1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit; Background

Background (on Asia and Pacific's water challenges)

Water is crucial to life and all forms of social, economic, and environmental development. According to the UN Task Force on Water and Sanitation (2005), safe water and sanitation is a prerequisite for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and for sustaining good health and quality of life.


At Fourth World Water Forum (4th WWF), regional documents coordinated by Japan Water Forum (JWF) and 5 sub-regional coordinators (Korea Water Forum, Global Water Partnership (GWP) South East Asia, GWP South Asia, GWP CACENA and the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC)) together with regional water stakeholders reported on the Asia-Pacific region's formidable water related challenges. These include the need for increased access to improved water supplies and sanitation(*1) through investments in infrastructure and capacity building, the protection and restoration of river basins as the fundamental provider of freshwater resources through Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), and the need to drastically reduce the vulnerability of human populations to water-related disasters(*2).



Graph1: Population without improved water source by region in 2004(in millions)


Graph2: Population without improved sanitation by region in 2004(in millions)


source:WHO , UNICEF MEETING THE MDG DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION TARGET THE URBAN AND RURAL CHALLENGE OF THE DECADE