The Budapest Water Summit (BWS) 2019 was held in 15-17th October 2019 by the Government of Hungary, under the patronage of the President of Hungary, János Áder, President of Hungary. Approximately 2500 participants from 118 countries, including H. E. Mr. Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia and H.E. Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister in Ministry of Jal Shakti, India.
Under the BWS 2019 theme, “Preventing Water Crises,” the high-level government and international organizations’ leaders delivered their keynote statement. In addition, the ten sessions were organized. Each speaker and panelist discussed how to prevent emerging water crises, how to manage crises where they cannot be prevented, identifying relevant gaps in knowledge, governance, technology, finance, regulations, and institutions. They also exchanged opinions with the participants by introducing their cases, lessons and experiences.
Please refer to discussion of each session here (Official website of the BWS).
“Budapest Appeal”: The outcome document of the BWS 2019
The outcome document of the BWS 2019 entitled “Budapest Appeal” was presented by Dr. András SzöllősiNagy, Chair, BWS 2019 International Programme and Drafting Committee in the closing of the BWS 2019. The “Budapest Appeal” outlines concrete recommendations and solutions to address water challenges for the government identifying the priorities and enhancing their political wills for water security. It was developed with the consideration of the relevant international fora, such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 9th World Water Forum in 2021, and the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF).
“Budapest Appeal” consists of two sections. The first section outlines four main areas for action by proposing “What We Need to Do. ” The second section lists the six recommendations for implementation proposing “This is How We Can Do It.”
The full document of Budapest Appeal is here. (Official website of the BWS)
Final Remarks
Japan Water Forum has steadily prepared the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit (4th APWS) held in Kumamoto City, 19-20th October 2020. It will plan to officially invite heads of state and government of 49 countries including Japan in Asia and the Pacific.
Referring the “Budapest Appeal” and the discussion trend of the 9th World Water Forum and the other international fora, the discussion and outcome documents of the 4th APWS aims to mobilize more concerted actions and enhance commitments to accelerate deployment of solutions with particular focus on the promotion of quality infrastructure for sound water cycle management and quality growth in line with achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the SDGs. Good practices and advanced solutions to meet the diverse challenges in Asia and the Pacific will be shared.
Your full cooperation, feedback, and support are cordially appreciated for the success of the 4th APWS.
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| The venue of the BWS: Millenáris Park |
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| In the Session 8, Mr. Ravi Narayanan, Chair of the APWF, served as a moderator. |
The Panel discussion in Session 9 |
(Reported by Yumiko Asayama, Manager)
