【JWF News Vol.176】First Joint Executive Committee (JEC) of the Fourth Asia-Pacific Water Summit - News

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【JWF News Vol. 176】First Joint Executive Committee (JEC) of the Fourth Asia-Pacific Water Summit
19 June 2019

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◇ Contents ◇

・Foreword　Asia-Pacific Water Summit Joint Executive Committee

・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum
– JWF Fund 2019 is now open for applications!

・Report from the Japan Water Forum
– First Joint Executive Committee (JEC) of the Fourth Asia-Pacific Water Summit
– JWF Fund 2017 follow-up Completed!

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・Foreword　Asia-Pacific Water Summit Joint Executive Committee
By Kotaro Takemura, Chair of the Japan Water Forum

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On the 4th of June, the Joint Executive Committee (JEC) of the Fourth Asia-Pacific Water Summit took place, led by Mr. Yoshiro Mori, former Prime Minister of Japan, in his capacity of Chairperson of the meeting with 17 Executive Committee members from Japan and overseas to actively exchange opinions.

I was honored and humbled by this opportunity to have their advice and recommendations, which were all invaluable for us to proceed our tasks ahead. Major comments are as follows:
– Water cycle is the key for continued existence of all humankind in the future where available fossil fuels are becoming exhausted.
– Water issues are placed in the center of challenges for all SDGs.
– In Asia and the Pacific, major challenges lie in tackling the issues of water-related disasters and sustainable water management such as floods, water pollution and groundwater management.
– Participation and cooperation of young people in the next generation and various water-basin stakeholders are necessary to solve water issues.

In attending the meeting, I was truly impressed by the heartfelt opening speech by Mr. Mori and his strong leadership in the discussion. Especially when a creation of the Ministerial Council for Water was suggested and discussed, Mr. Mori wrapped up the discussion and said, “Water issues are intricately linked to various sectors and personnel in charge of individual sector cannot deal with the issues by themselves. That’s where Heads of State and Government such as Prime Ministers and Presidents come into the picture to exert strong leadership. I want to see this Summit to fulfill such roles.”

Indeed, this is the fundamental purpose of the Asia-Pacific Water Summit. Based on which, the APWS was born under the leadership of Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto, late former Prime Minister of Japan and former President of JWF. Mr. Mori’s remarks renewed our perception of our fundamental mission.

Furthermore, right before the conclusion of the JEC meeting, Mr. Mori also introduced the participation of H.M. the Emperor, then H.I.H. the Crown Prince of Japan, in water-related international conventions in the past including World Water Forum, UN Conference and EXPO. Then he concluded, “We are humbly inspired by His Majesty’s kind attention to water issues and would like to continue making efforts in dealing with these important issues.”
It was part of Mr. Mori’s cordial closing speech, who many times accompanied overseas visits of then H.I.H. the Crown Prince.

Now that the 1st JEC meeting for the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit was successfully held, the Secretariat staff will make full efforts in preparing for the Summit.
I really appreciate and look forward to your kind support in this regard.

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・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum

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– JWF Fund 2019 is now open for applications!

The JWF Fund was founded in 2005 and solely operated by Japan Water Forum (JWF), which aims to support selected grass-roots organizations in developing countries who have been addressing water-related issues in their own countries. Every year, JWF publicly seeks for projects and those adopted after due assessment will be eligible to get funding up to 1,000 USD per project.
The JWF Fund is based upon membership fees of the JWF members and donations from general contributors through the Charity for Water run by JWF.

Japan Water Forum will start to call for application for the JWF Fund 2019.
The application period for this year is 3 June to 6:00 p.m. 15 July, 2019 in Japan time.
We are going to select 6 to 7 projects this year.

To apply for the fund, please read through the guidelines beforehand and use the prescribed application form.

We hope that it will become a certain step to solve water-related issues at the grass-roots level.
We look forward to receiving your applications!

▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/all/grass_roots_projects/jwf/2019/0603/?p=11420tag=en,rep_en

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・Report from the Japan Water Forum

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– First Joint Executive Committee (JEC) of the Fourth Asia-Pacific Water Summit

The Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF) (Secretariat: Japan Water Forum) will hold the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit (“the 4th APWS”) co-organized with Kumamoto City in October 2020 at the Kumamoto Jo Hall.
In preparation for the Summit, the 1st Joint Executive Committee meeting took place on the 4th of June at the International Conference Hall, First Members’ Office Building of the House of Representatives, Tokyo.
The meeting was led by Mr. Yoshiro Mori, former Prime Minister of Japan and President of APWF and JWF, in his capacity of Chairperson of the meeting with 17 Executive Committee members from Japan and overseas. The agenda includes the overview of the 4th APWS/tentative programme, ways of promoting attendance of the invitees of the 4th APWS, and overall operation policy, for which various constructive comments and suggestions were made.
Based on such valuable advice, the APWF and Kumamoto City will exert fullest effort in preparing for the Summit.

(Reported by Shigenori Asai, Director)

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– JWF Fund 2017 follow-up Completed!

Our priority is placed on responding to the issues and needs of the field in an efficient and effective way.
To grasp and understand changes of the issues and needs after one year from the completion of the projects, we have been carrying out the follow-up observations for the projects since 2015.

In FY 2018, which is the fourth year since the start of the follow-up observations, we asked 7 grass-roots organizations in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Kenya (2 projects), India, Bangladesh and Philippines that had been granted the JWF Fund 2017 to conduct the follow-up observations. As a result of our request, we received consents from the 6 organizations excluding the one in Ethiopia. With their cooperation, the follow-up observations were conducted to see the conditions, one year after the completion.

▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/whatwedo_en/grassroots_p_en/2018/0531/?p=9005

(Reported by Sae Ishihara, Chief Manager and Akie Gunji, Assistant Manager)

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JWF News Vol. 176 / 19 June 2019
Japan Water Forum

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