ADB President urges faster action on water security across Asia Pacific

Wednesday, 29 July 2026 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Masato Kanda delivered a keynote speech at the International Symposium Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Japan’s Water Day yesterday

About 220 m people in Asia and the Pacific still lack basic water supply, while around 520 m lack basic sanitation

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda yesterday called for faster investment and reform to secure water across Asia and the Pacific, pointing to a new ADB-administered fund with Japan that will help developing economies strengthen disaster preparedness, infrastructure, and water management.

“Water underpins our health, our food, and our energy,” said Kanda. “It sustains ecosystems and powers economies, including through clean and reliable hydropower. In a world unsettled by conflict and volatile energy markets, the link between water and energy security has rarely mattered more. Water security is not merely a resource issue. It is the foundation of economic development.”

Kanda delivered a keynote speech at the International Symposium Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Japan’s Water Day. His Majesty the Emperor of Japan honoured the symposium with his presence. Kanda paid tribute to His Majesty’s lifelong scholarship on water and said Japan’s five decades of national action offer a model of sustained investment, strong institutions, and long-term reform.

Japan established Water Day and Water Week in 1977, recognising water as a shared national responsibility. Kanda highlighted Japan’s integrated management of river basins, disaster risk reduction systems, efficient water supply networks, and decentralised wastewater treatment. Japan has also helped advance the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and shared practical solutions with communities from Central Asia to the Pacific.

Water and environmental risks are rising faster than the region’s preparedness, Kanda warned. Over 40% of the world’s flood events occur in Asia. About 220 million people in Asia and the Pacific still lack basic water supply, while around 520 million lack basic sanitation.

The region has nevertheless made major progress. Since 2013, about 2.7 billion people, roughly three in five people in Asia and the Pacific, have moved out of extreme water insecurity, according to ADB’s fifth Asian Water Development Outlook, published in December 2025.

However, those gains remain fragile. About 4 billion people still face risks from unreliable water and sanitation, water-related disasters, and deteriorating ecosystems. Kanda said closing the widening investment gap will require stronger policies, better governance, greater efficiency, and healthier ecosystems, as well as more financing.

ADB committed $12.7 billion to the water sector from 2021 to 2025, benefiting about 63 million people. Its investments include expanding wastewater treatment in Fiji to protect mangroves, coral reefs, and fishing communities; working with the International Finance Corporation and Maynilad to improve water services for millions of people in the Philippines; and supporting reforms in Sri Lanka to reduce costly water losses.