ADB, Japan set up new water security fund for Asia-Pacific
Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japanese Government have jointly set up a new fund to strengthen water security and protect people across the Asia-Pacific region from worsening floods, droughts, and other water-related shocks.
The new fund – Water Initiative for Security, Efficiency and Resilience (WISER) Fund – will help ADB developing member countries strengthen water systems, reduce disaster risks, improve water-use efficiency, and apply digital and innovative solutions to water challenges. An estimated 220 million people in the region still lack basic water supply.
Japan will make an initial $10 million contribution to the fund.
“There is nothing more basic to life, or more decisive for development, than water. When water systems fail, crops dry out, businesses slow, children miss school, and families become more vulnerable. When water is managed well, communities thrive, investment follows, and economies grow. Water is also a clean, reliable source of hydropower, and in today’s energy markets that matters more than ever. Asia and the Pacific has shown that progress is possible. Now we must move faster, invest smarter, and make water security the foundation of a more resilient future”, said ADB President Masato Kanda.
The WISER Fund will draw on Japan’s long experience in water-related disaster risk management, resilient and efficient water infrastructure, digital innovation, and capacity development. It will support project preparation, policy reform, technical training, knowledge sharing, and stronger water governance across the region, said an official statement.
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. As many as 520 million lack basic sanitation.
According to ADB’s latest Asian Water Development Outlook, 2.7 billion people in the region have been lifted from extreme water insecurity since 2013, but hard-won gains could be at risk due to environmental degradation, increased water-related hazards, and a shortfall in infrastructure investments.
“Investment in the water sector is indispensable to the sustainable development of the region and to improving people’s lives. Japan highly values the role ADB has played in addressing development challenges, and, with strong expectations for ADB’s further actions, has decided to contribute $10 million to the WISER Fund:, said Japan’s Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama.
“Japan has extensive experience in areas such as reducing water leakage, operating water supply and sewerage systems efficiently, improving sanitation, and responding to water-related disasters”, she said.
Japan will share this knowledge and expertise with the people of the region through ADB. “We hope that the establishment of this fund will build additional momentum for cooperation toward the 2027 ADB Annual Meeting in Aichi-Nagoya, and lead to stronger collaboration between ADB and Japan”, she added.
From 2021 to 2025, ADB has committed $12.7 billion to the water sector, benefiting about 63 million people. Its work includes support for water sector reforms in Sri Lanka; investment in Maynilad Water Services in the Philippines alongside the International Finance Corporation; the Glaciers to Farms initiative across Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and Pakistan; and wastewater treatment expansion in Fiji to protect marine ecosystems and strengthen resilience.
ADB is aiming to reach 100 million people from 2026 to 2030 with safe water, sanitation, irrigation, greater resilience, and other water benefits as part of Water Forward, a global initiative promoting water security, the statement added.
