Date: 15 January 2015. Morning
Location: Etopía. Avda. Ciudad de Soria, 8. 50010 Zaragoza
Co-convened by Hongpeng-Liu/ Salmah Zakaria from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and Jong-Soo Yoon from the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development (UNOSD)

The Framework Document on Water and Climate Change Adaptation. For Leaders and Policy Decision Makers in the Asia-Pacific Region from the Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF, 2013), noted that "the countries of Asia and the Pacific, already struggling from a plethora of water challenges, has climate change adding on a formidable challenge and fundamental threat to the security, health and economic well-being of the inhabitants of the Asia-Pacific region, and the least advantaged - the poor, the marginalized, and those in remote, disaster-prone, and ecologically-sensitive areas - are at greatest risk. Climate change is not hypothetical, and its impacts are already evident, as both scientific observation and the experiences of many within the region confirm. In confronting the risks and challenges posed by changing climate, deep uncertainty in our knowledge and our projections of future climatic and water resources conditions constrains our ability to identify effective responses."

The regional session of the 2015 Zaragoza Conference, “Achieving water security for Asia and the Pacific through sustainable water management” will bring together experts and stakeholders from Asia and the Pacific to discuss how to address the aforementioned challenges. By showcasing case studies and analyzing recent trends in the region, the panelists will highlight those tools for implementation that have had positive outcomes in the region, focusing on their appropriateness considering the social, economic and environmental context of the region.

>> Special Regional Session: Achieving water security for Asia and the Pacific through sustainable water management

• Financing/Economic Instruments. These will include the various financing possibilities from private/public, including innovative financing, and donor agencies as well as available financing from climate change financing proposals and agreements. Financial instruments shall include among others appropriate water pricing/tariffs, demand management, polluter pay principles, etc.
• Governance: Institutions/legal framework. These shall include institutions to be developed at national, regional and local levels and the legal framework required to develop and built the capacity of such institutions to provide equitable access to all.
• Technology. The session will serve to discuss the appropriate technology and innovation required at the different subsidiary levels as well as for different economic development of the diverse country of the Asia-Pacific region.
• Capacity development. The session will discuss what institutions to be developed at national, regional and local levels and the legal framework required to develop and built the capacity of such institutions to provide equitable access to all. It will look also at regulatory and monitoring needs.

Some of the questions to be addressed by speakers during the panel discussion will include the following:

• What are the main challenges for the region that can hinder the implementation of the human right to water and sanitation and the post-2015 development agenda?
• How can these challenges be addressed and what are the tools that have been implemented in the region which have had positive outcomes?
• How can the current institutional frameworks overcome the gaps in the provision of services in rural areas and smaller municipalities (how to draw the focus away from big urban settlements to smaller communities?)
• What have been the most notable advancements in the region in terms of water governance and what lessons can be drawn from them?
• What opportunities can be identified to advance the post-2015 development agenda?

Chair

• Jong-Soo Yoon, Director, United Nations Office for Sustainable Development, UNOSD

Overview presentation

• Hongpeng Liu, ESCAP

Panel discussion

• Rodora Gamboa, Philippines Water Partnership, The Philippines
• Dr. Jong-Ho Ahn, Ph.D. Korea Environment Institute, KEI Senior Research Fellow, Korea
• Noppawan  Boontham, Maejo University, Thailand

Wrap-up and Closing

• Hongpeng Liu, ESCAP