Opened on Monday, March 21, the 9th World Water Forum, held under the theme "Water Security for Peace and Development", ended this Friday in Diamniadio, near Dakar in Senegal, with the adoption of the Dakar Declaration entitled "Blue Deal" for water security and sanitation for peace and development.

This declaration urges the international community to accelerate the implementation of the right to drinking water and sanitation for all by adopting appropriate legislative frameworks and mobilizing all actors through integrated and inclusive strategies.

The document also calls for the implementation of international humanitarian law, in particular the additional protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which provide for the protection of water and sanitation systems vital in times of conflict.

The Declaration also calls for the adoption of sustainable and integrated management plans to preserve water resources and ecosystems and ensure resilience to climate change and demographic pressure, to raise awareness of these issues in order to bring about a shift towards more sustainable and responsible production and consumption patterns, and to strengthen the protection of wetlands and encourage the conservation of traditional water systems, recycling and reuse of treated wastewater.

The forum also recommended to the government of the Republic of Senegal and to the World Water Council, in their capacity as co-organizers of the forum, to submit the present "Dakar Declaration" as a contribution to the United Nations Water Conference in 2023.

It also invites the international community and all stakeholders to endorse this "Dakar Declaration on Water and Sanitation Security for Peace and Development" and to contribute to the effective implementation of the outcomes of the Dakar Forum.

The 10th World Water Forum will take place in 2024 in Bali, Indonesia.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)