Water Leaders Summit Sum-up by Chairperson, Prof Tommy Koh

30th June 2010 - This is the third SIWW. It has grown bigger and better each year, both intellectually and commercially. I think I may confidently say that the SIWW has proven its usefulness and is here to stay.

The Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize has also proven to be a great success. The first three winners of the prize, Dr Andrew Benedek, Dr Gatze Lettinga and the Yellow River Conservancy Commission are worthy winners. They will also inspire others, working in the field of water technology and the sustainable management of river system, to emulate their success.

The Joint Opening Plenary Session between the SIWW and the World Cities Summit was interesting and rewarding. There are many linkages between water and cities. One wisdom I have learnt from the Joint Opening Plenary is that the migration of the millions of Asians from rural Asia to urban Asia in the coming decades can either be a boon or a curse. It can either drive the Asian industrial revolution or simply lead to the “urbanization of the poor”. Anna Tibaijuka has warned us that we already have over 400 million Asians living in slums, without access to water and sanitation. This number could explode in the coming decades if the cities are unprepared for this huge influx. The future of the cities of Asia is truly at a cross road.

Many Cities in the contemporary world, both East and Weat, are in a state of decline: uncompetitive industries, rising unemployment, decaying infrastructure, loss of spirit and morale. The winner of the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, Bilbao, is an inspiration because a decade ago, it was a declining, dispirited, medium-size city in Europe. The people of Bilbao turned the city around. How did they do it? The multi-stakeholders of the city shared a new vision, mobilized resources, worked hard, overcame skepticism and many odds and performed a miracle. Another lesson which was not sufficiently emphasized yesterday is the economic value of culture and the power of culture in the re-invention of Bilbao.

The first roundtable, led by Professor Michael Rouse, focused on good governance for water sustainability. What does good governance require? First, it requires that there should be a minister or a senior coordinating minister in charge of water and be accountable for it. Second, it requires sound water policy and not misguided policy. Water should not be given away for free or subsidised. Good water policy must be holistic and coherent and should be comprehensive, covering the whole value chain from the sources of water to the end users. There should be good coordination between national and local government. Third, it requires competent and honest water management. Inefficiency and corruption should be exposed and eliminated. Fourth, it requires that the ruling elite, whether at the national or local levels, should have the political commitment to provide safe drinking water and basic sanitation to the people, including the poor. Their deprivation is not because the governments lack the financial means or technology or know-how. It is not because poor people cannot afford to pay for clean water and basic sanitation. What is lacking is political will.

The second roundtable, led by Lord Oxburgh, focused on innovative technology for clean and affordable water. I found this roundtable a very useful complement to our earlier focus on the role of government. Water is a paradigm case of the desirability of partnership between the public and private sectors and between those two sectors and civil society. Research and development has led to break-throughs such as membrane technology. The technology for desalinating seawater is constantly improving and becoming more energy-efficient and cost effective. The same can be said for the recycling of contaminated water. We should continue to incentivise our inventors and water industry. Profit and competition, as Andrew Benedek said, are good words and not bad words. Another learning point which emerged from roundtable 2 was the growing nexus between water and energy. Lord Oxburgh said that water and energy has to be looked at holistically. He has also highlighted the difficulty of removing modern chemical in water.
      
The third roundtable, led by Christopher Gasson, focused on sound financing strategies and the affordability of water. Christopher’s style of chairing the roundtable reminds me of one of the BBC programmes, “Hard Talk”. As a result, we had a lively session. What were the points of convergence? First, we agreed that water utilities should be treated as business and should be allowed to make profits. Second, there is a role for the private sector in the provision of water. Where we have government failure, such as in the Philippines, Manila Water has shown that the private sector can fulfill the role of water provider. Third, Olivia Lum has shown us, from the experience of Hyflux, that there are different models of financing water projects. Fourth, we agree that in the financing of water projects, there is a role for the private sector and a role for institutions such as ADB and JBIC.