WEPA NewsThe 34th issue

5 October 2021
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 web site (http://wepa-db.net/en/index.html).

Topics1.

Latest WEPA Policy Brief

2.

Consultation Meeting for the WEPA Action Program in Cambodia

3.

Preparation of the proposal for the WEPA Action Program in Lao PDR

4.

WEPA participation in an action group for the 9th World Water Forum (WWF9)

5.

17th WEPA Annual Meeting to be held in conjunction to the 4th APWS

6.

Greetings from new members in the WEPA Secretariat

7.

We want your contribution to the WEPA News!

1.

Latest WEPA Policy Brief

A new WEPA Policy Brief entitled “Toward the Establishment ofSustainable Faecal Sludge Management - Lessons Learned from WEPA
Partner Countries and Japan -“, by Dr. Pham Ngoc Bao of IGES waspublished on the WEPA web site in March 2021. This Policy Brief has beendeveloped with the aim of: (i) investigating the existing situation andchallenges on faecal sludge management in WEPA countries; (ii)identifying enabling factors for introducing and implementing appropriate
business models for sustainable faecal sludge management, throughselected case studies in WEPA countries; and (iii) initiating discussions on how lessons learned
from Japan’s experiences in using Johkasou systems for human waste and faecal sludge
management can be introduced to improve the situation in WEPA partner countries.
Available at http://wepa-db.net/jp/publication/2021_policybrief/WEPA_policy_brief_web.pdf

2.

Consultation Meeting for the WEPA Action Program in Cambodia

On 6 September 2021, a Consultation Meeting to discuss the implementation plan for the WEPA
Action Program in Cambodia was held on line. Following suggestions from a WEPA advisor andother participants at the meeting, the WEPA action program on “Capacity building of the officers
at Sub-national level on identifying major pollution sources and estimate pollution in Tonle SapLake” was officially launched. The Ministry of Environment, Cambodia, will conduct activities toimprove the water quality management of Tonle Sap Lake by enhancing the capacity ofgovernment officials so that they can better understand the pollution load from the surroundingarea. WEPA secretariat will provide assistance in this regard.

3.

Preparation of the proposal for the WEPA Action Program in Lao PDR

Based on outcomes from the preliminary discussion and field visit conducted in early 2020, theWEPA Secretariat provided support for the launch of a new Action Program to develop an
appropriate domestic wastewater management system in Lao PDR. The program plans toprovide a scientific basis to develop standard designs and guidelines for operation and tomaintenance of septic tank and decentralized wastewater treatment systems, and to strengthen
the capacity of officers from the relevant agencies to enable water environment improvement.
The Ministry of National Resources and Environment, Lao PDR, is preparing a proposal for theAction Program.

4.

WEPA participation in an action group for the 9th World Water Forum(WWF9)The 9th World Water Forum (WWF9) will take place in Dakar from 21st to
26th March 2022. The ambition of Senegal and the World Water Council is toorganize a different forum, at the social, political and economic levels. It is
hope that the forum will be a catalyst for action to accelerate universal
access to water and sanitation, thereby making connections with global
agendas and commitments relating to SDGs, including the Sendai
Agreement on natural risks and disasters, the Paris Agreement on climate,and Africa's Agenda 2063, etc.
The WEPA Secretariat is participating in an Action Group on Water Quality Improvement (1.B.
Improve water quality and waste management) to discuss plans for individual sessions at WWF9and seeks ways to introduce WEPA activities. WEPA is also planning to hold an exhibition toshowcase its activities.
More information at https://www.worldwaterforum.org/e5.

The 17th WEPA Annual Meeting to be held in conjunction to the 4th APWS

The WEPA Secretariat and the Ministry of the Environment, Japan willorganize the 17th WEPA Annual Meeting in conjunction with the 4th AsiaPacific Water Summit (APWS) which will be held on 23rd and 24th April
2022 in Kumamoto City, Japan. The date, venue, and style (on site, online, or hybrid) is now under consideration, and will be announced inNovember 2021.

6.

Greetings from new members in the WEPA Secretariat

We are pleased to introduce two new members who have joined the WEPA Secretariat recently:

Kazuyuki YAGI: I was appointed as a programme manager of theWEPA Secretariat last April, as the successor of Dr. Noriaki MURASE.
My academic background is biogeochemistry and soil science. I haveworked at the Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences (NIAES),
National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), and theJapan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS),
both of which are located in Tsukuba, Japan. In addition, I had a position
as a senior researcher at the Joint Graduate School of Energy andEnvironment (JGSEE), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok,Thailand, from 2018 to 2020. It is my great pleasure to tell you that I am excited about thechallenges ahead in my new role and I am looking forward to working with you all.
Yukako INAMURA: I am Yukako INAMURA, and I recently joined theWEPA Secretariat at IGES. I previously worked at several research
institutes in USA, France, and Japan and participated in projects onwater degradation in rural and urban areas as well as exploring
amenity/disamenity values of the water environment. I am very excited
to be involved in WEPA because I can now learn how the water
environment in Asia has been changing and affecting our daily lives. I
look forward to working with you and discussing issues in Asia for abetter future!
7.

Your contribution to the WEPA News is welcome! (Please send us anyupdated information)

We are searching for a cooperative agenda with partners. To ensure smooth progress, wewelcome information on any new developments on water environmental governance in yourcountry. If you have any related information, please send it to the Secretariat by email< WEPA-secretariat@iges.or.jp >.
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