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【JWF News Vol. 200】16 June 2021
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◇ Contents ◇
・Forward Disseminating Japan’s Knowledge and Technology around the World
・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum
- Join us! The 2nd JWF webinar about Long-term Investment in Water-related Disaster Risk Reduction
- Join us! The 11th APWF webinar about Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible
- JWF Fund 2021 is now open for applications!
・Report from the Japan Water Forum
- The report of the 5th Kyoto World Water Grand Prize published
- The outcomes of the 10th APWF Webinar about Water Integrity
- The outcomes of the 1st JWF webinar
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・Foreword Disseminating Japan’s Knowledge and Technology around the World
By Kenji Kanao, Advisory Council Member of the Japan Water Forum; President, Japan Water Agency
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Under the principle of “supplying safe and good quality water stably at a reasonable cost”, the Japan Water Agency (JWA) has been engaged in the construction, reconstruction, operation and maintenance of facilities such as dams and canals on seven major river systems for over 50 years. Even while having to take special measures against COVID-19 under the current circumstances, our members and other stakeholders continue to work for the maintenance and management of these facilities 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
These days, extreme water-related events, such as frequent severe droughts and torrential rains caused by climate change, are occurring around the world. The serious drought in Manila in the Philippines in 2019 and the flood on the Yangtze River in China in 2020, for example, are still vivid in our memories. Japan is expected to pay constant attention to global water issues and contribute to the improvement of such situations. The JWA has been intent on meeting water challenges abroad, particularly in Asia, through both structural (hard) and non-structural (soft) measures using our knowledge and experience.
With regard to non-structural measures, the JWA has been serving as secretariat of the Network of Asian River Basin Organizations (NABRO), established in 2004 following the 3rd World Water Forum in March, 2003. We have shared our knowledge and experience on Japan’s Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), providing international training workshops we organized independently or with other international organizations, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). We have also exchanged information with policymakers and officials from other Asian countries. Through such efforts, we have successfully established and maintained a cooperative relationship with a variety of organizations.
Regarding structural measures, since the Act for Promotion of the Participation of Japanese Business in Overseas Infrastructure Projects came into force in August, 2018, the JWA has been helping Japanese companies involved in water resources to expand infrastructure projects overseas, in cooperation with the national government and other relevant organizations. It is expected that such infrastructure projects will help solve water-related problems caused by climate change.
The above-mentioned efforts are closely related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), international goals that must be achieved by 2030 in order to create a sustainable society. They are particularly linked to SDG6: Clean Water and Sanitation; SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities; and SDG13: Climate Action. In December, 2020, the JWA issued a Sustainability Bond with the aim of addressing climate change. It was the first of its kind in Japan. Since our efforts towards the SDGs have come to be recognized at home, we will now dedicate ourselves further to the achievement of these international goals.
Since its establishment in 2004, the Japan Water Forum (JWF) has been playing an important role in making Japan’s water-related efforts widely known to the world, as well as serving as secretariat for major events such as the Asia-Pacific Water Summit. The JWA would like to express its appreciation for the efforts of the JWF. In April, 2022, the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit (APWS) will be held in Kumamoto City, Japan. Although we are living under difficult conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic at home and abroad, I hope that the JWF, as secretariat, will make the summit a success. It is a major event, where heads of state and government, and representatives of international organizations will get together to discuss water-related issues. Just as we did in previous summits, we will take advantage of this great opportunity for disseminating to the world information about Japan’s efforts towards IWRM, its advanced technologies and its experience. Moreover, we will work together for the success of the summit as it is also a good chance for all of us to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.
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・Announcement from the Japan Water Forum
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– Join us! The 2nd JWF webinar about Long-term Investment in Water-related Disaster Risk Reduction
The Second JWF Webinar will explore the knowledge and experiences accumulated through the history of fighting over water-related disasters such as flooding, debris flows, storm surges and tsunamis around Japan. It will focus on the achievement of long-term investment in flood mitigation projects in Japan, and analyze the continuous reduction of human and economic losses as one of the results of the investment in terms of governance, capacity building and financing.
◆Date and Time: 22 June 2021 16:00-17:00 (Japan time), 7:00-8:00 (UTC)
◆Speaker: Mr. INOUE, Tomoo
Director-General, Water and Disaster Management Bureau
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
◆Topic: Long-term Investment in Water-related Disaster Risk Reduction
▼Registration▼
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pVJx-pOqTmadxrgsxMR9vw
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news/18114/
（Reported by Reiko Yoshii, Manager）
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– Join us! The 11th APWF webinar about Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible
Date and Time: 30 June 2021 16:30-17:30 (Japan time), 13:00-14:00 (India time)
Speakers:
Dr. Aditi Mukherji, Principal Researcher, IWMI New Delhi
Ms. Amrtha Kasturirangan, Senior Manager, Arghyam
▼Registration▼
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_aATofxE1TvaI7y0gjHoIAA
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news/18178/
(Reported by Yumiko Asayama, Manager)
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– JWF Fund 2021 is now open for applications!
The Japan Water Forum Fund (JWF Fund) was founded in 2005 and is solely operated by JWF. The JWF Fund aims to contribute to solving local water-related issues in developing countries by assisting the implementation of sustainable solutions led by grass-roots organizations.
Japan Water Forum starts to call for application for the JWF Fund 2021.
Considering that clean water, sanitation and hygiene play a vital role in preventing infectious diseases including COVID-19, we will highly appreciate proposals of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects again as last year. From this year, the maximum grant amount has been increased from US$1,000 to US$1,500.
The application period for this year is 10 June to 18:00 10 July, 2020 in Japan time.
We are going to select about 5 organizations this year.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news/18068/
(Reported by Akie Gunji, Sub Manager)
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・Report from the Japan Water Forum
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– The report of the 5th Kyoto World Water Grand Prize published
The JWF and the World Water Council released the report of the 5th Kyoto World Water Grand Prize including the progress of the project implemented by the prize winner, CCPD in Agou-Klonou, Togo between 2018 and 2021.
After careful screening of the applications by Japan Water Forum and prize committee, CCPD that was chosen out of 144 applicants, is selected as the winner of the prize. CCPD has demonstrated splendidly in their projects involving with community people from the initial stage to completion, which was highly evaluated by the committee and Japan Water Forum.
CCPD received 2,000,000 JPY as prize money at the awarding ceremony during the closing ceremony of the 8th World Water Forum in Brasilia, Brazil March 2018.
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news/18064/
(Reported by Akie Gunji, Sub Manager)
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– The outcomes of the 10th APWF Webinar about Water Integrity
The APWF Webinar Series is organized as a part of the preparation for the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit (APWS). It aims to provide the government officials of the 49 countries in Asia and the Pacific with the learning opportunities about water and water-related issues highlighted from different perspectives.
In the 10th APWF webinar, organized on 21 May 2021, the APWF welcomed Ms. Barbara Schreiner, Executive Director, WIN, Berlin, Mr. Ibrahim Pam, Head, Green Climate Fund-Independent Integrity Unit, Incheon, Ms. Maria da Graça Prado, Senior Policy & Research Adviser, CoST, London and Mr. Binayak Das, Programme Coordinator, Tools, Asia and Climate, WIN, Berlin as the speaker and discussed Strengthening integrity: crucial in advancing Water Security in the Asia Pacific .
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news/18176/
(Reported by Yumiko Asayama, Manager)
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– The outcomes of the 1st JWF webinar
The JWF’s first webinar was held on May 28th, with more than 200 participants, mainly from Southeast Asia. Dr. Kotaro Takemura, Secretary General of Japan Water Forum gave a talk entitled Water in Japan: Lessons Learned from Failure, on how Japan had overcome a variety of water-related problems over the course of its long history.
◆Date and Time ：May 28, 2021, 17:00-18:00 (Japan time)
◆Speaker : Kotaro Takemura, Secretary General, Japan Water Forum
◆Topic : Water in Japan Lessons Learned from Failure
◆Number of participants： 235
▼Please visit the following website for details▼
https://www.waterforum.jp/en/news/18117/
(Reported by Reiko Yoshii Manager)
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JWF News Vol. 200 / 16 June 2021
Japan Water Forum
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