World Water Forum

Aim

World Water Forum aims to:

Components

The forum is made up of four primary components:

1. The thematic programme which provides the substantive discussions in the form of sessions and panels.
2. The political process which provides the opportunity for discussion with elected officials (local authorities, parliamentarians, ministers) and resulting in various statements and commitments.
3. The regional process which provides perspectives on water from all regions of the world.
4. The fair and expo which provides a space for all stakeholders to showcase their contributions.

Each of these components benefits from extensive preparatory processes that commence two years prior to the World Water Forum.

Past editions have included other features, such as side events, a learning centre, a children’s forum, a youth forum, a children’s education village, water and film encounters and cultural entertainment.

1st World Water Forum

The first World Water Forum, following the creation of the World Water Council, took place in Marrakech, Morocco, on 21–23 March 1997. It laid the basis for the development of a long-term “Vision for Water, Life and the Environment in the 21st Century.” Sessions included:

2nd World Water Forum

The 2nd World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000, generated much debate on the World Water Vision and the associated Framework for Action, dealing with the state and ownership of water resources, their development potential, management and financing models, and their impact on poverty, social, cultural and economic development and the environment. The ministerial declaration identified the following key challenges: meeting basic water needs, securing food supply, protecting ecosystems, sharing water resources, managing risks, valuing water and governing water wisely.

3rd World Water Forum

The 3rd World Water Forum, held in Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka, Japan in March 2003, assembled a huge number and variety of stakeholders as compared to previous editions of the forum. In addition, the debate was furthered within the context of the new commitments of meeting the goals set forth at the United Nations in New York (2000), the in Bonn (2001) and the in Johannesburg (2002).

The 3rd World Water Forum offered 351 sessions under 38 themes. In addition, the "World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure", chaired by Michel Camdessus, presented its conclusions on what should be done to find adequate financing for water infrastructure and offered specific proposals on how this can be achieved, and by whom.

New concepts were introduced such as a Virtual Water Forum, which consisted of about 166 interactive sessions available through Internet, and the Water Voices Project, where 27,000 opinions of ordinary citizens were collected from 142 countries. The World Water Actions report inventoried over 3,000 local water actions.

The 3rd World Water Forum also invited the participation of indigenous people, recognizing that indigenous land and water rights is crucial to the discussion of water interests worldwide. Indigenous people have often been excluded from discussions about clean drinking water, water sanitation, and rights to water sources, so this invitation legitimized the rights of indigenous people to help create water related policy. Their participation resulted in the signing of the Indigenous Peoples Kyoto Declaration, which centered on the rights of indigenous people to self determine usage of their own water resources.

4th World Water Forum

During the 4th World Water Forum in 2006 in Mexico City, close to 20,000 people from throughout the world participated in 206 working sessions, where a total of 1600 local actions were presented. Participants included official representatives and delegates from 140 countries including 120 mayors and 150 legislators, and 78 ministers. Nearly 1400 journalists were present.

Noteworthy events included:

5th World Water Forum

Over 30,000 participants from 182 countries took part in the 5th World Water Forum, from 16 to 22 March 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey. More than 400 organisations prepared together over 100 sessions organised according to 6 themes, 7 regional reports and 5 high-level panels.

For the first time in the World Water Forum’s history, a heads of state meeting was organized. In addition, the ministerial statement and water guide were developed through a series of four preparatory meetings of government officials, in which thematic and regional coordinators and representatives of major groups participated. Further exchanges with stakeholder representatives were organized through ministerial roundtable discussions during the 5th World Water Forum.

Local and regional authorities in attendance produced the Istanbul Water Consensus (IWC), a new compact for local and regional authorities willing to commit to adapting their water infrastructure and services to the emerging challenges they are facing. It was also the first time that over 250 parliamentarians from around the world jointly started to address water issues.

In addition to the session programme, a number of high-level panels were organized on issues such as water-related disasters, sanitation, the water-food-energy nexus and financing. Following the 5th World Water Forum, the panel on water and climate change continued its efforts to bring forth its recommendations to the UNFCCC process and CoP-15 discussions held in Copenhagen in December 2009.

For more detailed information on the 5th World Water Forum, a collection of the official outcomes and statements can be found in the Global Water Framework. This compilation presents all the major official documents of the forum: heads of state appeal; ministerial statement; Istanbul Water Guide; ministerial roundtable reports; parliamentarians for water; Istanbul water consensus; compilation of thematic commitments; regional outputs; children’s declaration; and youth declaration.

Another publication, Water at a Crossroads contains a cross-cutting analysis of the key decisions and major themes addressed at the Forum, including climate change; disasters; water, food and energy; MDGs; finance; public/private management; governance; transboundary issues; the right to water; and data availability.

Civil society protest was considerable, notably about the negative effects of dams. Blockades and marches were organised, and Turkey deported peaceful protesters.

6th World Water Forum

Marseille, France, 2012. There, were, again, extensive protests against 'corporate greenwashing' of water commodification and the effects of dams.

Prizes

Two water-related Prizes have been awarded during successive World Water Forums: The King Hassan II Great World Water Prize and the Kyoto World Water Grand Prize. Two additional prizes were awarded during the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul: the Turkish Republic Prime Minister's Water Prize and the Compromiso México Water Prize.