![]() ![]() This significance manifests itself differently in various religions and beliefs. Water has a central place in the practices and beliefs of many religions of the world. Water policy, to be sustainable, must promote the good of every person and of the whole person. This is not solely in the economic realm but in the sphere of integral human development. In this framework, it is understood that water must meet the needs of the present population and those of future generations of all societies. Water is a major factor in each of the three pillars of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. For water users living in poverty this is rapidly becoming an issue crucial for life and, in the broad sense of the concept, a right to life issue. Many people living in poverty, particularly in the developing countries, daily face enormous hardship because water supplies are neither sufficient nor safe. The human being, however, can survive only a few days without clean, safe drinking water. Communities and individuals can exist even for substantial periods without many essential goods. The inadequacy in the supply and access to water has only recently taken centre stage in global reflection as a serious and threatening phenomenon. Water has indeed a special significance for the great religions. Water plays a central and critical role in all aspects of life – in the national environment, in our economies, in food security, in production, in politics. This situation is characterized by countless unacceptable injustices. This all too often is the cause of disease, unnecessary suffering, conflicts, poverty and even death. Inadequate access to safe drinking water affects the well being of over one billion persons and more than twice that number have no adequate sanitation. The management of water and sanitation must address the needs of all, and particularly of persons living in poverty. The human being is the centre of the concern expressed in this paper and the focus of its considerations. The Holy See offers these reflections on some of the key issues in the agenda of the 3 rd World Water Forum (Kyoto, 16 th-23 rd March 2003), in order to contribute its voice to the call for action to correct the dramatic situation concerning water. The intention of this paper is to present some of the human, social, economic, ethical and religious factors surrounding the issue of water. Many people must confront daily the situation of an inadequate supply of safe water and the very serious resulting consequences. NOTE: WATER, AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT FOR LIFE ![]() Of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace The topic is closely related to the message of the Social Doctrine of the Church concerning human promotion and is also an extremely urgent problem in today’s world. In the final section, after having acknowledged the importance water holds within religious traditions, the Note considers in some detail the right to water because of the growing importance that the efforts towards its full recognition is assuming in the public debate.Īfter the Third World Water Forum, and in the light of its conclusions, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace will deal with the topic of water in a more developed and detailed document. Water is a good that must serve for the development of the whole person and of every person.Īfter the first section, in which some of the fundamental moral principles related to the question of water are laid out, the Note deals with the key problems which governments and the international community have to face today at the social, economic, political and environmental level. Even the title of the Note reflects the concern of the Holy See, as well as its ethical and religious understanding of the many complex water-related problems. On this World Water Day, I have the pleasure of presenting WATER, AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT FOR LIFE: a Note prepared by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace as a contribution of the Holy See to the Third World Water Forum, now taking place in Kyoto, Japan. ON THE OCCASION OF THE THIRD WORLD WATER FORUM NOTE PREPARED BY THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FORĪ CONTRIBUTION OF THE DELEGATION OF THE HOLY SEE ![]()
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