The International Conference on Freshwater took place from 3-7 December 2001 at the International Congress Center Bundeshaus in Bonn, Germany, with 118 governments, 47 intergovernmental organizations and 73 representatives of major groups in attendance.

The Conference was convened as a preparatory step on freshwater issues for the upcoming WSSD. Delegates met in Plenary and Working Group sessions to consider issues of water access, scarcity, pollution and natural disasters, as well as financing and capacity building. A closed-door ministerial session considered the equitable and sustainable use of water resources and the mobilization of financial resources for infrastructure investment. The Conference considered the Recommendations for Action (RFA) that will be presented to the WSSD and its preparatory process. The other conference outputs were the “Bonn Keys” – a one-page summary of the RFA, the Working Group Reports, a Conference Report and a Ministerial Declaration, as well as the Conference Issue Paper and Thematic Background Papers, which were prepared prior to the Conference. The Sustainable Developments report outlining these discussions in detail can be found at: http://enb.iisd.org/linkages/sd/water/sdh20/