WEPA NewsThe 39th issue
1 March 2023
The Water Environment Partnership in Asia (WEPA) is an initiative proposed by the Japanese Ministry of theEnvironment. It aims to strengthen water environmental governance and capacity building in Asia. For further
information, please visit the WEPA website (http://wepa-db.net/en/index.html).

TopicsWEPA Topics
1.

18th WEPA Annual Meeting and International Workshop

2.

Update of the WEPA Action Program in Cambodia

3.

Update of the WEPA Action Program in Myanmar

4.

Update of the WEPA Action Program in Lao PDR

5.

Renewal of the WEPA website

6.

10th World Water Forum

Call for your contribution to WEPA News!

1. 18th WEPA Annual Meeting and International Workshop

The 18th WEPA Annual Meeting and International Workshop were held in Siem Reap,Cambodia, on 8-10 February, 2023, jointly hosted by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan and
the Ministry of Environment, Cambodia (MOEC). At the annual meeting on the first day, WEPA
partner countries made presentations on the progress of water environmental governancefocusing on industrial wastewater.

It is understood that countries would work on water environmental governance with a focus on"compliance with the law“ in WEPA’s fourth phase. The international workshop was for sharing
information on the current status, challenges, and solutions for industrial wastewater
management in WEPA partner countries. The information was gathered via a questionnaire
survey conducted at the end of 2022. The workshop began with a keynote speech by Prof.
Motoyuki Suzuki, WEPA advisor, followed by reports of the initiatives in WEPA partner countries
and a major beverage company. Of the 13 countries scheduled to participate in the meetings, 10countries participated in Siem Reap, two countries participated online, and one country did notparticipate.
Meeting report including program and presentation materials is now available on the WEPA
website http://wepa-db.net/en/meeting/202302/index.html

2. Update of the WEPA Action Program in Cambodia

The WEPA Action Program in Cambodia aims to support capacity building activities of theMinistry of Environment, Cambodia (MOEC), for officers at sub-national level on identifying major
pollution sources and estimating pollution in Tonle Sap Lake (TSL). The program is implementing
activities to develop a guidebook for local environmental staff on estimating pollution loads frommajor sources, and to facilitate formulation of draft strategies for water quality management ofTSL. This is being carried out using a co-design/co-production approach and capacity building
training programs.
The Guidebook was completed by incorporating comments from related central/local ministries
and other stakeholders and the launching ceremony of the Guidebook was held at the opening
session of the 18th WEPA Annual Meeting. Following that, a Capacity Building Workshop on“Water Pollution Loading Inventory in Tonle Sap Lake” was held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in theafternoon on 10 February 2023, in conjunction with the 18th WEPA Annual Meeting andInternational Workshop. Participants in the Capacity Building Workshop were related central andlocal government officers, and they learned about the simplified methodological approaches ofpollution load inventory from major identified sectors in the TSLarea through a series of lectures,discussions, and debates.

3. Update of the WEPA Action Program in Myanmar
The WEPA Action Program in Myanmar supports activities of the Environmental Conservation
Department (ECD), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC),
Myanmar, stipulating the National Surface Water Quality Standards (NSWQS), as well as
enhancing the capacity of the ECD for water quality monitoring and assessment.

On 15 February 2023, an Environmental Quality Standards Technical Development SubCommittee Meeting of MONREC was held to discuss the form of proposals for NSWQS. The
proposals for NSWQS will be finalized for stipulation after incorporating suggestions from theSub-Committee.
Instruction training sessions on surface water quality monitoring were conducted in October andNovember 2022, and training sessions for surface water use classification were conducted inDecember 2022 and January 2023. The training helped to improve the capacity of EQSD-ECDofficers who carry out regular surface water quality monitoring. The trainings sessions included
on-line general theoretical instruction training and on-the-job (OJT) training at Nay Pyi Taw,
Mandalay, and Yangon ECD offices.

4. Update of the WEPA Action Program in Lao PDR

The WEPA action program in Lao PDR supports the Department of Natural Resources andEnvironment Inspection (DNREI), the Ministry of National Resources and Environment(MONRE), Lao PDR to collect baseline data on water quality from septic tanks and decentralized
waste water treatment facilities, develop training materials for maintenance and operation of
septic tanks and decentralized wastewater systems, and strengthen the capacity of officers fromrelevant agencies for the purpose of law enforcement.
On 3 February 2023, a Stakeholder Consultation Meeting on the Action Program was held in
Vientiane, with on-site and online participation from relevant ministries, universities, and public
sectors in Lao PDR and Japan, in addition to the implementation team of Action Program. The
meeting aimed to share the results from a field survey, listen to comments on draft training
material for domestic wastewater management, and exchange information among stakeholders
to facilitate implementing the WEPA Action Program on “Development of an Appropriate
Domestic Wastewater Management System in Lao PDR”. After the meeting, the on-site
participants visited a Johkasou wastewater treatment facility at the Watty international Airport.

5. Renewal of the WEPA website
We are pleased to announce the renewal of our website next month. This renewal is to make ourwebsite easy to navigate even with mobile devices and aims to provide the latest informationfrom our partners to facilitate knowledge exchange. You can still obtain information on the oldwebsite using the archives. Please be sure to check it out next month!

6. 10th World Water ForumThe 10th World Water Forum (WWF10) will take place in Bali,Indonesia, 18-22 May 2024, under the main theme of Water for
Shared Prosperity. The WEPA Secretariat is planning tocontribute to WWF10 by participating in activities and inputting
recent outcomes of WEPA activities.
More information at https://worldwaterforum.org/

Call for your contribution to WEPA News! (Please send us any updatedinformation)
We are seeking a cooperative agenda with partners. To ensure smooth progress, we welcome
information on any new developments on water environmental governance in your country. If you
have any related information, please send it to the WEPA Secretariat by email < WEPAsecretariat@iges.or.jp >.
Distributed by the WEPA Secretariat
c/o Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa
240-0115 Japan
Email: WEPA-secretariat@iges.or.jp
http://wepa-db.net/en/index.html
WEPA NEWS aims to disseminate the updated information on WEPA activities. It also aims to exchange information
among those who are interested in WEPA, including the focal persons in partner countries, experts with advice on
WEPA activities, and participants of past WEPA-related meetings.
* If you would rather not receive future newsletters, please contact us.