1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit, Beppu, Japan, 3-4th December 2007: policy brief 2007
The 4WWF ministerial meeting also called upon the APWF to organize Asia-Pacific Water Summits (APWS), to be held, once every 2-3 years. It was agreed that first Summit would be held in Japan in 2007 and that subsequent Summits are to be organized in other countries of the Asia Pacific region though an open proposal process. The Summits will bring together leaders of the region and showcase leadership in decision-making, excellence in practice and innovation, and concrete results that have had substantial impacts at the policy down through the grassroots levels. Each APWS will target top-level policy and decision-makers beyond the water sector, such as heads of governments and ministers of finance and planning, as well as leaders from the private sector, local governments, civil society and media in the region. The primary objective of the Summits is to create the opportunity for the political leaders of the region to recognize the significance of the water issues for achieving MDGs. The dialogue with other water stakeholders at the Summits will facilitate this recognition, which is expected to be translated into concrete actions in each country by pushing the issue towards the top of their political agendas.