The two-day 10th board meeting of the Asia Water Council ended Wednesday in Wuhan, China, sharing views on practical ways to address water crises in the region.

The meeting discussed ways to further activate the “Water Project,” an AWC project driven to give financial support to each Asian country’s plans to resolve water crisis. The board also discussed the means to bolster financial integrity of the AWC.

Some 100 people from 37 institutions participated in this year’s board meeting, of whom some were new to the AWC and were considering joining.

AWC was first formed in 2016 under the leadership of the Korean government and state water agency K-water with the aim of international collaboration to tackle water crises in Asia. K-water CEO Lee Hak-soo is the chairperson.

To this day, AWC remains Asia’s biggest water-related global association. Its members include 134 institutions from 27 countries, as well as global organizations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

AWC’s achievements so far include four Water Projects that successfully wrapped up in 2018, including a water management technology transfer to Vietnam.

There are three ongoing Water Projects in 2019, including the pilot business in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, for a smart water management system to lessen the amount of wasted water to cope with water shortages.

AWC’s key member is China’s Changjiang Water Resources Commission, with which the K-water inked a memorandum of understanding in January 2006 and October 2018 to open up facilities to AWC members as test beds for performance inspection.

Korean authorities are also in talks with Chinese counterparts for potentially dispatching professional manpower to AWC member institutions to contribute to their growth.

Meanwhile, the annual technology exchange event alternatively hosted by K-water and CWRC takes place in Hubei this year on Wednesday and Thursday. Topics on the table include methods to preserve and restore ecosystems of streams and lakes.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)