Positive outcomes for the 6th World Water Forum

The 6th World Water Forum has ended Saturday 17th after a fruitful week of exchanges between main water stakeholders. The objectives have been met: 35 000 participants, 173 countries represented, over 750 elected officials, 3 500 NGO and civil society representatives participated to over 400 sessions including thematic, political, regional and grassroots debates. “The time for solutions” was the theme. An electronic platform was elaborated for the 6th Forum and over 1400 contributions proposing solutions for water across the world were collected (www.solutionsforwater.org). More than 70 solutions were displayed in the “village of solutions”, a major crossroad of the Forum. UN agencies, governments, parliamentarians, local governments, development aid agencies, water professionals, civil society stakeholders, women and youth representatives made significant commitments to increase water and sanitation access. These commitments will be listed and monitored until the 7th World Water Forum, to be held in 2015 in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, South Korea.  In this regard, the World Water Council, in the name of its President, Loïc Fauchon, has announced several commitments, of which the continuity of the Solutions for water platform and the admission of three young members in the Council’s Board of Governors. The Council has also committed itself to double the number of States having recognized the right to water and sanitation, 40 for the time being, and enshrining this right in their constitutions. The creation of a Foundation for water in schools has also been mentioned. These are the measures the Council will advocate for during the next major events related to water.