This prestigious volume consists of the proceedings of the 1st ever Water Summit to be convened in the world. Under the theme, Water Security: Leadership and Commitment, the 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit (1st APWS) convened political leaders of the region and high level dignitaries in December 2007 in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture in Japan, offering them a platform to make commitments and launch initiatives to tackle the water challenges. The contents include speeches by His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince of Japan, Chairman of the UNSGAB His Royal Highness Prince Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, President of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum Mr Yoshiro Mori, Prime Minister of Japan Mr Yasuo Fukuda, Ambassador-at-Large of the Republic of Singapore Professor Tommy Koh, United Nations Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon, and 10 Heads of Government from the region. Summaries of sessions cover matters relating to sanitation, climate change, water financing and capacity development, water-related disaster management, water for development and ecosystems, developing knowledge and lessons, increasing local capacity, monitoring investments and results, and the CEO Water Mandate. Also included are the Policy Brief 2007 and the Message from Beppu, the two seminal outcome documents of the 1st APWS.

Contributions by: Noriko Yamaguchi