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World Water Forum … Granger outlines 3-point agenda to conserve water resources
Brazil meeting
President Granger and Minister Trotman being escorted on the Red Carpet
President David Granger called on governments and the World Water Forum to “take action” to protect and preserve the Guiana Shield. Guyana’s Head of State issued this call to action at the opening of the 8th World Water Forum on Monday in Brasilia.
President Granger who is the only Caribbean leader to address the opening, stressed the need to protect and preserve the Guiana Shield, an area, which encompasses all of Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname and parts of Brazil, and Venezuela.
During his address, President Granger recommended a three-point action agenda calling for collaboration among neighbours who share rivers and the conservation of water resources.
“The protection of the world’s freshwater sources is essential to global water security,” he said. “This World Water Forum is encouraged to continue to introduce initiatives to protect these resources, particularly the rivers of the Guiana Shield,” President Granger stressed.
President David Granger met with a South Korean delegation led by the Prime Minister of South Korea, Mr. Lee Nak-yon on the sidelines of the World Water Forum in Brasilia
Speaking to them on WWF theme “Sharing Water”, President Granger highlighted the importance of rivers for the security of states.
Guyana shares watery boundaries with many of its neighbours. President Granger pointed to the fact that Guyana and Brazil share river boundaries. “The management of trans boundary water courses must promote cooperation and collaboration rather than confrontation and conflict,” he added.
To this end, the Guyanese leader said waterways and rivers must be protected from pollution. He linked the impact of pollution on the economic and social well-being of citizens. “The protection of the sources of the world’s fresh water sources is essential to ensuring citizens’ entitlement to water,” President Granger said.
President of World Water Forum, Benedito Braga, told the opening ceremony that challenges caused by water scarcity present the unique opportunity to have dialogue.
“This forum must prove that sharing a river basin is not a burden but represents an opportunity for dialogue and an opportunity for better governance,” Braga said.
Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Raphael Trotman, had a bilateral meeting with a Brazilian delegation headed by Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Mr. Fernando Coelho Filho
He pointed to the opportunities provided by the World Water Forum to provide water sensitive decisions and solutions.
“The World Water Forum is a place for us to build robust policy together; to achieve water security is not a lonely battle,” Braga said. “Water security hinges upon the existence of financial resources to address water related issues,” the WWF President said.
The Caribbean through the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association, (CWWA), the Caribbean Development Bank, (CDB) and the Inter-American Development Bank, (IDB) is hoping to coordinate financing and investment for the water sector in the region.
CWWA is hoping to do this through its Caribbean Strategic Plan for Water. “Here in (Brazil), we are presenting elements of the plan and we are hoping that we can convene a donor group meeting,” Aquing said, “to have them take a look at the opportunities to supporting the implementation of the plan at the regional level.”
The Caribbean is looking to have a coordinated approach to addressing water as a resource in the region through this 8th World Water Forum.
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