<i> Addressing the planet's water crisis</i>

The 5th World Water Forum, the world's largest water-related event, will convene in Istanbul, Turkey March 16-22, 2009, to push the worldwide water crisis onto the international agenda. Held every three years, the Forum gathers together interested parties from every horizon to find sustainable solutions to the world's daily water challenges. With more than 3000 participating organizations, attendees will include international heads of state, United Nations representatives, parliamentarians, local authorities and other government officials, as well as water professionals, activists and other interested parties. The Forum is a unique platform where individuals from both inside and outside the water sector interact and debate to create broader awareness for water-related issues and find solutions. During this year's forum, the United Nations' World Water Development Report will be unveiled giving insight to freshwater resources.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, two-thirds of the planet will live in water-stressed conditions by 2025 if present consumption patterns continue. “The ultimate goal of the 5th World Water Forum Istanbul 2009 is to motivate action to improve the world's management of water resources,” says Prof. Dr. Oktay Tabasaran, the Forum's secretary-general. “This can only be done by raising awareness of the importance of water-related issues. However, global awareness must be followed by action -- such as legislation, funding, governance and empowerment -- all of which are promoted through the Forum.”
Turkey, the host country of this year's Forum, offers a unique position due to its location as a crossroads between continents, regions, cultures and civilizations. It provides an ideal atmosphere for the Forum's theme, “Bridging Divides for Water.” Bringing together contrasting viewpoints such as supply and demand, rich and poor, developed and developing worlds, the Forum is put together as a result of the collaboration between Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, as well as the World Water Council.
The Forum has four distinct objectives: emphasizing water's importance to gain a spot on the political agenda; fostering discussions to solve international water issues; formulating concrete proposals and bringing their importance to the world's attention; and generating political commitments.
“Water conservation and management are massive global concerns,” says Loïc Fauchon, World Water Council president. “The Forum promises to garner unprecedented international interest, support and exposure surrounding global water issues.” Sustainability is a fast-growing problem directly affected by most global environmental issues such as pollution, population growth, land-use changes and climate change. Without worldwide efforts aimed at sustainability, more extreme and devastating events are expected to occur. For instance, climate change could make droughts more frequent in many areas already coping with water scarcity.
According to the World Water Council, major river basins, including important food-producing areas around the Colorado River in the United States, the Indus River in southern Asia, the Yellow River in China, the Jordan River in the Middle East, the Nile Delta in Africa, and the Murray Darling River in Australia, are at capacity with no possibility of using more water from these sources.
Nearly 10,000 participants are expected to attend the Forum, which will feature approximately 100 sessions. The sessions are grouped into six main themes:
* Global Change & Risk Management
* Human Development and Millennium Development Goal Advancement
* Water Resources and Supply Systems Management and Protection to Meet Human and Environmental Needs
* Governance and Management
* Finance
* Education, Knowledge and Capacity Building
For more information on the 5th World Water Forum, please visit www.worldwaterForum5.org.
The World Water Forum is the international meeting place where the world comes together to share concrete solutions for water issues. It is organized every three years by the World Water Council and the host country's government, and is the result of more than two years of preparation involving people from all regions, sectors and backgrounds. Previous Forums have been held in Morocco (1997), the Netherlands (2000), Japan (2003) and Mexico (2006). For more information on the World Water Forums and the World Water Council, please visit www.worldwatercouncil.org.