WWC Board Meeting in Marseilles

Secretary General, Hideaki Oda

I visited Marseilles to attend a WWC Bureau Meeting and a Board meeting. The details about the meetings would be reported by the WWC, so here I will just note that there were serious discussions about the the WWC's future activities, the 4th World Water Forum and the future World Water Fora.
The intense heat of Marseilles was memorable. Ms. Mailin Fauchon, who worked enthusiastically as a chief officer at the Secretariat, took great care of me while we were there. I thank her very much.

Recently there have been many opportunities for me to speak about the 3rd World Water Forum: at Kyoto University on June 21, at the Japan Morocco Association on June 30, at "Honne Club" on July 1, at a debriefing session for WWC Japanese members on July 2, and at the Diet Members' League for Good Taste Water on July 3. I am so glad to know that many people are retaining their interest in the Water Forum. Iam happy that I have places to speak about the Forum, as I see that promoting the Forum outcome and carrying it into the future water activities is very important.

In July we had a send-off party for Mr. Koike, one of Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto's secretaries, who will go to the U.S.A. to work in a new field. He worked hard not only in providing a bridge between Mr. Hashimoto and the Secretariat staff but also in supporting one of the major themes of the 3rd World Water Forum, "Water and Parliamentarians." We were pleased to hear Mr. Koike promises to be the Chicago bra

nch manager of the Secretariat. Ms. Mijako Nierenkother has also left the Secretariat to begin a new endeavor. We appreciate her hard work: she worked right to her last day with us in completing the Final Report. Now all of the three international staffs of the Secretariat have left. We miss them, but we wish them all success in their new jobs. Mijako is now working in India and we are looking forward to meeting up with her there in the near future.

46th Conference on Great Lakes Research/10th World Lake Conference ~Global Threats to Large Lakes: Managing in an Environment of Instability and Unpredictability

Reported by Shinobu Fukumoto

The 10th World Lake Conference was held at DePaul University in Chicago from June 22 to 26, 2003. Organized by IAGLR the International Association for Great Lakes Research) and ILEC (the International Lake Environment Committee), the conference attracted about 700 participants from 33 countries.

At the plenary meeting on June 23, Mr. Yoshitsugu Kunimatsu, the governor of Shiga Prefecture, and Mr. Haruo Miura, Chair of the Shiga Prefectural Assembly, gave greetings as the representatives of the former host country of the World Lake Conference, and the World Lake Vision, which was announced at the 3rd World Water Forum, was presented. Further, the Ibaraki-Kasumigaura Award, which was inaugurated at the 7th Conference, was presented to 9 organizations by Mr. Masaru Hashimoto, the governor of Ibaraki Prefecture. For the details of this award, please visit: http:/www.pref.ibaraki.jp/bukyoku/seikan/kansei/09gyomu/09030112.html

At the beginning of the plenary meeting in the afternoon of June 24, with an attendance of some 200 people, the Secretariat of the 3rd World Water Forum presented the summary presentation of the 3rd World Water Forum. The presentation included an explanation on the ground-up process that the Secretariat took in preparing the Forum, and introduced the Summary Forum Statements and the Ministerial Declaration as major outcome of the Forum. Also, the current activities of the Forum Secretariat were introduced, and an announcement was made that the Final Report of the Forum would be presented at the Stockholm Water Symposium in August.

Many of the World Lake Conference participants had also participated in the 3rd World Water Forum, and there were strong interests from the participants for the 4th World Water Forum. The conference included a number of presentations on world's water problems, especially the world's research findings and discussions on lakes. The next World Lake Conference will be held in Africa for the first time.

The 3rd World Water Forum debriefing session for Japanese WWC members was held in Tokyo on July 2, 2003. Some 60 WWC members attended this meeting. The presentations included the summary report of the 3rd World Water Forum(Mr. Oda, Secretary General of the 3rd World Water Forum); the report of the Ministerial Conference by Mr. Kinoshita (Director of Water ResourcesPlanning Division, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure); the Secretariat's post-Forum activities, and the Establishment of the Japan Water Forum. The presentations were followed by an open discussion about the establishment of the Japan Water Forum. After the debriefing, a reception was held, where Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto, Chairman of the 3rd World Water Forum Steering Committee, and Mr. Toichiro Suzuki, Director-General of the River Bureau, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure, also attended.

- Collecting information on the 3rd World Water Forum

As mentioned in Newsletter 123, various media reported on and featured the 3rd World Water Forum, not only during but also after the Forum. Many people have been presenting reports of their participation and opinions in the various media. The Secretariat has been collecting such information and reports as a valuable record and feedback on the Forum.

If you come across a Forum report, or if you have presented your own on the Internet or in some other form, please inform us at: news@water-forum3.com We appreciate your cooperation.

Voice of the week:

From the more than 28,000 voices collected, this week we introduce one from Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and one from Laos.

Messenger: Miyamoto Yoko
"Water Voice" from a mayor (male)
Title: Safe drinking water for health (Lao People's Democratic Republic)

Hassaiku Village of Viencum county is one of villages developed bushy jungle by displaced people when hydroelectric dam was constructed. The village is located next to the branch of Mekong River. However, river water isn't drinkable enough. If you want to make it drinkable, you need sophisticated facilities. Though villagers are dependent on rain water and ground water, it's not necessarily safe as drinking water. Safe water is required for health.

The "Water Voice" Project has been collecting water-related voices of people from around the world for the past 20 months. The Secretariat has sorted this valuable information and published it in the form of the "Water Voice" Report. If you wish to have a copy, please inquire to the Secretariat.

You can view the collected "Water Voices" at:
http:/ap.world.water-forum3.com/voice/

Please inquire to: voice@water-forum3.com

We are continuing to develop active discussions in the VWF, so please send us your opinions regarding the operation of the VWF. We encourage you to participate in the VWF's ongoing discussions.

Please register at the VWF's new address:
http:/ap.world.water-forum3.com/for/en/flist

The Virtual Water Forum Report is available from the Secretariat. If you wish to have a copy, please address your request to: vwf@water-forum3.com