LISBON, PORTUGAL, Oct. 3, 2014 -- On Sunday, Sept. 21, more than 5,000 leading water experts and industry professionals from 97 countries convened at the International Water Association's (IWA) World Water Congress & Exhibition in the city of Lisbon, Portugal, for five days of debate to identify and define new solutions to tackle the global water crisis.
Delegates reviewed the latest scientific findings, shared knowledge on innovative water technologies, and proposed effective regulatory systems to manage water and sanitation in a period of unprecedented water challenges. These include growing competition for water resources from industry, agriculture, nature, and cities -- all of which are impacted by climate change, population growth, changing consumption patterns, and rapid urbanization.
Water has a critical role to play in every major global debate currently underway -- including climate change and the green economy; industrialization and urbanization; human health and food production; and economic development and regional stability.
The Congress coincided with another key debate that took place in New York, when the UN General Assembly convened to agree on a new set of vital Sustainable Development Goals to replace the longstanding Millennium Development Goals (200-2015) and set the agenda for poverty reduction and improving the health, welfare and rights of the world's poorest and most vulnerable citizens over the next 15 years.
See also:
"World Water Week.14: CEO Water Mandate stresses sanitation across globe"
"Report finds gaps in WASH human resource capacity for developing economies"
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