Fritz Holzwarth
Former Water and Marine Director, Government of Germany

"I think the Water Decade made a significant change in the public debate on water. Water was more or less marginalized, locked in technical terminologies and "silo" discussions. Before there was no clear understanding of how water is interlinked and interdependent with other sectors. I find very important in this context the discussion started in Mar del Plata, continued in the Dublin Principles, followed up in the Bonn Freshwater Conference in 2001, the Johannesburg outcome with the Water related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and finally with the Bonn Nexus Conference 2011. The Water Decade has to be seen in this tradition in creating more understanding not only on the human dimension of water, also on the political dimension of the water and it´s role to improve livelihoods of people.

So I think the Water Decade made a significant difference. During the whole Decade, the Conferences, the dialogues, the publications. These activities created the difference and made it clear that water can no longer be underestimated on the political agenda and on the agenda of the local level. And finally I think above all in this issue, we have to be clear that the challenge we have is to serve the bottom billion with water – sanitation and access to safe drinking water. The water debate is not yet accomplished, political will and the will for implementation are important in the time ahead of us. We need a self-standing water Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

The government of Germany always was clearly committed if it came to water. There is one concrete issue where the government of Germany is able to change things on the ground. We are one of the major donors at global level in water. We have to have water in the centre of government policy. The second point is to continue driving the intellectual and political debate. We have to continue the debate to get out of the water box and find solutions we can implement on the ground. The Bonn Freshwater Conference, with the five Bonn Keys influenced the Millennium Development Goals. Sanitation is now clearly on the agenda, an issue of human dignity in developing countries, e.g. for girls and women this is proven to be essential. The third point, we have to ensure that water is on an equal footing with energy, food security and ecosystems in the discussions to come. It was the entry point for the Nexus Dialogue. Germany is committed to play a central role in the future."