from 16 countries, is designed to serve as a knowledge partner to provide information to river basin organizations and government institutions for the promotion of integrated water resources management (IWRM) in river basins in Asian countries and also function as an institution to offer training and other services for the promotion of IWRM.

Separately, at the initiative of Japan (Ministry of the Environment), the Water Environment Partnership in Asia (WEPA) was established by 11 countries in East Asia (Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan) for the purpose of strengthening environmental governance in the region, providing support for relevant countries in their policy implementation by carrying out construction of information database, information sharing among stakeholders, and human resources development and capacity building in an integrated manner. Currently, efforts are under way for information base development, human resources development and policy implementation as well as strengthening and enhancement of aquatic environmental governance in the Asian monsoon region.

One example of IWRM initiatives in Asia is the Mekong River, which has multiple countries in its basin. The governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam established the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in 1995 (Figure 4-2-9) to regulate water use for the purpose of sustainable development in the entire basin. Achievements of MRC activities in recent years include the establishment of the flood management and mitigation program (FMMP) to mitigate damage from flooding in the Mekong basin. The MRC is building the flood database and providing training and other programs for enhancing management capabilities in order to achieve effective cooperation. These efforts, coupled with river development in the 1990s, helped Vietnam increase agricultural production in the Mekong delta from US$1.75 billion (about ¥154.8 billion) in 1995 to US$3.3 billion (about ¥291.9 billion) in 2004 (Figure 4-2-10). Similarly, farm production in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the Mekong basin has also increased.

## d) Japan’s international contribution

Global water problems cannot be solved with efforts by a limited number of countries in limited areas alone. Going forward, Japan needs to actively contribute by offering technical cooperation for the achievement of MDGs as its coordinated efforts on water problems.

For example, the Japan Global Center for Urban Sanitation (GCUS) was established in April 2009 for the purpose of undertaking activities to spread sustainable sewage systems overseas by mobilizing know-how and expertise held by Japan's industry, academic and public sectors on the sewage system.

GCUS has the three specific objectives: 1) international contribution to solving global water and sanitation problems; 2) support business activities of sewage-related companies; and 3) transposition of overseas experiences into sewage-related policy measures at home. GCUS supports international cooperation activities by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other institutions, while it also consolidates results of overseas field surveys, information on

Figure4-2-11 Activities of Global Center for Urban Sanitation (GCUS)