US embassy cable - 03THEHAGUE2993

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 002993 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
OES/OA FOR R.WILBUR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: NL, SENV, ENIV, EPA 
SUBJECT: DUTCH "WHITE WATER TO BLUE WATER" ROUNDTABLE 
 
REF: STATE 269150 
 
1.     (SBU) Summary.  The Dutch Ministry of 
Transport/Waterways (with the support of Embassy The Hague) 
held a half-day roundtable event to introduce the White Water 
to Blue Water Initiative.  The Dutch, who are on the steering 
committee, aimed to recruit new partners from civil society 
and academia and to solicit input for their preparations for 
the March 2004 Miami conference.  The successful roundtable 
demonstrated GONL commitment to the partnership as well as 
interest among Dutch NGOs.  However, the government has not 
yet decided what it will bring to the conference in terms of 
funding.  End Sumary. 
 
2.     (U) The Netherlands Ministry of Transport/Waterways 
and Embassy The Hague co-hosted a half-day roundtable meeting 
on White Water to Blue Water (WW2BW) in the Hague on October 
29.  The meeting was held at the National Institute for 
Coastal and Marine Management (RIKZ).  Approximately forty 
guests attended the meeting, which was moderated by Frans 
Tjallingii, International Affairs Coordinator of the Dutch 
Ministry of Transport/Waterways.  The Netherlands is a member 
of the WW2BW Steering Committee. 
 
3.     (U) Keynote speaker Cecilia Anthony, Acting Minister 
Plenipotentiary of the Netherlands Antilles in the Hague, 
gave a compelling summary of the environmental challenges 
faced by Caribbean islands.  Department of State OES/Ocean 
Affairs Officer Richard Wilbur provided an overview of the 
WW2BW initiative and reported on the planning process 
underway for the March 2004 Miami conference.  He highlighted 
the importance of broad Caribbean participation and the role 
training courses will play in the conference.  Mr. Chris 
Thompkins of the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural 
Affairs (DEFRA) provided a briefing on the UK perspective and 
noted that the Spring 2003 UK roundtable had been useful in 
coordinating efforts of UK stakeholders.  He said the UK 
places a high degree of importance on the WW2BW partnership 
and plans to focus on fisheries partnerships, sustainable 
tourism, and Marine Protected Areas.  UNEP's director of the 
Global Program of Action (GPA) Dr. Veerle Vanderweerd 
delivered a presentation on the GPA and cautioned that it 
will be a challenge to achieve a concrete outcome for the 
WW2BW.  (Note:  UNEP's GPA office is co-located with a 
division of the Ministry of Transport/Waterworks in the 
Hague.  End Note.)  The MFA was represented by Peter de 
Koning of the Directorate General of International 
Cooperation.  Embassy The Hague was represented by the 
Economic and Global Issues Sections. 
 
4.     (U) The Hague meeting, which was modeled after a 
similar event that was held in London earlier this year, had 
three primary goals.  First, to expand the pool of 
stakeholders by informing the Ministries, private sector, 
environmental agencies, international organizations, and 
scholars about the WW2BW initiative and the March 21,2004 
Miami conference.  The Ministry of Transport is compiling a 
catalogue of companies and organizations who might be 
interested in partnering with the initiative.  Second, to 
provide participants background information on watersheds, 
Caribbean region water pollution, tourism and eco-tourism.  A 
third objective was to brainstorm relevant topics and gather 
Dutch input for the initiative. 
 
5.     (U) During the forum the attendees were divided into 
subgroups and offered the opportunity to propose ideas and 
ask questions that might enhance the success of the Miami 
conference.  OES/Ocean Affairs Officer Wilbur fielded 
questions regarding youth and university-level participation, 
and made the point that conference organizers encourage the 
involvement of universities and students.  Wilbur also 
explained the design of the WW2BW Steering Committee as well 
as the organization of the theme-based subcommittee system. 
Participants raised doubts about the willingness of the 
private sector to endorse a more robust regulatory 
architecture, but nevertheless recognized the need the 
private sector/tourism industry to take concrete steps to 
become more ecologically viable.  The groups underscored the 
need for the Caribbean region to have common legislation on 
water pollution in order to minimize the risk of loss of 
competitiveness among islands competing for tourist dollars. 
Moreover, it was noted that islands must work together to 
promote change and to see results. 
 
6.     (SBU) Comment and Lessons Learned.  The well-organized 
event demonstrated the GONL's commitment to the WW2BW 
process.  Earlier this year we saw WW2BW added to the MFA's 
official list of partnerships, a list which it submits for 
parliamentary comment.  While the Ministry of Transport have 
dedicated two staff to preparing for the initiative, they 
have not yet secured money for the conference itself, but 
hope to do so in the near future.  It remains unclear what 
specifically the Dutch will bring to the Miami conference; 
they are considering supporting training programs and/or 
funding delegates who might otherwise be unable to afford the 
trip.  Post will continue to pursue this issue with Dutch 
counterparts.  The roundtable discussion also reflected 
strong interest on the part of the private sector and 
academia in participating in WW2BW.  Attendees were able to 
take away useful information regarding the upcoming Miami 
Conference in March 2004.  It remains to be seen whether the 
Kingdom of the Netherlands will show a united presence at the 
March conference, or if Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles 
will mount independent delegations.  The participation of 
State OES/OA Officer Wilbur added significant value to the 
meeting and helped strengthen relationships between the USG 
and Dutch ministries involved in water partnerships.  Other 
posts planning similar roundtable meetings may want to 
broaden the list of invitees to include more NGOs, as well as 
inviting econ/environment officers from other embassies in 
the host country capital.  End Comment. 
SOBEL