South Korea: Europe wants to inspire water governors globally

Sharing experiences and inspire others. That is what the European Commission wants to achieve at the 7th World Water Forum (WWF) in South Korea. From the 12th to the 17th of April thousands of global water governors and experts gather in the southern cities Daegu and Gyeongju. The European Commission is represented in South-Korea by Eurocommissioner Neven Mimica who is responsible for International Cooperation & Development.

Memica also, wants to ensure the EU delivers on its commitments to the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty and he is setting out the Commission and EU positions for the negotiations on the United Nations Millennium Development Goal agenda after 2015. Eurocommissioner Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella is not present in South-Korea but he left a videomessage for the visitors on Facebook.

Water Cooperation
During the opening of the World Water Forum about 100 global leaders adopted a ministerial declaration to advance water-related cooperation on a global scale. “We reaffirm that water is at the core of sustainable development and support its inclusion of one dedicated water goal and water-related targets in the Post-2015 Development Agenda”, states the declaration.

Focus on smart water
“We are committed to working together to ensure a successful outcome at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),” it said, referring to the planned event for December in Paris. The global leaders are convinced environmental solutions can be found in the convergence of information and communications technologies (ICT) on smart water management and planning.

Sharing experience
Europe is presenting a programme in South-Korea to share knowledge. On the agenda are topics like the successful experience of European International Basin Organizations for better managing transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers in Europe, living with water in cities of tomorrow, creating an enabling environment to bridge the gap from science to implementation, European examples and instruments for effective adaptation to climate change and Water-Energy efficiency for green growth.