UK Water Network Meeting Minutes, 18th October 2007, Water Aid, London

Present: Felix Dodds & Hannah Stoddart (Stakeholder Forum for our Common Future), Ceridwen Johnson, Danielle Morley (Freshwater Action Network), Stuart Orr (WWF UK), Leila Deen & Adam Rogerson (WDM), Lucy Hodgson (BOND), Ceridwen Johnson (FAN),Lucy Stevens (Practical Action), Mary O’Connell, Leannen Alkadiri (WaterAid)

Steve Bloomfield, UNISON

Apologies: Nick Hepworth (University of East Anglia), Brian Matthew (Independent Consultant), Margaret Marion Stewart (The Springs Foundation), David Bell (World Vision UK), Mike Thakoordin (Christian Engineers in Development), Sol Oyuela (Progressio), Dave Tickner (WWF-UK)

Chairs: Laura Webster (Tearfund) and Ceridwen Johnson (Freshwater Action Network)

Business

1. Update on UKWN‘s BOND AGM workshop

i) Info from BOND, Lucy Hodgson

Lucy introduced herself as Learning and Training Programme manager at BOND and said that BOND’s learning and training programme had successfully applied for a grant from the Big Lottery Fund. She wants to get an idea from the UKWN of what they want from BOND’s learning and training programme, and suggested that perhaps this subject should be a standard agenda item at UKWN meetings from now on.

She then went on to talk about the workshop. 33 NGO’s/officials and 120 BOND members registered to attend. She was fairly confident that Douglas Alexander would speak at the event, and informed the meeting that there would be a BOND scribe and photographer present at the UKWN workshop to record the event.

ii) Further information about the workshop and information about the proposal submitted to BOND, Mary O’Connell

Workshop is to be a 1 Hour session. Daisy Owomugasho of the Uganda Debt Network will make a 15min presentation and suggest ways of making the aid system more accountable to the poor and Peter Kerby from DFID’s country-led approaches team will give a 10min presentation. Laura Hucks (Water Aid) is proposed to give an introduction to the session, and Laura Webster will facilitate and give a short presentation, summarising key points. It was agreed that the aim of the workshop will be to make water and sanitation a higher priority. There are huge problems in this area and aid does not reflect this – this is the message we want the audience to go away with. It was suggested that there should be some effective questions about water and sanitation planted at the workshop and asked at the AGM in general.

2. Meeting with Gareth Thomas, Laura Webster

Background info about the meeting. On 6th November from 10-11am, Gareth Thomas will be meeting with a delegation from UKWN. The draft letter containing most of the issues to be discussed at the meeting was handed out and people were asked to add anything they felt was missing from the letter. Steve Bloomfield and Leila Deen suggested that there needs to be something about WOPs and PUPs brought up in the meeting and it was agreed that this would be the case.

Stuart suggested that it seemed as though DFID were moving in the direction of a development bank so maybe PPA could be effective?

Attendees were confirmed as

Henry Northover, WaterAid

Paul Cook, Tearfund

Vicky Cann, World Development Movement

Danielle Morley, Freshwater Action Network

Stuart Orr, WWF

Polly Jones, UNISON.

As the meeting is only an hour in length, it was highlighted as a priority that the delegation going to meet Gareth would discuss by email beforehand what each of them would talk about at the meeting, with each to play on their strengths and expertise and not to ‘tread on each others toes’.

ACTION

  • WDM to draw up a framework for the public-public partnerships/WOP’s angle for the meeting and send to Laura
  • Laura to send around network further details of above and details/attendees of meeting

3. Update on End Water Poverty Campaign, Leannen Alkadiri & Laura Webster

At the last G8 not much happened with the campaign. Now focussing on sanitation and water issues at G8 in Japan. Targeting G8 over the next 6 months with postcard action (great stink of London). Postcard can be used with any organisation (campaign branded with space for organisation branding).

Campaign structure and organisation – currently there is an interim board coming up with a formal structure for the campaign.

Key Dates

  • World Toilet Day – 19th November – postcard
  • Asia-Pacific Water Forum – 3rd & 4th December 07
  • Launch contribution to International Year of Sanitation – mid Jan
  • World Water Day - March
  • Something at CSD?
  • Advance of G8 summit a big push – working with Japanese organisations/NGO’s as well.
  • MDG convention

Steve suggested that Unison should be involved with Japanese push, using links with Japanese unions.

Tearfund Update

- Tearfund will use world toilet day to release new sanitation research ‘Sanitation Scandal’

- New Facebook.‘badgering’ campaign which could be used with End Water Poverty Postcard

4. UN Commission on Sustainable Development – CSD-16, Felix Dodds & Hannah Stoddart

General

- We have setup a network with stakeholders for CSD.

- Mailed 400 organisations about the CSD.

- Funding proposal by SIWI to make the CSD a week long.

- Trying to find as much water and sanitation as possible at CSD

- Asking stakeholders where water and sanitation fit in

- Currently identifying key themes to push for & what main outcomes we want from the CSD

- We want to show that the CSD can be a useful and could potentially be a donor form

- There will be 1 room at the CSD devoted to water (run bySIWI), if we can get the funding.

- We need some experts to go to New York before the CSD meetings to negotiate (G77 meetings)

Some problems with CSD

- No director – though this could work in our favour

- Zimbabwean share

Timetable

- CSD-16 will be held between 5-16 May 2008. CSD-16 will focus on the following thematic issues: Agriculture, Rural development, Land, Drought, Desertification, and Africa.

- There is a European meeting in Geneva in January. (28 – 29 January 2008)

ACTION

UKWN to keep everyone up to date.

5. Update on campaign to get the UN Convention on transboundary waters ratified by the UK Government, Stuart Orr

- Letters have been sent to ministers – some are interested.

- WWF have spoken to Saheed Mali

- Fred Pierce doing something in New Scientist

- WDM & WWF to put forward an EDM

- Bishop of Liverpool is going to bring it up in the House of Lords

- WWF trying to produce a technical briefing/report to get the issue into the CSD

- WDM have produced action card and are doing online action and campaign.

- Generally response to the campaign has been good

6. Any Other Business

World Water Week

Steve Bloomfield brought up the World Water Week Stockholm Convention and mentioned that it was sponsored by Nestle and that this was serious problem – we have to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

UN Habitat, Steve Bloomfield

- WOPs have been adapted by the UN Habitat.

- The Habitat is being run from Tanazania.

- There is a problem with the habitat – the UN is consulting regional development banks and not civil society groups. Civil society groups are worried that the outcome will be pro-private.

- Steve was worried that the UN habitat might be used as a ‘trojan horse’ by the private sector in order to access public areas.

- Steve said that there should be regional stakeholder forums and we are pushing for this.

- UNISON, WDM and PSI working on the un habitat.

- Felix suggested Steve should talk to Krishnanabout these issues as he is involved with the UN habitat.

African Water Network, Steve Bloomfield & Leila Deen

- Meeting of trade unions and water managers from across Africa

- Expecting around 35 countries to take part

- promoting WOPs and PUPs

- Danielle expressed some concern that there could be too much similarity between the African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW) and the African Water Network (AWN), particularly when it came to getting funding. Danielle to send details of ANEW to Steve and Leila.

Transparency Issue within DFID, Leila Deen & Laura Webster

- DFID currently trying to reform their transparency in aid.

- There is a meeting being held with DFID to discuss this - Vicky Cann and Laura Webster will be attending, among others. Others were invited to feed into this process and should speak to Laura or Vicky about it.

UNEPS 4th Global Environment Report, Felix Dodds

- Released Thursday 25th October

- Video link with Acham Steiner

- Response from Gareth Thomas

Other

Nick Hepworth, School of Development Studies, UEA, would like UKWN to input in to his - Watermark Inception Report – pdf attached with these minutes. Please send comments to