Istanbul:
The fifth World Water Forum could not have had a more dramatic opening. A group of protestors from several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were reportedly beaten up by Turkish policemen outside the venue of the Forum on March 16 just hours before 11 heads of states are to address a huge gathering of stakeholders.
The group -- ",No to Commercialization of Water", -- was chanting slogans and carried banners, which went against the grain of unbridled privatisation of water assets. Their concern was that the Forum's participants were treating water as a commodity and not as a right for all.
While 17 protestors from the group of over 150 have been arrested, several others had to clash with the security forces. Some of the media persons were also reportedly hurt.
The protestors may not have been able to march to the Sutluce Congress and Culture Center in the Turkish capital of Istanbul, but managed to raise a pertinent issue -- commercialization of water -- that has seen the world divided into two somewhat equal parts. Some of the banners read ",water is life, it cannot be sold", and ",enough water for everyone",.
In Turkey, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have opposed the commercialization of water resources, with TURCEP, an environmental NGOs platform, releasing a water declaration last week. The declaration stands firmly against attempts to commercialize water for all vital and ecological reasons.
A participant from one of the African countries at the Forum said the situation outside the venue was ironical given the fact that the theme of the forum was ",Bridging Divides for Water,", aimed to facilitate solutions to the world's water problems and promote cooperation among states and organizations.
But, World Water Council officials were quick to add in a press conference a little later that the right to water was very much on the agenda of the Forum with several countries attempting to mobilize political will to implement it.
The Council's president Loic Fauchon also raised the issue of accelerating the right to water in the opening ceremony of the Forum. The future of vital water resources ",does not only rest on technological progress, but also and mostly on political commitments,", said Fauchon, while calling on all policy-makers and international decision-makers to shoulder responsibility of the sustainable development of water.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul also called for international cooperation to help ensure water security throughout the world. ",One billion people do not have access to clean water. Some 2.5 billion do not have access to proper sanitation. Half of the world experiences water problems,", Gul said in his opening speech.
According to the organizers of the Forum, some 27,000 people from 182 countries have already registered for the gathering where participants engage in 109 sessions to advance legitimate solutions for a scarce and contested resource: water. By the end of the week, a compilation of the various agreed upon proposals and actions will coalesce to launch the Global Water Agenda, Istanbul 2009.
This is expected to be an international blueprint for how the world's most diverse stakeholders on water can gain political traction and make progress in concert together.
The world's oldest and largest global environmental network, IUCN has urged the world's leaders to act now to find a solution to the water challenges being faced by the world. The appeal by the International Union of Conservation of Nature comes against a backdrop of an impending global water crisis. Experts have pointed out that two-thirds of the world's population could be staring at a water shortage by 2025.
The past few years have seen pressure on water resources increasing rapidly as population growth accelerates, ecosystems decline and consumption patterns change. Climate change is exacerbating the water crisis.
",In many regions, water scarcity and pollution are increasingly putting human wellbeing at risk",, said IUCN's water programme head Mark Smith, adding, ",We have to organize ourselves to use water more sustainably. We need systems for governing water based on a balance of policy and good water law",.
Later in the day today, heads of state, including Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Monaco Prince Albert II, Tajikistan President Imam Ali Rahman, Iraq President Celal Talabani, Dutch Prince William-Alexander, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung Soo, are expected to share their views on why water has become a top priority, followed by a private meeting in which they will discuss water resource management in the global context of the financial crisis, climate change and fluctuating food and energy prices.
The World Water Forum, organized every three years by the World Water Council in close collaboration with the authorities of the hosting country, is the largest international event in the field of water. Its main purposes include raising the importance of water on the political agenda, supporting deepening of discussions towards the solution of international water issues in the 21st century, formulating concrete proposals and bringing their importance to the world's attention and to generate political commitment.
Disclaimer: Girish Chadha is a freelance journalist and NDTV.com takes no responsibility for the views expressed in the article. The article published does not in anyway reflect the opinion of NDTV.com.)