Cairo Water Week 18^th-22^nd October, 2020

Loïc Fauchon

President of the World Water Council

The World Water Council is proud and honoured to be a long-lasting partner of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Arab Republic of Egypt for the Cairo Water Week, since its creation.
The World Water Council wishes to support the great initiative of the 3rd Cairo Water Week, as a very valuable milestone on the road to the next World Water Forum.
The main theme of the Conference is “Water Security for Peace and Development in Arid Regions”.
It is indeed the real challenge in the Mediterranean region and the millennial experience of Egypt is most appreciated.
Water security is defined as the capacity to provide access to water and sanitation to all populations, in adequate quantity and quality to ensure sustainable and equitable development.
Water is a life insurance and it is key for the development of humans and nature on our planet.
We need to contract a “Five Fingers Alliance” to provide adequate access to water, sanitation, energy, health and education for all of us.It is a difficult objective which needs a joint involvement at all decision levels – political, technical and civil society.
The solutions, showcases and experiments to be presented in the different sessions of the 3rd Cairo water Week will provide some of the most useful responses to the international community.
Thank you to H.E Dr Mohammed Abdel Aty, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Arab Republic of Egypt for this very useful contribution.

H.E. Mr. Felix Reinders

President International Commission on
Irrigation and Drainage

Chair Global Framework on Water

Scarcity in Agriculture

Innovative Systems to Respond to Water Scarcity

Water gives life and is crucial to development all over the world. It waters the fields; nurtures the crops and stock; provides recreation; it support mines, industry; electricity generation and it provide life for plants and animals that make up ecosystems. Cairo Water Week 2020 (CWW) with the theme: “Water Security in Arid Regions” – the Road to Dakar 2021”, emphasize how important water is as an essential asset to all aspects of our lives to give effect to the Sustainable Development Goals. Linking to that is the importance of the role of the youth and Third African Young Water Professionals Forum at CWW with their theme: “Innovative Systems to Respond to Water Scarcity” focus on the importance of technology to address water scarcity and to optimise water use by building the capacity of young professionals and creating a new generation capable for facing future water challenges. Water scarcity is one of the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century and Agriculture, encompassing crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry, is both a cause and a victim of water scarcity. It accounts for 70% of the global water withdrawals. With the world’s population that is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and as water stress spreads around the globe, ways have to be found of getting more crop per drop to meet our food needs. Cairo2020 WATER WEEK Cairo2020 WATER WEEK The Global Framework on Water Scarcity in Agriculture’s vision is “A world whose food systems are secure and resilient to increasing water scarcity in a changing climate” with the objective to urgently address the following important and relevant work areas, to name but a few at international and country levels: Sharing and disseminating knowledge and experience; Developing new or improved solutions; Promoting sustainable and integrated water resources management and Building capacity of Partners and countries and other Stakeholders. The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage’s Vision 2030 is “A water secure world free of poverty and hunger” and in summary states as follows: “Water, as the main input for food production, has played the most significant role in population growth and societal evolution over much of the recorded human history. Numerous civilizations flourished and then also became extinct because of the way they managed their agricultural water. By being a direct or indirect part of 7 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, water assumes inclusive dimension both as a natural resource for rural development and an essential input commodity for industrial and human (life-style) consumption. CWW provide the opportunity for ICID and WASAG together with National committees, Partners and water related organisations to stand together to innovate, implement and disseminate innovative systems to respond to water scarcity. We in the water field succeeds not because we are big, or because we have been long established, but because there are people building it, who live it, sleep it, dream it, believe in it and build great future plans for it.

H.E. Mr. Maciej POPOWSKI,

Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission

One of the key objectives of the European Green Deal is to support the transformation towards a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where green growth and efficient use of resources are considered essential to meet this challenge. Not only will this contribute to the fight against climate change, but it can also have significant economic benefits. This is quite evident in the water sector and particularly for Egypt. Our support to the Cairo Water Week, emanates from our commitment to support Egypt’s sustainable development strategy