The African pre-conference for the International Conference on Water for Food and Ecosystems met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 4-6 November 2004.

The International Conference will convene from 31 January to 5 February 2005 in the Hague, the Netherlands, and is intended to provide a high-level platform for around 350 participants from around the globe, including a ministerial segment.
The pre-conference offered actors in the fields of water management, food production and biodiversity management in African countries to identify opportunities to implement decisions and programmes on water, food and ecosystems, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the agreements reached at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), in Africa by African actors.
In an opening address, Dutch Ambassador to Ethiopia Rob Vermass noted that “demand for water is rapidly increasing” and increasing consumption and global population growth, among other developments, “are not sustainable and it may increasingly lead to conflicts not only in Africa.” Louise Fresco, Assistant Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also spoke at the opening ceremony and noted that “Recent research shows that growth in agriculture is the most beneficial for the poor, of all economic sectors.” She noted that Africa uses 5 percent of its total renewable water resources for agriculture, compared with 20 per cent of the total in Asia and called for continued investment “in unlocking the potential of [Africa’s] diversified agricultural systems – in rainfed agriculture, irrigation and mixed systems.”
The Prince of Orange spoke at the closing of the meeting on 6 November, and noted that he was “impressed by the practical results” presented by the participants, particularly highlighting “the involvement of local communities in the implementation process, building on local knowledge, resources and experiences.” He called on participants to “contact your colleagues in charge of water resources, now convened in Entebbe, Uganda as African Ministers Council on Water (or AMCOW), who are discussing exactly those concerns you brought up this morning.”
The FAO and the Government of the Netherlands are organizing the 2005 International Conference, whose outcomes will be sent as inputs to the 13th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. The Conference will also seek to help implement working programmes under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
Links to further information
International Conference on Water for Food and Ecosystems African pre-conference website
International Conference on Water for Food and Ecosystems meeting homepage
African Water Meeting Seeks to Harmonize Water for Food and Ecosystems, FAO news release, 4 November 2004
Speech by His Royal Highness The Prince of Orange at the African Pre-conference on Water for Food and Ecosystems, Addis Ababa – Ethiopia, 6 November 2004
Diminishing water resources could fuel conflict, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, IRINnews.org