More than 100 participants attended the recent ASEM Seminar on Water Resources Management in the Context of Urbanisation, which took place on 22-23 May 2014 in Changsha, China. The seminar provided a platform for information sharing on technology and products as well as policy exchanges towards sustainable water management.
During his opening remarks at the event, Mr Karsten WARNECKE, ASEF’s Deputy Executive Director, mentioned: “This seminar is a timely addition to ASEF’s environment portfolio, as this is the very first time that ASEF is involved in the increasingly hot topic of water management. I believe the outcome of this seminar could well serve the deliberations at the ASEM Environment Ministers’ level.”
As a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Ambassador ZHANG Xiaokang, ASEM Senior Official for China, also highlighted the importance of the topic and cooperation: “Water is the source of life. Sustainable water management has been identified as a priority area of cooperation at both the 9th ASEM Summit and the 11th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ meeting.”
The seminar concluded with the Changsha Declaration, which will be channelled to relevant policy makers from ASEM member countries.
The event was organised by the ASEM Water Resources Research and Development Center (ASEMWATER) in partnership with the ASEF University Alumni Network (ASEFUAN). ASEF was one of the co-sponsors of the seminar.