Brussels, 06/06/2000 (Agence Europe) - "Water: right to life of the 21st Century" is the theme of the fourth P7 Summit, summit of the seven poorest countries in the world that will take place from Wednesday 7 to Friday 10 June in the offices of the Parliament in Brussels. Organised by the European Parliament's Green group to take place during the G8, group of the world richest countries, this summit aims to study the stakes and limits of world water policy so as to propose alternative solutions for a more equitable division of resources and a right to access, guaranteed to all, of a good that is necessary for development. To this end, it gathers personalities from the political world and experts from developing countries and the European Union as well as international organisations such as the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), invited to discuss the following subjects:
a) A. Water: heritage or private good?
b) B. Problems linked to water: causes and analysis
Priorities for productivism and conquering markets (intensive farming, policy of large dams, industrial pollution, stakes for health)
Water war and geopolitical conflicts (conflicts around the Nile, Israel and Palestine, coastal conflicts and conflicts at sea)
Access to water in the era of privatisation (impact of privatisation of drinking water, rural exodus and wild urbanisation, water policy in Burkina Faso)
c) C. World water policy seen by P7 (the local management of water resources and democracy, regional co-operation for the management of water resources, access rights and equitable distribution).
The presentation of alternative solutions, proposed by P7, will close the Summit on Friday evening, but the debate will continue, Saturday 10 June, with meetings between NGOs and Belgian associations (in Antwerp and Namur) on the problems of water in industrialise countries.
The Summit will be opened by Paul Lannioyé, co-President of the EP's Greens/ALE, Ram Ouedraogo, Minister of State and President of the Green Party in Burkina Faso, Danielle Mitterand, President of the France Liberté Foundation, Margot Wallström, Environment Commissioner, and Mrs. Maline Falkenmark, scientist at the International Institute of Hydrology in Sweden.