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1ST
ASIA-PACIFIC WATER SUMMIT, WATER SECURITY: LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT (3-4
DECEMBER): (MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 26 October 2007 -- The
1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit (1st APWS) will be held in Beppu,
Oita prefecture,
on December 3 and 4, 2007, with top-level decision-makers participation from the
Asia-Pacific region
“The
fact is that, at present, in
Asia
and the Pacific, 700 million of our citizens do not have access to safe
drinking water, the region suffers disproportionately from water-related
disasters and degraded land-water ecosystems significantly threaten water
productivity," said former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, Chair, Steering
Committee of the 1st Asia-Pacific Water
Summit
.
"We
can turn the situation around if we can agree to make water a high priority in
our development plans, if we can improve governance, if we mobilize and allocate
more financial resources to water infrastructure and if we acknowledge that the
access to safe drinking water is a basic human right of our people,”
he said.
In
calling for the creation of the APWF at the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico in
2006, the region’s water ministers sought to establish an effective mechanism
to encourage more collaborative efforts on water resources management and to
accelerate the process of effective integration of water resources management
into the socio-economic development process of the Asian and Pacific
region.
The
Asia-Pacific
Water Ministerial Meeting also
called upon the APWF to organize Asia-Pacific Water Summits, to be held, once
every 2-3 years.
The
1st APWS is being convened by the
Steering Committee for the 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit
and the Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF), under the chairmanship of former Prime
Minister Yoshiro Mori, in collaboration with the APWF’s Governing Council,
chaired by Prof. Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-large of
Singapore
.
Heads
of State and Government and ministers are expected to lead their national
delegations to the
Summit
, in a bid to mobilize the political will and commitment required to put water
high up the region’s national agendas.
The
Summit
will bring together top-level leaders from various sectors including industry,
public, education, local organizations, and media from 49 countries. All in all,
around 300 people are expected to participate in this
Summit
.
The
leaders of some of the region’s foremost institutions and stakeholders
involved in water and sanitation issues are expected to participate, namely, the
Asian Development Bank, The World Conservation Union (IUCN), the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, UNESCO, Singapore PUB, Streams
of Knowledge, UN-Habitat, UNESCAP, Japan Water Forum, among others.
Exchanging
on the central theme of “Water Security: Leadership and Commitment,” top
level dignitaries will make speeches in plenary session, while a series of
thematic panel sessions are scheduled to discuss in further depth some of the
issues of concern such as, climate change, water financing, water-related
disaster management, water for development and ecosystems, developing knowledge
and lessons, increasing local capacity, monitoring investments and results, the
private sector water mandate, among others.
In
parallel to the 1st APWS, an Open Event forum will be held in Beppu,
1-5th December 2007 in and around the
B-Con
Plaza
, with a broad participation from civil society stakeholders, multilateral
organizations, and others.
The
conclusions from the 1st APWS will be conveyed to upcoming political
events in
Japan
, namely TICAD IV and the G8 Summit in 2008.
The
1st APWS is sponsored by Coca-Cola Company, Limited (
Japan
), Canon Inc., with support from The Asian Development Bank and the Government
of Japan, among others.
The
Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF) is working to increase the region’s access to
improved water supplies and sanitation, protect and restore river basins, and
reduce people’s vulnerability to water disasters.
The
APWF champions efforts aimed at boosting investments, building capacity,
increasing public outreach and enhancing cooperation in the water sector at the
regional level.
The
press is required to pre-register for the
Summit
to obtain
Summit
accreditation. If you would like to attend the summit, please register in
advance using the enclosed “Instructions for Pre-registration” document,
which can also be downloaded at www.watersummit.jp
and www.apwf.org.
For
detailed information on the
Summit
(participants list, steering committee members, programme, etc.), please see
attached documents:
Asia-Pacific
Water Forum Press Desk; Convention Linkage, Inc. TEL：03-3263-8698 FAX：03-3263-8693,
e-mail
press@waterforum.jp,
URL http://www.apwf.org/press/
Labels:, 1st
Asia-Pacific Water Summit, Prime
Minister Yoshiro Mori, WATER
SECURITY: LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT,
United
Nations, U.N.
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