Recognizing that the improvement of water environmental governance is essential to solve water pollution problems in the Asian Region, the Water Environment Partnership in Asia (WEPA) was launched in 2004 by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. The third phase of WEPA which began in FY2004, support was provided for specific actions by partner countries to overcome the challenges facing the regional water environment based on the information and knowledge shared up to the second phase.

This report aims to introduce the detailed activities and outcomes obtained in the third phase of WEPA. First, it reports on the current state of water environmental governance and the challenges faced by WEPA countries. Second, it gives an overview and presents the outcomes of third phase activities, in particular activities implemented in Viet Nam (wastewater management of pig farms), Sri Lanka (groundwater management), and Indonesia (pollution load control for rivers) under a new scheme called “WEPA Action Programs” which are developed and implemented by WEPA partner countries with the aim of solving specific issues. The report also introduces the results of a questionnaire survey carried out to ensure future activities are in line with the needs of all partner countries and summarizes suggestions received from partner countries for WEPA activities going forward.