13/03/2009 Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Strasbourg, 13.3.2009 – Alan Meale (United Kingdom, SOC), Chair of the Committee on the Environment, Agriculture and Local and Regional Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and Bernard Marquet (Monaco, ALDE) will attend the 5th World Water Forum to be held by the World Water Council and the Turkish authorities in Istanbul from 16 to 22 March 2009.
As part of the parliamentary contribution to the forum political process, Mr Meale will chair a Session on global change and risk management, on behalf of parliamentarians from the European region on 18 March. Mr Meale and Mr Marquet will also take part on 17 March in a round table on water mediators – political leaders, teachers, journalists, professionals from the public and private sectors and scientists who seek to raise public awareness of water-related challenges and develop a real “water culture”.
The aim of the forum is to put water firmly on the political agenda, discuss solutions and develop concrete proposals, while pushing for a strong political commitment. The event will bring together over 15 000 people, including heads of state, ministers, members of parliament, local authority representatives, experts and public and private-sector decision-makers, who will take part in working sessions designed to encourage consensus about priority water issues such as access to clean water, the impact of climate change on the water cycle and the decentralisation of water management, as well as catchment basin management and cross-border co-operation.
PACE contact: Agnès Nollinger, PACE Environment Committee, Tel: +33 (0)6 18 04 12 36