Preparatory Conference for the 6^th World Water Forum

More than two hundred local elected representatives and those responsible for water and sanitation matters, representing some sixty countries are gathered in Lyon to kick off the “political process of local and regional authorities” of the 6^th World Water Forum.
The Objective: to reinforce their mobilization for the implementation of the right of access to water and sanitation, the sustainable management of water resources and international cooperation.

Opening conference – 30 May 2011

Moving from debates about the stakes to firm commitments to solutions

While the previous Forums, The Hague in 2000, Kyoto in 2003, Mexico City in 2006 and Istanbul in 2009, have provided a diagnosis of the enormous problems which confront the developed and developing countries, the Marseille Forum is expected to make significant progress in three domains: effective access to water and sanitation, trans-border cooperation and the involvement of local and regional authorities.

This stage is strategic in the preparation of the 6^th World Water Forum, for it will enable the commitments made in March 2009 in Istanbul to be amplified.

This conference is co-organized by the International Committee of the Marseille Forum, Greater Lyon and the Rhone Mediterranean and Corsica Water Agency.
Organized jointly by the French State, the World Water Council and the city of Marseille, the 6th World Water Forum which is to take place from 12^th to 17^th March 2012 in the Southern French metropolis will be the “Forum of Solutions”. The four preparatory processes of this Forum (political, regional, local and thematic) coordinate their activities to prepare and facilitate the implementation of the solutions likely to be beneficial to the priority actions identified.

About the Istanbul Water Consensus

One major production of the political process of the local and regional authorities during the 5^th World Water Forum, was the Istanbul Water Consensus (IWC), a world agreement between local and regional authorities who wish to adapt their water infrastructure and services to the new challenges which confronted them, such as climate change, uncontrolled urban growth, the depletion and pollution of water resources or even the fatigue of the existing infrastructure. The 720 signatories to this Consensus have committed themselves to prepare an action plan so as to analyze and meet these challenges, to introduce a series of indicators and report on the progress realized on the occasion of the next World Water Forum in Marseille. Elsewhere, 12 large cities, including Vienna, Osaka, Entebbe, Incheon, Paris and Buenos Aires, will be used as catalysts in specific questions in their role as “pilot cities” of the Consensus.

Learn more about the Local and Regional Authorities Process