Conference Title: The 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit
Date: Saturday, April 23, 2022 – Sunday, April 24, 2022
Co-organized by Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF) and Kumamoto City
Place: Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Castle Hall (Sakura-machi, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture)
Main Participants
Government officials, including heads of state, heads of government, and cabinet-level officials from the Asia-Pacific region (11 of 49 countries participating face-to-face)
UN agencies, other international and inter-regional organizations, research institutions, NGOs/NPOs, private companies and entities working on water-related issues in the Asia-Pacific region
Japanese government ministries and agencies, local governments and business entities, specialized organizations working on water-related issues in the Asia-Pacific region (government agencies, private companies, academic institutions, NGOs/NPOs, etc.)
Including online and video messages, about 3,000 participants from 38 countries
Background and Objectives
An international conference on water issues in the Asia-Pacific region, including rapid population growth, economic development, water shortages due to climate change, water pollution, and increasing damage from flooding, to raise these issues as global priorities and to bring together the wisdom of the region to resolve them.
Through online and in-person discussions, mainly at a high level, including heads of state and cabinet level from the Asia-Pacific region (49 countries), the event deepened awareness of water issues and promoted action to resolve them.
Contents
Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan attended the opening ceremony online and delivered remarks and commemorative speeches. At the summit-level meeting, Prime Minister Kishida delivered a keynote speech, announced the “Kumamoto Water Initiative,” which calls for approximately 500 billion yen in assistance over the next five years, and adopted the “Kumamoto Declaration,” which expresses the participants’ determination to tackle water issues.
From JICA, President Tanaka contributed a video message to the “High-Level Statement,” while Director Onodera spoke at the breakout sessions on “Water Supply,” “Water and Sanitation/Sewage Management,” and “Governance,” and Special Advisor for Disaster Management, Takeya, spoke at the integrated session on “Finance. In these presentations, JICA explained its track record as the world’s largest bilateral aid organization in the water sector and its cooperation policy on various water-related issues such as climate change, disaster management, water supply and sewerage, irrigation, and integrated water resources management.
In the breakout session “Water Supply,” the president of the Samoa Water Supply Corporation took the stage to present a case study of how JICA’s support in collaboration with water utilities in Okinawa Prefecture has achieved dramatic improvements in water service and water utility management.
The results of the conference will be disseminated to the international community at large, including the UN Water Conference scheduled for March 2023.
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