‘Rome: Capital of Water’. First Euro-Mediterranean forum on the water crisis

To place sustainable water management at the heart of the international agenda, to strengthen dialogue amongst Mediterranean countries, and to identify concrete actions to tackle the consequences of the climate and environmental crisis. These are the objectives of the first Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum, scheduled to take place in Rome from 29 September to 2 October at La Nuvola. The event is organised by the Italian One Water Committee in collaboration with the Union for the Mediterranean and the Mediterranean Water Institute in Marseille, and is supported, amongst others, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through CIHEAM in Bari, in partnership with the Arab Water Council and with the support of eight ministries, the Lazio Region and the Municipality of Rome. Over the course of four days, the venues at La Nuvola will bring together institutions, international organisations, businesses, water service providers, the research community and civil society.

“The aim is to make Rome the capital of water,” said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the event’s main supporter. In addition to the Deputy Prime Minister, institutional representatives include the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, the Director-General of the FAO, Qu Dongyu; the Director-General of UNESCO Khaled El-Enany; the Acting Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean Fadi Hajali; and the United Nations Special Envoy for Water, Retno Marsudi. Also expected to attend the Forum are the Minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policy Nello Musumeci, the Minister for Universities Anna Maria Bernini, the Minister for Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo, the Minister for Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida, the Deputy Minister for the Environment Vannia Gava and the President of the Lazio Region Francesco Rocca. There will also be a strong international presence. In attendance will be Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, the Deputy Minister for Water Abdulaziz Al Shaibani and the Deputy Minister for the Environment Mansour Al Mushaiti of Saudi Arabia, the Egyptian Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sewilam; the Finnish Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Sari Essayah; and the French Minister for the Sea and Fisheries, Catherine Chabaud.

Explaining the context in which the initiative is set is the Honourable Maria Spena, chair of the One Water Italy Committee. “We are facing clear climate change that requires immediate responses to extreme events such as droughts and floods,” she said on the sidelines of the press conference presenting the Forum at the Farnesina. “The repercussions of climatic anomalies are not limited to the environment, but generate serious geopolitical and economic consequences,” she emphasised. The reference is clearly directed at the southern and eastern areas of the Mediterranean. “In particular,” he added, “the erosion of coastal plains and the progressive desertification of the southern and eastern shores of the Euro-Mediterranean basin risk triggering new structural tensions”. The chair of the One Water Committee then linked the availability of water resources to the region’s future dynamics. “The chronic shortage of water resources and the dramatic lack of drinking water, which already afflict various areas of these regions, are key factors set to have a profound impact on future migration flows and on the security of the entire area.” Mr Spena then reiterated that the Forum’s aim is to bring together the various stakeholders involved in water management to create ‘a platform for dialogue between institutions and policy-makers, to share transparent strategies on the responsible management of water resources, to address the challenges linked to water supply, and to define shared guidelines on governance, innovation and cooperation’.