International Planned Parenthood Federatlon (IPPF)
Hon. Mr. Maeda, Chalrman APDA
Hon. Mr. Shln Sakurai, Chairman, AFPPD, Mr. Kitatani, UNFPA,
Excellencies distlnguished guests, Iadies and gentleman,
On behalf of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), I am pleas
ed to be here with you, and to have the opportunity to say a few words at the c
losing cercmony of the l3th Asian Parliamentarians' Meeting on Population and D
evelopment. Thls mecting, in thls beautiful city of Kobe, has a very illustrati
ve lesson for all of us here today - what human leadership, ingenuity, determin
ation and hard work can do to overcome harsh challenges In such an amazingly sh
ort tlme, as that Kobe has faced and overcome, since its tragic earthquake some
two years ago.
The IPPF is the world's largest and leading non-governmental organization in fa
mily plLmning and reproductivc health, and has always held the view that any si
gnlficant progress in the field of population and devclopment must have the lea
dership, support and commitment of Parliamentarians. Without the commitment fin
ancially, technically Lmd politlcally by Parliamentarians, we will not be able
to delivcr our programmes in our respective countrles - be it population and de
velopment, gender cquity, food security or warter resources. The harder and mor
e complex the tasks, the more critical becomes the role of parliamentarlans in
mobllizing the support of the people and the political community nationally and
internationally. It is therefore, a particular p]easure for IPPF to note the f
ine work done by Asian Parliamentarians over the last decade and a ha]f and is
continuing wlth its proud tradltion in this 13th Asian Parliamentarians Meeting
on Population and Development - this time discussing Water Resources and Popul
ation.
The meeting over the last two days, has had a full and comprehensive disc.ussio
n and has addressed, through papers presented by eminent scholars, the issues o
f population and the lifc saving concerns of water resources. Undoubtedly envir
onmental considerations, watcr resourccs and food issues affect and are affecte
d by population numbers. If we arc to succeed In the essentlal economic develop
ment of a nation, then, without doubt one can has to talk about water resources
and its future. There can be no doubt that population issues seriously affect
environmental concerns, and therefore, it follows water rcsources and the quali
ty and quantity of water available. Without managing water
