ADB and Japan launch WISER water fund with $10M from Tokyo
What's the deal? The Asian Development BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (ADB) and the government of Japan have established the Water Initiative for Security, Efficiency and Resilience (WISER) Fund to strengthen water security across Asia and the Pacific. Japan is making an initial $10 million contribution.
What's the endgame? The fund will help ADB developing member countries strengthen water systems, reduce disaster risks, and improve water-use efficiency. It will also back digital and innovative solutions to water challenges, drawing on Japan's experience in disaster risk management and resilient infrastructure.
Why now? Asia and the Pacific is the world's most affected region for floods, storms, and droughts, with more than four in 10 global flood events occurring in Asia. About 220 million people there still lack basic water supply, and about 520 million lack basic sanitation.
ADB's latest Asian Water Development Outlook says 2.7 billion people in the region have been lifted from extreme water insecurity since 2013. But those gains are at risk from environmental degradation, growing hazards, and an infrastructure investment shortfall.
What they're saying: “There is nothing more basic to life, or more decisive for development, than water,” said ADB President Masato Kanda, adding that the region must “move faster, invest smarter, and make water security the foundation of a more resilient future.”
Japan's Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama called investment in the sector “indispensable to the sustainable development of the region.” She said Japan would share its expertise in reducing water leakage, running supply and sewerage systems, and improving sanitation.
The signal: The fund pairs ADB's regional reach with Japanese technical know-how, positioning water security as core infrastructure at a time when climate shocks threaten development gains. Kanda framed water as a stake in energy too, noting it is “a clean, reliable source of hydropower, and in today's energy markets that matters more than ever.”
Read more: Hiru News
Image credit: Asian Development Bank President
