More than 53 billion tons of polluted water are released back into the natural environment each year in China without being treated. Because of the economic and health risks that that causes, the Chinese government has decided to allocate 1.35% of its GNP to the environment.

During a seminar held on 3 December 2009 in Hanoi (Vietnam) on public-private partnerships for water management and the environment, Charles Chaumin (President of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT Asia) and Frédéric GOURDIN (Director of SUEZ ENVIRONMENT China at that time) submitted responses to help Vietnam “reinforce its environmental policies”.

The 1st forum of the African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development programme (AMESD) was held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 1-4 December 2009. It was designed to set up a continental policy to manage water resources using “global structures for satellite observation of changes in rain basins”.

Water consumption by the power sector was a central issue in discussions during the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul. After agriculture, the power industry is the second largest user of water. In the United States today, 39% of water withdrawals are used for power production, compared with 31% in Europe.

The word “governance” is central in all prospective concerning water and assessment. There are three kinds of governance: management governance, governance by sharing, and governance of relations among countries through water.

Upon the closing of the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, I would like to call for a more open and integrated approach involving all stakeholders and to advocate for the transition from an economy based on volume to an economy based on value: the issue today is no longer managing large volumes of water, but rather contributing social and environmental know-how that is adapted to the needs of communities and users.

This new edition of the Forum provided the opportunity for all players working on water-related issues to assess the advances achieved over the past three years. These are real but terribly insufficient compared to the challenges of water access and climate change! In order to meet these challenges, an integrated approach and innovation are the key to sustainable, well-balanced progress to which we dedicate the development of our professions.

SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT will be speaking at the following sessions and events

* Session 2.2.2 from 8:30-13:00 : the future is now : embedding sustainability principles within water and energy development. Frédéric Goudin, Sino-French, will be speaking about “recovering of energy from sludge” - case study in industrial parks in China

* Session 5.2.2 from 11:00 to 13:00 : Affordable and sustainable water and sanitation services: The role of tariffs an other instruments. Alain Mathys will be speaking at this session

* Side-event on the French Pavillon (French Water Partnership) from 16:30 to 18:30 “concrete implementation of the right to water and sanitation” (Académie de l’Eau & Action Against Hunger-ACF). Christophe Cluzeau will present a Case-study on LYDEC

* SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT international evening at 8pm

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has drawn up a highly alarming report about the situation of water in the world. It calls for the decision makers who will be present in Istanbul to make a greater commitment to protect the natural environment and make better use of the services provided by nature to promote development and human safety.