September 21, 2022: Asian Water Cycle Initiative (AWCI) Session for the 15th AOGEO Symposium by online

The Asian Water Cycle Initiative (AWCI) Session was convened online on September 21, 2022, as a sectional meeting of The 15th Asia-Oceania Group on Earth Observations (AOGEO) Symposium. More than 50 people participated, including relevant stakeholders in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, UNESCO-IHP, GRIPS, JAXA, GWP, ADB, and ADBI.

In this session, in addition to the reports on IFI platform activities by individual countries, the participants shared the latest progress and discussed the direction regarding AWCI activities towards the United Nations 2023 Water Conference in the context of the Kumamoto Initiative for Water, the Kumamoto Declaration, and the Chair’s Summary, which were adopted in the 4th Asia Pacific Water Summit, held on April 2022 in Kumamoto City, Japan. Moreover, three thematic presentations introduced cutting-edge research and development cases in science, governance, and finance. The results of the session were presented at the 15th AOGEO symposium from September 28 to 30 and included in the statement of the symposium.

ADB: Asian Development Bank
ADBI: Asian Development Bank Institute
GRIPS: National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
GWP: Global Water Partnership
JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
UNESCO-IHP: UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme

[Agenda]

[Presentations]
1. Opening
 - Dr. Abou Amani, UNESCO-IHP
 - Prof. Kenzo Hiroki, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS)
 - Prof. Toshio Koike, ICHARM

2. Country Reports on the Platform on Water Resilience and Disasters
 - Philippines 1, Mr. Socrates Paat, Jr., Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)
 - Philippines 2, Mr. Jerry A. Fano, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
 - Philippines 3, Dr. Anthony C. Sales, CESO III, Regional Director, DOST XI and Prof. Della Grace Bacaltos, Davao del Sur State College
 - Philippines 4, Prof. Patricia Ann J. Sanchez, School of Environmental Science and Management University of the Philippines Los Baños
 - Indonesia, Dr. Ir. Muhammad Rizal, M.Sc, Direktur Bina Teknik SDA
 - Sri Lanka, Eng. K.D.N. Siriwardana, Irrigation Department
       Eng. Nilantha Dhanapala, Mahaweli Authority
       Mr. Athula Karunanayake, Department of Meteorology
       Dr. Asiri Karunawardena, National Building Research Organization
       Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe, Disaster management Centre

3. Thematic Presentations
 - Science: Dr. Riko Oki, JAXA
 - Governance: Mr. Fany Wedahuditama, GWP Southeast Asia
 - Finance: Dr. Alessio Giardino, ADB

4. Sharing from ADBI
 - Mr. Dwiky Wibowo, ADBI

5. Discussion on Inputs into the Statement of 15th AOGEO Symposium
 - Chair: Prof. Toshio Koike, ICHARM

*Link to the 15th AOGEO symposium