Fondation EurActiv organised for World Water Day, Tuesday 22 March a breakfast Stakeholder Workshop on water and the urban challenge. The workshop was organised with the support of The Dow Chemical Company.

Programme:

One in two people on the planet live in cities, and urban areas are growing at an exceptional rate – in terms of inhabitants, but also of course of related industrial activities, services and transport.
Investment in infrastructure has however not kept up with the rate of urbanisation: this has a huge impact on quantity and quality of available water, as well as on river basins, groundwater and the environment as a whole.
The eighteenth edition of World Water Day looks at water management in cities, and the water footprint of urban areas:

• How do global actors respond to the challenges of urban water management and its implications for the environment? How are the world’s mega-cities managing access to quality water for their inhabitants as well as their water footprint?
• The EU Commission is planning to table a ‘Blueprint for Safeguarding Europe’s Water’. What will be the role of water reuse and recycling? How can water savings and efficiency be promoted?
• How will the Blueprint and the Flagship Initiative on Resource Efficiency fit together? What will this mean for Europe’s most densely populated areas?
• What can be the role for partnerships – between public bodies and businesses or between businesses and civil society organisations – in sustainable water management?

Contributors included:

• Gustaaf BORCHARDT, Director Water, Chemicals and Biotechnology, DG ENV
• Tetsuji SUGAYOSHI, First Secretary, Mission of Japan to the EU
• Dr Neil HAWKINS, VP Sustainability & EH&S, The Dow Chemical Company
• Glenn T. PRICKETT, Chief External Affairs Officer, The Nature Conservancy

Moderator: Ross MELZER, Public Affairs Director, EurActiv