The Social Forum on Water is taking place in Cotia (São Paulo state) from 16th to 23rd March in parallel with the World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan.

In Kyoto, governmental authorities and businesspeople from large companies interested in privatising the planet's water will debate and determine global strategies for the management of water on the basis of its economic value.

The forum is an initiative of the Water Protest Movement (Brazil), which is part of an action plan to confront the 'Water Davos' in Kyoto, and proposes a discussion on the social aspect of the management of water as a natural resource. This action plan was developed by people and representatives of social movements and NGOs from around the world during the Third World Social Forum in Porto Alegre.

One of the forum's main proposals is the creation of a World Water Social Forum to take place in India in January 2004 during the next World Social Forum.

Water Social Forum website | Programme | Water apartheid in Planet Earth | Wars of the future | Action plan against the FMA