Mr. Paul Reig is Associate at the Markets and Enterprise Programme, World Resources Institute (WRI)

What would you like to see come out of the Zaragoza conference?
I think what I’d like to see come out of the conference is a set of recommendations on tools and guidelines that are available in the public domain based on the experience of different stakeholder groups in using those for their own purposes. Basically looking to see how different stakeholder groups can share their experience by using tools and guidelines to improve water resources management and particularly highlighting those that could help implement SDGs.

What are the main challenges for implementing the sustainable water for all?
One of the big challenges is that although water is a global issue it’s a very local and specific challenge that varies greatly. There’s a huge range of challenges that vary by location and I think that consistently tackling those from a top down approach is very difficult without understanding the local context and the needs of local stakeholders.

The role of civil society – will it be more important for the SDGs than the MDGs?
Hard to tell. Their role will be huge but I wouldn’t limit it to that, I think all stakeholders including the private sector have a large role in helping meet the SDGs.

How is your organization contributing?
I think I’d like to highlight WRI’s water programme, which is a programme that focuses on water coming from a global perspective with presence and offices around the world. A programme that aims to provide robust science based information in the public domain in a way that is very comprehensive, so that non-technical audiences can understand the complexities of these issues and can act upon this information. That’s the role we aim to play.