Delegates from more than 60 countries are meeting in Rome from January 21-23 to continue negotiations on a global plan of action for adapting to global changes that affect how countries manage freshwater resources, the UN Agriculture and Food Organization (FAO) said in Rome on Wednesday.

The meeting is part of preparations for the 5th World Water Forum, to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from March 16-22. The World Water Forum is the largest international event in the field of water. The Rome gathering is the third in a series of high-level meetings to prepare for the ministerial conference on water that will be part of the World Water Forum.

"Water today is under threat from a variety of sources. Human beings rely on water to survive, yet, often people are water's worst enemy," said Ger Bergkamp, Director-General of the World Water Council, the international organization that stages the triennial World Water Forum.

"With population increasing and cities expanding, more pressure will be placed on water supply," Bergkamp added.

"Agriculture accounts for around 90 percent of the consumption of the freshwater and is by far the biggest water user. Generally, it takes between 2,000 to 5,000 litres of water to grow enough food for one person per day," said Alexander Muller, FAO Assistant Director-General, Natural Resources Management and Environment Department.

"World population will grow from around 6.5 billion today to over 9 billion in 2050. This poses a major challenge for world agriculture: to produce more food to feed a growing world population while using limited water resources more efficiently. The competition for scarce water resources will increase in future, as the demand for water from industry and private households will rise. Feeding the world in a sustainable way, also responding to growing climate change threats, requires new concepts and a strong political will to solve the world's growing water problems," Muller added.

Because agriculture consumes such a large proportion of freshwater, increasing water productivity in agriculture is likely to free significant amounts of water for other uses. If agricultural yields can be maintained with a one percent decline in water consumed, this would translate into a 10 percent increase in water availability for other sectors.

"We have to radically rethink our ideas about the relationship between food, water and the environment if we are to deal with water scarcity and achieve the Millennium Development Goals targets," said Pasquale Steduto, Chief of FAO's Water Development and Management Unit and Chair of UN-Water, the UN inter-agency mechanism fostering coordination of UN water initiatives.

"The World Water Forum, by bringing together government officials from different sectors, civil society, private sector, consumer organizations and universities, presents a tremendous opportunity to ensure that the international agenda on water management reflects this new way of thinking," Steduto said.

"The recent food crisis has caused world leaders refocus their attention on the global food system and the issue of hunger. At this meeting we hope to impress upon world leaders that sustainable water management is inextricably connected to food security," Steduto said.

Senior officials attending the meeting in Rome are expected to conclude negotiations on a global action plan, to be finalized and approved by the Ministerial Conference at the World Water Forum in Istanbul.

(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2009)