La newsletter du Forum - 12 Mars 2012

		*N°2 - Monday, Tuesday 13th, 2012*
Figures • 884 884 million people do not have access to improved drinking water sources • Since 1990, 2 billion people have gained access to drinking water • 2.6 billion people live with out improved sanitation • By 2035, global energy consumption is projected to increase by 49% • By 2050, global population is projected to reach 9.1 billion, and global demand to increase by 70% • 70% of global freshwater consumed by agriculture News in brief • The Butterfly Effect at the 6th World Water Forum. On March 12 , the «Butterfly Effect» presented the civil society perspective at the Forum Slum Square, this NGO is composed of over 80 other NGOs, networks and women associations. read more • Awarding of King Hassan II Great World Water Price's 4th Edition. Created 10 years ago by the former King of Morocco, King Hassan II, the Great World Water Price is regarded as one of the world's most important distinctions in the water sector. read more • ConsEAUmmation. The Workshop on Mediterranean Environment coordinating the ConsEAUmmation project aims to bring together the public interested in the environment through practical economic and ecological solutions. read more • Women for Water Partnership : pour la reconnaissance de l'action des femmes. Women for Water Partnership, a federation gathering women associations from all over the world, tackles gender issues related to the water sector. read more • "From the glaciers to the Mediterranean". The Permanent Centres of Environmental Initiative (CPIE) of the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur (PACA) are working to strengthen citizen's capacity in sustainable land management through professional training courses, education and awareness-building campaigns. read more • "We can no longer persue our economic model". Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the NGO Green Cross International, denounces the current global economic model, describing the modern economy as unbearable. read more • Youth solutions team just arrived! Under the aim of solving water issues, young and enthusiastic people involved in the Emerging Academics Program, Youth Regional Council and World Youth Parliament gathered in a dedicated room, on Monday. read more • Political commitment for a desalination factory in Gaza. The First label of Union For Mediteteranean has been allocated to the construction project of a desalination plant in Gaza. read more • The "Citizen's House of Water" inaugurated. On March 12, Raymond Jost, Secretary General of International Secretary for Water, inaugurated "Citizen's House of Water", a space to identify concrete solutions coming from the stakeholders. read more • 7th Environmental Movie Festival. From the 6th of March to 17th, the cities of Aix-en-Provence and Marseille will host the 7th Environmental Movie Festival (EMF), on the occasion of the 6th World Water Forum. read more • "Dry lands and oasis". The "Dry lands and Oasis" exhibit, organised by CARI, offers an exploration of oasis and dry areas. read more • Projection network: slums in debate. Regrouping young professionals, the Projection network attracts the attention of attendants and decision-makers toward slums. read more • Awards at the International Water and Film Events. The third edition of the International Water and Film Events drew 246 films together. The awards ceremony took place in the evening, 11 March, in the Palais du Pharo in Marseille. read more		Editorial Political Leaders Commit The political process constitutes a crucial component of the 6th World Water Forum, through a ministerial conference, a parlementary conference, and a conference for local and regional authorities. This latter alone attracts more than 800 participants. A real record. Solutions and commitments must arise from those events: a ministerial declaration, a parlementary manifesto and a message from local and regional authorities. The whole planet is represented here to address the whole range of water-related issues. read more
		News of the day Opening Ceremony: New Thinking and Concrete Action High level figures open the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille imploring participants for concrete solutions and actions to the world's water issues. French Prime Minister calls for creation of an international water organisation. This morning at Parc Chanot, high level officials opened the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille. Jean-Claude Gaudin- Senator Mayor of Marseille, Benedito Braga-President of the International Forum Committee, Loïc Fauchon- President of the World Water Council and Francois Fillon- Prime Minister of France all implore the need for water to be at the heart of international development policy. read more
		2012 : turning point in European initiatives for water protection and water management European Union and United Nations representatives meet at the 6th World Water Forum to discuss the state of play and a to find new ways concerning water management and protection in Europe and beyond. Since 2000, the European Union (EU) has been committed to meeting the Millenium Development Goal (MDG) of better access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. 2012 celebrates the 10th anniversary of the EU Water Initiative launched with this aim in 2002. Since then, 32 millions people have benefited from European actions on water and the first MDG has thus be reached already in 2010. However, a lot still needs to be done and the European Union will consequently intensify its efforts on access to sanitation services. Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Cooperation and Development declares that "now, it is time to shift gear (… )". Looking forward to the Rio +20 Conference, the 2012's edition of the European Report on Development puts the focus on management of water, energies and soil towards an inclusive and sustainable growth. read more
		Series of proposals The website www.solutionsforwater.org created to improve debates and reflexions during the World Water Forum, has been registering for months contributions coming from all around the world. About 1400 realistic and promising initiatives have been registered. Although discussions between all participants have not started yet, a commitment seems already well engaged : the 6th World Water Forum will be, indeed, the Forum of Solutions! The platform www.solutionsforwater.org that aims at collecting proposals of concrete answers to water and sanitation issues, registers about 1.400 contributions coming from the whole world. If Europe concentrates almost half of these contributions, Near and Middle East and Asia-Oceania produce about 400, Americas (North and South) 230 and Africa 120. These reflexions are coming from all kind of actors : experts, companies, elected representatives, donors, NGOs or simple citizens. read more
		High-level officials invited by French President call for implementation of international commitments for water Prince of Monaco Albert II, President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou, Prime Minister of South Korea Hwang-Sik Kim and former president of the Soviet Union (1985-1991) Mikhail Gorbachev have closed the Forum's opening ceremony. All seek to promote practical water-related initiatives, especially in developing countries. If all the earth's water were stored in a 5-litre container, available fresh water would not quite fill a tablespoon. Hwang-Sik Kim, Prime Minister of South Korea, the next World Water Forum's host country, drew on this statement to introduce the question of improved water resource management. In order to address this issue, intimately linked to water scarcity problems, the prestigious speakers all insisted on the involvement of populations and civil society as a priority. In Niger, water is a specific thematic area in the National Youth Forum's agenda. Mikhail Gorbatchev, founding president of the international NGO Green Cross, also calls for better civil society participation. Environmental aspects are essential to water management. As Prince Albert II points out, the Mediterranean region is currently threatened by climate change, sea acidification and biodiversity loss. read more
		Decision-makers solutions for Water Challenges Kick-Off Speeches for the High Level Events Discourse addresses sanitation, energy and nature constraints as a means to solve global water issues. "Shell recognises the necessity of measuring fresh water usage in the industrial sector", says Peter Vosel, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell. Next to the Agriculture sector, Industry accounts for the largest use of fresh water resources. In an attempt to address increased demand and use, Shell has created a database that maps how global emissions can be absorbed in various models dependent on varying Carbon emissions. For example, Shell has promoted environmentally beneficial water use in Brazil by advocating for source feed water by the rain instead of direct pumping of water from an aquifer for irrigation purposes. In Qatar, the company has converted natural gas to liquid products with technology that does not take fresh water from Qatar's arid surroundings. read more

The newsletter of the 6th Word Water Forum - www.worldwaterforum6.org
Publisher : Secretariat of the International Forum Committee, 11 la Canebière 13001 Marseille France - Editorial director : Jean-Marc Lacave, Executive Director of the 6th World Water Forum Secretariat - Chief editor : Claudine Chilinski, Marketing Director and Communication - Associate editor : C. Schaal-Cornillet - Journalists : C. Garcia, J.-C. Barla, G. Tur, A. Place, M.-P. Vega, N. Bureau du Colombier - Writers "Réseau Projection" : A. Labaeye, C. Vigie Helie, J. Grueau, L. Ghiglia, Hyacinthe, B. Tallagbé , B. Kakou Arsene, M. Djigo, A. Saleem, Ebadati, T. Takeda, O. Issoufou, C. Perez Bolde, R. Tejeda, M. Lobo, A. Bonneville, S. Detchou, S. Davin, Chenut, F. Roignant, U. Fifi, Kileshye, S. Ngilambi, Z. Koffi Vilevo, R. Guirbaye, L. Johnson, Ludington, Uche, N. Shlesinger, Tignino, Li, P. Anamaria-Cristina, A. Kafkalidis - Graphic designer : A. Triaureau - Webmaster : M.-C. Audibert - Coordination : Econostrum