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AUICK First 2007 Workshop AUICK held its First Workshop of 2007 in Kobe, Japan, from 28 May to 8 June, 2007, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Kobe City Government. The theme of the workshop was Population and Appropriate Water Environment Management in Urban Areas. Nine participants were invited from the nine AUICK Associated Cities, as well as an Academic Collaborator and an interpreter. 
'When
tackling progress towards the MDGs, sanitation CONTENTS 1. BACKGROUND Safe drinking water and
sanitation are vital for the health and
survival of mankind, but, according to the United Nations, in
today’s world an estimated 2 in 5 people do not have access
to basic sanitation services, and half the world lacks adequate water
purification systems. As well as harming the environment, and adversely
affecting issues such as poverty and education, unsafe water and bad
hygiene and sanitation are thought responsible for the deaths of 1.5
million children under the age of five every year. As AUICK's policy is to facilitate the
spread of urban developmental information amongst Asian
cities and countries, the aim of its first two-week workshop of 2007
was to provide senior officials in charge of water management from its
9 associate cities (AACs) with a series of presentations, field trips
and discussion sessions on urban water management. This would give the
policy makers a chance to see Kobe City's water management
system first-hand, and also to share their own knowledge and experience
of water provision and sanitation issues. AUICK invited senior officials of water management government departments or appropriate organizations from the nine AUICK Associate Cities: Chittagong (Bangladesh), Weihai (China), Chennai (India), Surabaya (Indonesia), Kuantan (Malaysia), Faisalabad (Pakistan), Olongapo (Philippines), Khon Kaen (Thailand), and Danang (Vietnam). The participants included the following (in alphabetical order by country): Dr.Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury <Accompanying
Interpreter>
4.1. Opening Remarks The workshop started with opening remarks from AUICK president, Dr. Hirofumi Ando, who welcomed the participants on AUICK's behalf. He emphasized that the future of mankind depends on the sustainable development of urban areas, and that a number of international meetings and the 2000 Millennium Development Goals held the theme of sustainable development central. With the urban population set to exceed the rural population in 2007, and set to rise to 55 percent by 2030, the theme of the first 2007 workshop was selected as issues related to water, clean and safe water being indispensable, and its proper management being critical to provide a commodity which is limited, even though it covers three quarters of the world's surface. Despite its undemocratic distribution, rapid population growth and urbanization are creating unprecedented demand for water, as well as its degradation due to contamination. The workshop was designed to improve water management, especially that of wastewater management in Asia, through the sharing of experience and expertise in the field.
AUICK not only aims to facilitate North-South exchange of information, but also South to South dialogue, which means AUICK workshop content is rather different from that of the formal lecture. Dr. Ando ended by reminding the workshop participants that they are the resource persons, and that neighboring countries may provide them with information, and Kobe City may also learn from them. The participants were informed that they should take back knowledge to transplant into their own countries, the success of which would be assessed by way of AUICK's monitoring trips, to evaluate each participant's implementation of an Action Plan made during the workshop, based on knowledge and advice obtained therein. 4.2. Presentations 4.2.1. Population, Urbanization and Sanitation: A historical View 
Dr. Gayl D. Ness, Professor Emeritus of the University of Michigan, set the larger problems of Asian urban water and sanitation in a wider historical context. He compared Asia's current processes with those that occurred in The West over the past three centuries. »»More 4.2.2. Best Practice Report: Confronting Water Shortage in Weihai
4.2.3. Best Practice Report: Khon Kaen's People Participation in Wastewater Management 
Dr. Supawatanakorn Wongthanavasu, an assistant professor of Khon Kaen University, and Mr. Thawatchai Wanaphithukkun, the Chief of the Subdivision of Building Control of the Ministry of Interior, Department of Local Administration, Khon Kaen Municipality, reported on how Khon Kaen Municipality has tackled the increasing volume of waste water from the expansion of the city population, by developing its sanitation system. »»More 4.2.4. Preserving Kobe's Water Environment
4.2.5. The Rich History and Future of Kobe's Sewage
4.2.6. Championing Change and the Provision of Welfare
4.3. Site Visits On Monday, June 4, 2007, the participants spent the day touring some of Kobe’s sewage treatment plants. The first was the Tarumi plant on Kobe’s western sea front, near the entrance to the Awaji bridge. This plant is one of the seven major treatment plants, which serves a large residential district on the city’s west side. »»More 4.3.2 Rural Sewage Treatment Plants Also on Monday, June 4, 2007, the workshop participants toured smaller sewage treatment plants on the north side of the Rokko Mountains, in Kobe’s agricultural areas. »»More A visit to Kobe City’s eastern sludge plant, Tobu, on 7 June, 2007, provided the participants with another example of the complex machinery that is Kobe’s effective sanitation system. »»More 4.4. City Reports and Action Plans Each AUICK Associated City (AAC) has its own distinctive characteristics, administration set up and issues to be tackled. With this in mind, the AUICK Secretariat presented Guidelines on how to formulate a plan, and more importantly how to implement it upon returning home. Various factors have to be considered in order for the plan to be viable. The constraints, both financial and political, under which each AAC City Official works, his or her relative department’s capabilities, city resources, possible funding agencies and cultural/ social factors all have to be taken into account for an action plan to be both achievable and effective. 4.4.2 Development of Action Plans Following the action plan guidelines presented, the workshop participants spent the necessary time drafting, presenting and adjusting their plans upon the advice of each other and the AUICK Secreatriat, as well as after further lessons learnt throughout the course of the second week of the workshop. The results are shown on the following pages: »Chittagong,
Bangladesh by Dr. Iftekhar Uddin Chowdhury 4.5. Courtesy Call On The Mayor Of Kobe On 30 May, 2007, day three of the workshop, the participants visited Kobe City Hall to pay a courtesy call on Mr. Tatsuo Yada, the Mayor of Kobe. Dr. Gayl D. Ness and Dr. Supawatanakorn Wongthanavasu accompanied the participants.
On the final day of the AUICK First 2007 Workshop, the participants gathered to express their thoughts on various aspects of their two-week experience in Kobe. A highlight for the
participants had
been the UNFPA Seminar. In terms
of practical experience and lessons to be taken home, the visits to the
water treatement and sewage managment sites were highly rated. So too
were the impressions of Kobe City as a whole, and the reception it
offered to the participants. |
Mr.
Sun Pingyi, Advisor of the Environmental Protection Agency of
Weihai City, explained key developments made by
Weihai to try to
harness and maintain the condition of its precious water supplies, as
well as to educate the public on the importance of participation in the
preservation and correct use of water. 
Mr.
Michitada Sugahara, Manager of the Environmental Conservation
Guidance Division of the Environmental Bureau, Kobe City Government,
reported current policy, as well as the history and challanges of
Kobe's water
environment, influenced by its physical location, and improvements
through
sewage system developments and public awareness campaigns.
Keisuke
Hata, Manager of the Planning Division, Sewage Works and
Management
Department,
Construction Projects Bureau of Kobe City Government, outlined the
development of Kobe's sewage system, from when the city was just a
small
fishing village opened to the world in 1868, to its goals for
the future. 
