STOCKHOLM, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 World Water Week kicked off here on Monday, calling for more nature-based solutions for water related challenges.
Poor water management and stressed ecosystems cause poverty and violent conflicts, and to avoid a global water crisis, more nature-based solutions are urgently needed. This year the event would focus on the link between water, ecosystems and human development, according to the forum's statement issued on Monday.
There is a growing realization that humans are increasingly vulnerable to water shortages, extreme weather and social unrest. Decades of unprecedented economic and population growth, rapid urbanization and climate change have led to stressed ecosystems and high pressure on limited water resources. In response to this, societies must find and implement solutions that work with, rather than against, nature, the statement added.
"With the rapidly growing demand for water, it is becoming increasingly clear that water is everybody's issue. Scarcity of water has become the new normal in so many parts of the world," said Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), which organizes World Water Week.
Holmgren called for a shift towards more green infrastructure solutions, noting that they are inherently multi-functional: "City parks retain rain, improve the microclimate, contribute to biodiversity -- and look good doing so. Green solutions are, in addition, also often much more resilient than grey. They tend to bend rather than break under pressure. They can repair themselves and restore their functionality also after significant damage."
The five-day World Water Week, an annual global meeting for water and development issues, gathers some 3,500 participants from over 130 countries and regions to discuss global and local water and development challenges.
