CHAIR’S SUMMARY(FINAL December 4th, 15:15pm)

Excellencies, honored guests, distinguished delegates, ladies andgentlemen.

I have the honor, on behalf of the Chairperson of the Summit, topresent the summary of the Summit.
The outcomes and key messages from the 1st Asia-Pacific Water
Summit are strong, tangible and wide-ranging. The challenges andopportunities facing our region were discussed in all their complexity
over the last two days. It would be difficult, if not impossible, tocompress such a rich discourse in only a few minutes. I will, instead,attempt to convey the general sense of the proceedings. If I haveomitted any particularly relevant information, I seek your indulgence.

After Mr. Mori, as the Chair of the Summit’s Steering Committee,
opened the Summit and his Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince ofJapan set the stage with his inspiring remarks, Mr. Fukuda, the Prime
Minster of Japan, addressed the delegates and described how threemain water problems were affecting the Asia-Pacific region: the lackof access to water and sanitation, water-related disasters, and theneed to secure water for agriculture. He concluded by stating thatIWRM is the solution to these problems, and added that water would
be on the agenda of next years’ G8 Summit.

In his presentation on the Messages from the Asia-Pacific Water
Forum, Prof. Koh, Chair of the APWF’s Governing Council, presented
the work of the APWF has been doing since its creation in March
2006 – less than two years ago. Prof. Koh presented the Policy Brief,a report that was prepared by members of the APWF family. Hereminded the participants of the urgency of the water-related
problems facing the region as well as the innovative work being
done in many countries. He urged all Summit participants, leadersand high-level decision-makers in particular, to step forward andcommit themselves to making a real difference by bringing water tothe top of the political agenda and to work together to solve ourregion’s water problems. This was imperative in order to support
efforts at development and poverty reduction.

Sanitation was the focus of the Keynote Speech delivered by His
Royal Highness Prince Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, whoalso serves as Chairman of the United Nations Secretary-General’s
Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation. Noting that solving water
problems in both rural and urban contexts is one of the keys tounlocking economic growth, the Crown Prince went on to make thelink between the Priority Themes of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum andthe six areas most in need of focus from the Hashimoto Action Plan.

Warm words of encouragement were then given in a video message
from United Nations Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon, whoemphasized the critical nature of the region’s water problems,especially in the context of climate change, and underlined the urgent
nature of this Summit and the need to commit to action.

Finally, in his Memorial Lecture, His Imperial Highness, the Crown
Prince of Japan, offered insightful perspectives about the linkages
between water and human development, with historical examples
from Japan and from his experiences from his many travels. This
enriched the subsequent discourse over the next two days.

Every one of the presentations from the opening plenary wasdelivered with a sense of urgency. Coming from leaders at thehighest levels, their messages did more than simply set thestage for the Summit. Collectively, they stressed that progressin the region was possible, provided the proper commitment andsupport was made available.

After the election of the distinguished chair and vice-chairs, and theadoption of the agenda, we heard from a number of heads of stateand government who talked about water-related challenges in each of
their countries and presented some of the solutions they have beenworking on.

The leaders from the Central Asian countries of Tajikistan the Kyrgyz
Republic described how their countries economies were particularly
vulnerable to water-related disasters and the need for a cooperative
approach to solve water-related issues including those of the Aral

Sea Basin. Increasing investment levels, particularly in rehabilitating
their countries aging water infrastructure requires immediate attention.

Noting that water scarcity was an inherent challenge to low-lying
islands, mainly because of their lack of river systems and vulnerable
groundwater resources, the Leaders of the Asia-Pacific small islandstates of Kiribati, Palau, Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia, Niueand Tuvalu hoped that the Summit would mobilize an increasedcommitment to financial and technical support. For several of thesestates, the real threat from projected sea level rise and increased
cyclonic activity associated with climate change is a major concern totheir lives and livelihoods.

The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan described how climatechange has led to rapidly receding glaciers, which in turn pose thethreat of glacial lake bursts which leads to flash floods that affecthuman settlements in the downstream valleys.

The Secretary General of UNESCO, offered the scientific experienceof the organization in seeking solutions to water related problems in
the region.

Although clearly focused on water, it is interesting to note that
all the speeches in the plenary identified climate change as a
critical challenge to effective and sustainable water management.
This clearly demonstrates the need to mainstream adaptation toclimate change into the programmes and actions we will beundertaking to solve the water problems of the Asia-Pacificregion.

The session on Climate Change, Glaciers, and Water Resources inthe Himalayan region called attention to the fact that several glaciers
have been shrinking at an accelerated rate in recent decades, and to
the need to increase regional cooperation among the countries in theHimalayan region to gather and share information for assessing andmonitoring climate change and its consequences for water resourcesmanagement.

The CEO’s Roundtable brought together corporate and issue leaders
to review the Asia Pacific Water Scenario, with a focus on thechallenges that are having a growing impact on their businesses andtheir communities, as well as to identify opportunities. The session
showcased a number of corporate best practices, offered policy
recommendations, and called upon business leaders across theregion to support the Global Compact CEO Water Mandate.

The session on Monitoring of Investment and Results in Water
showed how various experiences in the region point to the urgent
need to improve policies for the regional and national monitoring ofinvestments and results, and that this monitoring should be linked topriority issues such as investment and its impact on IWRM and waterand sanitation.

In the Regional Launch of the International Year of Sanitation – 2008,
the participants recognized that sanitation, in combination with thecapacity to practice hygienic behaviors, is fundamental to theachievement of most of the other Millennium Development Goals.
The participants called on Governments to enhance efforts for far
more effective implementation of the Hashimoto Action Plan,including the formation of regional fora to address the challenge ofsanitation. They also requested that Japan include sanitation on theagenda of the 2008 Toyako G8 Summit.

The Small Island’s Dialogue on Water and Climate called attention tothe vulnerability and particular needs of small island countries toeffectively manage their water resources under a highly variable andchanging climate. One of the main discussion points included theneed to change the paradigm for dealing with the vulnerability ofsmall island States from disaster response to disaster risk reduction
and disaster management.

In the session dedicated to Ensuring Water Security in the Aral Sea
Basin, we learned about the difficulties of trying to balance demands
from different water use sectors such as irrigation, hydropower, andthe environment, particularly in a multi-country and multi-jurisdictionalsetting. There was however a sense that cooperation was improving
and that the rich human resources and technical expertise in theCentral Asian region would be a real asset in addressing thesechallenges.

The session on Water-Related Disaster Management focused thechallenges of integrating water-related Disaster Risk Reduction into
national development plans. Participants called for the recognition ofadaptation to increasing risks from climate change as an issue of thehighest priority. The impact of disasters on women and the steps
needed to adapt solutions from a gender perspective was an areathat required urgent attention.

The session on Water for Development and Ecosystems was devoted
to discussing how to secure water for long-term, multi-sectoral needs,generating both development and environmental dividends. The
session acknowledged the importance of empowering local actors
and fostering good governance as essential means of creating winwin situations in the region. The political dimensions of thesedevelopments were recognized as being particularly important.
Specific initiatives have and are being launched to take therecommendations forward as mentioned in the Policy Brief.

Recognizing that investing in water is to invest in poverty reduction,
the Session on Knowledge, Financing and Capacity Developmentdiscussed various finance mechanisms, such as proper cost-sharing
between governments and users, and the utilization of the additional
resources accrued from the recent rapid economic growth for muchneeded works for sewerage, sanitation and agriculture.

And, last but not the least, the session devoted to Increasing
Capacity for Local Actions presented a series of concrete initiatives,

including to the creation of capacity building hubs for increasing local
capacities. These hubs will serve as an active link with the various
country’s NGOs, civil society and local governments to support
advocacy towards the three APWF Priority Themes.

The ten Topic Sessions were much more than a mere forum fordiscussion. They were critical stepping stones towards
achieving progress under the three Priority Themes and five Key
Result Areas of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum. A number ofConcrete Initiatives were announced, and these will ensure that
progress will be made towards solving our region’s water
problems. There is a clear sense of a real political commitment
to change, with innovative programmes and initiatives in many
parts of the region. However, it was also made clear during
several of the sessions that strengthened support from theregion’s leaders and decision makers is absolutely essential inorder to attain the levels of progress needed to improve the lives
and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people in our region.

This concludes the Chairperson’s summary.
Thank you