WEPA NewsThe 37th issue
1 July 2022
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 furtherinformation, please visit the WEPA website (http://wepa-db.net/en/index.html).

TopicsWEPA Topics
1.

17th WEPA Annual Meeting on 22 April 2022

2.

4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit (4th APWS) on 23 and 24 April 2022

Other Topics
3.

Launch of a new ASEAN Cooperation Project ‘PoDIUM-2’

Call for your contribution to WEPA News!

1. 17th WEPA Annual Meeting
On 22 April 2022, the 17th WEPA Annual Meeting
was held in Kumamoto City, Japan by the WEPA
Secretariat and the Ministry of the Environment,
Japan, using a hybrid in-person and online style.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants fromthe WEPA partner countries attended the meeting
remotely. In total, 52 participants from 13 WEPA
member states, including WEPA focal points, WEPA
advisory board members, as well as experts and stakeholders, attended the meeting.
In addition to reporting activities that were carried out in FY2021, the annual meeting featured
two sessions to discuss current issues and challenges on domestic wastewater management in
WEPA partner countries. In the first session, case studies on improving water quality throughestablishing domestic wastewater governance were reported from Japan (Lake Teganuma),
Republic of Korea (Han River), and the Philippines (Bacuit Bay, Palawan). In the second session,
the current status and issues related to the introduction of decentralized wastewater treatment
systems were reported from the WEPA Secretariat, Lao PDR, and Prof. Thammarat Koottatep ofthe Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. At the close of the meeting, the WEPA Secretariat
announced that the next WEPA Annual Meeting is scheduled to be held in early 2023.

Meeting report including program and presentation materials available at the WEPA website
http://wepa-db.net/en/meeting/20220422/index.html

2. 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit (4th APWS)
The 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit (4th APWS) was held in Kumamoto
City, Japan, on 23 and 24 April 2022. The Summit convened under thetheme, “Water for Sustainable Development–Best Practices and the Next
Generation,” and brought together, among others, high-level delegates
including heads of states and representatives from internationalorganizations in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss various water-related
issues. The Summit featured nine Parallel Thematic Sessions, fourIntegration Sessions, and two Special Sessions, organized with the cooperation andcollaboration of many experts and practitioners. The “Kumamoto Declaration,” the outcome of the
4th APWS, was adopted at the closing session.
WEPA participated in Parallel Thematic Session No. 5, entitled “Toward the realization ofappropriate wastewater management to contribute to sustainable development”. This session
focused on wastewater management to contribute to sustainable development and movetowards achieving the SDGs by 2030, taking into account climate change and recent transitions
internationally, and more specifically in Asia, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The WEPA
Secretariat contributed to the outcomes of the session by joining the panel discussion.
For more information, visit the website https://www.4apws-kumamoto2022.jp/

3. Launch of a new ASEAN Cooperation Project ‘PoDIUM-2’
A new ASEAN Cooperation Project entitled ‘Strengthening Capacity Development for LocalGovernments in ASEAN to Tackle Microplastics and Water Pollution through Decentralised
Domestic Wastewater Management Approach (PoDIUM-2)’ launched its two-year program byorganizing an online Inception Workshop on 17 June 2022. The project has been designed toaddress the needs and existing challenges when using a decentralised wastewater management
approach for reducing both water quality and microplastics pollution in ASEAN countries. TheNational Water Resources Board in the Philippines will be the main project proponent. TheInstitute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan will act as the Implementing Agency,
coordinating, leading and managing the project activities. Government officials from wastewater
management related agencies, institutions, and companies as well as the relevant ministries atnational and city/provincial level in all 10 ASEAN countries will be beneficiaries of this project.

Call for your contribution to WEPA News! (Please send us any updated
information)
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.