World Water Forum kicks off Sunday in Brasília

Over 45 thousand people are expected to gather at the 8th World Water Forum, which started Sunday (Mar. 18), in Brasília—among them 10 thousand specialists from over a hundred countries who will be discussing the topic in a number of panels throughout this week. The forum is the world’s biggest water-related event, and is supported by the World Water Council (WWC), tasked for over 30 years with addressing relevant issues linked to water. This is the first time the forum is held in the Southern Hemisphere since 1997, when it first took place, in Marrakesh, Morocco.

WWC’s chair is currently occupied by Brazilian Benedito Braga, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (USP), and also serves as São Paulo secretary for sanitation and water resources. Braga describes the forum’s main goal as “to bring the scientific and technical communities and decision-makers closer together.” The forum is to be attended by government officials from several countries, including ministers and heads of state.

Water crisis

When Brasília was chosen to host the World Water Forum, the city still had generous supplies to feed its taps—which changed dramatically after the water crisis brought about by the scarce rainfall in the summer of 2016/2017. To prevent a collapse in the city’s supply system, restriction measures had to be implemented, and today, despite the partial recovery of the reservoir in the Federal District, the city is still facing rationing schedules. In the opinion of Paulo Salles, head of the Regulating Agency for Water, Energy, and Sanitation (ADASA), hosting such an event in this context is far from embarrassing.

“As a matter of fact, this is really good because we’re going through a meaningful moment, a moment of learning, which means two things: first, we’re facing a tough period for the whole planet; second, we’re learning from water crisis.”

The professor, which holds a PhD in ecology from the University of Edinburgh, notes that “water is part of the economy, part of politics, part of how institutions are organized, and we hadn’t noticed it because we always had it.” Salles stressed that water crises are taking place in several parts of the world today—which is why the forum is an opportunity to share experiences, projects, ideas, and solutions related to how difficulties can be overcome in the future.

Citizen Village

The event also aims to reach the common citizen, or “everyone who drinks water,” says Lupércio Ziroldo, one of the Brazilian governors of the World Water Council, also the president of Brazil Network of Water Basin Organisms.

To meet this goal, the forum decided to welcome the population. This was when the idea for the Citizen Forum was conceived, back in 2012, in Marseille, France. The plan was to bridge the gap between specialists and leaders and the “community of water drinkers,” educating people and promoting the ongoing discussion on water—rather than having debates only when water is no longer available. When Ziroldo became coordinator at the Citizen Forum, in the 8th World Water Forum, he and his team wanted a physical space that could serve as a meeting ground. This is how the Citizen Village was created, with free access to visitors.

“So the World Water Forum, which had always been the place for bringing ideas and solutions together in the technical field, made an effort to urge the common citizen to take part in the debate, give their opinion, hear other opinions, and thus educate themselves and learn in the process,” Ziroldo explains.

Erected in an area of 10 thousand square meters, the Citizen Village will offer the pubic attractions of all sorts. Thanks to virtual reality, children will have the chance to dive deep into the sea in a submarine or hover above forests and rivers in a hang glider. Kids will also be given the opportunity to see the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station from the inside and travel to the South Pole to walk in the snow.

For adults, an arena large enough to accommodate 300 people, will provide the space for conferences, presentations, and talk shows with guests from Brazil and abroad.

Visitors can also watch water-themed films at the Citizen Cinema and presentations at the Solutions Market, where 60 individual and community experiences will be shared by people from across the world, all of which related to good practices and management of water.

Sharing water

Brazil was not chosen as host country without good reason. Ricardo Andrade, management director at the National Water Agency (ANA) and one of the 50 professionals in charge of the forum’s organization, said that holding the event in the country has become “almost an obligation.”

“Brazil’s water-related institutions have collectively understood that it was time to hold the forum in South America. And this is justified by the fact that Brazil had something to brag about: the world’s largest individual water supply,” he said.

“Water cannot be offered with quality and swiftness in the right time and place if there’s no funding and good governance.” In his opinion, there is no use in providing water and leave the sewage untreated, since the source may lose quality. But Andrade is optimistic, and says that government investment has been increased, and so has people’s awareness about the issue.

He believes the water crisis has whetted people’s interest in the topic. “The risk of not having water at home has possibly led people to think about its availability, the need to be economical and to use water rationally, protecting it, and making themselves heard by political leaders as well as other citizens, neighbors.”

Selling ideas and solutions

Among the highlights of the 8th World Water Forum is the Expo, a set of 18 country pavilions, which, according to Operations Director Rodrigo Cordeiro, lives up to all expectations. “The countries make their presence felt through the companies attending the event, These firms are looking for an opportunity in the Brazilian market and for a way to find solutions in the Brazilian market they can take back to their own countries.”

The Expo area is exclusive to the 10 thousand registered participants. This is where visitors can see what major international corporations have developed in terms of appropriate and sustainable water use.

For the 30 thousand people expected to visit the Citizen Village, a fair was created, with institutions showcasing their products, services and solutions in connection with sustainable water use for companies, consumers, governments, society, and universities.

The 8th World Water Forum started Sunday (18) and is slated to end on 23 at the Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center. The Citizen Village, the fair and the Expo are already open to the public, and will have its doors open everyday until 23, from 9 am to 9 pm.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira