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Asia-Pacific Regional Synthesis Meeting for the 5th World Water Forum

The World Water Forum is the world’s largest water event, serving as a platform towards global collaboration on water problems. The Forum offers water community and policy-and-decision- makers from all over the world the opportunity to debate and dialogue, with the end in view of finding solutions to the world’s water challenges.

The 5th World Water Forum (5WWF) will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 16 to 22 March 2009.

Since different regions experience different water issues or have different solutions to the same water challenges, it is important to highlight the uniqueness of each region through regional contributions to the Forum. These contributions will be in the form of various sessions, specific actions, and a “Regional Perspective Document,” which will be prepared collectively by major stakeholders in Asia-Pacific.

The Japan Water Forum (JPWF) Secretariat to the Asia Pacific Water Forum (APWF) serves as the 5WWF regional coordinator for Asia-Pacific. This role covers a broad range of responsibilities, i.e. mobilizing actors in the region, acting as catalyst for specific contributions to the Forum, gathering and compiling the region’s perspectives on the water challenges it faces, and more. It also includes tracking the progress of the commitments made by top officials at the 1st Asia Pacific Water Summit last December 2007 and reporting the progress at 5WWF.

Various preparatory meetings and activities have been undertaken by APWF and its partners. This event further streamline and concretize the region’s contributions to the 5WWF.

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The objectives of the workshop were to

• Synthesized the sub-regional preparatory process in Asia and the Pacific for the 5WWF
• Finalized the region’s “Regional Perspective Document” for 5WWF
• Monitored the progress after the 1st Asia Pacific Water Summit

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The Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF), in collaboration with various partners, organized the 2-day meeting.

Co-organizers included the Global Water Partnership chapters of Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia, Korea Water Forum, World Water Council, South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission, and the Secretariat to the 5WWF.

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Representatives from the following participated the event:

• APWF’s Governing Council, sub-regional coordinators, lead organizations, knowledge hubs, secretariat, and implementing organizations of the APWF Concrete Initiatives
• World Water Council
• 5WWF Secretariat
• Active water-related stakeholders in the Asia-Pacific region, i.e. governments, international organizations, academics, NGOs, and river basin organizations

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Tokyo International Forum
5-1 Marunouchi 3-chome, Chiyoda-Ku Tokyo
100-0005, Japan
Tel. No. +81- (0)3- 5221-9000
http://www.t-i-forum.co.jp/english/index.html