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8th World Water Forum

March 18-23, 2018

Brasilia, Brazil

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  • The World Water Forum is the world’s biggest water-related event and is organized by the World Water Council (WWC), an international organization that brings together all those interested in the theme of water. Its mission is “to promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on critical water issues at all levels, to facilitate the efficient conservation, protection, development, planning, management and use of water in all its dimensions on an environmentally sustainable basis for the benefit of all life on Earth”.

    The World Water Council organizes the Forum every three years together with the respective host country and city. To date, there have been seven editions of the World Water Forum, in different countries, on four different continents. Brazil is hosting the 8th edition of the World Water Forum in 2018. It is the first time the event is held in the Southern Hemisphere.

    The World Bank will convene and participate in several sessions and side events, which are listed on the "Sessions" tab. You can also follow along via Twitter using #WWF8.

    Last Updated: Mar 13, 2018

  • March 18

    Youth Forum

    10:00-12:00

    World Bank participating speaker(s):

    ·       Christina Leb, Sr. Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Scientific Committee Meeting for the Water Conference in Dushanbe

    14:00-18:00 | America Bittar Hotel

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Jennifer Sara, Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Christina Leb, Sr. Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Water Business Day: The Circular Business Case for Water 

    14:00-17:00 | CNI - SBN Quadra 1 Block I - Armando Monteiro Neto Building. Asa north Brasília / DF

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Jennifer Sara, Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Karin Krchnak, 2030 WRG Program Manager

    March 19

    Collective Action Day Collaboration for Water Security in Brazil

    16:45-18:00

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Karin Krchnak, 2030 WRG Program Manager

    Launch of the High Level Panel on Water Africa Legacy

    16:30 – 18:00 | Senegal Pavilion

    World Bank participating speaker(s):

    ·       Jennifer Sara, Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    March 20

    HIGH LEVEL PANEL - Roundtable on Financing Water

    9:00 - 10:30 | Auditório Buriti (Room 32), Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Guangzhe Chen, Senior Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Jennifer Sara, Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Maria Angelica Sotomayor, Manager, Global Program, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Brazil session on Policy for Water Security

    9:00-11:00 | Room 41, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center    

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Martin Raiser, Country Director for Brazil, the World Bank

    ·       Hector Gomez, IFC Country Head for Brazil

    ·       Jennifer Sara, Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Rita Cestti, Practice Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Paul Procee, Program Leader, the World Bank Brasilia Office

    1st Meeting of Ibero-American Water and Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, Entidade Reguladora dos serviços de águas e resíduos -Portugal

    9:00-10:30

    World Bank participating speaker(s):

    ·       Gustavo Saltiel, Lead Water and Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Broadening the access to financial resources to peri-urban low-income areas and small-scale water services

    9:00-10:30 | Room 13, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speaker(s):

    ·       Miguel Vargas-Ramirez, Sr. Water and Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Sharing information with transparency for better and more effective decisions on management and restoration of water ecosystems

    11:00 - 12:30 | Room 9, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Greg Browder, Lead Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Sustainable market-based mechanisms and national-regional economics and financing, National Water Agency, ANA

    11:00 - 12:30 | Room 25, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Joel Kolker, Lead Water Supply & Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Rogério Pilotto, Senior Investment Officer, IFC

    High-Level Panel on Increasing Financial Flows for Sanitation and Wastewater Management

    11:00 - 12:30 | Room 32, Alvorada Auditorium, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Guangzhe Chen, Senior Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Rita Cestti, Practice Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Outcomes from the High Level Panel on Water for a New Agenda For Water Action

    11:00 - 12:30 | Room 20, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Jennifer Sara, Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Patrick Verkooijen, Advisor, World Bank

    ·       Noosha Tayebi, Water Resources Management Analyst, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Water & Green Growth (WGG): Accelerating the Green Transition for All

    14:30 – 16:00 | Room 40, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    Karin Krchnak, 2030 WRG Program Manager

    Planning and Financing Wastewater Treatment under a Circular Economy Perspective for achieving SDGs in LAC

    16:00-18:00 | Room 40, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Jennifer Sara, Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Rita Cestti, Practice Manager, Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Diego Juan Rodriguez, Sr. Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Towards a paradigm shift in financing safely managed water services in line with SDG ambitions

    hosted by Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Urban Institute

    15:30 – 17:00 | Hotel Manhattan Plaza, SHN Quadra 2, Bloco A, DF, 70702-900, Brasilia

    World Bank participating speaker(s):

    ·       Joel Kolker, Lead Water Supply & Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Optimizing existing financial resources to enhance Water Services Sustainability

    16:30 - 18:00 | Room 13, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Joel Kolker, Lead Water Supply & Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Whole Sanitation Approach, Sanitation Chain, Innovation

    16:30 - 18:00 | Room 15, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Martin Gambrill, Lead Water Supply & Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    March 21

    Results of the WB-IPEA study for the assessment of the Brazil National Water Resources Policy Law

    Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    9:00 – 10:30

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Paula Freitas, Sr. Water Resources Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Carmen Molejon, Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Successful negotiation and implementation of global, regional and bilateral transboundary cooperation agreements

    9:00 - 10:30 | Room 10, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Christina Leb, Sr. Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Development Finance to reach the water / SDG 6 - perspectives from International Development Banks

    11:00 - 12:30 | Room 28, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Guangzhe Chen, Senior Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Maria Angelica Sotomayor, Manager, Global Program, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Joel Kolker, Lead Water Supply & Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Thadeu Abicalil, Sr. Water and Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    CODIA (Conferencia de Directores Iberoamericanos del Agua)

    Enhancing Water Cooperation IBEROAMERICA and the Mediterranean Region

    11:00 - 12:30

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Gustavo Saltiel, Lead Water and Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Addressing Water-Energy-Food Nexus Hotspots in Transboundary Basins

    11:00-13:00 | Room 42, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Jennifer Sara, Director, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Greg Browder, Lead Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Christina Leb, Sr. Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Special Session on Urban Poverty and Water

    11:00-13:00 

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·      Martin Gambrill, Lead Water Supply & Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Regulation of Water services in Latin America: Lessons, Challenges and Opportunities
    13:00 – 14:00 | Auditório Espaço Brasil

    World Bank participating speaker(s):

    ·       Gustavo Saltiel, Lead Water and Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Data and tools for water management and decision making

    14:30-16:00 | Room 34, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speaker(s):

    ·       Noosha Tayebi, Water Resources Management Analyst, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Inter-federative relationship in the management of river basin water transfer projects in the region

    16:30 - 18:00 | Room 26, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Greg Browder, Lead Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Christina Leb, Sr. Water Resources Management Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Reaching the Urban Unserved: sanitation and water supply in slums and the water-related SDGs

    16:30 - 18:00 | Room 22, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Maria Angelica Sotomayor, Manager, Global Program, World Bank Water Global Practice

    ·       Martin Gambrill, Lead Water Supply & Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    People, Science and Governments: Towards Inclusive Knowledge Co-generation for Water and Climate Goals

    16:30 - 18:00

    World Bank participating speaker(s):

    ·      Karin Krchnak, 2030 WRG Program Manager

    March 22           

    Efficient use of surface water and groundwater - urban and rural

    9:00 – 10:30 | Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speaker(s):

    ·       Thadeu Abicalil, Sr. Water and Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Financials cases for water security investments

    9:00 – 10:30 | Room 13, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Joel Kolker, Lead Water Supply & Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Water, Youth and Jobs

    9:00 – 10:30 | Room 42, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Erwin de Nys, Program Leader, the World Bank Mexico Office

    ·       Andrea Mariel Juarez Lucas, Young Professional, the World Bank

    SPECIAL SESSION - Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue: Water-Energy-Food Nexus and SDGs Implementation

    9:00-11:00 | Aguas Claras Auditorium (Room 36), Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Thadeu Abicalil, Sr. Water and Sanitation Specialist, World Bank Water Global Practice

    Water-use efficiency and sustainable withdrawals: coping with water scarcity

    9:00 – 10:30 | Room 16, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Rochi Khemka, Operations Officer, 2030 WRG

    ·       Stela Goldenstein, Consultant, 2030 WRG

    International Cooperation as key factor to address the Water and Climate Relationship

    11:00 - 12:30 | Room 14, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Karin Krchnak, 2030 WRG Program Manager

    Sustainability at the 8th World Water Forum

    14:30 – 18:00 | Room 34, Ulysses Guimarães Convention Center

    World Bank participating speakers:

    ·       Karin Krchnak, 2030 WRG Program Manager

    More sessions supported by 2030WRG

                                                                                                                                     

       

    Last Updated: Mar 15, 2018

  • WASTEWATER?

    Shifting paradigms: From waste to resource  

     

    • A paradigm shift is necessary at multiple levels to advance sustainable sanitation services in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region, emphasizing that wastewater is not a liability but rather a valuable resource in a circular economy. 
    • A new initiative called “Wastewater: From Waste to Resource” promotes, in collaboration with the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the measures needed to make the shift a reality, including adequate legislation, innovative financing, inter-sectoral regulations and policies and integrated basin planning. 
    • As part of the initiative, several case studies have been developed, highlighting innovative approaches on wastewater planning, management and financing.

    Download the Case Studies

    Learn more in this infographic (also available in Spanish

    Aligning Institutions and Incentives for Sustainable Water and Sanitation Services

     

    • The Policy, Institutional, and Regulatory (PIR) Incentives initiative aims to gain deeper insight into the dynamics between sector incentives as a framework for understanding successful WSS sector reform.
    • The initiative does this by developing knowledge that helps practitioners understand what has and has not worked in the past; and by providing tools to assist in the design of improved strategies and implementation mechanisms.
    • The initiative has developed a series of global and regional products around PIR topics – including a global study, a review of Australian urban water reform processes, and a knowledge brief that discusses the experiences of 5 countries in South America.

    Easing the Transition to Commercial Finance for Sustainable Water and Sanitation

     

    • This working paper aims to help countries take a new approach to sustainable WSS services that focuses on efficiency, targeting, and leverage of public funds to attract commercial finance.
    • Although commercial finance generally comes at a higher up-front cost, it has many significant benefits over concessional finance, including faster access to finance, more flexibility in the use of funds, and greater responsiveness to changes in circumstances.
    • The report proposes a financing framework, provides practical advice, and presents global experience

    Achieving Universal Access to Water and Sanitation by 2030: The Role of Blended Finance

     

    • The water sector is capital intensive, and a dramatic increase in investment is required – the present value of the additional investment in WSS alone needed through 2030 will exceed US$1.7 trillion.
    • Although commercial financing is an important financing source for the water sector, there has been minimal commercial financing in many of the places where it is needed most.
    • Scaling up blended finance approaches presents one opportunity to sustainably finance the WSS sector, particularly by mobilizing domestic commercial finance in various forms including commercial bank loans, bonds, and equity.

    Uncharted Waters: The New Economics of Water Scarcity and Variability

    • The report illuminates data about the devastating, long-term, and costly impact of droughts on families, farms, and firms worldwide.
    • Today’s ways of managing water are outdated and government policies need to change to reach water-related development goals.
    • The report discusses solutions such as valuing safety nets to protect vulnerable families, improving urban water supply infrastructure, and providing economic signals for farms.

    High and Dry: Climate Change, Water, and the Economy

    • Water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, could hinder economic growth, spur migration, and spark conflict.
    • Most countries can neutralize the adverse impacts of water scarcity by taking action to allocate and use water resources more efficiently.
    • Policies and investments that can help lead countries to more water secure and climate-resilient economies include better planning for water resource allocation, adoption of incentives to increase water efficiency, and investments in infrastructure for more secure water supplies.

    Promoting Development in Shared River Basins: Tools for Enhancing Transboundary Basin Management

    • The report explores the transboundary dimension of meeting the world’s future water demands, with particular reference to implementing integrated water resources management at all levels.
    • Coordinated transboundary action greatly benefits societies and economies through harnessing the shared freshwater resources of transboundary basins.
    • The report presents a wide range of tools that countries and development partners can employ to achieve sustainable and mutually beneficial water resources management in transboundary river basins. 

    Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Poverty Diagnostic Initiative

    • The Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Poverty Diagnostic (WASH PD) encompasses 18 countries, ranging from fragile and conflict-affected states to middle income countries.
    • This initiative undertook multidisciplinary research to fully appreciate the impacts of inadequate WSS services on human development outcomes.
    • The WASH PD recommends three approaches to ensure sustainable water and sanitation for all: coordinating investments and interventions, improving the allocation of future investments, and better understanding governance needs.

    The Rural Water and Sanitation Information System (SIASAR)

    • The Rural Water and Sanitation Information System (SIASAR) is a platform designed to assist water sector policymakers, practitioners, and national planners to monitor the development and performance of rural water supply and sanitation services. SIASAR allows for data accessibility and quality comparisons across countries. The system generates performance indicators that are aggregated at several geographic levels. SIASAR automatically produces summary reports that detail the performance of communities, infrastructure systems, service providers, and technical assistance providers. SIASAR collects and uploads data using a specialized app for Android smartphones.
    • The SIASAR system has been set up and launched in eight countries: Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, the Mexican state of Oaxaca, Peru, and the Brazilian state of Ceará. Across those eight participants, 22,752 rural communities, representing a rural population of 11 million, have data entered in the system.
    • Over 200 institutions at the national, state, and municipal levels have started to use SIASAR information in their policy and planning processes. Examples include the Dominican Republic, where 37 systems were repaired that had been offline; Honduras, where RWSS (rural water supply and sanitation) profiles were prepared in 28 municipalities; Nicaragua, where 61 RWSS municipal plans were developed using SIASAR data to prioritize the most vulnerable communities; or Panama, where data from indigenous communities are informing the preparation of the National Indigenous Peoples Development Plan.

    The International Benchmarking Network of Water and Sanitation Utilities (IBNET)

    • The International Benchmarking Network of Water and Sanitation Utilities (IBNET) website (www.ibnet.org) is an accessible platform for data about water and sanitation utility costs, charges, and performance data.
    • IBNET enables you to access a set of standard reports for a range of comparisons, benchmarking, and assessments for more than 5,000 water utilities from 150 countries.
    • IBNET provides a wealth of downloadable information on your utility and services in your country or utility, including coverage, leakage levels, collection rates, and tariffs.

    Check out more Water Knowledge Highlights:

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    (A selection of reports, case studies and toolkits produced by the Water Global Practice in 2016-2018. The first section highlights studies of global interest along priority themes, while a second section provides a list of publications focusing on specific regions or countries.)

     

    Last Updated: Mar 13, 2018