GENDER AND WATER ALLIANCE - FROM VISION TO ACTION

"To achieve equity and equality among women and men, irrespective of age, colour, creed, language or income in sustainable water resources development and management at all levels."

The link between restricted access to clean water and the feminisation of poverty is increasingly recognised. Women bear much of the burden of water stress, and are often the providers of the most precious water supplies - for the drinking, cooking and hygiene needs of their families. Unfortunately, despite the vital stake which women have in water affairs, they are frequently overlooked and under-represented in water policy decisions. For this reason, one of the most active movements to emerge out of the World Water Vision and 2nd World Water Forum initiatives is the Gender and Water Alliance, which met formally for the first time in Paris from 29 June to 1 July 2000. Among the participants were women, and a few men, from all continents and sector groups, including from Green Cross Burkina Faso and Green Cross International. The purpose of the conference was to elaborate a proposal to be submitted to the Global Water Partnership on July 5, and in so doing to clarify the principles and priorities of the Alliance.

Gender reflects a major locus of differentiation that cuts across lines of class, age, ethnicity and other social categories. Poor women have less access to water than poor men, and current studies show that, as a social category, women are among the poorest of the poor in most parts of the world. Water is an absolute necessity for all productive activities, such as growing food and producing goods for sale; but women's contribution to the global economy often falls within the "informal" sector and is thus unrecognised - although it may account for some several trillion US$ per year. The result is that the water needs of women are ignored and undervalued, and women are therefore systematically disadvantaged in all economic spheres.

Thus the issue of gender in the water sector does not simply involve access to water; it invokes questions of rights, responsibilities and participation at all levels. When women are not encouraged to participate in water management, they are simultaneously cut-off from the urgent effort to protect this natural resource - with potentially disastrous consequences. The water sector is biased towards men and against women, but addressing this bias is a sensitive matter as it challenges power relations and established cultural norms at all levels of society. Yet the critical issue of gender relations can no longer be sidelined if poverty and underdevelopment are to be tackled in a sustainable manner.

The Gender and Water Alliance aims:"To achieve equity and equality among women and men, irrespective of age, colour, creed, language or income in sustainable water resources developmentand management at all levels." This will be done through the creation of an Alliance to link individuals and organisations across all regions and water sectors; advocating gender equity principles and methodologies in relevant fora and institutions; providing information and statistics on water and gender issues; enhancing the capacity of organisations working in the water field to mainstream gender in their activities; and encouraging and facilitating governments in incorporating gender equity practices into legislation, policies and decision-making processes concerning the management of water resources and systems.

Green Cross International, and Green Cross Burkina Faso in particular, has joined the interim steering committee and intends to remain an active partner within the Alliance.
A GWA website is being developed, in the meantime please contact Fiona Curtin () or tel: +41 22 789 1662 for more details.

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