Promising signs for a global goal on water

摘要

There is a long way and much talking to go before the countries of the world finally agree upon a global development agenda for beyond 2015. The intention is that negotiations will begin once the next session of the UN General Assembly gets underway this September, culminating with a summit a year later at which the final agenda will be adopted. But just as nothing is certain until final agreement is reached, given that many a well-intended measure can be sacrificed in order to achieve an overall consensus, so the machinations of global policy making are such that there can be a certain inevitability about the outcomes once an initial course is set.