The 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit (1st APWS) will be held in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, Japan on Dec. 3 and 4 with the theme, "Water Security: Leadership and Commitment". Around 300 participants from 49 countries are expected to attend.

Convened by the Steering Committee for the 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit and the Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF), the summit is under the chairmanship of former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, in collaboration with the APWF's Governing Council, chaired by Prof. Tommy Koh, ambassador-at-large of Singapore. The summit will bring together top-level leaders from various sectors, and institutions and stakeholders involved in water and sanitation issues such as the Asian Development Bank, the World Conservation Union, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, UNESCO, Singapore PUB, Streams of Knowledge, UN-Habitat, UNESCAP, Japan Water Forum, among others.

The APWS, held once every two or three years, is a response to the call of the Asia-Pacific Water Ministerial Meeting to  encourage more collaborative efforts on water resources management in the Asia-Pacific region. The conclusions from the 1st APWS will be conveyed to upcoming political events in Japan, namely TICAD IV and the G8 Summit in 2008.

Pre-registration is required for members of the media. To get accreditation, please register in advance using the enclosed "Instructions for Pre-registration" document, which can also be downloaded at www.watersummit.jp and www.apwf.org.

For detailed information on the summit (participants list, steering committee members, programme, etc.), please contact:

Asia-Pacific Water Forum Press Desk; Convention Linkage, Inc.
TEL：03-3263-8698　　
FAX：03-3263-8693
E-mail: press@waterforum.jp
URL: http://www.apwf.org/press/