Date: 9-11 August 2022
Venue: Digital

The Asia Water Forum 2022 convened by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will take place virtually on 9-11 August 2022. The theme will be “Towards a Resilient and Water Secure Asia and the Pacific.” Underpinned by the need for climate change resilience, sustainable water management, reliable water services, and water security, participants can expect high-level plenary sessions and parallel break-out sessions centered around four key focus areas: (i) water as a sustainable resource; (ii) universal water and sanitation services; (iii) productive water in agriculture and the economy; and (iv) climate change and water-related risks.

The event will provide a platform and venue for sharing knowledge and experience on water information, innovation, and technology across the region. Participants are expected from ADB developing member countries, water utilities, development partners, private sector, water-related organizations, research and academia, civil society, and other stakeholder groups.

Register on the event website.

AWP and our Partners at the Asia Water Forum

Session: The Path Toward the Asian Water Development Outlook 2025

Session by invitation only

This closed session is to reflect on the experience of developing the AWDO 2020 and to help plan for AWDO 2025 with a view to ensuring greater use of AWDO data for water security policy and planning in ADB developing member countries. 

Speakers include:  

• Geoff Wilson, Senior Water Resources Specialist, Asian Development Bank 
• Lucía Gamarra, Senior Partnerships and Impact Officer, Australian Water Partnership  
• Neeta Pokhrel, Chief of Water Sector Group, Asian Development Bank 
• Mark Pascoe, CEO, International WaterCentre/Chair, Asia-Pacific Water Forum  
• Sarah Ransom, General Manager, Australian Water Partnership 

Session: Enhancing the economic value of water 

Presentation: Modernising irrigated agriculture
Tuesday 9 August 2022, 1:00–2:30 pm AEST 

Asia contains 70 percent of the world’s irrigated area, where 34 percent of cultivated land is irrigated, as compared to only 10 percent in North America and 6 percent in Africa. Irrigation has been largely developed to enhance rice productivity. However, in many countries, and especially in Southeast Asia, fish comprise the main animal-source protein – for instance, in the four countries of the Lower Mekong Basin, freshwater fish and other aquatic animals make up 50-80 percent of animal protein consumed by people.  

This project has developed the tools, country-specific guidelines, regional lessons, and in-country capacities required to include biodiversity and ecosystem service considerations more systematically into irrigation rehabilitation, extension, and modernisation programs. The project has developed “soft” tools, through the development of guidance documents and e-learning activities. It has also developed “hard” tools, in the forms of completed infrastructure projects to act as “proof of concept” demonstrations. The activity has leveraged both government and donor funds in Myanmar and Indonesia. 

Speaker: Lee Baumgartner, Interim Director Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University 

Session: Innovative tools for awareness raising and decision making 

Tuesday 9 August 2022 at 5–6:30pm AEST

Presentation: Adaptive partnering during the pandemic – lessons and successes

Water supply is increasingly harder to secure in a water scarce world. Water utilities provide drinking and clean water services for the community and ensure the water is well-distributed. Currently, there are 350 individual water utilities spread across 514 cities and districts in Indonesia. Indonesia is now facing a water crisis as the nation’s population and development increase and risk of climate change becomes prevalent, ageing water infrastructure and systems regarding water scarcity and access to clean water for communities. 

The case study is the Australia-Indonesia Water Utility Improvement Program. AWP supported the Australian Water Association to implement a twinning partnership between three Indonesian water utilities (two water utilities and one wastewater utility) and three Australian water utilities. Weaving GEDSI into the technical aspects of the program was a challenge. Building relationships was the solution. Engagement between twinning partners during COVID-19 was also a challenge, as Zoom meetings were too formal. Existing relationships, and the cross regional TeleWater program supported continuous engagement. 

Speaker: Katie Trevor, International and Industry Program Manager, Australian Water Association 

Session: Water-energy-food nexus

Presentation: Food production and water management in atolls and low-lying Pacific Islands 

Revitalising traditional varieties and water management practices requires a combination of technical assistance, and also participatory processes that enable oral histories to capture how food and water systems have changed through time and in the future. This research is critical to direct climate adaptation actions to ensuring food and water security for the most vulnerable. 

Speaker: Dr Federico Davila, Research Director & Senior Research Fellow (Food Systems), Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney 

Workshop: Water Security Data as Tools for Decision Making and Resilience   

Thursday 11 August 2022 1–2:30pm (AEST) 

The Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) is the Asia Development Bank’s flagship water security knowledge resource, developing cutting edge analysis informed by robust datasets to provide findings and recommendations. The AWDO rates and ranks 49 countries in the Asia-Pacific region according to their water security measured across five Key Dimensions – KD1 Rural Household WS, KD2 Economic WS, KD3 Urban WS, KD4 Environmental WS, and KD5 Water Related Disaster Security.

AWDO is an exceptional resource for all water security recommendations throughout the Asian-Pacific, however it is important that the work does not stop after the publication of a report, if it does AWDO is at risk of becoming an unread report gathering dust on a shelf. If the goal is to have decision-makers make better decisions by using AWDO, work must also be done to present the analysis directly to decision makers in a manner that is accessible, understandable, and transparent to them. As well as the obvious presentations to disseminate the data, the most recent 2020 version of AWDO has created an online user interface as well as releasing all data and calculations in the hope that AWDO will become more accessible and transparent. 

In this workshop we will explore how you can influence decision makers in your country to make better, data-informed decisions using AWDO and its various case studies. You will learn about AWDO and its dashboards; about how to design and implement influence strategies based on trust, dialogue and deliberation; about AWDO case study applications, and about how to apply insights to build effective AWDO use in your country.  

Speakers: 

• Michael Wilson, Group CEO, eWater  
• Dr Lachlan Guthrie, Aurecon Senior Consultant, Environment and Planning, Aurecon  
• Dr Brian McIntosh, A/Prof Integrated Water Management, Head of Discipline Environment and Marine Sciences, Griffith University 

For more information or to register, visit the event website.