ISTANBUL - The 5th World Water Forum, the largest international event in the field of water, has begun in Istanbul.
About 25 thousand people from more than 100 countries and several international organizations will be in attendance at the forum at Istanbul's Sutluce Congress and Culture Center.
President Jalal Talabani of Iraq, President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, Crown Prince Willem Alexander of the Netherlands, Crown Prince Naruhito Kotaishi of Japan and Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo of South Korea are among guests of the forum which will last for a week.
The theme of the forum is "Bridging Divides for Water".
During the forum, five sessions will be held on the themes of "Global Change and Risk Management", "Advancing Human Development", "Managing and Protecting Water Resources", "Governance & Management", "Finance" and "Education, Knowledge and Capacity Development".
Istanbul will also host the 5th World Water Forum Heads of State and Government Summit.
Participants will discuss how to avert a global water crisis and ease tensions between states over water resources.
According to the United Nations reports, nearly half of the world's people will be living in areas of acute water shortage by 2030, and an estimated 1 billion people will have no access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
The World Water Forum, organized every three years by the World Water Council in close collaboration with the authorities of the hosting country, is the largest international event in the field of water.
The 1st World Water Forum was held in Marrakech, Morocco, in 1997. This Forum led to the preparation of a "Vision for Water, Life and the Environment in the 21st Century", whose results were discussed during the 2nd World Water Forum in 2000 in The Hague, Netherlands. A great number of governments and organizations from the water sector committed themselves to work towards its concretization. In March 2003, the 3rd World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan, clearly stated its resolution to involve all stake-holders through, for example, the creation of a "Virtual Water Forum" and the gathering of thousands of testimonies within the "Voices of Water." The Council, following its commitments made at the 2nd World Water Forum, presented its "World Water Actions" Report: an inventory of 3000 actions on the ground. By gathering more than 24,000 participants, the 3rd World Water Forum was the largest water-related event ever organised. One hundred and thirty ministers attended the Ministerial Conference. For the 4th edition, the World Water Forum was organized for the first time on the American continent in Mexico City, gathering approximately 20,000 participants.
(UK-AÖ)
(GEN)