The 20th World Water Week in Stockholm takes place on 5-11 September this year. The topic is “Responding to global changes: the water quality challenge”. It will bring together policy makers, international organizations, water business professionals and scientists from all over the world to review the progress made in access to water and water quality. As a major stakeholder in water, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT will participate in the event and provide input for general discussion.
> A special flavor to this year’s edition
This year’s conference will have a special flavor for two reasons. The first is that since January 2010 Stockholm has been Europe’s first ever Green Capital. The second and more important one is that it’s World Water Week’s 20th anniversary – a good opportunity to review the successes so far and the challenges yet to be addressed with five years to go before the deadline the UN set in 2000 for its Millennium Development Goals. Because, as Anders Berntell, the event’s Executive Director, points out, “while we are expecting the target for improved drinking-water to be met or even exceeded, we know that other related issues such as public health, poverty, sanitation, climate, governance and food security are lagging behind.”
The experts meeting in Stockholm will reflect on the various issues connected with increasing demand for drinking water and the drought periods and deteriorating water quality some regions are facing. To do that, they will have to assess the current situation, taking into account the increasing intensity of human activity and the resulting use of pollutants.
> Assessing risks and proposing practical measures
During the Week, promising examples will be presented to stimulate discussion about possible solutions in matters of prevention and water resource use: “By learning from what has worked and not worked, we can avoid a business-as-usual approach that would delay even further the recovery of ecosystems and lead potentially to irreversible shifts,” explain the event’s organizers. The end purpose is to be able to assess, manage and prevent pollution risks so as to implement an "integrated pollution prevention and control strategy [that] should take into account the interfaces between air, land and water.”
Finally, participants will work to draw up practical initiatives and solutions for pollution control and prevention, trying to go beyond the "polluter pays" principle and "naming and shaming" (by which those responsible are publicly singled out). “What other strategies exist to prevent and mitigate pollution? What institutional obstacles exist that may inhibit the implementation of pollution policies? Is there a role for media and the general public in facilitating decisions at all levels of government and society?” These are among the questions awaiting the 2,500 participants expected at the event.
World Water Week in Stockholm will also, as every year, be the occasion for a scientist to be awarded for exemplary research. This year the Stockholm Water Prize will reward Dr. Rita Colwell “whose research helped to prevent the death of millions by cholera, and continues to develop our understanding of water-borne diseases,” as Anders Berntell has said.
For more information:
Comments
No answers for "Challenge of water quality on agenda at Stockholm World Water Week"