World Water Council Calls for a New Doctrine for an Innovative Water Order

CAIRO, Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Opening the 9th Cairo Water Week, World Water Council President Loïc Fauchon issued a call to the global community: it is time for "a new doctrine for water use" that will bring "an innovative water order".

"The world is in troubles," Mr. Fauchon warned, as conflicts and instability become normal. Yet while poverty falls and technology races ahead, the management of the planet's natural resources remains "a dark spot". Climate disruption, drought, floods, booming megacities and changing diets mean the old response no longer works.

"For too long we have prioritized supply; the time has come to proactively manage demand." The new doctrine means governing together the water we mobilize and the demand we control, so that the water Nature needs is also conserved. Its message fits in three words: Preserve, Reserve, Serve.

The World Water Council points to solutions already within reach: prudent use of deep groundwater, transfers between regions, low-cost desalination and, above all, wastewater reuse, "this century's water revolution", first for agriculture and industry, soon for all domestic uses. Mr. Fauchon also called for a new generation of smarter reservoirs, well distributed across territories, that respect biodiversity while securing water and energy together. These are practical tools that can be deployed worldwide, from megacities to rural basins. Host country Egypt already shows the way, from a plant that treats sewage, generates power and reuses water to a planned pumped-storage station.

Supply alone will not suffice. Mr. Fauchon urged the world to cut losses through digital leak management, deploy water-saving technologies everywhere, and change how societies value water. He called for a rethink of the water footprint of crops, livestock, industry and tourism, and a global campaign against food loss and waste: 40 per cent of food produced, 2.5 billion tons a year, is never eaten. This cause, he said, deserves a place in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Two obligations drive the World Water Council's work: stronger international cooperation to share best practices across continents, and the engagement of all young people. "There is no grand vision that can be conceived without the world's youth."

Mr. Fauchon reaffirmed the World Water Council's commitment to hydrodiplomacy: "We all want peace along the waterways, and we reject water wars." With its Saudi partners and the wider water community, the Council is working so that the 11th World Water Forum, in Riyadh in March 2027, becomes a landmark in the history of water.

About the World Water Council : https://www.worldwatercouncil.org/ 

Read the full speech : https://www.worldwatercouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/CWW2026_opening_speech.pdf 

Contact: Johana Morante: [email protected]