Facing a number of serious environmental and ecological challenges, the Bagmati River Basin is the most water stressed basin in Nepal. This presentation addresses issues and interventions, including the institutional strengthening of High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of Bagmati Civilization, to improve water security in the river basin.

This paper discusses how sustainable development, with the use of modern technology and without compromising the vital ecosystems, can be achieved through the involvement of community people. It features the experience of a nine-year-long participatory river basin water resources management project in northwest Bangladesh.

Water security has its own share of opportunities and challenges. While the fastest growing economies are found in Asia, doing things differently is crucial since there is only a small window of opportunity. Designing urban water systems will therefore require the application of a holistic systems approach.

The steady rise of population growth in Asia’s megacities including the Philippines' capital city of Manila requires a holistic and integrated approach in sustainable water management. The experience of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in the Philippines has shown that improved water governance is the future of urban water management.

Water security increasingly becomes a global concern as it consistently ranks among the top five global risks in terms of impact. As water security carries interconnected risks, there exists the need to create a new enabling environment and instruments to respond to the challenge.