Today, water is at the heart of public debate in France. Because the future of water is in our hands, both as an individual and collective responsibility, Lyonnaise des Eaux favours a direct, discussion-based approach that is also transparent. We are happy to announce the launch of “New Ideas on Water”, a 12-month work programme involving discussions with consumers and all the stakeholders in water in France, from customers, to elected officials, institutional partners, association, environmental experts, economists, and Lyonnaise des Eaux and SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT employees. Amongst other initiatives, www.ideesneuvessurleau.net is a web platform where users can share their ideas on the many ways water affects their daily lives.

The French National Observatory on the Effects of Climate Warming (ONERC) has just submitted its third report to Jean-Louis Borloo, the French Minister for Ecology. The report presents the Observatory’s results for ten key sectors: natural risks, water resources, biodiversity, health, road infrastructures, agriculture, forestry, energy, tourism and regional development. It indicates that the annual costs related to climate change could reach several billion euros if adaptive measures are not quickly taken.

At the end of June, the evaluation commission of the World Water Council in Madrid announced its decision to select the city of Marseilles and France to host the 6th World Water Forum in 2012. In so doing, France and Marseilles will take over from Morocco (1997), the Netherlands (2000), Japan (2003), Mexico (2006) and Turkey (2009), where the previous forums were held.

As part of the South-West European Territorial Cooperation Programme (SUDOE), the Hérault Departmental Council formed a network comprising the Gironde department, five Spanish and Portuguese local authorities and fourteen other partners (public institutions and water management authorities) in order to study possible synergies between regional planning policy and water policy. This affiliation led to the creation of the Water and Territories project (WAT), which seeks to pool knowledge regarding the sustainable management of water resources.