Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2006
Next PageMain Text > Part II ODA DISBURSEMENTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2005 > Chapter 2 Details about Japan's ODA > Section 1. Assistance Relating to the Basic Policies of the ODA Charter > 3. Partnership and Collaboration with the International Community > (3) The Fourth World Water Forum (March 2006)
(3) The Fourth World Water Forum (March 2006)
The Fourth World Water Forum was held in Mexico City in March 2006 under the theme of "Local Actions for a Global Challenge." About 19,000 people participated from about 140 countries, including representatives of governments, international organizations, private companies, NGOs, and research institutes. The World Water Forum is an international conference organized by the World Water Council3 to discuss the water issues in the world. It has been held once every three years since 1997, when the first forum was held in Marrakech, Morocco.
At the fourth forum the Ministerial Declaration was adopted which proclaimed the importance of water issues for sustainable development, among other issues. Also, the Commission on Sustainable Development—Water Action and Networking Database (CSD-WAND) was announced. CSD-WAND was developed from the Portfolio of Water Actions (PWA), which was established under Japan's initiative on the occasion of the third forum held in Japan (Kyoto, Shiga, and Osaka) in March 2003. This is a database developed and expanded under cooperation with the UN and is a tool for exchanges of information. It includes a variety of information and good practices, such as the implementation status of the sector-specific projects of governments and international organizations.
As the world's largest donor in the water and sanitation sector, Japan announced the Water and Sanitation Broad Partnership Initiative (WASABI) to further strengthen support, while continuing to cooperate with partners such as international organizations and other donor countries. WASABI states that comprehensive efforts will be made such as the promotion of integrated water resources management (IWRM),*1 based on basic policies that include the pursuit of sustainability of water use and an emphasis on the "human security" perspective. The progress and achievements of cooperation for the US-Japan Clean Water for People Initiative4 were also announced.
A scene of the Fourth World Water Forum
Box II-2. Outline of "Water and Sanitation for Broad Partnership Initiative (WASABI)"