The 7th World Water Forum slated for 2015 in Korea will focus on developing action plans for implementation to tackle water shortages and pending issues the world is facing, a top organizer said.

“Discussion of the 2015 Forum will start at the kick-off meeting to be held May 14 and 15 in Daegu, and one of top agendas will be how to implement discussed solutions for the global water crisis,’’ said chairman Lee Jung-moo of the National Committee for the 2015 World Water Forum.

Speaking in an interview with The Korea Herald last week, the chairman and former land, infrastructure and transport minister added that about 400 stakeholders in water-related issues worldwide are expected to take part in the preparatory event.

The World Water Forum is held every three years under the auspice of Marseille-based World Water Council. The forum is held in close collaboration with the authorities of the host country. It is the largest international event in the water field, attracting about 40,000 participants including government officials, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs, public and private enterprises and scholars from around the world. Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport won the bid to host the global event in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province in 2011. The exact date for the 2015 event has yet to be decided. 

“The organizing committee will also propose participants in the kick-off meeting to add the ‘science and technology process’ to the programs in support for developing a plan to implement solutions to cope with their own water challenges.”

Previously, the World Water Forum had been composed of four discussion-driven processes: thematic, political, regional, and grassroots and citizenship.

“It is still difficult for countries to develop common action plans to cope with the global water crisis as every county has a different degree of water scarcity-related issues, but it is time to discuss implementation of discussed solutions on a global level as the water crisis has become reality, ‘’ Lee said.

According to a report by the United Nations, water scarcity is getting worse amid rising demand for water from industries and households. One billion people ― nearly one-sixth of the world’s population ― are already facing water shortages on a daily basis; by 2030, almost half of the global population will be living in water-stressed areas, the report said. “Water stress” refers to the total demand for potable water being below to the available amount.

The former land minister also expected that the international water-related event would offer Korea a chance to take the key resource scarcity issue seriously.

“Korean citizens seem to not recognize the fact that Korea is categorized as a country that will face a water shortage due in part to the cheap cost of water use,’’ Lee said.

According to an OECD report released last year, Korea faces the biggest risk of a water shortage among 34 member countries of the OECD.

Lee also expressed expectation that hosting the 7th World Water Forum would offer business opportunities to public and private enterprises.

“The global water market is emerging as an untapped sea of opportunity, currently expanding its size up to $500 billion. However, Korean companies remain small players with a 0.4 percent market share, limiting their business areas to the water treatment or desalination,” Lee said.

“We are encouraging them to enhance their water business horizon by building a global network and sharing the latest market formation and technology through the 7th World Water Forum in Daegu.”

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)