## (4) Responding to International Water issues

As a reflection of the heightening common awareness that water issues are a global scale issue, water issues were discussed at various international conferences such as the 6th World Water Forum (March 2012), the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20, June 2012), and the Special Thematic Session of the General Assembly on Water and Disasters (March 2013).

In order to support the formulation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plans, internationally recognized as an effective method for solving water issues, MLIT cooperated with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which played a central role, to create the “IWRM Guidelines at River Basin Level” and is coordinating with UNESCO and the Network of Asian River Basin Organizations (NARBO) to contribute to its wide dissemination and promotion. Also, together with Kitakyushu City, Osaka City, Tokyo Metropolis, Yokohama City, Kobe City, and Fukuoka City, MLIT formed a consortium, the Water Environment Solution Hub, to share experiences and expertise with developing countries in the field of sewage works through seminars, field studies, and training.

Additionally, to build international consensus that disaster prevention is the key to sustainable development for the reduction of global water disasters, Japan is sharing its experiences and technology and working to build international solidarity regarding the strengthening of water disaster prevention. Also, at the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management, recognized as a partner organization by UNESCO, of the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI), research and development is being conducted on projects such as the Integrated Flood Analysis System (IFAS) which uses satellite information and analysis technology such as the Rainfall-Runoff-Inundation Model; the fruits of these efforts are used for human resource development efforts such as the master's degree in water-related disaster risk management as well as accepting trainees for short-term training in water-related disaster risk management. Also, technical cooperation and international assistance is being implemented jointly with UNESCO and the Asian Development Bank such as building a flood forecast and warning system and hosting workshops targeted toward Asian countries and regions vulnerable to water disasters.

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## Hosting the ISO International Workshop on Water

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which creates a large number of public international standards, established the “Implementation Task Force on Water” at the ISO Council meeting held in March 2011. Later, based on the task force’s recommendations, an “international workshop in Japan regarding water” was hosted from July 25-26, 2012 for the purpose of $ \textcircled{1} $ improve the recognition of water-related standards.

View of the Workshop

Source) MLIT

development, spread related technology, share knowledge and best practices, and spread solutions needed on a global scale, ② engage in proposals and studies for standardization to take on global water challenges, ③ determine the priorities for the development of new ISO standards in the water sector and determine a specific action plan.

Over 150 delegates from 22 countries gathered at the workshop for discussions regarding initiatives for international standards in the water sector. As a result, high priority items requiring the development of ISO standards were determined to include: ① water leakage measures, ② recycled sewage water usage, ③ effective use of sewage sludge, and ④ flooding measures among the 14 items identified. In light of the workshop's results, standardization proposals for the effective use of sewage sludge and recycled sewage water usage were made and the standardization of the water sector is expected to accelerate even more.