Fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul „Bridging Divides for Water“, 16.-22.3.2009

Every three years the World Water Council (located in Marseille) organises World Water Fora. "Bridging Divides for Water“ was this year’s motto for the Forum in Istanbul. According to the Turkish conveners over 25.000 people attended the Forum, which makes it the biggest water event worldwide.

Important aims of the Forum were:

1. to put the importance of water on the political agenda with regards to human beings, agriculture, nature and industry,
2. to intensify the discussions towards responsibly dealing with the resource,
3. to present concrete solutions concerning dealing with the resource and make them public worldwide, and
4. to generate political engagement for the water sector as a whole.

The German Delegation included personnel of the Foreign Office, as well as Ministries for the Environment,  Development and Research and its subordinated technical institutions. For BGR Dr. Wilhelm Struckmeier, Dr. Friedrich Hetzel and Vanessa Vaessen participated from the global sector project Policy Advice Groundwater. Moreover, numerous German participants from associations, economy and the public were represented.

In the exhibition parallel to the Forum, Germany was represented with a communal stall of the German Federal Government (Foreign Office, Ministries for Environment, Research and Development) as well as German Water Partnership, an alliance of various firms and ministries in the water sector. There was also a programme at the stall, which invited participants to a discussion about ‚Coupling Sustainable Sanitation and Groundwater Protection’, which was the title of the BGR international Symposium last year in October.

Policy Advisor on Groundwater, Vanessa Vaessen, at her presentation in Istanbul Source: BGR

Wilhelm Struckmeier gave two inputs about "Down Under: How can we manage groundwater resources?" and "Which are the operational tools that allow to achieve transboundary cooperation and sound basin management?". Friedrich Hetzel and Vanessa Vaessen gave a presentation in the Session: "Changing Climes, Changing Times: Groundwater Resources in an Uncertain World".

Numerous events and symposia already include an integrated water management of transboundary water resources. Correspondingly strong was the influence of river basin organisations at the Forum. For the first time transboundary groundwater resources were also addressed.

Recently, in 2008, it was also for the first time the United Nations’ General Assembly recommended binding rules for the management of transboundary aquifers according to international law (Transboundary Aquifers: Managing a Vital Resources - The Unicl Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers).Generally, it has to be noted that groundwater has finally become included in numerous events.

Like former World Water Fora, also this year’s Forum was heavily criticised from many NGOs. The critique referred particularly to the form of organisation of the Forum, which is mainly convened by the World Water Council, whose structure is dominated by private firms.

Overall, the World Water Forum has reached its goal in generating more public attention to the water sector. The unsatisfying outcome of the political process was rather an expression of the least common agreement in the international discussion about how to deal with water resources. This also shows the international community is still struggling for answers and solutions in the global water crisis.