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STOCKHOLM, Aug. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

World Water Week opened on 23 August with calls for massive transformations of

our societies. Participants from all over the world will spend the coming week

developing solutions to help the world address challenges such as water

scarcity, the climate crisis, poverty, and biodiversity loss.

Thirty years after it was initiated, the World Water Week 2021 has been

redesigned for maximum impact. The world's leading water conference is held

23-27 August as a free, online event on the theme Building Resilience Faster.

Participants from over 150 countries will co-create actionable solutions.

"We want World Water Week to be an action platform engaging all," said Henrika

Thomasson, Director World Water Week at Stockholm International Water

Institute, the World Water Week organizer.

"Collaboration across borders is more important than ever. In the coming

decade, all sectors of society need to undergo massive transformations,"

explained Executive Director Torgny Holmgren, stressing the crucial role of

water for these transformations and for reaching the climate targets and the

Sustainable Development Goals.

In his keynote, Professor Johan Rockstrom from the Potsdam Institute for

Climate Impact Research, described how humans are dangerously altering Earth's

life support systems. One example is how freshwater is impacted by the change

humans are causing in climate and biodiversity. Rockstrom and his team have

identified freshwater as one of the nine planetary boundaries that should not

be crossed. "Freshwater must be integrated within the climate agenda,"

Rockstrom said. "We must first meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,

but then transform towards a safer future within planetary boundaries."

The world is however not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,

warned Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations when

interviewed by host Alok Jha during the Opening ceremony. "Before Covid we were

off track and after Covid, even more so," she noted. "But the recovery could

get us back on track. There is a silver lining there. There are things that we

can scale up, there are things that we can put more at the centre of the

investments that we are asking for now."

Participants can enjoy 400+ sessions. Highlights of the Week include the royal

award ceremonies for the prestigious Stockholm Water Prize and Stockholm Junior

Water Prize.

Learn more: worldwaterweek.org

Press contact: Andreas Karlsson andreas.karlsson@siwi.org, +46-(0)720-506004

Source:  Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)