Asia-Pacific nations discuss water resources security
The
discussion forms part of the first session of the Council for Security
Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Study Group on Water Resources
Security, which began in Hanoi on March 22.
Experts were due to
assess the factual utilisation and management of water resources in the
region and examine security impacts of the work in various spheres in
concerned countries.
At the two-day session, they are scheduled
to listen to legal specialists’ opinions on international legal
foundations and the building of international mechanisms on the
utilisation and management of water resources.
They are expected
to put forward concrete proposals to promote regional countries’
cooperation to ensure water resources security, which requires joint,
proactive solutions from both developed and developing countries around
the world.
In Southeast Asia – which houses the world’s largest
rice granaries, the majority of the population depends largely on water
resources taken from rivers and lakes, many of which have been seriously
damaged by nature as well as human activity.
The damage has not
only threatened water resources security but also created complex
security concerns for nations that are directly concerned and challenged
the future of sustainable development in Southeast Asia.
The
next sessions of the study group – which was set up by CSCAP under
Vietnam’s initiative – are expected to take place in Cambodia, Thailand
and Japan in 2011 and 2012.
At the meetings, study groups will
discuss concrete measures to promote regional cooperation and compile
the group’s Memorandum of Understanding to be presented to official
diplomatic channels for approval./.