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The International Conference "Water, Megacities and Global Changes" is the first conference devoted to the theme of water in megacities. It will be hosted by UNESCO in Paris, from 1 to 4 December 2015, coinciding with the 21st UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP21), which will be hosted by France in December 2015 (“Paris Climat 2015”).
Since 2011 and for the first time in its history, the world population as a whole is now mainly concentrated in urban centers. In 2025, more than one billion people will be living in about one hundred very large cities.

Megacities, those cities with more than 10 million people, are multiplying rapidly: they face challenges related to water management on a scale all their own, especially in the context of climate change. This is why "Water, Megacities and Global Change" will take place in Paris in 2015 in parallel with the Paris Climate Conference 2015 (COP21).

ARCEAU-IdF, a group of water stakeholders of the metropolitan region of Paris, is organizing this conference in partnership with the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP), the French Academy of Water (Académie de l’eau) and the International Office for Water (Office international de l’eau) among others.

The conference will bring together researchers, water service providers for large cities, politicians and representatives of leading civil society organizations, to take stock of current knowledge, share innovative experiences and discuss the variety of approaches for the management and the role of water in existing and emerging megacities. The conference will strive to provide the starting point of a new cooperation network between these megacities in the field of water.