Water

In “Eye on Asia” on 18 August, ADB offered its partners and clients a fresh look into urban water, river basin management, and climate change issues in the Asia and Pacific region. The event featured ADB staff and several of the region’s experts from the private sector, academe, government, and civil society who led the discussions and provided critical perspectives. Some 100 participants, from Asia and various countries in other regions, attended the whole-day event. Some of the points raised during the discussions were:

• Small-scale water providers may not provide the best quality of service but under the circumstances, they are a good stop gap measure.
• Rural water supply development as a way to curb urbanization should also be discussed.
• Corruption as an issue should be discussed openly in future debates.
• The debate on sanitation should not be between high technology and low cost solutions, as both may be appropriate depending on circumstances.
• The private sector together with the government and the community must be able to look for ways to work together to increase sanitation coverage.
• Responses to climate change can already be seen in Asia, from national and sub-national action plans, to insurance adjustments, to corporate and even individual planning.
• Climate change is a real game changer for water managers, but adapting to climate change, while requiring innovation, will draw upon and reinforce what is already known to be the best practices of the water profession.
• Integrated water resources management (IWRM) is a valuable supplement rather than a replacement of existing sector management with its wealth of indispensable expertise. It is a suitable process for adapting to climate change.

World Water Week — which this year ran from 16-22 August — is an annual event for sharing and disseminating information and for discussing key water issues. Eye on Asia was organized by ADB and partner organizations.

See event details.

Morning Seminar: Accessing Urban Water Supplies and Improving Sanitation

The morning seminar looked into the large service gaps in urban poor areas and how small water providers are filling in. It also featured sanitation experts who presented recent urban initiatives and the viability of sanitation as a business, with great market potential in South and Southeast Asian cities.

• Overview of Water Situation in Asia
  Rudolf Frauendorfer, ADB
• Filling the Gap: The Role of Small-Scale Service Providers in Urban Water Supply in the Philippines
  Elsa Mejia, Philippines
• Overview of Sanitation Situation in Asia
  Arjun Thapan, ADB
• Sanitation as a Business
  Virgilio C. Rivera Jr., Philippines

Afternoon Seminar: Advances in River Basin Management

The afternoon session showcased the region’s advances and raised standards in river basin management. River experts discussed the implications of the rise of new forms of river basin organizations better equipped to engage a broader range of stakeholders.

• Innovations and Advances in Basin Management in Asia [ Full paper ]
  Ganesh Pangare, Thailand

Forum: Facing Up to Climate Change Impacts and Costs

The very well-attended noontime forum addressed the questions on how much the cost of climate change mitigation and adaptation actions is and who should foot Asia’s climate change bill. Participants from other regions attended the event, which is a continuation of a debate that began in last year’s “Asia Water Day,” when for the first time during World Water Week, the region was given special focus.

• Water and Climate Change in Asia: Facing Up to Impacts and Costs
  David McCauley, ADB

Documentary  Films

• Coming Clean on Sanitation
• Changing Lives- Rural Water Schemes in Sri Lanka
• Aceh Farmers Back on the Land

Publications

• Water Financing Partnership Brochure
• Midway Milestones
• ADB in Action
• In the Pipeline: Water for the Poor
• Reviving Lakes and Wetlands: Lessons Learned from PRC
• The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia:  A Regional Review
• Under the Weather and the Rising Tide:  Adapting to a Changing Climate in Asia and the Pacific
• Climate Change Programs: Strengthening Mitigation and Adaptation in Asia and the Pacific
• Flood Insurance as a Flood Management Tool:  An Economic Perspective
• Climate, Water, Development: Asia Adapts through New Approaches and Investments