The Fifth World Water Forum kicked off yesterday in Istanbul and will continue through March 22nd. During the week, participants from around the globe take part in a number of discussions and debates that purportedly seek “to find solutions to achieve water security.” The Forum is held every three years, with the last event held in Mexico City in 2006 and drawing 20,000 participants.
Cuba presented at the Forum today, describing the hydraulic program developed in the country that has ultimately allowed 96% of the island’s inhabitants access to potable water and 95% access to improved sanitation, according to government figures. Leadership of the Cuban Water Resources Institute committed to cooperate with any nation that desired Cuba’s assistance in its own programs, and called upon governments to recognize access to potable water as a fundamental human right that should be guaranteed by effective programs.
The Forum itself is under heat from activists that accuse its leadership of tight association with private water companies, and claim that this, coupled with large representation of the business industry in the Forum, compromise its legitimacy. Three hundred such opponents demonstrated outside of the Istanbul meetings today, and were violently repressed by a force of 2000-3000 police.
The World Water Forum will continue without attention to the ruckus outside its doors, and Cuba’s delegation will present again Friday at two roundtables.
