No living organism can survive without water, and so the greatest priority of to preserve the purity of water and to supply the population of the Earth with clean water, declared Minister of State for Environmental Affairs Zoltán Illés during a forum organised for Hungarian non-governmental organisations.

Prior to the Budapest World Water Summit, domestic non-governmental organisations involved in conservation and environmental protection were able to discuss the topics of the upcoming summit at a conference organised for them at the Ministry of Rural Development, where they also formulated recommendations with regard to sustainable development goals. These objectives and criteria are designed to help Hungarian participants prepare for the World Water Summit.

The right to clean drinking water, integrated water management in the 21st century and a green economy for clean water will be the main topics of discussion at the Budapest World Water Summit in October, the Minister of State said. The goal of the international conference, with some 150 invited participants from around the world, is the preservation of existing water stocks and the prevention of water pollution, he added.

The experts and representatives of non-governmental organisations and foundations and the high-ranking delegates from participant states will be searching for solutions to the problem of wastewater management and sewage sludge placement. As Minister of State Illés explained, this is a significant problem throughout the world, to which a solution must be found as soon as possible.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)