TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia will be the host of the first Asia Water Council (AWC) from March 24-26, 2016. The meeting will be held in Nusa Dua, Bali, to discuss challenges faced by Asian countries in terms of water resources.
"The AWC's mission is to push and support the development of sustainable water resources by involving everyone through partnerships with global water resource organizations," Agus Suprapto, director of water resources stewardship at the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, said on Monday, March 21.
The meeting will discuss three main issues related to water cycles: the use of water for all aspects of living, protection of the environment, and the mitigation of natural disasters.
Agus said the AWC will talk about a number of strategies to handle water resource problems in Asia. The first is to make water a goal and a target for sustainable development in the region. The second is to provide a program that serves as a forum for Asian countries as well as stakeholder related to the AWC. The third is to build partnerships in facing challenges in the water resource field.
The AWC will also adopt the Smart Water Management Initiative (SWMI) to handle problems of water management in Asia's large cities.
The AWC is expected to be attended by some 200 people, comprising of the AWC Board of Council, the special member committee, AWC members who represent 50 government and non-government organizations as well as international ones, public organizations, companies and businesses, multilateral development banks, and research organizations.
The AWC was established through the Asian Water High Level Round (Shot) forum initiated Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Nepal, Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and France as representatives of the World Water Forum. In addition to discussing the problems of water management, the council's meeting will determine the first President and Vice President of the AWC.
EGI ADYATAMA