Highlighting River Cities at the World Water Congress
go back to all articles

Highlighting River Cities at the World Water Congress

Rivers shape a city’s urban landscape, economy and culture, and urban stakeholders play a critical role in preserving the freshwater resources essential for our cities. Disruptions in water supply can have severe socio-economic, environmental, and health consequences. With urban populations growing, improving water security and protecting our water resources is an urgent priority.

Written by

Olivia Wallace

Published on

16th August 2024

At the recent World Water Congress in Toronto, Philip Weller from the IRF participated in the Basin-Connected Cities workshop, alongside representatives from the International Water Association (IWA), International Joint Commission, International Association of Water Service Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area (IAWD) and China’s Hohai University.

In an official side event hosted by the International Joint Commission, the IRF presented Key Messages from the 2022 International Riversymposium (IRS), highlighting vital actions for rivers that need to be taken now. Focused on “Enhancing Resilience through Cooperation in Transboundary Waters”, this session illustrated how greater cross-border collaboration will promote more resilient management of shared waters. This is especially true for rivers.

Exploring ways to enable urban and rural stakeholders to take action in basin-connected cities, the IRF explored the importance of river cities and the critical role rivers play in shaping a city’s urban landscape, economy and culture. This was highlighted through the example of the River City of Brisbane. As host of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there is a unique opportunity for the city to leverage these events to drive a transformational shift in delivering improvements in its catchments and waterways. 

Workshop outcomes will inform IWA and the International Network of Basin Organisation’s (INBO) basin-connected cities approach and contribute to a growing portfolio of case studies.