The Process towards the 7th World Water Forum that convened on April 12-17, 2015, in the Republic of Korea, was launched in February 2014, coordinated by the Mediterranean Water Institute (IME), in close collaboration with the Global Water Partnership – Mediterranean (GWP-Med), and steered by a multi-stakeholder Committee involving national and regional water actors. Over the last year, a series of milestone meetings took place, structuring the work in six working groups focused on identified thematic priorities, namely: effective water governance; integrated water resources management (IWRM); sanitation for all; adaptation to climate change; improving education and capacity building; science and technology. These working groups formed the Mediterranean Regional Process’ dedicated sessions during the World Water Forum along with a concluding session of the overall Process.
GWP-Med coordinated the working group on Effective Water Governance and co-coordinated the one on Science & Technology, while the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE) led the Education & Capacity Building group.
The Mediterranean contribution for Korea was ultimately finalised during the final Steering Committee Meeting of the Mediterranean Process at the Athens Concluding Workshop (1 April 2015), synthesizing the main messages and sharing views on the key regional concerns into a Mediterranean Position Paper on “Addressing the crisis and ‘nexus’ through innovation and good governance”, which was widely disseminated during the Forum.
In accordance to its key role during the preparatory phase, GWP-Med also had a strong presence on site at the 7th World Water Forum, leading, co-leading and coordinating three sessions:
- on Effective Water Governance in the Mediterranean (April 14, 2015)
- on Linking Science and Technology for managing global water challenges & on Finding ways to overcome the barriers for improved research uptake - European and Mediterranean experiences (April 14, 2015)
- The Final Mediterranean Session (April 16, 2015), jointly coordinated by IME and GWP-Med, synthesized all six thematic sessions held during the Forum, with each Focal Point presenting highlights and conclusions.
The Regional Final Report as prepared by the Regional Coordinators, IME and GWP-Med, compiles the objectives, context and outcomes of all sessions and the key messages that the region shared with the global water community. Moreover, it elaborates on the recommendations, commitments, achievements and follow-up steps of the overall 7th World Water Forum's Mediterranean Process.
Apart from the above-mentioned sessions of the Mediterranean Regional Process, GWP-Med participated and contributed actively in a number of other sessions, within and well beyond the Mediterranean Regional Process. And of course last, but not least, it gained a great distinction at the Water Showcase Global Final of the 7th World Water Forum, in Daegu, Korea, on 15 April 2015, with the 2nd place ranking of the Non Conventional Water Resources (NCWR) Programme in the Mediterranean, a multi-stakeholder programme, with activities in water scarce insular communities in Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Italy. The NCWR Programme in the Mediterranean was the only non-Asian showcase, with strong competition from India, South Korea, Bangladesh and Indonesia, among more than 120 showcases from around the world.