BALI: Participants of the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) agreed on the “Bali Basin Action Champions Agenda” that contains a new commitment to support river basin management to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Indonesian news agency (ANTARA) reported.
“All participants in this segment welcomed this decision to further consolidate river basin management as a political priority by continuing to include river basin issues in high-level political segments,” Secretary General of the International Network of Basin Organisations (INBO), Eric Tardieu, said in Badung, Bali, on Friday.
He informed that the river basin issue also covers the ministerial, parliament, and regional government segments.
The Bali Basin Champions Agenda includes collaborative steps such as the launch of the Twin Basin Initiative (TBI), a global program for capacity building and experience exchange between global organizations working on integrated water resources management (IWRM) at the national river basin level and across c
ountries.
To achieve the goal, TBI will support joint capacity-building activities, such as webinars, face-to-face exchanges, and study visits, as well as learning dissemination on a global scale, such as peer-to-peer and at the community level, Tardieu informed.
Earlier, at the opening of Basin Segment Day, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono, said that collaboration is key to the successful management of basins or river areas.
“Basin Segment Day is a valuable opportunity to discuss the next steps to increase cooperation and exchange experiences regarding basin management,” he added.
The 10th World Water Forum was held in Nusa Dua, Bali, from May 18-25, 2024, to discuss water conservation, clean water and sanitation, food and energy security, and natural disaster mitigation.
A total of 244 water-related discussion sessions at the forum are expected to offer concrete results on global water management.
The forum has produced several ministerial declaration points that have be
en ratified. At least 106 countries and 27 international organisations have joined the declaration.
The declaration covers the establishment of a center of excellence on water and climate security to develop capacity and utilize superior facilities.
The declaration also includes a proposal to designate World Lakes Day to highlight lakes as a water source supporting humans, besides their social and economic functions.
The commemoration of World Lakes Day is not hoped to be just symbolic but become one of the main keys to preserving lakes around the world.
Meanwhile, a concrete action compendium covering 113 projects in the water and sanitation sector worth US$9 billion has also been ratified at the forum.
Source: Emirates News Agency
