The World Water Week ended on a solid note with a call to acknowledge water as a vital player in the implementation of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development as well as the Paris Climate Agreement.

"Water - the lifeline of our planet - will be needed to achieve nearly every sustainable development goal, and to face the challenges that climate change presents," remarked Karin Lexén, the director of World Water Week at Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).

World Water Week 2016, which saw the participation of over 3,100 officials from 120 countries, concluded yesterday (September 2).

Throughout the Week, there was a focus on implementation and action, particularly on local and city level, marking a transition from the global discussions and negotiations that led to the adoption of the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.

Implementation of the sustainable development goals including the goal on water (Goal 6) was one of key issues discussed by high-level policy makers, development and water professionals, researchers, civil society and private sector representatives.

Commenting on the event, SIWI's executive director Torgny Holmgren, said: "In order to achieve the goals; city and local leaderships are crucial; that is where we will find the drive. It is also important that civil society, businesses and social entrepreneurs are engaged, to learn from each other to create smart, viable and sustainable partnerships."

"Water is too important to keep inside the water community - water is a central part of the entire society," stated Holmgren.

This was underlined by Sweden's Environment Minister Karolina Skog: "Water is a shared resource and a shared responsibility. The private sector has an important part to play. It has the competence, the technology and the ability to invest."

World Water Week offered an opportunity for key actors to meet and take stock of progress towards the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement, from a water perspective. The Week will provide an annual update, tracking water in the global development agreements.

The Week also welcomed representatives of the High Level Panel on Water, established earlier this year by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Kim, with the aim of furthering the water-related goals. The Panel representatives used the Week to get input from the wider water and development community.-TradeArabia News Service