On Monday, May 20, the tenth World Water Forum (WWF) officially began in Bali, Indonesia. The event was attended by eight heads of state and 105 ministers from 132 countries. In addition to government representatives, several international organizations were present, including the President of the World Water Council and the President of the UN General Assembly.
Interestingly, this yr’s event had several results that were significantly different from previous years:
1. High-level meeting
For the primary time in WWF’s 30-year history, the tenth conference hosted a high-level meeting at the extent of heads of state. This meeting took place after the opening ceremony and was attended by a complete of 48 countries and international organizations.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo opened the session of the tenth WWF High-Level Meeting, emphasizing the importance of worldwide cooperation in water management to satisfy the increasingly complex challenges of the longer term.
President Jokowi emphasized the importance of the tenth WWF in catalyzing concrete actions and collective commitments for integrated water management. He highlighted three key points: strengthening the principles of solidarity and inclusiveness, enabling concrete and revolutionary hydrodiplomacy, and strengthening political leadership in international water cooperation.
2. Result of the Ministerial Declaration
The tenth edition of WWF Bali also made history with the Ministerial Declaration – the primary since its launch in Morocco in 1997. It was announced on Tuesday (May 21) in Nusa Dua, Bali by the Indonesian Minister of Public Works and Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono, who can be every day chair of the tenth World Water Forum.
The declaration was adopted during a ministerial-level meeting attended by 108 countries and 30 international organizations. The declaration adopted several necessary proposals from Indonesia in the sphere of water management.
First, establishing an Asia-Pacific Center of Excellence in Water and Climate Resilience to construct capability.
Second, integrated water resources management, with particular emphasis on small islands, that are a priority for Indonesia and other developing countries.
Thirdly, the proposal for World Lakes Day. According to Minister Basuka, lakes play a key role as sources of water obligatory for human life and have a big socio-economic impact. The celebration of World Lakes Day shouldn’t be only symbolic, but additionally a key consider the protection of lakes around the globe.
The achievement was also hailed by the World Water Council as a “diplomatic victory” for Indonesia. Minister Basuki made the announcement during a press conference on the WWF Media Center in Nusa Dua, Bali on Tuesday (May 21).
3. Concrete results
Another achievement of the tenth WWF is Indonesia’s successful development of an inventory of water-related projects, which serves as a model for a lot of countries. A complete of 113 projects price $9.4 billion were identified throughout the Forum.
These projects include accelerating access to drinking water for 3 million households and managing domestic wastewater for 300,000 households. These projects have the potential to bring significant advantages to communities in various countries.
With these achievements, Indonesia is believed to have left a “legacy” in global water management.
