To watch it on the web, search for “Dela Vatten” on urplay.se.

Visit Swedish Water House website to read more about the seminar.

SIWI’s niche is largely between policy and implementation, often bridging the two, and as such promoting networking and interaction. SIWI’s vision is that of a water wise world. In essence, that is a world aware that it would not survive without cherishing water, as the fundamental resource underpinning economic and social development and as a human right. SIWI’s mission is to generate and promote knowledge, solutions and tools leading to water wise decisions for sustainable development.

It is SIWI’s intention that this strategy shall not only act as guidance for us but also be valuable to anyone who is interested to learn more about SIWI and how we intend to make a difference in working towards achieving a water wise world.

Click here to download the strategy!

SIWI’s Executive Director, Torgny Holmgren, is moderating a Panel Discussion on Strategic Water Resource Management. The discussion highlights water as an essential element for socio-economic development and maintaining healthy eco-systems. How may water resource management be approached to optimise available resources?

SIWI’s Chairman Peter Forssman is participating in a Workshop on the Future Challenges Affecting Water Availability, identifying the depletion, allocation and distribution challenges that arid regions face, and project how they may develop in the coming years climate change is a key factor affecting water availability.

Read more about the summit here.

Some of the key messages from the summit are:

• Water is more important than oil for the United Arab Emirates.
• Water and energy are mutually dependent for production and distribution.
• Massive investments in solar energy are planned to manage desalination plants in the Gulf area.
• Cooperation beyond the sector limits within food, energy and water is essential to combat poverty and increase life quality globally.
• Valuing and pricing water is difficult but crucial to provide incentives for people to economise with water resources.
• Energy production is built up on water supply when accessible, but other solutions have to be found when water is not accessible.

The water consultation is part of the UN-system led “global dialogue” comprising of 50-100 Country Consultations and eleven global Thematic Consultations, including one on water. The water consultation is mainly taking place as an online discussion using different social media. The purpose is to bring voices from a broad range of stakeholders to build consensus around key future challenges related to water and the need for a new global water goal in the post-2015 development agenda.

The thematic consultation on water is divided in three sub-consultations:

• Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
• Water resources
• Wastewater management and water quality

On January 14, all sub-consultations started their online activity inviting everyone to share their insights and opinions on different topics. Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) will lead and moderate the first week under the Water Resources Management theme, which opens with a focus on water and energy.

Water for Energy – Energy for Water

Water and energy linkages have rapidly risen to the forefront of attention among urgent themes related to development challenges in the international community. The importance of water as a key pillar to sustain human well-being, secure livelihood opportunities and provide bases for diverse productive uses has long been recognized. In a similar manner, the need for energy to raise people out of poverty and fuel growing economies, whilst sustaining mature ones, is a well-established fact. The notion about how these resources are linked and dependent on each other has for a long time gone unnoticed by the broader global community, but not any more. The fact that energy needs water in its production and that water needs energy in order to be extracted, treated and moved is quickly gathering awareness as the demand for diminishing water resources increases.

Simultaneously the demand for energy is projected to grow massively over the next 20 years. The challenges and opportunities tied to this development are great and have been recognised in different ways by major development institutions. The World Economic Forum ranks water supply challenges at number three on their Global Risk Ranking for the coming years. In the UN report titled “Secretary-General’s Initial Input to the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals” (2012), the entire nexus of water, energy and food security is ranked as separate topics on the top three positions for priority areas among member states.

You can read our full paper about water and energy at www.worldwewant2015.org/water/waterresources where you can contribute to the discussion and post your own comments. You can also participate through social media via Twitter using the hashtag #waterpost2015 or visit the Facebook page WaterPost2015.

SIWI encourages everyone to take the opportunity to participate in the consultation on water and energy during January 14-20, 2013, and be part of creating the world we want.

The outcome from the different discussions will be summarised into policy recommendations in a final report that will be transmitted to the High-level Panel on Post-2015 appointed by the UN Secretary General at the end of March.

SIWI’s Torgny Holmgren on Water Resources Management

With its vision for a “water wise world”, the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) recently produced its 2013-2017 strategy, placing its various programmes and activities within five thematic areas: Climate Change; Transboundary Water Management; Water Governance; Water, Energy and Food Nexus; and Water Economics. In this article, we highlight why we work with these themes and the key services we provide under each theme.

The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has appointed Mr. Torgny Holmgren as its new Executive Director. Mr. Holmgren comes most recently from a position as Ambassador and Head of the Department for Development Policy at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In this interview, he takes the time to talk to Stockholm Water Front about his new role at the helm of SIWI.

Interview in Stockholm Water Front, issue no 1, 2012.

Published in March 2012