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Post an EU jobThe Third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan, ended on 23 March with a long list of new commitments to bring safer water and sanitation to the entire world. NGOs criticised the final declaration for its vagueness and warned about further privatisation of water services in developing countries.
The topic of water privatisation became the most controversial issues of the 3rd World Water Conference. NGOs accused the World Water Council (one of the co-organisers of the Kyoto Forum) of being an instrument of the "water mafia". They blamed the privatisation of water services for soaring water prices, which exclude poor people from of the access to safe water.
One of the agreements of the Kyoto Forum was the creation of an independent body that should help to solve local and trans-boundary conflict over water by UNESCO and the World Water Council. A recent World Water Development report pointed to the danger of wars over water access in the near future (see
EurActiv 6 March 2003). On the other hand, a proposal by French President Jacques Chirac for a global watchdog to monitor progress on the UN Millennium goals was rejected.
A counter-summit was held in Florence, Italy, drawing around 1,400 participants from environmentalist and development NGOs. In its final declaration, thisFirst People's World Water Forumcalled for: