With 74,000 kilometres of rivers running through it and 40,000 hectares of Mediterranean lagoons, France's Occitanie region is hosting the Euro-Africa Montpellier Water Days on 9 and 10 October 2023. The event is being held alongside the Europe-Africa Biennial.
From Spain to France, via Egypt and Morocco, water stress is increasing in several countries around the world. And droughts that are unprecedented from one year to the next are not improving the situation. It is against this backdrop that the “Euro-Africa Montpellier Water Days” will be held from 9 to 10 October 2023. The event will bring together water and climate experts from Mediterranean countries.
Over the two days, the 300 or so participants will reflect on a number of themes, including hydrological risks, the urbanisation of megacities, water governance, access to resources and the gender issue, sanitation and health, as well as urban and peri-urban agriculture. “The aim is to bring together players from the Mediterranean basin and the African continent who are concerned by the problems and issues linked to water in the city, today and tomorrow”, says the Aqua-Valley cluster.
This is a network of 210 French companies and associations involved in sustainable water management. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which is co-organising the event with the city of Montpellier, the political decision-makers attending the meeting will be reviewing the conclusions of the World Water Conference held in the United States of America in March 2023.
Read also-MOROCCO: a women’s competition on science and water puts 3 cities in the spotlight
The New York meeting was another opportunity to launch an appeal on behalf of sub-Saharan Africa, where 76% of the population still has no access to drinking water. This situation is undermining food security and public health, particularly in Niger, Botswana, Somalia and Kenya. Added to this is the problem of border waters. Senegalese President Macky Sall’s cooperative efforts in this area have been rewarded with the UN Leadership Award for Water Security in Africa.
For more information on the Euro-Africa Montpellier Water Days, click here.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
