Between 16th and 22nd March 2006, Mexico will host the 4th World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference. Convened by the World Water Council, this triennial event is firmly established as the main international event for discussion, policy formulation and commitment to action.

The 4th World Water Forum will lend further impetus to the dynamic process and momentum generated by previous fora, in particular the World Water Actions report launched at the 3rd World Water Forum in Japan in 2003. The main theme of the 4th World Water Forum is Local Actions for a Global Challenge. The organizers of the 4th Forum share the belief that, regardless of their root causes, water related problems have their greatest impacts at the local level.

The World Water Fora seek to enable multi-stakeholder participation and dialogue to influence water policy making at a global level. The Fora aim to formulate a practical framework to translate words into action in order to fulfil the following objectives:

• Improve living standards for people all over the world

• Encourage more responsible social behaviour towards water issues consistent with the pursuit of sustainable development

• The development of water-related targets set at local, regional, national and supranational levels, using Millennium Development Goals, the WSSD Implementation Plan and Local Agenda 21