World Water Week

World Water Week met in Stockholm from the 5th to the 11th of September. The conference was organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). The conference addresses issues related to water management, water pollution and climate change. Lack of water and sanitation is a main cause of poverty, therefore it is extremely important to address issues of water provision and sanitation, particularly in developing countries. Water management is also crucial to address issues of hunger. If more land gets flooded, there is far less opportunity to farm and harvest. It is therefore crucial to address water management issues when speaking about climate change.

In this year's conference the issue of water pollution was in focus. Apparently over 70% of industrialised waste is still being pupmed into rivers in developed countries and 2 million tonnes of human waste are dumped into watercourses worldwide every day. The pollution in our water sources is on the increase. According to SIWI there is an "invisible threat" of nano particles, chemiclas and pharmaceutical residues enter our sewage system. These pollutants can be linked to health problems in fish as well as humans. Read more about it in the EuroActiv website.