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1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit
3-4 December 2007; Beppu City, Oita Prefecture, Japan |
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The 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit (APWS) brought together leaders from government, private sector and civil society to recognize the significance of the water issues for achieving Millennium Development Goals. By addressing and engaging decision-makers at the highest levels, the 1st APWS sought to generate the support and commitment required to meet the region’s water challenges. This 1st APWS in Japan was organized by the Asia Pacific Water Forum (APWF), an informal network focusing on water financing and capacity development, disaster management, and water for development and ecosystems. |
1ST ASIA-PACIFIC WATER SUMMIT
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The 1st APWS focused on the three priority themes of the APWF. The 2-day summit comprised several sessions organized by APWF partner institutions responsible for these priority themes.
| Day | Session | Conveners | Session Highlights | |
| Day 1 | Opening Ceremony | APWF | ||
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Draft Summary for the Chairperson* [PDF] | |||
| CEO Panel on Water: A Mandate for Action | Chair Summary* [PDF] | |||
| Monitoring of Investment and Results | UNESCAP | Key results Area 4 Summary for APWS Chair* [PDF] | ||
| Day 2 | Regional Launching of the International Year of Sanitation | |||
| Water and Climate Panel: The Small Islands’ Dialogue on Water and Climate | Parallel Session for Priority Theme on Water–Related Disaster Management* [PDF] | |||
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Draft Summary of the Aral Sea Panel session* [PDF] | |||
| Water-related Disaster Management | ICHARM | Draft Summary of Theme B session [PDF] | ||
| Water for Development and Ecosystems | IUCN | |||
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| Increasing Capacity for Local Actions |
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| Closing Ceremony | APWF | Water for Development and Ecosystems* [PDF] |
See the details of the full program.
| Ten heads of state, 31 ministers, and representatives from 36 countries committed to the following: |  |
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| • | Recognize the people's right to safe drinking water and basic sanitation as a basic human right and a fundamental aspect of human security | |
| • | Reduce by half the number of people who do not have access to safe drinking water by 2015 and aim to reduce that number to zero by 2025 | |
| • | Accord the highest priority to water and sanitation in economic and development plans and agendas and to increase substantially the allocation of resources to the water and sanitation sectors | |
| • | Improve governance, efficiency, transparency and equity in all aspects related to the management of water, particularly as it impacts on poor communities. The leaders recognized that while women are particularly vulnerable, they are also resilient and entrepreneurial, hence, should be empowered in all water-related activities | ||||
| • | Take urgent and effective action to prevent and reduce the risks of flood, drought and other water-related disasters and to bring timely relief and assistance to their victims | ||||
| • | Support the region s vulnerable small island states in their efforts to protect lives and livelihoods from the impacts of climate change | ||||
| • | Exhort the Bali Conference to take into account the relationship between water and climate change, such as the melting of snowcaps and glaciers in the Himalayas and rising sea levels, which are already having an impact on some countries in the region | ||||
| • | Establish concrete goals for the 2008 Toyako G8 Summit to
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| • | Empower a high-level coordinating mechanism in their cabinets and where possible, appoint a minister in charge of water to ensure that all issues related to water and sanitation would be dealt with in a holistic manner |
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| • | Respect and strengthen the region s rich history of water-centered community development, including the rehabilitation of urban waterways and protection of the environmental integrity of rural watersheds |
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| • | Work together with other like-minded institutions, entities and individuals in order to achieve their collective vision of water security in the Asia-Pacific region |
For more information, read the Message from Beppu: Leaders' Declaration* [PDF] and Chair's Summary* [PDF].
Launched at the event are the following key messages, recommendations, and concrete initiatives prepared by the APWF.
| Water Financing and Capacity Development | Water-Related Disaster Management | Water for Development and Ecosystems |
Key Messages and Recommendations |
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Concrete Initiatives |
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Other initiatives launched at the Summit include:
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Institution |
Name |
| Japan Water Forum | Yoshiro Mori |
| Alpinist | Ken Noguchi |
| Asian Development Bank (ADB) | Haruhiko Kuroda |
| Bangladesh Water Partnership | Quamrul Islam Siddique |
| China | Hu Siyi |
| Executive Committee of International Fund for saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) | Sulton Rahimov |
| Global Water Partnership (GWP) | Margaret Catley-Carlson |
| Google Japan Inc. | Norio Murakami |
| Governing Council of Asia-Pacific Water Forum / Ambassador-At-Large of Singapore | Prof. Tommy Koh |
| Hokkaido University & the Open University of Japan / Director of Hokkaido Histrical Museum |
Norihito Tambo |
| Housewives Association | Masae Wada |
| India | Saif-ud-Din Soz |
| Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) | Koji Tanami |
| Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) | Ariyuki Matsumoto |
| Japan Medical Association | Yoshihito Karasawa |
| Japanese Trade Union Confederation | Masako Uemoto |
| Korea Water Forum | Seung-Soo Han |
| New Zealand | Mercedes Lentz |
| NHK Japan Broadcasting Corporation | Yoshinori Imai |
| Oita Prefecture | Katsusada Hirose |
| Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) | Cristelle Pratt |
APWS participants included representatives from the following countries and institutions.
| Title | Date |
| Asia-Pacific water summit to be held next week to prevent crisis [PDF] | 11/30/2007 |
| 4TH LD: 1st Asia-Pacific water summit opens to tackle water problems [PDF] | 12/03/2007 |
| Acting Vice Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan to participate in Water Summit in Japan [PDF] | 11/30/2007 |
| Vice Prime Minister Nur uulu Dosbol leaves for Japan to attend 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit [PDF] | 11/30/2007 |
Wouter on Water:
Messages from Beppu: Is Water Hotter Now?
K.E. Seetharam
Principal Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, ADB
E-mail: water@adb.org
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