By Shweta Tyagi
“WATER IS POLITICS” were the words of President Loic Fauchon speaking at the 68th Board of Governors in Beirut on 8 April 2019 held under the auspices of the Lebanese Government. This reflected WWC’S MARATHON TO MOBILIZE POLITICAL WILL and bolster the recognition of water as a global priority and catalyze action in tackling the urgency of preserving the resource”.
The World Water Council is an international multi-stakeholder organization that aims to promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on critical water issues at all levels, including the highest decision making level, to facilitate the efficient conservation, protection, development, planning, management and use of water in all its dimensions on an environmentally sustainable basis for the benefit of all life on earth. The Council focuses on the political dimensions of water security, adaptation and sustainability.
On the eve of COP24, and at the outcome of the 8th General Assembly held on 1st December 2018, the Board of Governors has unanimously elected Loïc Fauchon as President of the World Water Council. The new President thanked the members for electing him and congratulated the previous Board and its President, Benedito Braga, for the important advances made on water security during his time in office. World Water Council announced its new Board of Governors, to oversee and guide the Council’s work for the forthcoming three years. The elections took place during the triennial General Assembly for which over 250 participants from 35 countries gathered in Marseille, France.
Dr. Arvind Kumar, President, India Water Foundation a non-profit civil society and think-tank was elected from the entire South Asia region on the Board of Governors of World Water Council for the year 2019-2021. In the coming years, he shall witness the opportunity to oversee the implementation of the Council’s triennial strategy, building further on the work achieved over the previous three years. The new strategy shall emphasize on water security, sustainability and resilience, while seeking ways to strengthen relationships between Council members. The Board will also support Council’s preparation of the 9th edition of the World Water Forum to be held in Senegal in 2021.
The World Water Council brings together a diversity of organizations mobilized to advance the water cause by involving UN agencies, the World Bank, governments, NGOs, public and private companies, and universities. Through their experience and know-how, the Council’s main mission is to provide practical responses to the global water crisis.
Celebrating World Water Day on 22nd March 2019, WWC engaged in multiple outreach activities to ensure that the Council’s main messages were broadly heard throughout the annual celebrations with a solid media presence and strong visibility. Participation through awareness-raising efforts were envisaged drawing attention to this year’s UN theme ‘Leave no-one behind’ and catalyzes worldwide attention towards the importance of preserving and securing water.
About the World Water Forum
The World Water Forum is the world’s largest event on water. Organized every three years with a host country, the Forum provides a unique platform where the water community and key decision makers can collaborate and make long-term progress on global water challenges. The Forum brings together participants from all levels and areas, including politics, multilateral institutions, academia, civil society and the private sector, among others. The 8th edition of the Forum was held in 2018 in Brazil and gathered more than 10,000 participants under the theme “Sharing Water”. The next edition will take place in Dakar, Senegal, in March 2021 to underline a new strategy to respond to global water crises.
What should the 9th World Water Forum galvanize?
- Water is the new OIL. Issues of Water Wars, Water Insecurity, Water Stress and Water Quality must be accorded the top-most priority
- Availability, Accessibility & Affordability of water should be set norm for the future leaders to deliberate. If we fail to manage the availability, the other two dependent components gets excluded from development agenda.
- Facilitate building local capacities for community entrepreneurship in an atmosphere of transparency, participation and accountability
- Go back to the roots by adopting ‘Nature Based solutions’ to sustain the traditional wisdom and uphold the best conventional cultural practices.
- Facing an unprecedented water-stressed crisis, inclusive water governance ought to be made mandatory in every sector, including management of rivers, groundwater, floods, and biodiversity, among others
- Discussing the prospects of Smart Water Management by incorporating the principles of 6Rs of Circular approach i.e. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Respect, Replenish and Refuse
