WUHAN, China, Sept. 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 2025 Great Rivers Forum opened on September 26 in the city of Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province.
Themed "Great River Civilization -- Global Water Security and High-Quality Development," the three-day forum attracted over 40 international experts from more than 20 countries and regions, including officials of international organizations, river basin institution specialists and representatives of the Global Network of Water Museums, plus some 200 delegates from leading domestic universities and research institutions.
A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.
Hubei, in the middle reaches of China's longest river -- the Yangtze River, is the only province traversed by over 1,000 kilometers of the Yangtze's main stream. Since its launch, the Great Rivers Forum has become a key international cultural exchange platform for showcasing great river civilizations, promoting urban images and advancing sustainable development.
Through cross-disciplinary dialogues and transnational cooperation, this forum shared China's experience in water security, water environment and ecological governance, highlighted achievements in the Yangtze River Economic Belt's high-quality development, and boosted exchanges between Yangtze civilization and other global great river civilizations.
A think tank report titled "A Mighty River That Nourishes a Great Nation -- Achievements, Insights, and Global Significance of Yangtze River Governance in the New Era" was released at the forum, demonstrating China's notable progress in water governance.
China not only safeguards its own rivers and lakes but also commits to advancing global water security and prosperity, grounding the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity in international water governance cooperation, according to the report.
The surging rivers have become channels for trade, catalysts for technological development, and inspirations and incentives for faith, said Qu Xing, deputy director-general of UNESCO.
As droughts and floods are becoming more frequent worldwide, Qu expressed the hope that the conference would help participants explore new ideas, forge new partnerships, and work together to draw lessons from history and inspire the future.
Citing his country's widely beloved song Bengawan Solo, Indonesian Ambassador to China Djauhari Oratmangun noted that rivers are more than geographical features - they are channels for trade and ideas.
Global water security is not merely an environmental concern, but a cornerstone of sustainable development, health and peace, he said, hoping that the forum will inspire concrete commitments and enduring partnerships to ensure that the world's great rivers continue to flow clean, life-giving, and rich with stories for generations to come.
Co-hosted by UNESCO and the Wuhan municipal government, the forum leverages water as a bridge for basin-related discussions, promoting cultural and civilizational exchanges between the Yangtze and other global great river basins to boost shared development of river-basin cities.
The forum agenda also includes two parallel forums which focus on the sustainable development of great river civilizations in the era of digital intelligence and cultural expression of river civilizations in national cultural park development, respectively. A high-level round table on the ecological protection of the great river civilization also took place.
At the closing ceremony, participants agreed Wuhan Consensus of the Great Rivers Forum, which outlines cooperation in seizing civilization dialogue opportunities to build high-level exchange platforms, adapting to civilization evolution trends to pool global wisdom and addressing development challenges to build sustainable systems.
All parties will leverage the 2025 forum to deepen multi-level, cross-field cooperation and contribute to global civilization prosperity and the community with a shared future for humanity, according to the consensus.
Source: The Wuhan municipal government
Contact person: Mr. Wei, Tel: 86-10-63074558
