Lynette Lee Corporal

SINGAPORE, Nov 29 2007 (IPS) – A report released by the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) in this affluent city-state on Thursday urges the region s policymakers to place water-related issues high on their development agenda.
The #39Asian Water Development Outlook 2007 #39 (AWDO) outlines for leaders the crucial role that they can play in finding sustainable water management solutions to such issues as lack of access to drinking water for an estimated 700 million people, the problems created by water-borne diseases and degradation of land-water ecosystems.

One of the greatest challenges we are facing now in terms of water management reforms is finding committed leaders who have the vision and courage to promote change in their sectors, said AsDB acting director-general Xianbin Yao at the release of the report.

The 50-page document presents facts and figures about water issues in the region, the experience of various communities and offers solutions to both water and sanitation problems. Its aim is to make stakeholders and administrators realise the complex problems they face and offer methods of effectively addressing these at the policy level.

The AWDO (report) is something enticing enough for anyone to pick up and read. We are hoping it will be a useful document for people to take action on, said K.E. Seetharam, AsDB #39s principal water supply and sanitation specialist.

The report, he said, was put together by experts who have passion to solve water problems in the region. The team was led by Stockholm Water Prize 2006 Laureate Prof. Asit Biswas with the support from Singapore #39s Public Utilities Board.
It is important for the political leadership in the region to understand the significance of this report. All citizens in Asia need to take this issue seriously. It is a report for everybody, not just for the government, stressed Ravi Narayanan vice-chair of the Asia Pacific Water Forum (APWF).

The report #39s major focus is on urban water management, considered a priority issue due to the accelerating urbanisation in the region. Biswas predicts, in the report, that a future water crisis will be caused not by actual water scarcity but because of neglect and mismanagement of wastewater.

The continuation of the present trend will make available water sources increasingly more contaminated, and will make provision of clean water more and more expensive, as well as more complex and difficult to manage. By diluting seriously the definition of access to clean water and considering sanitation only in a very restricted sense, developing countries, including many in Asia, are mortgaging their future in terms of water security, Biswas stated.

For APWF governing council chair and ambassador-at-large of Singapore, Prof. Tommy Koh, the release of the AWDO could not have been more timely considering that the Asia Pacific Water Summit is set to be held on Dec. 3 4 at Beppu in Japan s Oita prefecture. The AWDO 2007 is a very valuable contribution to the summit. We hope that through the AWDO and the APWF, we will succeed in elevating the importance of water and sanitation on the local, national and global agendas, he said.

The report is just a part of AsDB #39s one billion US dollar regional technical assistance to support the APWF. It also pledged support for future APWF regional events.

Koh said he is delighted with the fact that the AWDO report included inspiring success stories from the region. I think countries with similar problems need not reinvent the wheel. They can take these success stories and modify them according to their needs. I think this is one of the most important achievements of the AWDO.

Regarding sanitation issues, Seetharam said that the report talks of waterless sanitation and less water sanitation and also emphasises decentralised solutions for sanitation. For example, water from a public source, such as a river or a reservoir, will be brought in via water pipes and delivered to homes. During this process, 50 percent of water gets lost in leakages. Unfortunately, we adopt the same process for sanitation. The same plumbing technique is used and 50 percent more wastewater is lost, he said.

The best solution, Seetharam said, would be for every small town to have a self-contained sewage system, maintained in a proper, sustainable and affordable manner.

Echoing the issues raised at the recently concluded World Toilet Association s general assembly in Seoul, South Korea, Singapore #39s World Toilet Organisation founder Jack Sim agreed that ecological sanitation is the way to go. The days of flush toilets are numbered. In rural areas, it is already available.

Seetharam is optimistic that the report will encourage positive changes although it could take a few more years to really solve pressing issues such as ready provision of potable water. A few litres of drinking water can be given immediately and this is something that we should demand of our government utility managers. I think governments can address this problem because they can produce drinking water. It #39s just that it doesn #39t reach the intended recipient, but we shall work together to make it happen, he said.

Prof. Bhanoji Rao member of the AWDO expert team and described by AsDB #39s Yao as the heart and soul of the report said he hoped it would be possible for every Asian to drink water from the tap, just like in Singapore .