The 2004 Stockholm Water Symposium examined the increasing interdependencies between food and urban security. In western countries and also in Latin America, the urban share of the total population is quite high. 

In other parts of the world, the agricultural and rural sectors still dominate in demographic terms and in terms of total water demand. Consumptive use of water in food production will continue to be significant, but the competition for water resources from other sectors and for environmental flow is becoming more pronounced.

Through its focus on urban security, food security, governance and groundwater, the 2004 Stockholm Water Symposium highlighted the need for a better integration in drainage basin management in different parts of the world. Workshops covered situations in high income and low income countries and both dry and wet areas.

The future-oriented, multi-disciplinary Stockholm Water Symposia are convened annually by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), a policy think tank that contributes to international efforts to find solutions to the world's escalating water crisis. SIWI advocates future-oriented, knowledge-integrated water views in decision making, nationally and internationally, that lead to sustainable use of the world's water resources and sustainable development of societies.