Nature special “Water: under pressure”

To coincide with World Water Day, Nature has published a special called “Water: under pressure”.

A quote from the editorial: “It is salutary to realize that in our issue of this very date 5 years ago, we wrote an Editorial that, with small amendments, we might well have simply reprinted this week Our planet is facing a water crisis in public health: more than a billion people in developing nations lack access to safe drinking water, and more than 2 billion lack proper sanitation. And in the near future, water shortages are likely to spread into other key sectors — notably agriculture and energy”.

Most articles are only available to subscribers or for purchase, but a few can be viewed for free, notably:

• Improving on haves and have-nots by Jamie Bartam who calls for smarter indicators and targets for water and sanitation. 
• Science and technology for water purification in the coming decades [see also the WASH Technology news blog]

Conference Report on the 1st International WASH Practitioners’ Marketplace and Fair

The Conference Report of the 1st International WASH Practitioners’ Marketplace and Knowledge Fair and the 19th Regional Water and Sanitation Seminar, held on 26 to 29 September 2007, in Mombasa, Kenya is now available for download. The report comprises different thematic sessions papers and reports including keynote addresses

Conference themes were:

• WASH and Development
• Pro-Poor WASH
• HIV/AIDS, and Gender in WASH
• WASH in Schools
• Sustainable Sanitation Solutions
• Scaling Up WASH
• Partnerships for Capacity Development

The next Fair will be held in Bangladesh in 2008.

Download here from the STREAMS web site

Opportunities for Sanitation Marketing in Uganda

In October 2007, a team of consultants from the Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP) visited Uganda to determine if sanitation marketing would be a viable approach in Uganda, and to make specific recommendations to HIP and the donor community that would move the sanitation marketing agenda forward. This report presents the key findings and recommendations stemming from the trip.

The overarching conclusion is that sanitation marketing is both a viable and needed approach to increase sanitation uptake among rural households in Uganda. The team based its assessment on an analysis of the policy environment, formative research, and local-level conditions concerning Uganda’s rural household sanitation sector.

Download the publication here

Essential environmental health standards in health care

Essential environmental health standards in health care
Edited by John Adams, Jamie Bartram, Yves Chartier
World Health Organization, 2008, 57 p.

Health–care associated infections affect between 5 and 30% of patients. The associated burden of disease is extremely high, and is a significant drain on health-sector resources and households. Ensuring safe environmental health conditions in health care can reduce the transmission of health care associated infections. This not only applies for health care institutions, but also for home-based care.

This document provides guidance on essential environmental health standards required for health care in medium- and low-resource countries and support the development and implementation of national policies.

These guidelines have been written for use by health managers and planners, architects, urban planners, water and sanitation staff, clinical and nursing staff, carers and other health-care providers, and health promoters.

These guidelines deal specifically with water supply (water quality, quantity and access), excreta disposal, drainage, health-care waste management, cleaning and laundry, food storage and preparation, control of vector-borne disease, building design (including ventilation), construction and management, and hygiene promotion. They are designed primarily for use in health-care settings in precarious situations, and in situations where simple and affordable measures can improve hygiene and health significantly.

Download the full document here

Global Health Watch 2008

Global Health Watch 2008.2nd ed.
Publication date: 15 July 2008
Zed Books
Hardback: £60.00 ISBN: 9781848130340
Paperback: £18.99 ISBN: 9781848130357
Order online
Global Health Watch website

The second edition of the Global Health Watch covers a comprehensive range of health topics, including access to medicines, mental health, water and sanitation, nutrition, and war and conflict.

Unlike other reports on global health, it also draws attention to the politics of global health and the policies and actions of key actors. Hence chapters on official aid programmes, including a dedicated chapter on the United States foreign assistance programme for global health; the Gates Foundation; the World Bank; and the Global Fund; and the World Health Organization.

Read more

Poverty and Water: Explorations of the Reciprocal Relationship

David Hemson, Kassim Kulindwa, Haakon Lein, Adolfo Mascarenhas (2008). Poverty and water : explorations of the reciprocal relationship. Zed Books. 192 p.
Hardback: £60.00 ISBN: 9781842779613. Paperback: £19.99 ISBN: 9781842779620
Order online

This book provides global spread of case studies to illustrate that water is not simply an issue of physical scarcity, but rather a complex and politically-driven issue with profound future implications, both in the developing world and outside it. The book argues that for the international community to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, governments must step in to protect the rights of the poor. Here, the links between poverty and access to clean water are explored with an eye to political reform that can end the exploitative policies of big business and help to shape a more equitable world for all.

Content

1: Water and Poverty; the inextricable link, by Kassim Kulindwa & Haakon Lein
2: Water for All: From Firm Promises to ‘New Realism’?, by David Hemson
3: It takes two to Tango - Steps towards Change in the Water Sector?, by Jaqui Goldin
4: The Link between Poverty and Water Supply: The Nigerian Example, by Ayodele Aderinwale & Olumide A. Ajayi
5: Water, Agricultural Development and Rural Poverty in Bangladesh, by Haakon Lein
6: Opportunities for Reforming the Irrigation Sector: The Case of the Fish-Sundays Scheme of the Eastern Cape, by Beatrice I. Conradie
7: Rural Water Supply Projects Appraisal and Poverty Eradication in Tanzania, by Kassim Kulindwa
8: Easing the Burden on Women? Water, Cholera and Poverty in South Africa, by David Hemson
9: Water Pricing, Inequality and Economic Welfare: How can the New South African Water Policy Support Well-being of the Urban Poor?, by Carl-Erik Schulz
10: Conclusion: Water for the Poor Pays, by Adolfo Mascarenhas

Author information:

• David Hemson, researcher at Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), South Africa
• Kassim Kulindwa. senior research fellow and lecturer in economics at the Economic Research Bureau, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Haakon Lein, associate professor at the Department of Geography at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
• Adolfo Mascarenhas, retired, former Director of the Bureau of Resource Assessment and Land Use Planning (BRALUP) and founder Director of the Institute of Resource Assessment at the University of Dar es Salaam

Middle East and North Africa: WaDImena Water Demand Management Research Series

The Regional Water Demand Initiative for the Middle East and North Africa (WaDImena) has launched a new research series. The following four working papers can been published:

Working Paper 4: Institutions for Effective Water Demand Management by David Brooks, Hani Abu Qdais and Sarah Wolfe
Working Paper 3: Gender & WDM in MENA region by Lamia El Fattal, Doaa Arafa, Hammou Laamrani
Working Paper 2: WDM, Poverty & Equity by Stephen Tyler
Working Paper 1: WDM Definitions, Criteria & Notions of Social Innovation & Political Economy by David Brooks, Lamia El-Fattal and Doaa Arafa

WaDImena is a five-year project to promote the management of water demand in the region. WaDImena currently works in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Yemen. The main partners are the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Water Rights and Water Allocation: Issues and Challenges for the Asian Region

Jeremy Bird, Wouter Lincklaen Arriens and Dennis Von Custodio (2008). Water rights and water allocation: issues and challenges for the Asian region. (RSDD technical note). Asian Development Bank. [Advance draft for 3rd NARBO General Meeting].

This paper aims to raise awareness and capacity among member organizations of the Network of Asian River Basin Organizations (NARBO) and their interested groups on the issues surrounding water rights and allocation.

The four major parts of this paper are organized as follows:

• Part 1—examines in more detail the definitions, principles, and characteristics of water rights and water allocation; two approaches to water allocation are outlined—an explicit system based on water licensing and a less structured implicit system resulting from master planning and project development;
• Part 2—explores basic concepts, such as beneficial use, equity and no significant harm in moving towards a licensing system; looks at how a number of countries set priorities among competing uses; and stresses the need for adaptive management;
• Part 3—covers topics such as building effective institutions, managing the often lengthy period of transition, and promoting greater accountability; and
• Part 4—concludes the paper by highlighting a number of actions to be taken by various stakeholders to realize the aim of more effective water rights systems.

Download PDF file here

The EMPOWERS Approach to Water Governance

Moriarty, Patrick; Batchelor, Charles; Abd-Alhadi, Firas T.; Laban, Peter; Fahmy, Hazem (2007)
The EMPOWERS Approach to Water Governance: Guidelines, Methods and Tools
ISBN 978-9957-8624-6-6
Publisher: INWRDAM on behalf of the EMPOWERS Partnership

This book contains guidelines, methods and tools for use in processes of planning and dialogue within and between local and intermediate levels. It describes a practical and logical framework of activities based on the involvement of those who use and manage water. The guidelines advocate a process of collaboration through dialogue, to bring about a change in the way water sector professionals and water users work with each other.

Read more about the book and download it from the EMPOWERS website

Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water

Blue covenant : the global water crisis and the coming battle for the right to water
Maude Barlow
2007, 208 p.
The New Press
ISBN: 978-1-59558-186-0
$24.95 / £15.99
Order online

Activist Maude Barlow’s new book describes the global protests against water privatisation and the emergence of an international, grassroots-led movement to have water declared a basic human right.

Read an interview with Maude Barlow about her new book, posted on 18 Feb 2008 in AlterNet.

Maude Barlow in Bolivia