2.2.1.2
The Dublin Principles
The four Dublin Principles of 1992 state that:
Water and land must be managed in an integrated way;
Resource management must be participatory and on the lowest possible level;
Positive policies must be formulated to address women’s needs and empower women; and
Water should be recognised and treated as an economic entity.
2.2.1.3
Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
Commonly known as the Rio Declaration of 1992, Agenda 21 gives provisions and concepts for
environmentally sound management, sustainable development and equitable utilisation of shared
watercourses.
Per capita Renewable Water Resources
m3 per capita
30000
25000
20000
15000
10000
5000
South Africa
Lesotho
Malawi
Zimbabwe
Mauritius
Tanzania
Swaziland
Botswana
Zambia
Namibia
Mozambique
Angola
DRC
0
Figure 2.1: Per Capita Renewable Water Resources Source: World Bank (2004)
2.2.1.4
The United Nations Convention on the Law of Non‐navigational uses of International
Watercourses
The codification of international water law, which was initiated by the Helsinki Rules, was achieved
in 1997 when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the UN Convention on the Law of
the Non‐navigational Uses of International Watercourses. This adoption by the UN necessitated the
revision of the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems, which was undergoing its ratification
process. The SADC Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses of 2000 incorporates the key elements
of the UN Convention.
2.2.1.5
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
During the United Nations (UN) Summit in September 2000, 189 UN Member States adopted the��Millennium
Declaration from which emerged the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs form a set of political
commitments aimed at tackling the major developmental issues faced by the developed and developing world,
which have to be achieved by 2015. While almost all the MDGs can be indirectly linked to water supply and
sanitation (WSS) issues, Goal 7 on environmental sustainability addresses them directly. One of the Goal 7
targets, Target 10, is to “halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking
water and basic sanitation”.
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