Beth: World Water Week kicks off on Monday, August 23, amid calls for major transformations in our societies. Participants from around the world will spend the upcoming edition of World Water Week developing solutions that help the world address challenges related to water scarcity, the climate crisis, poverty and biodiversity loss.

Thirty years after its inception, this year's World Water Week has been redesigned for maximum impact. The World Water Conference is scheduled for August 23-27 as a virtual event under the title: "Building Resilience Faster". Participants from 150 countries will collaborate on a set of practical solutions.

“We seek to turn World Water Week into a practical platform where everyone can interact,” said Henrika Thomasson, Director of World Water Week at the Stockholm International Water Institute, the organizer of the event.

"Cooperation across borders is more important than ever," adds Thomason. “All sectors need to undergo major transformations over the next decade,” said Turjni Holmgren, Executive Director, stressing the vital role that water plays in these transformations to achieve the climate goals and the sustainable development goals.

In his keynote speech, Dr. John Rockstrom of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research How dangerous human activities are to alter the planet's life-support systems. As an example, Rockstrom points to the impact of fresh water on changes caused by human activities to climate and biodiversity. Rockstrom and his team have identified fresh water as one of the nine limits to planetary sustainability that must not be crossed. “The issue of fresh water must be integrated into the global climate agenda,” Rockstrom emphasized, adding, “The Sustainable Development Goals must be achieved by 2030, but then must shift to the pursuit of a safer future within the limits of planetary sustainability.”

While meeting with event host Alok Ja during the opening ceremony, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohamed warned that the world is not on the right track towards achieving sustainability goals. The official added, "We were not on the path to achieving sustainability before the Corona pandemic, and we are still so after the pandemic, but the situation has worsened. However, recovering from the pandemic may put us on the path again. Increasing focus on some axes of what we are currently seeking to attract from investments.