A special seminar marking the World Water Day was held in Israel on 14 March 2010, following close cooperation between MASHAV, Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Water Authority and Ministry of National Infrastructures.
The international marking of the World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, where 178 countries, including Israel, ratified the "Agenda 21", which aimed to determine the international environmental agenda for the 21st century.
During the seminar, the World Bank Development Report (WDR) 2010 on Development and Climate Change was presented by leading World Bank representatives: Ms. Julia Bucknall, Sector Manager, Water Anchor, Energy, Transport and Water Department, lead author of the chapter on Water and Land of the WDR; and Mr. Andrea Liverani, Senior Social Development Specialist, Sustainable Development Department, Middle East and North Africa Region and lead author of the chapter on the political economy of the WDR.
The 2010 Report states that: "Poverty reduction and sustainable development remain core global priorities. Yet climate change must urgently be addressed since it threatens all countries, with developing countries the most vulnerable. A climate-smart world is within our reach. Countries need to act now because today's decisions determine both the climate of tomorrow and the choices that shape the future. Countries need to act together because no one nation can take on the interconnected challenges posed by climate change, and global cooperation is needed to improve energy efficiencies and develop new technologies. Countries need to act differently, because we cannot plan for the future based on the climate of the past."
Following the WDR presentation, attending leading Israeli representatives from the academia, civil society and private and governmental sectors responded, reviewing the situation in Israel and focusing on how can Israel contribute to and join the international community efforts in combating the effects of global climate change.
At the seminar marking the World Water Day, representatives from different sectors brought to the attention of the audience various aspects of the centrality of water in the world today, focusing on Israel's strategies in facing this challenge and on how can Israel join hands with the international community and contribute its expertise and experience in order to create a global partnership which will help respond to global water challenges.
It was concluded that although Israel possesses advanced know-how, expertise and technologies, more courageous policies are needed to bring about a breakthrough in the field. The special event ended with a visit to the recently opened Hadera's desalination plant. The new plant, considered the largest of its kind in the world and Israel's third desalination plant, is now transferring desalinated seawater to the system of "Mekorot" Israel's national water company.