First Asia-Pacfic Water Summit Targets Access For All In The Region To Safe Drinking Water By 2025

Beppu, Japan (AHN) - The First Asia-Pacific Water Summit closed Wednesday with participants from 36 nations targeting to ensure access for everyone in the region to safe drinking water by 2025. Provision of clean water and sanitation will take precedence over other water-related problems in the economic and development agenda of the region.

The ambitious goal, aimed at 700 million Asian-Pacific islanders without access to safe drinking water and 1.9 billion more lacking hygienic toilets, is broader than the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2000. The UN-set goal was to reduce by half the number of Asians and Pacific residents without clean water and basic sanitation by 2015.

To ensure commitment to achieving the target, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori suggested each country in the Asia-Pacific zone appoint a minister in charge of water. Mr. Mori was the chairman of the summit's steering committee.

Other water-related issues tackled in the two-day meeting were measures against water disasters, threats from the shrinking of the Aral Sea and the importance of leadership in water security.

The discussions and recommendations in the Beppu summit will serve as a guideline for the G-8 Summit in Hokkaido on July. Among the issues to be tackled at the G-8 conference is climate change.