The World Water Week was held from August 25 to 29, 2024, in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 1991, World Water Week has been an annual global event that brings together all stakeholders and experts working on water issues. This year's theme, "Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future" focused on water cooperation for peace and security.
Nearly 15 thousand people from 193 countries attended the event, where more than 250 sessions were held on regional, international and global connections and collaborations, transboundary waters, water security, circular economy, financing, water governance, scientific and technological developments, climate change, solutions to water issues and achievement of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.
SUEN Policy Development Coordinator Dr. Tuğba Evrim Maden participated as a speaker representing Turkiye in the session, “Advancing Transboundary Water Cooperation: A Holistic Approach in the Middle East”, organized by the Blue Peace Middle East initiative, in which SUEN is a key partner. Dr. Maden delivered a speech highlighting Türkiye's precedent policies and practices and cooperation approach on sustainable and efficient use of water in the Middle East. Dr. Maden pointed out that effective water management in agriculture is vital to ensure food security in the region and adapt to the impacts of climate change. She stated that collaborative efforts, innovative technologies and long-term investments are important steps to overcome the challenges of water scarcity in the region and expressed Türkiye’s readiness to share its experiences.
As part of the session titled “Water Security within just Planetary Boundaries” organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute, in which SUEN Expert Elif O. Öksüz participated as a speaker, the general principles of international water law and important cases regarding the protection of water resources in transboundary basins were examined. In the presentation, it was emphasized that transboundary agreements are not sufficiently effective in protecting water resources, resulting in low water quality despite these agreements. The implementation and political will in this regards were highlighted as critical elements.
In general, as part of the World Water Week, global water governance emerged as a prominent topic following the 2023 UN Water Conference. With this, the significance of the impact of climate change on water resources was discussed, along with the necessity for countries to take concrete steps on climate change in line with commitments. Solutions for global and regional cooperation and the establishment of basin management commissions/authorities particularly in transboundary basins were underlined. The importance of coordination between water agreements and other environmental agreements were highlighted. Additionally, it was suggested to promote agreements to be signed among riparian states in transboundary basins, emphasizing the need for these agreements to be prepared or revised in a way that is adaptable to current conditions and emerging problems.
