Catalog

Seven Keys to Water for All
ADB Review [ December 2006 - January 2007 ]

ADB's Water for All Policy, approved in 2001, has seven principal elements

1. Promote a national focus on watersector reform. There is an urgent need for water-sector reform throughout Asia and the Pacific. ADB helps its developing member countries (DMCs) reform their water sectors by assisting in the establishment of effective national water policies and water legislation, strong coordination arrangements between institutions, and a national water action plan for reform. ADB also provides support, advice, and training to countries in setting up and operating these institutions.

2. Foster the integrated management of water resources. From drinking, cooking, or sanitation to irrigating crops, manufacturing, or tourism, water across Asia has multiple uses, multiple demands on it, and a wide variety of agencies and institutions responsible for it. ADB promotes water investment projects that are based on a comprehensive assessment of the river basin concerned, with a participatory approach. ADB particularly focuses on interlinked water investments within river basins.

3. Improve and expand the delivery of water services. In many parts of Asia and the Pacific, people have inadequate access to water services. About 682 million people—one third of Asia's population—do not have safe drinking water. ADB's goal is to make water services efficient, affordable, and sustainable in water supply and sanitation, and irrigation and drainage. To meet this goal, ADB supports autonomous and accountable service providers, private-sector participation, publicprivate partnerships, and promotes greater access to water services for the poor.

4. Foster the conservation of water and increase system efficiencies. Globally, water withdrawals have increased by more than six-fold during the last century. In the Asia and Pacific region, water withdrawals are the highest in Central Asia (85%), followed by South Asia (48%), and Mongolia and the northern People's Republic of China (25%). ADB supports appropriate water tariffs that encourage users to conserve water and allow service providers to recover costs. Cost recovery leads to increased system maintenance and provides the necessary capital for expanding services to poor consumers. ADB supports the improved regulation of service providers and increased public awareness on water conservation. ADB also supports provisions to ensure that the needs of the poor are met.

5. Promote regional cooperation and increase the mutually beneficial use of shared water resources within and between countries. Whether it be the Mekong in Southeast Asia, the Syr Darya and Amu Darya in Central Asia, or the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system in India and Bangladesh, many Asian countries share their water. ADB supports regional activities that help countries exchange information about their experiences with water-sector reform and the benefits of shared water resources. ADB also supports the creation of sound hydrologic and socio-environmental databases related to transboundary water resources and joint projects between neighboring countries.

6. Facilitate the exchange of water sector information and experience.ADB supports socially inclusive development in the water sector and participation at all levels. In particular, ADB supports water investments that involve public, private, and community partnerships.

7. Improve governance and capacity building. Many experts view today's water crisis as not so much a crisis of water scarcity but a crisis of governance. On a global scale, there is enough water to provide "water security" for all, but only if there is a change in the way it is managed and developed. ADB prioritizes support of good governance through decentralization, capacity building, and improved monitoring, evaluation, and learning at all levels in the water sector.

Learn more about ADB's Water Policy

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