18 October 2020 - World Water Council President Fauchon delivered remarks during the Opening ceremony of the Cairo Water Week 2020, one of the major events on the international water agenda.

Under the auspices of President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the third edition of the Cairo Water Week focusing on water security in arid regions was opened by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel-Aty. 

In his opening remarks World Water Council President pointed out that “Nearly two billion people, living mainly at the crossroads of Africa, the Middle East and the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent are concerned and that their scarce water resources must be increased in the future to cope with the combined effects of climate change and population growth.”

Water security requires awareness, responsibility, and action to be taken at both collective and individual level. On one side, combination of traditional methods consisting of capturing water in wells, boreholes, lakes, and rivers, with innovative ones, such environmentally sensitive desalination and wastewater reuse are key. On the other side, President Fauchon added that “a major change in our behavior: to sustainably reduce our consumption, both agricultural and domestic” was inevitable.

President Fauchon also reiterated the availability and readiness of the World Water Council, and its 400 members, to assist parties involved in existing tensions arising from construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to dialogue and find an agreement acceptable to all. 

The Cairo Water Week, organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in collaboration with other partners, took place from 18 to 22 October 2020. It was also a valuable milestone on the Road to Dakar, where the next World Water Forum would be held. In this respect, a special virtual session on the 9th World Water Forum was held on October 20. Speakers participating in the Forum’s preparatory process provided information on its structure as well as on the progress that has been achieved so far around four main priorities – Water Security and Sanitation, Rural Development, Cooperation and Means and Tools. 

18 October 2020 – World Water Council President addressed political leaders as well as water experts, scholars, and young professionals during the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) and the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society (CHES) Annual Conference.

The 2020 IAHR and CHES Annual Conference, one of the most important Chinese water-related events was opened by Liu Guiha, Vice-minister of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China. 

World Water Council President intervened during the international session by underlining the excellent level of cooperation between the Council and China in general, and CHES, one of its valuable Board members.  

He then stated that “we all know that water security is a daily imperative, a constant reality, a need for all and a right for all” and called for a combined technologic-behavioral approach towards “producing more water while consuming less” strategy. 

Water security concerns men, nature, and future generations to the same extent. Increasing urban intensification strongly impacts water-agriculture-food nexus. In this regard, President Fauchon highlighted the urgency of reflecting on the design of “smart countryside” with technical, innovative, and digital solutions to counterbalance “smart cities”.

The 2020 CHES annual conference was held virtually from 18th to 20th October. The event hosted a young professional paper contest along with academic reporting and debates.