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Leadership for Ensuring Water Security in the
Asia-Pacific Region: Knowledge, Financing, and Capacity Development

Keynote Speech by
Haruhiko Kuroda
President
Asian Development Bank

At the 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit

4 December 2007
Beppu City, Japan

I.  Introduction

Your Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince of Japan; your Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of Orange; Mr. Chairman; esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Leadership is indeed critical to ensure water security in the Asia and Pacific region. So it is an honor for me to welcome and recognize the presence of so many Heads of State, Ministers and distinguished participants in the Asia Pacific Water Forum to this 1st Asia Pacific Water Summit. I would especially like to thank Mr. Yoshiro Mori, Chair of the Steering Committee for the Summit and former Prime Minister of Japan, for his dedicated efforts and for welcoming us here in Japan.

I would also like to recognize and thank Singapore PUB, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Japan International Cooperation Agency who, along with the Asian Development Bank, have organized this session on knowledge, financing and capacity development.

As the lead organization for Water Financing and Capacity Development – priority theme A of the Asia Pacific Water Forum – ADB is delighted to make this a joint session with Singapore PUB and UNESCO, who lead the Forum’s key results area on knowledge development. These topics complement each other very well. And they are all essential for increasing targeted investments for water and sanitation infrastructure, developing human resources, building a network of water knowledge hubs, coordinating capacity development programs, and providing guidance on water policies.

I am confident that by showcasing success stories from around the region and facilitating dialogue among leaders and partner organizations, this session will strengthen the commitment we all share not only to concrete programs, but also to the development of people and institutions.

II.  Asia Water Development Outlook

Providing water to meet the needs of this most populous region is an enormous challenge for all of us. As you know, the World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure in 2003 recommended a doubling of public and private investments in water – a recommendation reiterated by the Task Force on Water Financing for All at the 4th World Water Forum in March last year. We at ADB have taken on this challenge through our Water Financing Program 2006-2010, which reflects our commitment to double our water investment, and to deliver specific outcomes on drinking water, sanitation, irrigation, integrated water resource management and water governance. The program envisions five major outcomes, including providing 200 million people with sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Along with the program, we have established a Water Financing Partnership Facility to mobilize cofinancing and investment from development partners, with an initial target of $100 million in contributions.

We are also committed to adding to the wealth of knowledge and expertise that we will all need to draw from to meet these needs. As part of our contribution to the Asia Pacific Water Forum, we recently commissioned the preparation of the Asia Water Development Outlook – a forward looking assessment of the region’s current and future water problems, and the policy measures that can help solve them. The report seeks to move water higher up on the local, national, regional and international policy agendas so that the needs of the region – and the MDGs targets – can be fulfilled. It will also help leaders and policy-makers to better understand and appreciate the water sector issues in their respective nations in the context of other countries in the region overall.

One of the most important messages of the report – perhaps the most important – is that water is central to the larger development agenda. As such, we need to change the way we think about water – change to a broader perspective that considers all facets of economic and social development. Energy, food, environment, and industrial policies all have intimate linkages to water. Each will affect the others and, in turn, be affected by the others. Policies in all these areas will similarly be influenced by external forces like demographic transitions, advances in technology and communication, globalization, free trade, and increasing social activism. All of these factors must be considered holistically in order to build a sustainable future toward and beyond the Millennium Development Goals.

The report tells us that there is reason to be optimistic – if cautiously so. Most of the region’s water problems are solvable through more appropriate planning and management. But strong leadership is needed to improve water governance, including management practices, institutional arrangements, and sociopolitical conditions.

While specific solutions will vary according to each country’s particular circumstances, some fundamentals apply across the board. Let me briefly highlight a few of these.

First, reliable, accessible data is crucial – not only data on water, but data on related social, economic and environmental factors. No country can hope to plan, develop, and manage water resources on a long-term sustainable basis without this.

Second, strong partnerships are essential. All sectors – governments, the private sector, civil society, development institutions, media and others – have an important role to play in tackling these huge challenges.

Third, water quality management is an area which has been sadly neglected in much of the region. While the health, social and economic impacts of this neglect have yet to be assessed, they are likely very high already and will only get higher if water quality continues to deteriorate.

Fourth and finally, we need to pay systematic and continuous attention to capacity development. The region’s future water-related problems are likely to be quite different from those in the past. Solving those problems will require new skills, new approaches, and new mindsets.

III.  Closing Remarks

Ladies and gentlemen, let me close by strongly urging you to take the learning from this session and the Asia Water Development Outlook to heart, and to enhance your commitment to moving water and sanitation higher up on your policy agendas.

We at ADB are committed to helping our developing member countries address their water challenges, achieve the Millennium Development Goals and strive toward the vision of water for all in the Asia and Pacific region.

If we make it a priority, mobilize financial resources through the public and private sectors, and improve institutional capacities in countries across the region, the goals envisioned in this Summit are bound to be achieved in the next two decades. It will take strong political will and practical, forward-looking actions. The rewards will be well worth it.

Thank you.