World Water Week participants – including Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, winner of the 2009 Stockholm Water Prize (front, center) – unanimously support Stockholm Statement on water, climate change and adaptation. [Photo: SIWI] |
In other SIWW news, Dow Systems and RS Technik Group launched a global alliance for sewer pipe rehabilitation, Hong Kong Water Supplies picked Black & Veatch to expand its Tai Po Water Treatment Works, Optiqua Technologies established a research centre at PUB's WaterHub, CDM cut the ribbon for its Neysadurai Technical Centre, and the World Bank opened its Singapore Urban Hub, which will promote regional solutions to urban developmental challenges. For more information, see www.siww.com.sg.
From Stockholm, we have a number of short videos available on WWi's website (www.waterworld.com/index/video-gallery.html) posted by digital media editor Angela Godwin, as well as news releases from the event. Among reports unveiled during World Water Week were one developed to serve as a primer on transboundary water management and another focused on advanced river flow management as vital to facing climate change. Among major news was a €200 million boost for water and sanitation in developing countries, focusing on African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, announced at the EU Water Initiative (EUWI) forum. Canadian pioneer of ultraviolet disinfection technologies Trojan Technologies won the 2009 Stockholm Industry Water Award. And Turkish student Ceren Burçak Dag won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for an innovative method of generating energy from rainfall. In a final declaration, event delegates, ministers, the World Water Council and WWF International acknowledged that water should be part of any deals worked out at COP15 – the UN Climate Change Conference (www.cop15.dk) in Copenhagen, Dec. 7-18.
WWF was very active during the event, with press release headlines noting among other things that "Massive river water transfers lacking scrutiny," "Wealthy world at risk from water woes elsewhere," "Water footprint of beer more on the farm than in the brewery," "China's fisheries must adapt to meet new EU regulations," "Advanced river flow management vital to facing climate challenge." It also announced formation along with other NGO, research and business partners of a Global Water Roundtable (GWRT) to develop global standards for freshwater stewardship. It will operate under the umbrella of the Alliance for Water Stewardship, of which WWF is an organizing member along with the Pacific Institute, Nature Conservancy, Water Witness International, Water Stewardship Initiative, Water Environment Federation and European Water Partnership. The initiative is supported by a $1 million grant from JohnsonDiversey, a global provider of commercial cleaning and hygiene solutions.
It's a big world and there's a lot of water.
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