Speech by the Prince of Orange, Chair of UNSGAB, Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change

Mr Chairman, Mr Mayor, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to my country, welcome to the Netherlands! Welcome to this great UN city of The Hague. Welcome to this very important conference.

We are proud to host the follow-up of the successful Seventeenth Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, which was chaired by our former Minister of Agriculture, Ms Gerda Verburg.

This is the Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change, or rather: the global conference on the water crisis. Because water is at the heart not only of the agriculture, food and climate change crises, but also at the heart of the potential solutions you will be discussing here this today.

Water is a topic close to my heart and it is water that brings me to this conference.

I am here today in my capacity as Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, UNSGAB. Our task is to galvanise governments, international organisations, NGOs and the regional and global development banks to work together to meet the Millennium Development Goal targets for water and sanitation. These vital targets will be achieved only by understanding that water and sanitation are intrinsically linked to other MDG challenges, such as agriculture and climate change, and also health, education and gender equality, to name a few more. I am optimistic that we will achieve most of the MDG targets if we continue to stress the linkages between these Goals. So I thank the organisers of this conference for asking us to take a comprehensive look at these fundamental challenges.

Of course, I see food security, agriculture, climate change and other issues through a watery lens. It is indisputable that water and agriculture are inseparable. Farmers use three-quarters of the world's water. Factories use less than a fifth. Domestic and municipal use is mere tenth. The water crisis is therefore primarily an agricultural crisis. And, put simply, that means that we must change the way we produce our food. This would be an easy task if water were evenly and predictably distributed across the planet. But it isn't. And climate change will only make it less predictable. According to the best models available, future rainfall will become more and more uncertain. We are likely to face more intense periods of rain, and longer droughts. Dry areas will become even drier, wet areas will experience increased rainfall. This growing uncertainty is extremely alarming, since 60 per cent of the world's food is produced on rainfed cropland. An altered hydrological cycle and erratic rain patterns will threaten the food supplies and livelihoods of millions of the world's most vulnerable fellow citizens.

At the same time, agriculture's demand for water will grow rapidly. There will be many more mouths to feed. By 2050, the world's population will have increased by another three billion.Because people are changing their diets, even more water will be needed. After all a kilogram of beef takes 16 times more water to produce than a kilogram of wheat. As more people climb out of poverty, and shift from a largely vegetarian diet to one that includes meat, the demand for water will intensify. Agriculture must become more water efficient.

Other water users will also demand more and more water. In 2050, two-thirds of the world's population will be living in urban areas. City dwellers use more water than people living in rural areas. So our urban water infrastructure must also become more efficient while incorporating improved wastewater collection, treatment and reuse.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Climate change and the water crisis are hitting all of us, north and south, rich and poor, rural and urban. Even this wealthy city of The Hague, the United Nations City of Peace and Justice, could become an isolated island in the middle of the North Sea if the Dutch - world renowned for our water management and flood prevention - fail to take adequate measures to maintain and protect our low-lying delta. Studies show that three quarters of the world population lives in deltas and low lying coastal zones. They too are exposed to the risk of extreme floods and storms and will need protection against the influences of climate change.

We must seriously increase our efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, but we must also prepare to adapt to climate change. Since climate change will first be felt in the water cycle, integrated water resources management will play a vital role in adapting to it. The leaders, who gather later this year in Cancún for COP 16 must recognise and address the centrality of water in their decisions about adaptation.

Climate change is making the need for more focus on integrated water resources management all the more urgent. Our adaptation efforts must begin now because the institutions that we establish and the infrastructure that we build today will bind us to patterns of water use and behaviour for years to come. If we wait, we will miss opportunities to ensure a more sustainable long-term future. It is important for water managers and water users alike to confront the future that is unfolding.

One issue that we must face is how wastewater is treated. UNSGAB has resolved to make better wastewater collection, treatment and reuse a priority issue. In most parts of the world, only a fraction of wastewater is treated, and even less is reused. We extract massive amounts from rivers, lakes and aquifers and return them to our ecosystems full of waste: from our industries, from our farms and from ourselves. Better wastewater management protects human health, builds vibrant cities and reduces threats to vulnerable ecosystems.

There is no waste water, only water that is wasted. Wastewater is a resource. And it is a resource that deserves more attention from politicians, decision-makers, and policy planners. And so, one of the objectives of our current mandate, the second Hashimoto Action Plan, is to bring about a wastewater revolution.

It is important to stress the link between water reuse and food security in the face of climate change. Adapting to climate change, as I noted earlier, will require improvements in water efficiency. This means growing more food with less water and treating the water we use so it can be used again. Adequate future water supply will call for intelligent recovery and reuse of water for agriculture. In and around many cities in the developing world, wastewater is already being used for irrigation. This should be encouraged and systematically expanded. But it must be done safely. Unsafe wastewater irrigation poses risks to farmers and consumers. Done right, with the use of safety guidelines, such as the globally accepted WHO Guidelines for Wastewater Reuse, it can promote future food security.

Revolutionising our approach to wastewater is part of paving the way to a food-secure future. But there are many possible obstacles along the road. Working side-by-side with urban planners, rural planners and farmers, water managers must anticipate future needs, while taking climate change into account. Streamlined government regulation is crucial and the public must be part of the process. The public's legitimate concerns need to be taken seriously.

There are many challenges, but we need to change our approach to water to ensure a sustainable future. And we made progress in 2009 when, during CSD 17, countries agreed on the need for sound water management in agriculture through efficient irrigation, water harvesting and storage, treatment and reuse. I was delighted to contribute to this discussion by examining the issues from the viewpoint of water, because integration between these sectors is of fundamental importance. The Commission also pointed to the need to address the challenges and opportunities posed by biofuels in the light of the world's food security. Climate change, food security and water all converge around biofuel production. In an effort to move away from fossil fuels, the production of biofuel crops is being actively pursued. Of course, we must actively and urgently look for alternatives to fossil fuels. However, the impact on water supply must be accurately factored into the analysis of costs and benefits.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We here have a real chance to green our economy and make it grow. Investing in water will be an important element in spurring economic growth. Access to affordable financing at all levels is key. Our Board and the World Bank have successfully promoted local financing mechanisms for water utilities. Similar local financing mechanisms are needed for agriculture and environment programmes. For example, micro financing for small-scale irrigation systems, along with investment in capacity building and institutional strengthening for farmers, could contribute to food security in developing regions.

Also in a broader sense, access to the right financial services by small farmers and rural enterprises can help accelerate agricultural productivity and advance food security, a subject that my wife - Princess Maxima - will elaborate on in this conference coming Thursday .

These are the kinds of ideas our Board will be promoting in the lead-up to the 2012 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. This Summit will focus on building a green economy to bring prosperity, health and environmental sustainability to all the world's citizens.

In the lead-up to the Rio Summit, UNSGAB will also take the opportunity to share success stories that are a source of inspiration on which we can build. For example, in the Aral Sea Basin unsustainable expansion of cotton cultivation resulted in an environmental disaster. By the 1990s much of the land around the Sea was a saline wasteland. Kazakhstan has done much to restore the Northern Aral Sea. It built a dyke to the south of the Syr Darya river outfall, which flows into the sea, and supported an integrated approach to increasing river flows by restoring embankments, barrages, dams, and irrigation and drainage systems. Fisheries, delta wetlands, pastures and irrigated agricultural lands have begun to recover.

This is an encouraging example, and as we know, any lasting solution requires the participation of all major stakeholders. To improve water management for agriculture, we need to seriously increase investment in infrastructure for water storage and transfer as well as for expanded and more efficient irrigation. And so I am happy to see this conference includes an investment fair that will match investors to promising and innovative programmes and projects. This conference is not just about talking and sharing knowledge but also about doing real business for a sustainable future for our planet.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I hope this conference will build on what the world agreed in earlier forums. At the same time I hope you will embrace new initiatives and new innovative approaches that will bring us a few steps closer to a sustainable, food-secure world.

The stakes are high. My expectations are high.

I know that you are aware of the need for action. Let me quote the opening page of the website for this conference:

"Now is the time to get down to earth and face the daunting challenges our world is facing. Now is the time to agree on collective answers to these complex challenges. Our world hungers for action."

I wish you all a most productive discussion and look forward to your answers.

Thank you.