WUF13 is an important platform for bringing the problems of island states to the global agenda, Henk Ovink, Executive Director and founding Commissioner for the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, said during the special session titled “Inclusive Urban Resilience, Blue Economy and Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States” held within the framework of WUF13, APA-Economics reports.
He stated that the World Urban Forum (WUF13) creates an important opportunity to include the challenges faced by small island states in the urban planning and economic development agenda.
Henk Ovink noted that this year is of particular importance in terms of the global climate and sustainable development agenda. According to him, following WUF, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the Biodiversity COP and the Climate COP events will be held, while the UN Water Conference will take place in Abu Dhabi at the end of the year.
He called on forum participants to bring together the ideas and proposals voiced on this platform in order to shape new approaches for global agendas.
Henk Ovink emphasized that this process creates an important opportunity to reconsider governance systems, the concept of economic value and development models.
