UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 7 July 2008 -- Former Prime Minister of Japan Yoshiro Mori delivered the keynote speech at the Water Leader's Summit last month at the Singapore International Water Week. The following is the full text of the prime minister's remarks: 

"It is a great pleasure and honour for me, as chair of the Water Summit and president of the JWF, to have an opportunity to speak about the 1^st Asia-Pacific Water Summit at this, the Water Leaders' Summit during the First Singapore International Water Week.

Water in Asia and the Pacific region is in serious crisis. One out of five people (0.7 billion) have no access to safe drinking water and half of the population (1.9 billion) has no access to basic sanitation in this region, which is home to 3.7 billion people or 60% of the world's population. We are truly facing a critical situation. Water-related disasters have caused devastating damage, bringing 80% of the global death toll to this area.

Recently, natural disasters, such as the cyclone that tore across Myanmar , the major earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan province, and flooding caused by the typhoon in the Philippines, have rampaged through Asia, leaving catastrophic damage. I would like to express my deepest sympathy and prayers to the victims, their families, and all those affected.

Based on the current situation, and bolstered by the conviction that the solution    of water issues in Asia and the Pacific will greatly contribute to the solution of global water issues, the 1^st Asia-Pacific Water Summit was held in Beppu, Japan, in December, 2007. Heads of state and government, and other social leaders got together under the overarching theme “Water Security: Leadership and Commitment”. The summit was aimed at heightening awareness of water issues and sharing a determination to take concrete action towards the resolution of these issues.

His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan and His Royal Highness Prince Willem Alexander of the Netherlands, chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, were present. Ten heads of state and government from Asia and the Pacific region and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda attended the summit. In addition, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivered a video message. The world’s first Water Summit ended in great success after two days of enthusiastic discussions.

During the summit, we reaffirmed the importance of sanitation issues, especially regarding toilets, as these issues pose a particular challenge to human dignity. In order to save as many children as possible from water-borne diseases, it is crucial to develop and improve innovative sanitation systems in addition to traditional ones, based on the new idea of sustainable and recyclable resource management of human wastes.

Climate change was another major topic of discussion at the summit. Its most serious impacts are felt through water problems. It is predicted that, in the future, water-related disasters such as floods will increase in some paces, while desertification and water shortages will become more serious in other places. Since we cannot avoid the negative impacts of climate change, we have come to share a common recognition that it is most important to take adaptive measures, in addition to the reduction of CO2 emissions.

The determination of summit participants was embodied in the Message from Beppu. Based on the recognition that access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation is a basic human right and a basic human security, it set new goals to be accomplished by 2025. These goals are one step ahead of the Millennium Development Goals of 2015, and unprecedented anywhere in the world. They are:

To reduce by half the number of people who do not have access to safe drinking water by 2015, and reduce the number to zero by 2025.

To reduce the number of people who do not have access to basic sanitation by 2015 and reduce the number to zero by 2025, through the adoption of new and innovative sanitation systems that are not as water reliant as current methods.

Thus, we have now defined our ultimate goals. On this topic, I would like to inform you of the completion of the final report of the 1^st Asia-Pacific Water Summit.

The summit produced great results. However, its true success depends on how we take specific actions towards the resolution of water issues. In that sense, further efforts are required of us.

I am happy to hear that Singapore has expressed its intention to host the 2^nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit. I hope that heads of state and government, and other national leaders will use the opportunity to conduct in-depth discussions.

As an organizer of the 1^st APWS and a citizen of the Asia-Pacific region, I have reaffirmed my commitment to making an all-out effort until the day comes when no one is suffering from water problems.

During the summit, we reconfirmed that water issues are challenges which national leaders must tackle in person. This viewpoint has become a new international trend. The African Ministers’ Conference on Water will hold the African Water Summit at the end of June, 2008. I hear that a water summit is also being planned in the Americas.

Asia and the Pacific region, where the 1^st Asia-Pacific Water Summit -- the world’s first leaders’ summit on water -- was held, is surely a leader in the fight against global water problems. The other regions of the world are following us.

I would like to conclude with the promise that I will commit myself to overcoming serious global water issues and handing over a rich and beautiful planet to the next generation.

Thank you for your attention".

- Mr. Yoshiro Mori - Chair of the 1^st Asia-Pacific Water Summit, President of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum, President of the Japan Water Forum, Former Prime Minister of Japan

Labels: MaximsNews, International Community, United Nations, U.N., MaximsNews WATER, water, Yoshiro Mori, Prime Minister, Japan, Asia-Pacific Water Forum, APWF, Japan Water Forum, Asia-Pacific Water Summit, Singapore International Water Week, SIWW, water supply, sanitation, water-related disasters, ecosystems, international development, environment, water news, water sustainability, water resource, water management, global water crisis, sustainable development

 

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