Latin American conference on Megacities, Water and Climate Change

06 June 2019

For the first time in history, more than half of the global population live in towns and cities. By 2050, that proportion is expected to rise to two-thirds.  Even though water and sanitation access rates are generally higher in urban areas than rural, planning and infrastructure have been unable to keep pace in many regions.

Urbanization in Asia City view of Dhaka.

Today, 700 million urbanites live without improved sanitation, contributing to poor health conditions and heavy pollution loads in wastewater, and 156 million live without improved water sources.

Last month, the Latin American Conference on Megacities, Water and Climate Change took place in São Paulo, Brazil. The conference gathered representatives from Latin American megacities (Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Lima and Santiago), from water and sanitation operators, and from the academia to address issues and solutions related to water management in the face of climate change.

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