Readers’ Opinion
Key sector people are occasionally giving readers’ opinion in the Source family of newsletters. Here you’ll find a collection of opinions. You are invited to provide a reaction by using the comment button at the bottom.
International action to strengthen right to water and sanitation guarantees
Opinion by Claude Cahn, Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions
Features
India: Arsenic removal in West Bengal: clean water pays its way
Dipak Das churns the pedals of his three-wheeled bike earnestly, eyes straight ahead, focused on safely navigating the maze of bumps, holes, traffic, pedestrians, and dust. Behind him, on a flat platform wedged between the two rear wheels, are 20 tightly-packed jiggling jugs of his most precious cargo - safe, filtered arsenic-free drinking water.
Colombia: Greater community involvement needed to strengthen water and sanitation services in rural areas
The 2005 census in Colombia suggested that 86% of people have access to piped water and that three quarters of people have latrines connected to sewage systems. However, an independent review shows that rural areas are being left behind in both coverage and quality.
Sanitation is the theme for first relaunched Waterlines
Waterlines, the journal that aims to bridge the gap between research and practice, was relaunched in 2008 in a refereed format, with each issue focusing on a key theme. To mark the International Year of Sanitation, the inaugural edition is devoted to the theme ‘Where are we with Sanitation?’
GWA News
Making water quality visible: for women as well as for men
In Yemen CARE uses the Delagua water testing kit (developed by OXFAM, reproduced by the Robens Centre for Public and Environmental Health, Surrey University) as an awareness tool to improve the understanding of ‘clean and safe water’ in village communities.
Gender roles are critical to success of Water for African Cities programme
The Gender and Water Alliance started activities to mainstream gender into the Water for African Cities programme in 2003 by conducting participatory Rapid Gender Assessments (RGAs) in all 17 pilot cities.
From the GWA Secretariat
As a contribution to the International Year of Sanitation, GWA is developing, with the Netherlands-based WASTE, a training module on gender and sanitation to be made available for other organisations to include in training manuals related to e.g. education, health or IWRM.
Cap-Net News
Building River Basin Organisation capacity - learning how to take action
Sustainable management of water resources is an important goal adopted at international level by many countries to deal with water shortages, inequity, pollution and many other water problems.
Climate change increases need for adaptable IWRM strategies
Cap-Net and the Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM) of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) are developing a Climate Change Adaptation capacity building programme with courses in the context of sustainable water management.
Argentina: They don’t laugh about the rivers
Espacio Agua (Water Space) is an initiative formed in Argentina by civil society organisations, local government, networks, universities, companies, and professionals with the mission to contribute to integrated water resources management through communication and capacity building and to promote recognition of access to safe water and sanitation as a human right.
Capacity development in water integrity, accountability and transparency
One of the key principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is taking water resources management to the lowest level possible – a good principle that poses some challenges.
IRC News
IRC contributions to the International Year of Sanitation
By the end of the first quarter of 2008, IRC had already contributed in several ways to the International Year of Sanitation.
IRC contributes to open source water and sanitation internet venture
A group of eight investors led by the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), Partners for Water and UN-HABITAT has agreed to finance €535,000 for the next phase of Akvo (“water” in Esperanto). IRC is one of them.
Revisiting multiple uses of water 5 years on
“Multiple-use services are all about changing perspectives. First, we would see someone irrigating some tomatoes, and we would say that he is wasting water. Now, we see the same situation, but from the perspective of the user, and we say that he is making a good and economic use of water”. (Johny Hernández, water technician, Honduras).
Sharing MUS Group work within the Dutch water sector
Over recent months, several organisations from the Dutch water sector have expressed an interest in multiple uses of water. Two events were organised to share ideas and experiences with these organisations.
Sharing news: multiple use services at the 5th World Water Forum
“Multiple Uses and Functions of Water Services” has been selected as one of the 22 major topics for the 5th World Water Forum to be held in Istanbul March 2009.
Honduras: study started on multiple-use and sustainability of services provision
The Red de Agua y Saneamiento de Honduras (RAS-HON – the main water and sanitation network in Honduras) and IRC have started a study to understand the impact of de-facto multiple-use services on sustainability of water supply services provision in Honduras.
Five publications with stories, concepts and tools on water governance
Five publications cast new light on what happens when water governance changes at intermediate level and in the community, document the results of the Euro-Med Participatory Water Resources Scenarios (EMPOWERS) research and development project (2003-2007).
Seven new IRC staff members
To accommodate the expansion of contracted work seven new staff members joined IRC in recent months.
