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“Bridging Science and Policy” is the theme of the XVI World Water Congress (WWC) this week in Cancun, Mexico, and water experts are bringing that to bear in their decisions regarding the field of water.
The World Council of Churches, through its Ecumenical Water Network (EWN), is represented at the event, which is taking place from 29 May to 3 June. The outcomes of the meeting will influence the agenda for the World Water Forum, scheduled to take place in Brazil in 2018.
Organized by the International Water Resources Association, National Water Commission, and National Association of Water and Sanitation Companies, the WWC this year seeks to link science and policies in order to assure global water access through sustainable management.
Specialists on water resources from diverse sectors hope to contribute to global objectives and strategies related to water availability in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) included in the UN´s 2030 Agenda.
So far, panel discussions have focused on the SDGs and climate change from the perspective of scientists, academics, representatives of regional organizations of each continent and private sectors.
The EWN is represented at the WWC by Veronica Flachier, EWN member and former co-chair of the EWN International Reference Group.
“It is important to listen, introspect and to know how to link EWN’s efforts to the global multisectoral initiatives in this Congress without losing the prophetic role of discernment on water justice and assert the role of faith-based organisations in the implementation of the human right to water and sanitation.”
Flachier also cautioned that, so far, a rights-based approach to water and sanitation is yet to be discussed.
The WWC has been held every three years since 1973 in various locations around the world. Participants identify major global themes concerning the water agenda, and bring together a large cross-section of stakeholders for the development and implementation of decisions in the field of water.
