The 4th World Water Forum can make a difference in making commitments for strengthening the institutional and financial infrastructure related to water and sanitation, and thus contribute in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

[That’s why…] the Preparatory Process is of fundamental importance, because during this phase the principal themes and preoccupations of the people responsible for the management and use of water —technicians, researchers, manufacturers, farmers, local government officials, and in general society as a whole— will discuss, revise, learn and analyze them.

The wealth of knowledge and experiences that will surely arise from this process will become the source that will guide decision makers in formulating policy and creating a new philosophy in the relationship between human beings and water. The participating authorities in the Ministerial Conference will express this philosophy in the 4th Forum Declaration, bringing to fruition the efforts that the Regional Committees and other task groups will deploy in the following months.

Cristobal Jaime Jaquez
Director of MexicoÕs National Water Commission

Selected excerpts made at the Thematic Beacons and Regional Representatives as well as the Americas Committee Meeting. Mexico, February 2005.