Future of Water conference set for Cape Town

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Cape Town - Former governor of California, climate change activist and philanthropist, Arnold Schwarzenegger will join global leaders at the inaugural W12, Future of Water conference set for Cape Town in January. The event, which is being organised by non-profit organisation SOS, will bring together key stakeholders from the 12 global cities predicted to run out of water over the next 24 months.

Cape Town was the first major modern city to prepare for “Day Zero” of the water crisis. However, capital cities all over the world also face the threat of running out of clean water.

The conference will take place from January 27 to 31, and bring together 1500 water industry experts and key government and business figures to discuss the challenges facing major cities across the world that are at risk for a “Day Zero” scenario, where water resources are depleted and taps run dry. The W12 Congress will result in the creation of the world’s first Major City Best Practices Water Protocol.

Shelley Humphreys, executive director at SOS, said: “Technology will play a crucial role in averting Day Zero events as previously experienced by Cape Town.

“The W12 congress provides a forum to brainstorm and share strategic actions to mitigate worldwide water crisis. The challenges we face can’t be ignored; our future is at stake.”

A key objective of the conference is to focus on the role of citizens, encouraging active citizenship and understanding the responsibility individuals have in solving the climate crisis.

Humphrey’s said: “Sharing and educating on best practice solutions based on experience picked up from the SOS team and partners in Cape Town from the 2017/18 crises will be a key feature at the conference.

“W12 aims to raise awareness about the impact of climate change and the role all cities and citizens have to play in encouraging solutions in a water-scarce world,” she said.

“The drought was never about a specific date, but about essential behavioural change, now and forever.”

Other cities that could run out of water are Istanbul, Moscow, London, Sao Paulo, Bangalore, Beijing, Cairo, Jakarta, Mexico City, Tokyo and Miami.