OIC Conference adopts OIC Water Vision: "Working Together for a Water Secure Future"
ISTANBUL. March 11. KAZINFORM The OIC Ministers Responsible for Water adopted the OIC Water Vision at the conclusion of their Conference which was held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 5 to 6 March 2012. The Conference, which was hosted by the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs of Turkey, was attended by the Ministers Responsible for Water, Deputy Ministers, senior officials, OIC institutions, observes and relevant international organizations.
Inaugurating the Conference, the Turkish Minster for Forestry and Water Affairs, Prof. Dr. Veysel Eroglu, underscored the urgent need for cooperation and coordination at the national, regional and global levels for promoting water security and addressing water related challenges facing the OIC Member States. The address of the OIC Secretary General, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, delivered by Assistant Secretary General , stressed the need for collective responses to the challenges of reliable access to water for health, livelihood and production, as well as the management of unpredictable water-related risks, which were becoming more pronounced due to population growth, depletion of resources, environmental degradation and the phenomenon of climate change. The OIC Water vision provided a framework for cooperation among the OIC countries for overcoming the common and major challenge of maximizing the productive use of water and minimizing its destructive impacts, the press release of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation reads.
Since 2005, the OIC has considerably expanded the scope of its activities aimed at addressing major issues of environmental and social concern such as clean water availability and access to sanitation. The OIC Water Vision has been prepared pursuant to the decision of the special meeting of the Ministers responsible for Water from the OIC regions held in Istanbul in March 2009 at the sidelines of the 5th World Water Forum.
The OIC Water Vision gives a brief overview of the diverse water environments across the OIC countries and the different dimensions of water related challenges being faced by them. It recognizes the critical role of the OIC in promoting cooperation among Member States on water-related issues and its ability to bring together expertise from diverse countries with unique water characteristics.
The Water Vision not only identifies the opportunities for concerted action but also lays out a roadmap for promoting collaboration among Member States in all aspects of water. It proposes a work plan for incremental growth of cooperation starting from sharing of knowledge, experience, capacity development, technology transfer, water governance and institutional reforms. The Water Vision also underscores the need for coordination and synergies with ongoing international water-related initiatives and programmes and international cooperation in terms of technology transfer and best practices.
In due course, progress in the implementation of the Water Vision will be reviewed by a Ministerial Water Vision Conference and will form the basis for taking water-related collaboration among Member States to a more advanced level with more specific goals and objectives.
The meeting commended the OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekmeleddın Ihsanoglu for his efforts to transform the OIC to become more responsive to the contemporary challenges facing the Muslim world. His personal interest in environmental issues has been instrumental towards the development of the OIC Water Vision.
See also http://www.oic-oci.org/