Ministerial Meeting for Third World Water Forum Begins in West Japan

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 22, 2003

Ministerial Meeting for Third World Water Forum Begins in West Japan

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Ministers and representatives from about 170 countries and regions Saturday morning began a two-day high-level meeting to discuss ways to tackle the world's water problems as part of the World Water Forumheld in Kyoto, west Japan.

According to the forum secretariat, the ministers and representatives are scheduled to release later Saturday a Portfolio for Water Actions, stating each country's contribution toward the resolution of water issues.

Meanwhile, they will adopt on Sunday a ministerial declaration expressing their commitment to tackling water issues.

Japan is expected to unveil 91 action programs related to watercovering five areas, such as water resource management and disaster alleviation, in the portfolio, the secretariat officials said.

Japan's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Chikage Ogiis chairing the ministerial talks Saturday, while Senior Vice Land,Infrastructure and Transport Minister Koki Chuma is to chair the talks on Sunday.

Among the main focuses of the ministerial declaration has been how many concrete measures will be included, such as the international community's target of halving by 2015 the proportionof people without access to safe drinking water and to basic sanitation.

"An enormous amount of investment in water supply and sanitation will be required to achieve the targets," according to the final draft of the ministerial declaration.

At the same time, another focal issue has been how the international community will finance costs to tackle water-relatedproblems.

"The draft declaration states that addressing the financial needs is a task for all of us. We must act to create an environment conducive to facilitating investment," said the declaration.

It also said the ministers will take note of a report on financing water infrastructure, which states the current spending of roughly 80 billion US dollars a year on new water infrastructure in developing and emerging countries will have to double over the next 20-25 years to around 180 billion dollars.

About 24,000 people have registered through Friday to attend the forum, being held in the western Japan prefectures of Kyoto, Osaka and Shiga until Sunday, according to the secretariat officials.

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