The Environment
Itaipu joins the World Water Council
27/11/2008
Itaipu Binacional is the newest member of the World Water Council, the major international organization dedicated to water resource management. Itaipu's Brazilian General Director, Jorge Samek, and the company's Coordination and Environmental director, Nelton Friedrich, will be representing the hydro power plant at the international agency. The announcement was made this Wednesday morning at a meeting of the World Water Council leaders in Foz do Iguaçu.
This Wednesday morning, the Council leaders discussed practical issues regarding the World Forum, such as theme sessions, registration costs, and social communication policies, among others. The meeting goes on until Thursday and will keep delegations from the American continent up to speed with what is being decided.
To Samek, the experience provided by the Cultivating Good Water (CAB) program is Itaipu's main contribution to the World Council. “That shows the good results of our efforts in the watershed”, he highlighted. Some of the program's initiatives have been included in the document prepared by the Water Forum of the Americas.
In Istanbul, Brazil's participation will be more relevant than it was in the 2007 World Water Forum, held in Mexico. The Brazilian delegation will be led by ANA and include Itaipu representatives. “We want to play a more significant role, as leading characters”, said José Machado. To him, the Itaipu-ANA partnership will be essential for Brazil to be well represented in Istanbul.
What the program is
Based on widespread community participation, the Cultivating Good Water program carries out sustainability initiatives in the 29 cities in the power plant's area of influence, the Paraná Watershed 3 (BP3). Overall, there are 20 programs and 63 projects dedicated to social-environmental responsibility currently being developed in the area.
The Cultivating Good Water program is renowned for involving several local partners in each one of its initiatives, as well as for following principles established in national and international agreements like the Earth Charter, the Agenda 21, and the Millennium Goals, among others.
|