Vatican City (Fides Service) - On the occasion of the 3rd World Water Forum Kyoto, 16 to 23 March 2003, the Holy See Delegation offered a contribution with a statement entitled "Water, an Essential Element for Life", prepared by the Pontifical Council Justice and Peace. The statement underlines that water is an element which plays a central role in all aspects of life - in the national environment, in our economies, in food security, in production, in politics. Water has indeed a special significance for the great religions.
Water is crucial for life, the statement says and the human being can survive only a few days without clean, safe drinking water. Many people living in poverty, particularly in the developing countries, daily face enormous hardship because water supplies are neither sufficient nor safe. Water is a major factor in each of the three pillars of sustainable development - economic, social and environmental. The Holy See's statement points out the moral questions with regard to certain principles: respect for life, the centrality of the human person, the universal destination of the goods of creation, the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity. The text looks at the functions of water as an economic, social and environmental good, and the effects of its scarcity on poverty, population and politics. The statement recalls that in the Judeo-Christian Holy Book, God is presented as the source of living, and the Bible says that without water there is no life, hence the necessity for the conservation of water as a good because it provides for future generations. See complete text at www.fides.org PA (Fides Service 31/3/2003 EM lines 22 Words: 276)