ADB President Outlines Water Agenda for Asia-Pacific Region.Singapore, June 25, 2008 - (ACN ACN Accenture (stock symbol) ACN Accenture ACN Australian Company Number ACN Automatic Collision Notification (US DOT) ACN Acetonitrile ACN Anglican Communion Network Newswire) - Asian Development Bank Asian Development Bank A financial_institution established in 1966 to reduce poverty in the Asia-Pacific region. The bank is headquartered in Manila, Philippines and consists of 61 member countries. (ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) A low-speed serial bus for connecting keyboards, mice and other input devices on Apple IIgs and Macintosh computers. Starting with the iMac in 1998, the ADB was superseded by USB. ) President Haruhiko Kuroda today unveiled a seven-point agenda to prioritize water investments in the Asia-Pacific region and said that the institution is committed to helping countries in the region boost new water investments to $20 billion to improve water security. Speaking in Singapore at a summit of regional water leaders, Mr. Kuroda called the needs and opportunities to improve water services in Asia and the Pacific immense, and said that there is a huge dividend from working in partnerships to deliver tangible results that draw on the region's knowledge and experience. "We, at the Asian Development Bank, take our responsibility to help design and implement solutions very seriously," Mr. Kuroda said. "In our recently approved long-term strategic framework, known as Strategy 2020, we highlight water as a key priority area of operations An operational area defined by the joint force commander for land and naval forces. Areas of operation do not typically encompass the entire operational area of the joint force commander, but should be large enough for component commanders to accomplish their missions and protect their in the coming years." The new agenda offered by Mr. Kuroda calls for more investments in rural water services to increase agricultural productivity and ease escalating food prices, and for developing more bankable bank·a·ble adj. 1. Acceptable to or at a bank: bankable funds. 2. Guaranteed to bring profit: a bankable movie star. urban projects that improve water utility performance. It also calls for improving collaboration on integrated water resource management in river basins; increasing investments in climate change adaptation measures; increased investment in reducing vulnerability to water disasters; improving water governance, performance and knowledge management; and developing partnerships to catalyze investments and pool the region's knowledge in these priority areas. The call for the region to prioritize water investments comes at the mid-way point of ADB's Water Financing Program (WFP WFP World Food Programme (United Nations) WFP Windows File Protection (Microsoft) WFP Water for People (international humanitarian organization) WFP Winnipeg Free Press ) 2006-2010, for which the institution had committed to double its water program and catalyze substantial investment, reform, and capacity development in the three key areas of rural water, urban water, and basin water. Projects funded under WFP aim to provide sustainable access to safe drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. and improved sanitation; establish more productive and efficient irrigation irrigation, in agriculture, artificial watering of the land. Although used chiefly in regions with annual rainfall of less than 20 in. (51 cm), it is also used in wetter areas to grow certain crops, e.g., rice. and drainage services; reduce the risk of flooding; introduce integrated water resources management Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) has been defined by the Technical Committee of the Global Water Partnership as "a process which promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources, in order to maximize the resultant economic in river basins; and improve water governance. "We, at ADB, offer our resources and Water Financing Program as a platform for working together with our clients and partners," Mr. Kuroda said. "Working in partnership, we can catalyze investments and pool the region's knowledge in these priority areas, to raise the standard of living for hundreds of millions of poor people in the region and increase water security for all." ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members ? 48 from the region. In 2007, it approved $10.1 billion of loans, $673 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $243 million. Media Inquiries Daniel Cooney Tel: +63-920-938-6487 E-mail: dcooney@adb.org ADB Online Media Center: media.adb.org ADB web site: www.adb.org Source: JCN JCN Japan Corporate News JCN Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience JCN Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing JCN Journal of Christian Nursing JCN Job Control Number JCN Journal of Child Neurology JCN joint communications network (US DoD) http://www.japancorp.net Copyright 2008 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com |
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