ESCAP promotes standard water policy

ESCAP promotes standard water policy

JAKARTA (JP): Water policies on households and irrigation in
some Asian and Pacific countries will soon be standardized if the
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
has its way.

"We would like a common perception on the efficient
consumption of water for public welfare," the Ministry of Public
Works' Director General of Irrigation Soeparmono said after
opening an ESCAP workshop here yesterday.

The workshop, Designing Tariff Policy and Water Supply for
Irrigation in Asia and the Pacific, will end Friday.
Representatives from 13 ESCAP countries are taking part.

He said this was ESCAP's second workshop. A workshop in
Bangkok had focused on household water consumption.

This week's workshop will be on efficient water consumption in
agriculture, Soeparmono said.

"On average, farms use 85 percent of a country's water supply.
If agricultural industries use water efficiently there will be
more water for other sectors," he said.

He said many farmers still had up to 15 centimeters of water
in their rice fields even though it was unnecessary.

The international community must use water wisely because
demand for water is increasing with rising populations, while the
water supply remains the same, he said.

He said the population of Asia, now 2.9 billion, was expected
to grow to 4.25 billion by 2025.

"How can we supply them enough water if we cannot utilize it
efficiently?" he asked.

He said that fees for water helped save water.

But, he said, Indonesia objected to the term "water pricing"
as proposed by other Asia Pacific countries.

He said "water service costs" were a better way of describing
fees on something for a basic human need. (bnt)