Background
Water is at the heart of recent milestone agreements such as the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and the 2015 Paris Agreement. The World Economic Forum ranks the water crisis in the top 3 of global risks for the third consecutive year. Failing to respond effectively to these challenges will have devastating global effects. To be successful, people need to respond in a coordinated and effective manner. In UN resolution 71/222, the General Assembly proclaims the period from 2018 to 2028 the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development” (the “Decade”), to further improve cooperation, partnership and capacity development in response to the ambitious 2030 Agenda.
To ensure water security, water conservation is the priority with spatial equilibrium; and both the government and the market shall make efforts to achieve systemic governance. ——H.E. Xi Jinping, president of China
Related to this, in the scope of the 6th ASEM Seminar on Urban Water Management (further referred to as “ Seminar”) here, there is the theme of promoting sustainable development of water resources for shared prosperity as the focus. The Seminar aims at sustainable water development policies, sustainable water utility services and water management, examining the value of water in the circular economy, the role of cross-sectoral cooperation (science, profession, industry) in creating a water-conscious society, how the system of financing water solutions can become sustainable, and how investors and financial institutions can become stakeholders in the operation of a new system that considers the interests of the future. The goal of the Seminar is to show how water connects all of us, highlighting the water awareness that is essential for the actions of societal actors, and the potential to shift the scientific, industrial, business and individual responsibility at micro and macro levels towards sustainability.
Seminar Time and Theme
Time: 22-24 October 2024; Two days of seminar and one day of academic field trip
Theme: Promoting Sustainable Development of Water Resources for Shared Prosperity
Three plenary sessions will be held under the following themes:
- First Plenary Session: Integrated Governance of Urban Water Environment
- Second Plenary Session: Ecological and Environmental Governance of Rivers and Lakes
- Third Plenary Session: Case Sharing of Technology Innovation Practice
Seminar Format and Location
Offline event: China·Changsha/Zhangjiajie
Working Language
English (with simultaneous interpretation in Chinese and English)
