Source Weekly 2008, 3

Published - 25 Apr 08

International

The Lancet: "Sanitation has languished at the bottom of the international agenda for far too long"

Sanitation has languished at the bottom of the international agenda for far too long and the global health community has been complicit in letting it stay there. This unacceptable situation must change now, says The Lancet.

Right to water: UN Human Rights Council adopts watered-down resolution

“Once again, the UN Human Rights Council missed a critical opportunity to recognize the human right to water”, said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of the US-based Food & Water Watch, in reaction to the “watered-down” resolution adopted by the Council on 28 March 2008. The Council decided to appoint an Independent Expert who would be given 3 years to prepare a report on the "issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation".

Urban water: world mayors propose measures to adapt to climate change

In an effort to be better prepared for future droughts as well as the catastrophic dry spells expected to accompany climate change, Turkey’s leaders and the World Water Council (WWC), are proposing a global declaration on urban water management strategies.

Kenya: free water for slum residents

The Government will soon provide, at no cost, at least 40 litres of water a day per household in slum areas. The decision was reached following the recent outbreak of cholera in various parts of the country, the newly appointed Water and Irrigation minister Charity Ngilu said.

Africa: First African Water Week concludes with Ministerial Declaration

The First African Water Week (AWW-1), hosted by the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) under the theme of ‘Accelerating Water Security for the Socio Economic Development of Africa’, took place from 26-28 March 2008 in Tunis, Tunisia.

Burkina Faso: flush with new funds for water and sanitation

Donors announced in March that they will invest US$ 1.2 billion into Burkina Faso’s water sector. The new funds will be used to boost access to sanitation for more than half of the country’s 14 million people and increase access to clean water for 30 per cent of the population.

Ghana: response to Accra’s looming water crisis could decide next president

General elections in Ghana will not be held until December 2008 but with the rapid collapse of the water system in the capital Accra and an estimated 84,000 Ghanaians dying each year from diseases related to poor water quality, observers say water has already become the central election issue.

Palestine, Gaza: victims of ‘wall of human waste’

"...The wall of raw human waste slammed into them. It knocked her down and tore the baby from her arms. He drowned....

Yemen: new water sector support programme in pipeline

A newly proposed World Bank-supported programme aims to improve access to water supply and sanitation services, increase returns to water use in agriculture, and strengthen sector institutions for sustainable water resources management and environmental protection.

India: USAID and UNICEF disseminate best practices from successful school sanitation programme

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) celebrated the success of their five-year partnership to enhance environment safety and hygiene conditions in thousands of schools across Jharkhand and Karnataka.

Bangladesh: Muhammad Yunus teams up with Veolia Water

Muhammad Yunus unveiled a deal between his pioneering Grameen Bank and French multinational Veolia Water to provide clean water to poor rural communities in Bangladesh. The Bangladeshi economist also sought support from President Nicolas Sarkozy for creating more microcredit schemes to fight poverty, particularly in Africa.

Viet Nam: few wash dirty hands

The practice of hand-washing with soap in Viet Nam’s rural areas is not common, a conference heard last week.

Brazil: over EUR 4 billion/year needed for basic water and sanitation, survey claims

A new survey says Brazil needs to invest 11 billion reais (EUR 4.2 billion) in basic water and sanitation services every year for 20 years.

El Salvador: sanitation is a national priority in 2008

El Salvador’s government is making sanitation a national priority and increasing coverage throughout the country, says national aqueduct and sewerage authority Anda sanitation department director Rubén Alemán. The country committed itself to improve sanitation when it signed the Cali declaration at the 2007 Latinosan conference.

Peru: IDB to provide EUR 220 million for water projects, Japan confirms EUR 139 million loan

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will lend more than US$ 350 million (EUR 221 million) to Peru over the next five years for the development of sanitation and water projects, benefiting over 100,000 families.

Akvo: Internet venture secures second stage funding for internet venture

The open source water and sanitation Internet venture Akvo ("water in Esperanto") has secured EUR 535,000 in grant investments.

Margaret Batty: new Policy and Campaigns Director for WaterAid

WaterAid (UK) has appointed Margaret Batty to the post of Policy and Campaigns Director. She takes over from Stephen Turner.

Indonesia: Amreeta Regmi appointed Water and Sanitation Sector Program (WASAP) Coordinator, World Bank

Amreeta Regmi has been appointed as the Water and Sanitation Sector Program (WASAP) Coordinator at the World Bank for the Indonesia mission.

IHSAN: pro-industry NGO sponsors WASH projects

Empowering humanity through water, sanitation, hygiene and education is the mission of a new pro-industry NGO, IHSAN, set up in the USA by employees of the oil and gas industry.

Stockholm Water Prize 2008: “Virtual Water” innovator awarded

Professor John Anthony Allan from King’s College London and the School of Oriental and African Studies has been named the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate.

(Senior) Programme Officer francophone West Africa, Delft, The Netherlands

Organisation: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, Delft, The Netherlands

Apply before Monday 28 April 2008

Water governance advisor, Stockholm, Sweden

Organisation: UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI, Stockholm, Sweden

Apply before Thursday 15 May 2008

Programme Officer (Grants Management) no. 1, Geneva, Switzerland

Organisation: Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Geneva, Switzerland.

Apply before Thursday 08 May 2008

Sector development advisor WASH, Kathmandu, Nepal

Organisation: SNV/Nepal Netherlands Development Organisation, Kathmandu, Nepal

Apply before Thursday 01 May 2008

Sustainability: intervention model for water supplies in remote rural communities in Peru

Sustainability of water supplies in remote rural communities is problematic and resource consuming. CARE has a long history of working hand in hand with remote rural communities and devising programmes tailored to their needs.

Hygiene: handwashing indicators strongly influenced by socio-economic status in Bangladesh

Handwashing promotion efforts in urban Dhaka that include specific efforts to provide handwashing facilities inside the house are more likely to improve handwashing behaviour than interventions that ignore this component.

Sanitation and hygiene: lessons from five villages in Burkina Faso

Is it time to stop aligning sanitation and health (S&H) policies so closely with water management policy?

Watershed development: evaluating social impacts in India

Recent research from Oxford University, in the UK, evaluates the social impacts of watershed development in Madhya Pradesh, India

Rural water supply: the risks of a technology-based indicator

Low cost behavioural and technology changes need to be explored and perhaps offered as options alongside those more expensive alternatives in rural water supply in order to increase cost-effectiveness and progress.

Water treatment: potential of new technologies for developing countries

Nature publishes a review of some of the science and technology being developed to improve the disinfection and decontamination of water, as well as efforts to increase water supplies through the safe re-use of wastewater (e.g. with membrane bioreactors) and efficient desalination of sea and brackish water.

Water charges: Kenyan government imposes fee for bulk water users

The Water Resource Management Authority (WRMA) hopes to raise at least US$ 91,000 annually by imposing a new fee for bulk water users. The new money will be used to improve water delivery services in areas suffering from severe water shortages.

Grants: Innovation for Inclusive Development - Latin America

The objective of the grants programme is to foster the development and dissemination of innovations in products, processes and services and engender solutions with the potential of improving the quality of life of poor and/or excluded people in Latin America and the Caribbean. Up to six grants, ranging from US$ 30,000 to 100,000, will be awarded.

Apply before Friday 20 June 2008

Participatory budgeting: towards better service delivery and transparency in Africa

Senior officials representing governments, local authorities and NGOs from 29 African countries gathered from 10-14 March 2008 in Durban, South Africa, for the first Africa Regional Seminar on Participatory Budgeting. Participatory budgeting (PB) is a system that gives the public a say and an eye on how municipal funds are spent.

Taking community-led total sanitation to scale : movement, spread and adaptation

This paper focuses on community-led total sanitation (CLTS), an innovation in participatory methodology, as well as a unique approach to sanitation.

Integrated risk management to protect drinking water and sanitation services facing natural disasters

This TOP explains the concept of integrated risk management, a strategic and proactive approach to anticipating, assessing and managing natural events.

Doing things differently : stories about local water governance in Egypt, Jordan and Palestine

This book documents the experiences, accounts and stories of people in villages, governorate offices and ministries who have tried to shake traditional patterns and to do things differently during the four years of the EMPOWERS Project.

Poverty and sanitation : an analysis of the linkage between poverty and access to basic sanitation in Honduras

This document shows that the poorest Hondurans, those living in dispersed rural communities and peri-urban slums, have the least access to appropriate sanitation technologies and coverage. The resulting high risks to the environment and family health are identified.

Water alternatives : an interdisciplinary journal on water, politics and development

The journal is a new, open access journal that will be published three times each year. The inaugural issue will be published on the 1st of June 2008.

Micro Water Facility

The Micro Water Facility advises entrepreneurs and project organisations on appropriate business strategies and acts as an intermediary in finding the right partners and appropriate financiers.

KnowH2O

A water education initiative from the NGO PlayPumps International providing background information on the world water crisis, lesson plans and a quiz.

WaterPartners Village

This virtual village enables visitors to explore the global drinking water crisis.

Mapping the Measures of Success: An Expert Round Table on Impact Evaluation for Strengthening Governance of WASH Services

Delft, The Netherlands, 13-14 May 2008

A two-day gathering and an online discussion, organised by IRC, to map existing knowledge, practices, experiences and challenges related to evaluating the impact of development interventions in the context of governance of WASH services.

International Seminar “Water in Africa: Hydro-Pessimism or Hydro-Optimism?”

Porto, Portugal, 02-03 October 2008

CEAUP, the Centre of African Studies invites researchers and practitioners to contribute with water management experiences and case-studies from the diverse regions of Africa, and to participate in a wide debate on hydro-pessimism and hydro-optimism in the African context.

AGUASAN Workshop 24

Switzerland, 13-17 October 2008

Theme: ‘Innovative management approaches for sustainable rural and small town water & sanitation services’.

13th International Anti-Corruption Conference. Global Transparency: Fighting Corruption for a Sustainable Future

Athens, Greece, 30 October - 02 November 2008

The conference will look at the role of corruption and governance in the social, political, environmental, and economic questions that define the quality of life for people across the globe, today and tomorrow. Water will feature in the thamtic stream on "Corruption in the natural resources and energy sectors".

International Conference - Sustainable Environmental Technology and Sanitation for Tropical Region

Surabaya, Indonesia, 18-19 November 2008

The conference aims to bring in both national and international expertise to promote the importance of environmental sanitation in Indonesia. The four main themes are: clean water, waste water, air quality and solid waste.

International Symposium on Multiple-Use Water Services

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 04-06 November 2008

Organised by the MUS (Multiple Use Services) Group and the RiPPLE (Research-inspired Policy and Practice Learning in Ethiopia and the Nile Region) research consortium for professionals from the water sector (irrigation, water supply, water resources), particularly researchers, policy makers, practitioners and donors.