Nothing less than the future of water 20 - 21 January 2012

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On 20-21 January 2012 the second Berlin Water Dialogues took place on the Berlin fairgrounds in conjunction with INTERNATIONALE GRÜNE WOCHE / INTERNATIONAL GREEN WEEK BERLIN, the world's largest fair for food, agriculture and horticulture, and its political opening, the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA).

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Speeches and Results from the Berlin Water Dialogues 2012

Photos from the Conference

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Although water as the basis of life, as the essential factor in industrial and food production, and as a source of energy is receiving more attention these days, water issues are still underestimated on the international political agenda. The challenge of managing our water resources in a smart way needs our full attention.

Water management practices and processes are becoming increasingly complex. This trend is likely to continue well into the future. As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, it is evident that water policy-makers and professionals are confronted with new and staggering challenges, which no earlier generation had to face. However, knowledge, technology, and the opportunities available to both policy-makers and professionals today and, even more so, tomorrow are also without precedent. The water problems of the world can no longer be solved within the water sector alone because the driving forces and the solutions often lie outside the water sector itself.

On the initiative of the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Technology and Women’s Issues, Triad Berlin, the Berlin fair grounds Messe Berlin GmbH, and Berlinwasser, the development of an innovative format for a future-oriented exchange of ideas on water resource management and water technologies began in 2010. The idea to establish such a format in Berlin has received, both nationally and internationally, a very positive feedback. 

The international debate and the exchange of ideas on water issues in the different existing forums are complex. In order to design an interesting and attractive conference format, a strategic approach was developed in co-operation with the most relevant industrial and institutional partners.

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