by Dames Alexander Sinaga
JAKARTA, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has already begun its preparation for hosting the 10th World Water Forum, the first of its kind in the Southeast Asia region, which will take place in the country's resort island of Bali in May.
The global water and sanitation community forum has been held every three years since 1997. During the last forum held in Senegal in 2022, Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, was chosen to be the host country of the 2024 World Water Forum under the theme of "Water for Shared Prosperity".
The 10th World Water Forum will focus on discussing four topics, namely water conservation, clean water and sanitation, food and energy security, and mitigation of natural disasters.
At least 170 countries are expected to participate in the upcoming forum with around 30,000 attendees from all levels and areas, including politics, multilateral institutions, academia, civil society and the private sector. The meetings will be held in some prestigious locations including Bali International Convention Center, Nusa Dua Beach Hotel, Melasti Beach and Garuda Wisnu Kencana.
Held from May 18 to May 25, the forum will also present 290 sessions or parallel events consisting of thematic, regional and political sessions, with Indonesian President Joko Widodo officially opening the forum on the third day. A series of events for the 10th World Water Forum will begin with the Balinese water purification ceremony.
Endra Atmawidjaja, vice chairman of the National Secretariat Committee for the 10th World Water Forum, said in a statement that the forum is a golden opportunity for Indonesia to have a significant impact on water policy direction.
"Since the beginning, at various forums, Indonesia has consistently encouraged water issues to be discussed at the highest level. There must be strong encouragement from policy makers," he said on Tuesday.
According to him, Indonesia will bring three special missions to be agreed upon at the meetings in Bali, the center of excellence on water and climate resilience, mainstream integrated water management in small islands, and world lake days.
"This is important to discuss because lakes are one of the primary sources, energy sources, and even serve as flood control," he said.
Atmawidjaja also said that Indonesia will showcase its several projects in the forum.
"We hope that from this meeting various collaborations and agreements will emerge which can be followed up into real implementation," he added.
Ahead of the forum, security on the island will be heightened with nearly 5,800 police personnel to be deployed. ■
