As attention turns to the Johannesburg summit, many regions of the world could be excused for being more concerned with the water crisis on their doorsteps.

In fact, due to the scale of this crisis -- in which more than half of the world's lakes and reservoirs, holding nearly 90 percent of all surface fresh water, are under threat -- the United Nations has designated 2003 as the Year of Fresh Water.

Worldwide, 1.1 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water, while more than twice as many lack adequate sanitation. Meanwhile, by 2020, global water use is expected to have increased by 40 percent.

Water is at the heart of sustainable development and will figure in every issue discussed at the second Earth Summit, from energy and health, to agriculture and biodiversity. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has identified water as one of the five areas where concrete actions and results from the summit are both essential and achievable.

It is widely expected that the summit will make commitments and establish partnerships to improve both access to water and its management as a resource. However, judging from the unsatisfactory outcome of the summit's preparatory committee meetings earlier this year, much will likely remain to be done after Johannesburg to make commitments more concrete.

As a result, the Third World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference to be held in Kyoto, Shiga and Osaka next March 16-23, will undoubtedly be an event of the utmost importance to millions.

World Water Forums are an initiative of the World Water Council, an international organization dedicated to strengthening the world water movement. At the Second World Water Forum, at The Hague in March 2000, more than 5,000 participants -- including water professionals, nongovernmental organization representatives, labor groups, social activists, consumer advocates and others -- discussed their visions of a water-secure world and devised a framework for achieving it.

Though the number of definite commitments made there was limited, it did result in thousands of projects, now in place around the world, aimed at improving access to safe water and management of this scarce resource.

Participants at the third forum will highlight these actions and share their experiences for the future benefit of others. The forum will also prioritize dialogue between all stakeholders on workable solutions for the management of water resources. Its goal, however, is not debate -- but action that will build on the Johannesburg summit and adopt clear time-bound commitments to accelerate reform.

In fact the opening phase of the Third World Water Forum will also take place in Johannesburg, at the WaterDome in parallel with the summit, with sessions focusing on themes such as "Water and Governance," "Food and Water" and "Financing Water Infrastructure."

Other WaterDome topics promise to be more controversial, such as "Public-Private Partnership" and "Dams and Development." The latter may be of particular interest to participants from Japan, as a number of dam projects here, such as the proposed Kawabegawa Dam in Kumamoto Prefecture, have subsequently been found to be flawed and construction halted.

In Japan in 2003, the Third World Water Forum will offer special programs such as the Youth World Water Panel for participants ages 15-25, who will draft a Vision Statement. The WWC's Report on World Water Actions will also be released, detailing how communities and countries worldwide are managing water resources to meet targets of sustainable development, identifying models for future action.

And, of course, achievements will be applauded. A ceremony will inaugurate the King Hassan II Great World Water Prize, which will honor outstanding achievements in the development and management of water resources.

In addition to the forum itself, the host prefectures will invite participants to discover their local water attractions, such as Lake Biwa (Shiga Prefecture) and the Yodo River Basin (flowing from Lake Biwa through Kyoto and Osaka prefectures). Also part of the forum will be a Water Fair and Mizu-En festival, held in three venues in Osaka and Shiga. Companies will exhibit their latest water-related innovations at the Osaka Water Expo, to be held at INTEX Osaka from March 18-22.

Ultimately, though, the goal of the Third World Water Forum is simple: to foster good water-management practice so that, finally, everybody feels responsible for water.