Water Multi-Tasking: How to get much more out of each drop for low cost. Water can be used in many ways beyond just for health and hygiene. Irrigation, energy generation and industry all require water resources, and each can help accelerate achievement of the MDGs at the local level in different, but equally important ways. The challenge is to find equilibrium among the greatest benefits of each use, while ensuring sustainability.

Bridging Sectors to Strengthen Multiple Use Services. As in any joint enterprise, multiple use services enable providers to share both costs and benefits. And with any joint enterprise, clear ground-rules for cooperation can help avoid disputes later on. Innovative solutions for efficient governance of multiple use systems are needed to share decisions, costs of operation and management, and benefits among stakeholders. How can legal, political, financial and institutional barriers be overcome to support and scale up these services?

These are some of the discussions during the 5th World Water Forum, held between 16 and 22 March.

from around the world to bring concrete solutions to the world’s water challenges. A stepping stone towards global collaboration on water problems, the Forum offers the water community and policy-and-decision- makers from all over the world the unique opportunity to come together to create links, debate and attempts to find solutions to achieve water security.

The World Water Forum is organized every three years as a joint venture between the World Water Council and the government of the host country. After previous Forums in Morocco (1997), the Netherlands (2000), Japan (2003) and Mexico (2006), the 5th World Water Forum will be held in Istanbul, Turkey in March 2009. Get involved!