HIGHLIGHTS

The Policy Action Group on Water Security, in development during March, April, and May 2002, is proceeding under the direction of Co-Chair Lloyd Axworthy, Executive Director of the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The project is jointly sponsored by the Liu Centre and State of the World Forum as an input to the Commission on Globalisation.

An initial Draft Paper titled "Water Security" was developed with the input of several water specialists, including Oscar Olivera who visited the Liu Centre during March. This paper provided an outline for the terms of reference, composition, and responsibilities of the Water Policy Action Group and suggested several areas that could be addressed in this project. On April 10, Dr. Axworthy chaired a first planning meeting during which nine water specialists from North America provided guidance about the areas in which this Policy Action Group could usefully contribute new insights.

Critical competing interests for water were discussed, including rural vs urban needs, domestic vs agricultural vs other uses, affordability vs requisite incentives to attract investment capital, and the public good vs commodification of the resource. In tackling any of these challenges, it was agreed that the appropriate unit of analysis to be used in the research would be the "watershed".

The results of this consultative process led to the revision of the Draft Paper and its subsequent distribution to a wider, more geographically balance audience for refinement. Based on this Revised Draft Paper, a second planning meeting was held on May 21, again at the Liu Centre, in which 17 water specialists participated. The discussion focused on the multi-stakeholder nature required by the work, the value-add that could result from this research, the criteria for target watersheds, and the composition of the advisory and research teams that would proceed.

From this process, a funding proposal is being developed to: (1) collect available research on best practices in watershed management; (2) apply these lessons to the study of five selected watersheds in various parts of the world to improve the resource management capability of those areas; and (3) in selected watershed areas, build a coalition of community groups that could work with local governance institutions to insure sustainable management practices are followed.

During June and July, the proposal will be reviewed by specialists from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and a geographically diverse advisory group will be assembled. Funding is currently being sought in both Europe and the North America. A report will be prepared for the 2002 December Commissioner meeting in Mexico City and the initial results of the work will be discussed at the World Water Forum in Kyoto in 2003.

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