More than 3.5 billion people now live in cities and this figure is continually increasing. When the UN put the subject of sustainable cities on the Rio+20 agenda it confirmed the fundamental importance of redefining the city, given that rapid urbanization is placing great pressure on water resources, their treatment, the environment, biodiversity and public health. The city must not be designed as a goal in itself, but as an ecosystem in which sustainable resource management – whether of water or energy – is a fundamental priority.

With the world’s largest supply of fresh water, Brazil has many strengths, and yet it must also face various climatic, geopolitical and socio-economic challenges with regard to this resource. With less than 10 days to go until the opening of the RIO+20 Earth Summit, the Waterblog looked into issues related to water in Brazil.

Water is one of the seven critical issues that will be discussed at the Rio+20 Conference. A number of organizations entities are sponsoring events leading up to and during the summit.

At the end of the month, SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT will be present in Rio. Rio+20 is dominated by two key themes:

- The green economy as part of sustainable development and poverty eradication,
- International governance of sustainable development

There are two ways for a group such as SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, part of the GDF SUEZ group, to approach an event as symbolic and as complex as the Rio + 20 Conference: either as a contributor who brings and seeks to share its good practices by showcasing its achievements and innovations, or as a player responding to the international community’s invitation and agreeing to take part in the discussion based on a long-term vision of its business and its impact on global challenges. We have chosen to be both player and contributor.