Background Information

The Political Process of the Forum aimed to bring together politicians and elected officials from all over the world, not only those responsible for water, environment, agriculture or energy policies, but also for finance or other domains, in order to create understanding for the urgency of positive and pro-active policies on water-related issues.

Based on the experience developed further during the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico, the Political Process of the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul involved three interconnected political groups, namely national governments, local authorities and elected parliamentarians, as well as a limited number of Heads of State, who were invited for a Heads of State Summit.

The process was, as much as possible, directly related to and fed by the thematic and regional frameworks and processes of the Forum. Political groups were requested to provide their perspectives on key issues and prepare a series of recommendations and commitments for action. The process was therefore rooted in local and regional realities: the regional activities conducted during the two years prior to the Forum involved as much as possible local political representatives who were requested to provide action-oriented contributions to the process.