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.

“(Jorge) Samek has much to contribute to the World Council not only for running the world's largest hydro power plant but also for the work carried out in the Paraná Watershed 3”, said Loïc Fauchon, the president of the World Water Council. “I was impressed by the number of social programs developed by the company", he added.

 
Fauchon presides over a meeting in continuation to the Water Forum of the Americas, which ended Tuesday. For two days, representatives from the 37 American countries consensually drew up the continent's document on the issue of water resources. They will take the document to the World Water Forum to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in March 2009.

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.

“The Cultivating Good Water program is one of the most efficient experiences in Brazil because it puts into practice exactly what the governmental policies demand”, said José Machado, president of the Brazilian Water Agency (ANA). To him, CAB should be replicated in the other watersheds. “If all watersheds had the same performance, we would have good water management in the country", he said in closing.

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.