Turkish Water Institute (SUEN) actively participated in the 19th World Water Congress, held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 1 to 5 December 2025, organized in cooperation with the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) and the Kingdom of Morocco’s Ministry of Equipment and Water. Through its participation, SUEN conveyed Türkiye’s integrated, science-based, and cooperation-oriented approach to water management to the international community.
Held under the theme “Water in a Changing World: Innovation and Adaptation”, the Congress was one of the most significant international water events addressing global policies and practices related to climate change, water security, public health, ecosystem protection, and sustainable development. The event brought together more than 1,200 participants from over 80 countries.
On the first day of the Congress, SUEN co-organized a high-level session titled “Interconnectivity and Systems Thinking in Water Management: Bridging Sectors for Resilience”, in collaboration with Texas A&M University and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC). The session addressed the multidimensional relationships between water and energy, food, ecosystems, and health systems.
The session emphasized how systems thinking, data-driven decision-making processes, and cross-sectoral coordination can strengthen resilience in water management in the face of climate pressures. The One Water - One Health approach emerged as a critical framework for integrated planning and tangible investments.
Within the scope of the Congress, SUEN organized one high-level session and four special sessions, and actively participated in six different panels. In addition, at the Türkiye Pavilion, policy, research, and capacity development activities carried out by the Ministry and SUEN were introduced to international participants.
In the sessions to which SUEN contributed, the following themes were addressed:
· Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus,
· One Water - One Health approach,
· Nature-based solutions,
· Wastewater and environmental surveillance,
· Science-policy-practice interface,
· Capacity development and vocational training.
These sessions underscored the importance of resilient and inclusive water management in the face of climate pressures, highlighting the need for the effective transfer of scientific knowledge into policymaking processes and the development of implementation-oriented solutions.
In a special session jointly organized by SUEN and EC-JRC, the role of wastewater-based epidemiology and environmental surveillance systems in strengthening early warning mechanisms and public health preparedness was discussed. The session emphasized the importance of applicable and scalable models, particularly in resource-constrained regions, and assessed the contribution of this approach to global health security.
One of the most significant outcomes of the Congress was the official announcement to the international community that the 20th World Water Congress will be held in Istanbul in 2027. The handover ceremony, held with the participation of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, H.E. İbrahim Yumaklı, strongly reaffirmed Türkiye’s growing leadership in the global water agenda.
The Congress to be held in Istanbul aims to serve as a transformative global platform bringing together science, policy, and practice.
The Congress concluded with the adoption of the Marrakech Declaration, endorsed following the Ministers’ Roundtable Meeting. The Declaration emphasizes the need to elevate water to a higher level in global decision-making processes in the face of climate change, population growth, pollution, and increasing water demand, and calls for a stronger and more holistic focus on water in upcoming global processes such as COP31 to be held in Antalya, the 2026 UN Water Conference, and the 11th World Water Forum in 2027.
The 19th World Water Congress further enhanced the visibility of Türkiye’s role in science-based policymaking, international cooperation, and capacity development, reinforcing the country’s vision for climate-resilient, innovative, and inclusive water management at the global level. The momentum generated in Marrakech is expected to make a strong contribution to the preparatory processes of the 5th Istanbul International Water Forum to be held in Istanbul in 2026, and the 20th IWRA World Water Congress to be hosted by Türkiye in 2027.