Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum

From 29 September to 2 October 2026, Rome has been chosen to host the first Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum at the Nuvola, organized by the One Water Committee with the support of CIHEAM of Bari, in collaboration with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Mediterranean Water Institute of Marseille.

Forty-three countries, including those bordering the Mediterranean and European countries, are meeting in the capital to address future challenges related to the use of water resources. The choice of Rome represents a recognition of the work done by the city's administration on water issues, which includes mitigating the problems caused by climate change, maintaining all regional networks to reduce leaks, and, above all, building a major project like the second tunnel of the Peschiera aqueduct.

The Mediterranean is among the regions most exposed to climate change, with over 180 million people already living in water scarcity and with extreme events - from prolonged droughts to catastrophic floods - becoming increasingly frequent across the basin. Therefore, the Forum aims to bring together policymakers, businesses, civil society, and academic world to address the region's critical issues and build stronger governance and, above all, deeper cooperation, a shared path towards water security in the Mediterranean by 2050. This is precisely the objective that underpins the Forum's eleven thematic sessions, each addressing a specific dimension of the challenge - from scarcity and extreme events to finance, governance, technology, and hydrodiplomacy.

The Forum is accompanied by meetings, events, and workshops that address all the issues related to access and management of this precious resource of ours.

Before this event, there was no forum for dialogue that brought together the two shores of the Mediterranean -Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East - to discuss the specific issue of water. The Forum fills this important gap, at a time when the international calendar -the UN Conference in Abu Dhabi in December 2026, the World Water Forum in Riyadh in 2027, the conclusion of the Water Decade in 2028 -makes 2026 a crucial year for establishing concrete commitments.

For the complete program, please visit the official website: euromedwaterforum.it/themes-and-programme/programme

Photo: official poster of the event