, local authorities, the French Development Agency, water agencies, companies, scientific and research organizations, and NGOs. The French Coordination for Water was created following joint work during the Mexico World Water Forum in 2006, and is seeking to contribute to the work of the international community as it strives to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

 

Major water issues have been included in the Coordination's 2007-2009 action plan: sanitation, funding infrastructures, responsibility and local democratic governance for water and sanitation access, the right to have access to water and sanitation linked to equity, justice and solidarity, river basin management, and water for food.

 

The Coordination will be heavily involved in many events taking place in the near future: the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development scheduled for May 2008 in New York, the Zaragoza International Exhibition in Spain from June to September 2008, the French presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2008, and, of course, the 5^th World Water Forum in Istanbul in March 2009.

 

Press contact:

Marillys Macé - Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development

Marillys.mace@ecologie.gouv.fr - +33 (0) 1 42 19 17 50 - Fax +33 (0) 1 42 19 13 33