World Water Forums: seeking sustainable water management solutions

In March 2012, two global but contrasting forums in search of sustainable solutions to the water crisis took place in Marseilles, France.

The realisation of the human right to water and sanitation was prominent in the declarations of the both the 6^th World Water Forum (WWF) [1] and the Alternative World Water Forum (FAME 2012) [2].  In addition, the WWF6 declaration officially recognised disaster mitigation and emergency response as a priority. Where the WWF6 declaration fell short though, according to the Butterfly Effect, a group of 90 civil society organisations, was that it did not explicitly mention the commitment of states to implement the right to water and sanitation. [3]

Watch the video of the Public-Private debate at WWF6.

While the WWF was home to the water and development industry, FAME 2012 gave a voice to the uncompromising group of anti-privatisation water activists. Loïc Fauchon, head of WWF organiser, the World Water Council, dismissed the alternative forum as “insignificant at best and harmful at worst”. A commentator added that “the pro- and anti-privatisation debate grew stale a long time ago” [4]. As if the anti-privatisation activists anticipated claims that they present infinite criticisms but few alternatives, two new studies [5,6] promoting public management of services have been released.

Watch a video Prof. David McDonald of the Municipal Services Project (MSP) Canada talking about his new publication “Alternatives to Privatization“.

The WWF and FAME 2012 are taking their declarations to Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June. The next World Water Forum will take place in Daegu Gwangyeoksi, South Korea, in 2015.

For more commentaries on the two forums see:

• Babatope Babalobi, How Marseilles hosted two World Water Forums in one week, eWASH, 10 Apr 2012
• Daniel Moss, The right water debates in the wrong place, Huffington Post, 02 April 2012

[1] 6^th World Water Forum – Ministerial Declaration, 13 Mar 2012

[2] Alternative World Water Forum – Declaration, 13 Apr 2012

[3] Butterfly Effect reaction to the 6th World Water Forum ministerial declaration, Freshwater Action Network (FAN), 15 Mar 2012

[4] Claire Provost, No single course for providing water, Guardian Poverty Matters blog, 22 Mar 2012

[5] Pigeon, M. et al. (eds), 2012. Remunicipalisation : putting water back into public hands. Amsterdam: Transnational Institute. Available at: <http://www.tni.org/tnibook/remunicipalisation> [Accessed 14 May 2012]

[6] McDonald, D.A. and Ruiters, G., 2012. Alternatives to privatization : public options for essential services in the global south. Cape Town: HSRC Press. Available at: <http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2287> [Accessed 14 May 2012]

Related news: World Water Forum: water unites but forums divided, E-Source, 03 Apr 2009

Related web sites:

• 6^th World Water Forum – official website | Solutions for Water
• Alternative World Water Forum
• International Secretariat for Water – The Butterfly Effect
•  IRC at the World Water Forum 2012

Humanitarian aid: 30-fold increase in spending on water and sanitation over last decade

Spending on water and sanitation (watsan) in humanitarian aid has increased from US$ 15 million in 2000 to US$ 454 million in 2009.

There has been a shift in the major donors for humanitarian watsan over the last decade as well.

Emergencies: water-related lessons from earthquakes

As aid agencies launch Haiti earthquake relief efforts, a blog post on the Overseas Development Institute web site, has showcased a report by learning and accountability network, ALNAP [Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action], outlining 28 lessons learned over 30 years of earthquake responses.

The report covers the 1976 Guatemala earthquake that killed 23,000 people and the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake that left 5,749 dead. Earthquakes are uniquely challenging, with high mortality rates, severe road and infrastructure destruction, debris delaying recovery efforts and the risk of aftershocks, stated ALNAP in the 2008 report.

“Every time there is a major evaluation, it states [that] emergency responses did not apply lessons from previous emergencies,” ALNAP head of research and development, Ben Ramalingam, told IRIN. “Decisions we make now in Haiti can influence the way operations go for quite some time.”

He has high hopes. Comparing Haiti now with the immediate aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, he says: “Now there is much more focus on what can be done better; there is a lot of debate about coordination and quality – this is potentially unique.”

The most important lesson aid agencies must apply is to address emergency relief and longer-term recovery efforts together, ALNAP says. “Recovery is the overriding challenge. Agency planning should not overstate the need for relief, and should quickly move into recovery activities.”

Physical recovery is likely to take three to five years in Haiti.

Recovery

“In Haiti recovery is also social, political and economic – not just physical – and there is a limit to what humanitarian assistance can do in this,” Ramalingam said. “The entire international community needs to rise to this challenge.”

Other immediate priorities for Haiti include identifying an institution – be it existing government bodies, the UN or the American administration – to lead the response, he pointed out.

And when planning their response all aid groups must not forget a simple lesson: “The majority of life-saving work in any disaster is done by populations themselves… the most important resource Haitians have is their own social capital. Agencies must give good information to communities so they can plan their own recovery from the start.”

Two water-related lessons from the ALNAP report:

• Do not overstate the risk of disease as this leads to misallocation of resources. Only three out of 600 geophysical disasters led to disease epidemics, according to research published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal. The real risk posed by dead bodies after natural disasters is mental illness caused by shock and grief. [The ALNAP report (p. 11) states that "outbreaks of communicable disease are rare after natural disasters unless large numbers are displaced from their homes and placed in camps". It warns against wasting money on "imaginary" problems, using an example from the 2004 Tsunami disaster: "Even though there was no confirmed case of cholera in Aceh, an immunisation campaign targeted 160,000 people with preparations for cholera using an expensive twodose oral vaccine"].
• Livelihoods are key to recovery; listen to affected populations about their priorities for livelihood recovery. [The ALNAP report (p. 18) cites the example of the earthquake disaster in Bam (Iran) where "interveners gave a low priority to irrigation for orchards, ranking such support lower than shelter, schools and drinking water. The affected population gave water for orchards their highest priority because of the risk of losing their orchard assets".]

Other lessons from the ALNAP report:

• Give cash and buy locally wherever possible. Ramalingam warns this must be applied carefully in Haiti given security concerns.
• Focusing on emergency shelter while neglecting permanent shelter is a mistake. The most sensible solution is “transitional shelter” that can be turned into permanent dwellings.
• Recovery operations are not neutral. They will reinforce or reduce existing inequalities and must be actively designed to do the latter.
• Listen to recipients and make sure the assistance is appropriate.
• Be prepared for land-ownership disputes.
• Try to build back better, for instance by improving building codes, but be realistic; disaster response is not a magic bullet.

Source: IRIN, 21 Jan 2010

Global Conference on Microbial Contaminants in Drinking Water, 05-08 Oct 2009, Singapore

Organised by: American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Public Utilities Board (PUB) of Singapore

Topics:

• Human Health, Risk and Policy Issues (e.g. Infectivity and Early Outbreak Detection; QMRA, Climate Change Effects, Potable Reuse Issues)
• Detection Technology (e.g. Advances in Detection; Novel Methods; Rapid Detection Strategies)
• Treatment and Management Issues (e.g. Advanced Drinking Water Treatment Strategies; Indicators and Surrogates; Membranes and Pathogen Removal; Disinfection Challenges and Issues)
• Tropical Water Quality Issues (e.g. Microbial Source Tracking; Tropical Waterborne Pathogens)
• Disaster Planning & Management Issues (e.g. Source Water Protection; Monitoring Strategies; Risk Communication; Infrastructure Protection)

Abstract deadline:  06 March 2009

For more information go to the AWWA web site