UNEP IETC's involvement 
in the 3rd World Water Forum in Japan...

Water, Nature & Environment Theme Highlights

17-18 March
Kyoto International Conference Hall and Takaragaike Prince Hotel
Kyoto, Japan

	Freshwater ecosystems are in crisis. Water pollution, the loss of freshwater biodiversity, and the degradation of ecosystems are ever increasing. The impacts on local livelihoods and economies are apparent everywhere. The "Vision for Water and Nature," presented at the 2nd World Water Forum, proposed integrated planning and management of land and water in river basins as a way to maintain and restore ecosystem functions. It urged comprehensive actions to resolve many intertwined environmental, social, and economic issues-and proposed a range of solutions, from practical methods for ecosystem conservation and participation of stakeholders in decision-making to improved legal and economic frameworks for sustainable water management. Through the plenaries and the individual sessions of the Water, Nature, and Environment theme of the 3rd World Water Forum, progress made toward the sustainable management of water resources with a focus on the fundamental links within basins between ecosystems, the hydrological cycle, water resources, and livelihoods was discussed and assessed. The benefits of an ecosystem approach to water management, methods for assessing and protecting ecosystems that provide invaluable goods and services to societies, and ways that sustainable management can address conservation to improve people's lives were also addressed. Individual sessions in the theme covered a wide variety of relevant topics including the function of forests, lake conservation, effective microorganisms, conservation of endemic species, environmental flows, and water treatment in industry. The Opening Plenary of the theme served to set the scene for discussions in the sessions and also discussed issues in water management such as the sustainable management of water resources, the control of point-source and diffuse water pollution, and the conservation of nature and biodiversity. Presenters in this session also highlighted some of the main linkages to the Millennium Development goals and the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. The plenary was moderated by Steve Halls, Director, United Nations Environment Programme International Environmental Technology Centre, Japan and featured presentations from L.C. Ibe, Permanent Secretary of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Nigeria; Ger Bergkamp, Coordinator, Water and Nature Initiative, IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Switzerland; and Delmar Blasco, Secretary General, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, Switzerland. The plenary was interactive and featured an extended question and answer session that allowed the audience to comment fully on the ideas and issues raised by the presenters as well as provide their perspectives on the issues. To view a web cast of the Opening Plenary: Water, Nature and Environment, please click here. <Windows Media Player (free) is required to view the video stream> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp