December 2003: The Pan-African Implementation and Partnership Conference on Water convened from 8-12 December 2003 at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, bringing together some 1,000 delegates to address Africa’s water crisis and to collectively implement actions envisaged in the African Water Vision, the Water Agenda of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

Throughout the week-long conference, delegates met in thematic sessions for two days to discuss: water, sanitation and human settlements; water and food security; protecting ecosystems and livelihoods; water and climate; financing water infrastructure; integrated water resources management (IWRM); water allocation; water wisdom; and water governance. They also met in multi-stakeholder sessions to discuss: achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and targets agreed upon at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD); the Africa-EU Water Partnership; the Third World Water Forum; and water and gender. A special session on African inputs to CSD-12 also met in a parallel session.

In a concluding Plenary, delegates considered African ministerial commitments on implementation and partnerships for achieving water and sanitation targets, and a report of the African regional implementation review for CSD-12. The meeting’s outcomes and recommendations will be transmitted for CSD-12 consideration.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin’s coverage of the meeting can be accessed at: http://enb.iisd.org/csd/rim/eca/