The Environment Minister, Duarte Cordeiro, told Lusa on Wednesday that Portugal was asked to share its experiences in the management of international rivers with other countries within the framework of the 2023 Water Conference.
At the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, the minister indicated that Portugal is committed to responding to the calls of the Secretary General, António Guterres, for greater cooperation between countries in the joint management of water, giving as an example the signing of the Albufeira Agreement on water management with Spain, 25 years ago.
“Portugal was asked to try to share with other countries their experiences regarding this management, the difficulties we are having and the ways in which we can help – in terms of methodology – other countries that also need the management of international rivers”, said Duarte Cordeiro.
“Portugal really has an excellent example in terms of how it manages international rivers with Spain. Last year was a very difficult year, in which we had to deal with Spain in a context of drought on both sides, in which we had to understand what was the best solution for each international river in terms of flows. (…) This is an international example, because diplomatic cooperation in the management of international rivers in many aspects does not exist, ”he advocated.
Still on the Albufeira Convention, the official indicated that a joint technical team was established that will be in Spain for three years and in Portugal for three years, with the aim of better future management of this convention in a context of climate change.
In addition, during the Water Conference, which takes place in New York, Portugal will hold meetings with countries such as Cape Verde and Ukraine as part of “an active cooperation policy”in which “seeks to respond and help.”
“Fortunately, in the field of water, our country has technical personnel of excellence, some of them international experts with more than 30 years of work. We also have institutions that are very capable of establishing international cooperation, such as the Águas de Portugal group or the ADENE agency that deals with energy efficiency, but also with water”, he told Lusa Duarte Cordeiro.
“We have tried to respond to these appeals and these conferences, seeking to expand, as far as possible, our capacity for cooperation. We have also been using the Environmental Fund to finance some international projects,” she added.
Duarte Cordeiro participated in the plenary session of the Water Conference, where he reported on the problems Portugal faced last year, referring to the combination of low rainfall with heat waves of unusual frequency and intensity, which made 2022 one of the most drier ever since. there are records.
“While the situation is expected to be even more worrisome in the future, we believe that today we are better prepared to respond to these challenges. We know how to cooperate, build an agenda and effective instruments at the international level”, said the person in charge of environmental protection before the diplomatic corps present at the session.
“Based on our experience and lessons learned, we want to contribute (…) to the Water Action Agenda, which is as necessary as it is urgent. We will not be fulfilling our mission as long as there is a person without dignified conditions of safe and accessible access to water, ”he declared.
According to the minister, Portugal sought to help position this issue last year, when it hosted the Oceans Conference in Lisbon, as well as a Symposium that sought to make the association between Sustainable Development Goal six, which refers to the guarantee of water drinking and sanitation. for all – with Sustainable Development Goal 14, on the protection of marine life and ecosystems.
“It is very important to understand that these two objectives are intertwined, that a single vision of water is needed and that the path of evolution to guarantee sanitation and water quality it is also the way to guarantee quality in coastal waters”, he reinforced, in statements to Lusa.
“We bring our own example right away. 30 years ago we had little more than 55% of the water with quality, now Portugal has almost 99% of the water with quality. About 30 years ago, we had something like 28% of the population with access to sanitation. We have more than 85%. And how was that reflected? In the quality of the sea water on our beaches. If we have such a high number of blue flag beaches, it is the result of all this protection work,” the official stressed.
Starting this Wednesday and running through Friday at the Water Conference, the first of its kind since 1977, the UN will seek commitments from around the world for a radical transformation in the way water is managed.
Além das sessões plenárias, the meeting will feature dialogues on specific topics such as “Água e Saúde”, “Água e Desenvolvimento Sustentável” or “Água e Mudanças Climáticas” and about 550 parallel events, both in the UN complex and in other areas of NY.
Source: Observadora
