On October 17, 2018, IWHR organized a round table meeting of leaders of water-related international organizations in Beijing. Tian Xuebin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, attended the meeting and delivered a speech at the closing ceremony. Liu Zhiguang, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation and Science and Technology of the Ministry of Water Resources, attended the meeting. IWHR President Kuang Shangfu attended the meeting and presided over the closing ceremony. IWHR Vice President Peng Jing, secretary general of participated in the round-table discussion, and Benedito Braga, President of the World Water Council, hosted the round table discussion. From the World Water Council, Global Water Partnership, International Water and Environmental Engineering Society, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, International Dam Commission, International Flood Management Conference, International Hydropower Association, International Water Resources Association, World Sediment Research Society, World Soil and Water Conservation The main leaders of more than 10 major wading international organizations and institutions and nearly 60 Chinese and foreign representatives attended the meeting. The meeting achieved fruitful results and signed the Beijing Declaration on Sustainable Water Development.

Tian Xuebin pointed out in his speech that the current water-related issues have become more prominent and have become a prominent bottleneck restricting global sustainable development. The long-term commitment of international organizations to the sustainable use and protection of water resources, food and energy has not only promoted interdisciplinary scientific and technological progress, but also deepened mutual understanding among various stakeholders, increased public awareness and participation, and contributed to the water sector. The consensus has promoted water governance to take pragmatic actions to safeguard and improve human well-being. Tian Xuebin introduced the recent implementation of the water management policy of “priority of water saving, spatial balance, systematic governance, and two-handed efforts” and the practice of strengthening water management in the Chinese government in recent years, and made recommendations for international cooperation and exchange.

IWHR President Kuang Shangfu chairing the closing ceremony

Kuang Shangfu attended the meeting and presided over the closing ceremony. He said that the meeting played an important role in sharing international development, condensing consensus of water international organizations, promoting the linkage of actions and plans of international organization, and promoting the realization of the water-related United Nations sustainable development goals.

The conference was hosted by the World Water Council (WWC), the Global Water Partnership (GWP), the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR), the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), the International Committee on Large Dams (ICOLD), the International Conference on Flood Management (ICFM), the International Hydropower Association (IHA), the International Water Resources Association (IWRA), the World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research (WASER) and the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWAC), and was co-organized by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the Asia River Restoration Network (ARRN), the Asian Water Council (AWC), the International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP), and the International Seabuckthorn Association (ISA). Benedito Braga, President of the World Water Council, chaired a roundtable discussion.

WWC President Benedito Braga chairing the round-table discussion

IWHR Vice President Peng Jing in round-table discussion

ICID President Felix Reinders, GWP Executive Secretary and CEO Monika Weber-Fahr and IHA Executive CEO Richard Taylor gave keynote speeches as topic leaders.

Topic leaders giving keynote speeches

Representatives presenting discussion results

The Beijing Declaration on Sustainable Development of Water issued at the meeting

The meeting focused on innovation and technology to help water management decision-making, the promotion of dialogue and communication among stakeholders as well as the promotion of international exchanges and cooperation and capacity building, and released the "Beijing Declaration on Sustainable Development of Water ", calling for cooperation from all walks of life around the world to jointly promote the realization of the UN's 2030 sustainable water goals.

The water target is an important part of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. International cooperation and exchanges in the water sector play a pivotal role in promoting the achievement of the goals. Water-related International organizations have been playing an increasingly important role in raising water awareness, promoting sustainable use of water resources, advocating for action plans, advocacy, and ensuring sound water use. In this context, the roundtable meeting has strengthened the sharing of international experience and practices, condensed the consensus of water international organizations, promoted the linkage of international organizations' actions and plans, and promoted the realization of the United Nations sustainable development water goals.