Group photo of the entire group. Executive-level participants, including presidents and bureau chiefs, from various countries.
summary
Event: 5th Asia Regional Waterworks Business Executives Forum
Date: Tuesday, August 22, 2023 – Friday, August 25, 2023 *Off-site visits to Japanese companies (Kubota Corporation and Yokogawa Solution Services Corporation) will be conducted on August 24, 2023.
Location: Yokohama Symposia
Main Participants
A total of 495 participants over 3 days (excluding the company visit day), including 28 executives from water utilities and competent authorities in 10 Southeast and South Asian countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka).
Background and Objectives
The 5th Asian Regional Waterworks Industry Executives Forum (hereinafter referred to as “Forum”) was held in Yokohama from August 22 to 25, 2023, under the theme of “Co-creating Resilient and Sustainable Water Supply Services from Asia”. The purpose of the Forum was to discuss future initiatives to realize “strong and sustainable water supply services” together with leaders of the water supply sector in the Asian region, and to expand networking among participants.
The Water Resources Group of the Global Environment Department of JICA regularly holds “Executive Forum” in Asia and Africa as one of the platform activities for leaders of water utilities in developing countries to learn from each other from the same perspective, transcending national boundaries and positions. The first Executive Forum was held in Asia in 2010, and this is the fifth such forum.
Contents
Do what needs to be done, without fear of being bold to achieve SDG Goal 6!
The forum began with opening remarks by Tomoko Okubo, Deputy Mayor of Yokohama City, and Eiji Iwasaki, JICA Senior Advisor.
Next, Exxon Chan, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Cambodia and Vice Chairman of the Council for Agriculture and Rural Development (former President of the Phnom Penh Waterworks Authority) gave a keynote speech on the importance of leadership in achieving SDG Goal 6 (safe water and toilets worldwide) in the face of changing conditions such as infectious diseases, climate change, and geopolitical challenges, and the ” He explained the achievements of the reforms known as the “Miracle of Phnom Penh” and their ripple effects on rural Cambodia, emphasizing the importance of governance and management of water utilities.
Then, JICA’s Global Environment Department presented 1) the results of the Executive Forum and Third Country Training in Africa and case studies that led to action, 2) expectations for participants to learn together as a “Water Family” with shared goals to realize strong and sustainable water supply services, and 3) the hope that participants at more advanced stages will learn from each other’s experiences and share their knowledge. The development stages of waterworks projects, which is the development scenario of the cluster project strategy “Supporting Waterworks Entity Growth,” were mentioned, and the message was sent to participants to learn from each other according to their own development stage, and to encourage participants at more advanced stages to share their knowledge and experiences with those at subsequent stages.
This was followed by Session 1, “Toward a Water Utility Resilient to Risk and Change,” which consisted of six presentations and group discussions on issues such as the impact of climate change on water supply sources (saltwater runoff, drought, etc.), measures against corona and other infectious diseases, and disaster preparedness. It was confirmed as a common understanding that preparedness, including the formulation of plans that take into account short-, medium-, and long-term countermeasures, is necessary, and that setting appropriate water rates is important because funds are needed to address risks, but timely revision is a difficult task.
On the second day, Session 2, “Toward Achieving SDG Goal 6,” consisted of a total of 9 presentations and group discussions, divided into Part 1, “Service Improvement, Improved Communication with Customers, and Rate Revision,” and Part 2, “Fund Procurement. The importance of the total cost system and the difficulty of rate revision in the water supply business, the need for a medium- to long-term master plan including water resource policies, the importance of reducing non-revenue water, and the consideration of private sector participation for financing were discussed, and it was confirmed that, above all, it is important to improve the management of water supply businesses, which will be the basis for financing to achieve SDG Goal 6. It was confirmed that this would be the basis for financing to achieve SDG Goal 6.
On the third day, participants were divided into two groups and participated in site visits to Kubota Corporation and Yokogawa Solution Service Corporation. Many participants expressed their admiration for the high quality technology and products of Japanese companies, providing an opportunity to deepen their understanding of “quality infrastructure” once again.
On the fourth day, Session 3, “Collaboration and Co-Creation,” consisted of five presentations and group discussions, which confirmed the importance of partnerships, including cooperation among domestic water utilities, with the private sector, and with other countries.
In the final summary session, each country presented their action plans on how they would like to apply the lessons learned and insights gained through the Executive Forum to their waterworks projects in their home countries. Afterwards, Professor Satoshi Takizawa of the Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, who chaired this forum, gave an impassioned message to the participants: “Knowing what to do and doing what to do are two different things, and I hope that you will not be afraid to be bold and do what you need to do to achieve SDG Goal 6. He gave a passionate message to the participants.
The four days of heated discussions ended with closing remarks by Shuichi Yamaoka, Director General of the Yokohama City Waterworks Bureau, and Takahiro Morita, Director of the Global Environment Division of JICA.
During the forum, presentations by five registered companies and panel displays by nine companies were held with the cooperation of the Yokohama City Waterworks Bureau and the Yokohama Water Business Council, and many participants actively asked questions and provided specific consultation to each company.
For the future
JICA will continue to support the realization of strong and sustainable water supply services co-created from Asia through follow-up activities such as online meetings to share information on the implementation of the action plans of each country. JICA will continue to support the realization of robust and sustainable water supply services co-created from Asia through follow-up activities such as online meetings to share the status of implementation of action plans by each country.
© Source JICA
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