The 9th World Water Forum (9WWF) organized by the World Water Council and the
Republic of Senegal, has been postponed a year and moved to 21-26 March 2022. 22 March 2022 is the celebration of International World Water Day and will devoted to groundwater, Neno Kukuric, who heads the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre, will help celebrate the this day by holding a Groundwater Summit:
In 2022, the International World Water Day (WWD) will be dedicated to groundwater. As usual, the World Water Development Report (WWDR) for that year will be about the same topic: groundwater. Groundwater Summit is envisaged as a central celebration of the WWD, and the venue for launching the WWDR. During the Summit, Catalogue on Groundwater Management and Governance will be introduced and made available online for worldwide use.
Groundwater is a major water-supply source, whilst also sustaining aquatic ecosystems and maintaining baseflow in rivers, and being a critical storage element for climate-change adaptation. Despite these impressive facts, groundwater (being invisible) is ‘out of mind’ for most people. At the same time, water scarcity is increasing, already affects about 2.7 billion people around the world for at least one month per year. As surface water availability decreases (due to human activities and climate change), reliance- and pressure on groundwater is growing. Yet we still do not know sufficient about the state of groundwater resources globally and we do not manage aquifers well enough.
In order to increase awareness about groundwater, international water community decided to dedicate a World Water Day in 2022 to this precious resource. Groundwater will also be a topic of a World Water Development Report in the same year. The report will present the state and trends of groundwater resources in order to make their role more understandable and visible. The slogan of the WWD and the WWDR in this Year of Groundwater will be: Groundwater – Making invisible visible.
The Groundwater Summit (22-23 March 2022) is envisaged as a central celebration of the WWD, and the pivotal venue for launching the WWDR (on 22nd March). It will bring together scientists, policy makers and practitioners and it will focus on improving a science-policy-practice interface.
Neno has not yet announced a venue, so I have a suggestion: why not use the 9WWF venue in the Dakar area and integrate the Summit with the 9WWF? This would provide a boost to the Groundwater Summit and expose IGRAC's message to a much larger audience. The 9WWF attendance would no doubt be enhanced. It would also introduce an important topic - groundwater - the reservoir for so much (~95%) of Earth's liquid freshwater. Groundwater is a topic that has not been adequately covered by previous WWFs.
This integration would not be easy. Planning for the 9WWF is well underway - the action groups (and I belong to one) have already submitted the first round of reports. But recently things have bogged down, so why not act now? I am not asking the 9WWF folks to give away the store and alter what they have done. Just add something that would enhance their meeting, increase attendance and impart an important message to all WaterWonks.
If it is too difficult to integrate the events and their programs, make the Summit a 'side event'!
And what might the Groundwater Summit cover? Here's a starter: a proposal from AWRA, IGRAC and NGWA to the 8WWF in Brasilia that went nowhere:
Download Groundwater-at-8wwf_final
I'm ready!
Enjoy!
"Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself." - A.H. Weiler
Hi Michael,
You are perfectly right, the World Water Forum (WWF) is the right place for the 2022 Groundwater Summit/World Water Development Report (WWDR) launching. Actually, a practice is to have a WWDR launched at the forum if the forum takes place that year (it’s usually every three year). The last WWDR was launched during the WWF in Brasilia 2018 (and we succeeded to have a bit of groundwater https://www.un-igrac.org/news/groundwater-overview-launched-world-water-day-2018 at the World Water Day celebration). Soon, we will come with more info on the Summit and a Catalogue on Groundwater management and Governance Tools, Measures and Instruments https://www.un-igrac.org/sites/default/files/styles/max_1300x1300/public/2020-08/Catalogue%20overview.jpg?itok=UzcYL9rG that we are developing for the Summit. Participation is very welcome!
Cheers,
Neno
Posted by: Neno Kukuric | Wednesday, 11 November 2020 at 07:05 AM