How cities will prepare for the future was the pressing question at the forefront of the International Conference of Local and Regional Authorities for Water. The conference, held 21-22March during the 8th World Water Forum in Brasilia, brought together hundreds of local and regional authoritiesto share their experience, achievements and solutions in relation to water issues.
Co-organized by the World Water Council, UN Habitat through its Global Water Operators Partnerships Alliance, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the Secretariat for Federative Affairs of the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil, United Cities and Local Governments, and the Confederação Nacional de Municípios, the conference emphasized the importance of sustainable water management to pave the way towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by 2030.
Cooperation on improved water and sanitation services and multi-level governance on water is essential to securing water and sustaining a new urban future. In light of the need for immediate action on water-related issues to reduce widespread water crises, the World Water Council has released a guide, Start with Water: Putting water on local action agendas to support global change. This guide seeks to provide strategies and support to help cities make concrete contributions to global agendas. Presented as a set of eight recommendations, which detail water management, decentralizing finances, and urban risk planning, among others, in addition to incorporating concrete examples from around the world, the first-of-its-kind guide was launched during the International Conference of Local and Regional Authorities for Water.