Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 119.djvu/2553

 PUBLIC LAW 109–121—DEC. 1, 2005

119 STAT. 2535

the International Decade for Action, ‘Water for Life’, to commence on World Water Day, 22 March 2005’’ for the purpose of increasing the focus of the international community on waterrelated issues at all levels and on the implementation of waterrelated programs and projects. (25) Around the world, 263 river basins are shared by two or more countries, and many more basins and watersheds cross political or ethnic boundaries. (26) Water scarcity can contribute to insecurity and conflict on subnational, national, and international levels, thus endangering the national security of the United States. (27) Opportunities to manage water problems can be leveraged in ways to build confidence, trust, and peace between parties in conflict. (28) Cooperative water management can help resolve conflicts caused by other problems and is often a crucial component in resolving such conflicts. (29) Cooperative water management can help countries recover from conflict and, by promoting dialogue and cooperation among former parties in conflict, can help prevent the reemergence of conflict. SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

It is the policy of the United States— (1) to increase the percentage of water and sanitation assistance targeted toward countries designated as high priority countries under section 6(f) of this Act; (2) to ensure that water and sanitation assistance reflect an appropriate balance of grants, loans, contracts, investment insurance, loan guarantees, and other assistance to further ensure affordability and equity in the provision of access to safe water and sanitation for the very poor; (3) to ensure that the targeting of water and sanitation assistance reflect an appropriate balance between urban, periurban, and rural areas to meet the purposes of assistance described in section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 5(a) of this Act; (4) to ensure that forms of water and sanitation assistance provided reflect the level of existing resources and markets for investment in water and sanitation within recipient countries; (5) to ensure that water and sanitation assistance, to the extent possible, supports the poverty reduction strategies of recipient countries and, when appropriate, encourages the inclusion of water and sanitation within such poverty reduction strategies; (6) to promote country and local ownership of safe water and sanitation programs, to the extent appropriate; (7) to promote community-based approaches in the provision of affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation, including the involvement of civil society; (8) to mobilize and leverage the financial and technical capacity of businesses, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society in the form of public-private alliances; (9) to encourage reforms and increase the capacity of foreign governments to formulate and implement policies that

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