Asia-Pacific Water Forum

First Announcement of THE 1ST ASIA-PACIFIC WATER SUMMIT

The 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit will be held on December 3-4, 2007 in Oita Prefecture, Japan. The Summit will be organized as one of keystone activities of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF), an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan, non-political network dedicated to solving water problems in the Asia-Pacific region.

The APWF was initially proposed by the participants of the 4th World Water Forum’s Regional Preparatory Process under the coordination of the Japan Water Forum (JWF). The establishment of the APWF was officially announced by Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto, former President of Japan Water Forum, during the Asia-Pacific Day at the 4th World Water Forum, Mexico City, March 2006. And on September 27, 2006 in Manila, the APWF was officially launched during an elaborate ceremony attended by over 160 water stakeholders from the region.

The goal of the APWF is to contribute to sustainable water management in order to achieve the targets of the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific by capitalizing on the region’s diversity and rich history of experience in dealing with water as a fundamental part of human existence. Specifically, the APWF champions efforts aimed at boosting investments, building capacity, and enhancing cooperation in the water sector at the regional level and beyond.

The Asia-Pacific Water Summits, to be organized every two or three years, shall target top-level policy and decision-makers beyond the water sector, such as heads of the government and ministers of finance and planning, as well as leaders from the private sector, local governments, civil society and the media.

The Summits will create incentives for these leaders to showcase tangible water sector results in their respective countries, as reflected by increased water investments, adoption and implementation of strategic reforms, improved water governance at all levels, and significant progress in reaching the MDGs. Furthermore, the Governing Council of the APWF will report on the key findings from the APWF process (from the different Key Result Areas, Priority Themes, and Sub-Regional results) to the top-level leaders at the Summit.

Participation in the Summits will be by invitation only, and the official invitation letters to the leaders of the 47 countries of the Asia-Pacific region will be sent via the Embassies in Japan early next year.

» First Annoucement of ASIA-PACIFIC WATER SUMMIT (PDF:14KB)