Nairobi, 24 June 2011
- The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) family today pays tribute
to a man whose life and works have left
a mark on people and politics across the
world.
Professor Kader Asmal
passed away on Wednesday, 23 June 2011.
Citizen activist, anti-apartheid campaigner,
Professor of Law, pioneer of progressive
water policy, Minister of Education, loving
grandfather, father and husband, impatient
reformer, champion of human rights, ethics
and integrity, comrade, critic, intellectual
- a passionate South African - in exile
- as at home.
Kader Asmal's boundless
energy, impatience and brilliance coupled
with a moral compass as to what is right
and what is wrong left no one untouched
who came into contact with him. It also
explains why news of his death reached all
corners of the globe in a matter of hours.
With tributes and messages of condolences
crisscrossing the electronic highways it
is evident that the world has lost an exceptional
leader, friend and mentor. Each message
speaks to a chapter in his life - often
"written and lived" concurrently
- and to his remarkable capacity to attract,
engage and motivate people to get up and
become involved.
One of these chapters
brought him into contact with UNEP. As Minister
of Water Affairs and Forestry under President
Mandela, Kader Asmal led a fundamental rethink
and redesign of South Africa's water policy.
Post-apartheid hydro-politics was as much
about basic rights of access to water as
it was about standpipes for millions of
South Africans. But in true Kader Asmal
fashion it did not end here. A new approach
to sharing water resources and responsibility
with South Africa's neighbours became as
much a hallmark of his tenure as the 'Working
for Water' Programme which combined the
principles of watershed and ecosystem management
through the removal of alien invasive species
with an internationally acclaimed employment
programme for tens of thousands of men and
women in South Africa.
It was during this unique
moment in South Africa's history that Kader
Asmal also accepted to Chair the World Commission
on Dams. Born out of a bitter and escalating
global controversy as to the costs and benefits
of large scale dams, Kader Asmal led a group
of 12 commissioners through a rigorous process
of study and public hearings culminating
in a landmark report on "Dams and Development".
Not only did he succeed in bringing together
a group of exceptional yet deeply divided
individuals, but his intellectual vision
and command of the issues - from hydrology
to human rights - enabled him to forge a
consensus which continues to inform the
discourse on dams even 10 years after the
report was published. Neither hydrologist
nor civil engineer he nevertheless earned
the respect and admiration of everyone in
this contested arena. It is testimony to
his unique capacity to bring to any technical
or political debate a principled understanding
of human dignity and fundamental rights.
There could - in Kader Asmal's view of the
world - never be a 'trade off' in the name
of economic progress.
This is but one chapter
of many which make up the book of Kader
Asmal's life. Much has been and will still
be written about his many accomplishments.
Perhaps the most important thread that will
run through all these chapters is that of
a person who was intensely human in his
emotions and relationships. At times overbearing
and intimidating by virtue of his intellectual
genius and political passion, he never abandoned
his compassion and respect for people.
As we bid farewell to
Kader Asmal we do so with a deep sense of
gratitude. We join Louise Asmal and her
family in mourning the loss of a friend
and proud South African whose legacy will
continue to inspire communities across the
world.
By Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary-General
and UNEP Executive Director
