Water Problems in Urban Areas – International Water Conference II

The issue of water is a key focus of the Berlin state development policy. Berlin has a good reputation in Asia as a location of special expertise in water management. Through experience and information exchange on sustainable concepts between the Berlin water companies and experts from other cities, the access to safe drinking water and water and wastewater management can be improved.

In September 2007, 178 experts from 25 countries worldwide met for a three-day conference as part of the economic and scientific program at the 6th Asia-Pacific Weeks. Well-known water and wastewater experts from politics and government, economy, science and civil society, as well as high-level business representatives from Southeast Asia and Berlin’s twin cities in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states, were present. Hosted by the Berlin Senate, the BGZ took over the planning, organisation, execution and documentation. The conference drew on the experiences of the first International Water Conference in 2004, and from there, dialogue on sustainable water supply and sanitation began.

The main topic of the conference was “water problems in urban areas and approaches in terms of sustainability.” International experts demonstrated innovative possibilities of rainwater utilisation, new technologies for wastewater management in densely populated urban settlements, as well as technologies and management approaches in the water and wastewater sector in their home countries. Well-known researchers such as Prof. Asit K. Biswas from Mexico, Dr. Makoto Murase from Japan, Prof. Xianging Yang from China or Prasad Savitur from India enriched the conference with their input, and were available for discussion. The “Market of Possibilities” was an opportunity, particularly for representatives of Berlin SMEs, to present their products and projects to potential cooperation partners from emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

Selected products