by Xuefei Chen Axelsson

Stockholm, Aug. 21(CED) — Seeds of Change: Innovative Solutions for a Water – Wise World is the theme of World Water Week 2023.

Global crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and hunger are closely interlinked. Their progression heavily depends on how we value water resources. We can change the course if we innovate how we manage water.

World Water Week 2023 officially opens today. The conference comes in the face of an increasingly apparent water crisis. Disturbances to the planet’s water cycle go deep enough to push ecosystems to the risk of collapse. Extreme weather events such as floods and droughts highlight the close connection of the water- and the climate crisis. And yet, they are just part of a much bigger picture.

While we have a broad range of global goals and agendas, we struggle to achieve most of them. A reason for that is that our current systems rely on assumptions that no longer hold true. One of those assumptions is that there will always be a reliable water supply, which in many parts of the world is no longer the case. We need to fundamentally change how we value and manage water resources.

What is needed are fundamental transformations, changes of practice, innovative solutions as well as new ways of thinking. With a strong focus on innovation, World Water Week will shed light on how we can implement different sides of it including technological improvements, scaling up new ideas and stopping harmful practices.