This report brings together a wide range of water-related issues, problems, and challenges from a future-oriented, multi-disciplinary, and multisectoral perspective from around the Asia and Pacific region. Highlighted are important topics that have been neglected or are being inadequately considered in most countries of the region.

Australia’s overseas development aid assistance is set to increase substantially over the next four years. This much welcomed increase could be stretched in multiple directions to satisfy multiple needs. This paper is a contribution to the debate on how best to direct Australia’s investments to meet the objective of reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development. The paper suggests that a focus on domestic water and sanitation is critical and will contribute significantly to poverty reduction in the region.

This paper describes what climate change is, including how it is affecting the world live in and the timeframe within which these changes are expected to happen. It then considers why climate change needs to be a priority in development planning, including the inequitable burden it places on the poor and developing countries, as well as the impacts on the world’s water resources. Finally, this paper concludes by presenting measures to address climate change, including some current campaigns.