The Secretary General for Territory and Biodiversity of the Ministry of the Environment, Antonio Serrano, met today with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, José Antonio Ocampo, with the aim of closing the agreement with the Spanish Government to establish in Zaragoza the Office of the International Decade for Action “Water, source of life”, which will be developed during the period 2006-2015.

The primary objective of the Decade is to promote efforts to meet international commitments in the field of water supply and sanitation by 2015. Corresponding commitments include the Millennium Development Goals to halve the proportion of people who do not have access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. The Decade will also focus on encouraging countries to cease unsustainable exploitation of water resources and to develop integrated resource management and efficiency plans, as agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Government of Spain, through the Ministry of the Environment, has committed itself to achieving these objectives and has proposed to the United Nations to establish the Decade Office in Zaragoza, which will host Expo 2008, whose theme will be “Water and Sustainable Development”. The General Provincial Council of Aragon and the City Council of Zaragoza also participate in the initiative.

Overall, the Decade provides a unique opportunity to build on the efforts made to date to protect, use and sustainably manage freshwater resources.