Call for papers: World Water Week in Stockholm 2012

press release:

World Water Week in Stockholm 2012

Submit your event proposal or abstract before 15 February

Organisations and individuals are invited to submit proposals for organising a seminar or side event at the 2012 World Water Week, or to send in abstracts for oral or poster presentations for the scientific workshops.

Submitting proposals for seminars or side events

Submitting abstracts for the scientific workshops

The deadline for proposal and abstract submission is 15 February.

This year, the World Water Week in Stockholm will take a closer look at global “Water and Food Security”. Increasing imbalances in the world’s water and food security situation are unfolding. Economies of countries as well as businesses are becoming restrained by the availability of water, leading to a rush for resources beyond national territories. Increasing floods and droughts together with volatile food prices are having direct effects on political stability and national security. At the same time there are great untapped synergies in the management of food and water. The management of these basic resources will have enormous effects on our future.

About the World Water Week
The World Water Week in Stockholm, organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute with FAO and the CGIAR as Key Collaborating Partners for 2012, provides a unique forum for the exchange of views, experiences and practices between the scientific, business, policy and civic communities. The Week focuses on new thinking and positive action toward water-related challenges and their impact on the world’s environment, health, climate, economic and poverty reduction agendas. In 2011, more than 2600 participants from nearly 130 countries attended the World Water Week and some 180 leading international organisations collaborated with SIWI in arranging the event.

The 2012 World Water Week will take place August 26-31.

For more information on the World Water Week in Stockholm visit www.worldwaterweek.org  or download the first announcement.

Eye opening report on Haitian sanitation and what the future holds

the challenge of sanitation

The  International Federation International Federation Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) realease  a 24 page report  titled Haiti: From sustaining lives to sustainable solutions –the challenge of sanitation in July 2010 Special report, six months on • July 2010

Contents are follows

• Top line messages
• Before the earthquake Tentative steps in the face of chronic under-development
  • It’s a dirty job,but somebody has to do it - Case Study
• Six months on: notable achievements, but substitution is not the answer
  • Hygiene promotion at Camp La Piste Case Study
  • Sanitation technicians –doing the work that nobody else wants to do Case Study
• The challenges of the next 6–12 months Taking the frst steps towards sustainable sanitation solutions
  • Making it fun to learn about hygiene Case Study
  • Cleaning up the camps Case Study
• The next ten years Innovation is the key
• Haiti earthquake operation in figures

The  Top line message is as follows

• Sanitation saves lives. Without it, there is a risk of a secondary disaster, in which the people who have survived the earthquake could succumb to preventable disease.
• The IFRC is calling on the international community to recognize sanitation as one of the absolute priorities in Haiti’s reconstruction, and to ensure that sufficient resources are devoted to it.
• The current situation is not sustainable. The IFRC and other agencies providing water and sanitation services on behalf of the Haitian authorities are currently stretched beyond their capacity and mandate.
• Haitian authorities must receive funding and support to build their capacities to provide the improved sanitation services the Haitian population needs and deserves.
• Access to appropriate sanitation is also a dignity and protection issue, particularly for women and children. Community participation is essential to identify ways to ensure that people feel safe when using sanitation facilities – toilets and showers – both at night and in the day.
• Innovative solutions for future sanitation provision are needed. For example research is needed into potential solutions such as small bore sewerage, large-scale composting of waste, or
  establishing biogas production.

They go on to say in  (footnotes are remove here but are  in original pdf)

“…Six months on, a large proportion of sanitation services (and two-thirds of the water trucking) continue to be provided by international partners. This is notsustainable. The IFRC calls upon the international community to recognize sanitation as one of the absolute priorities in Haiti’s reconstruction and ensure that sufficient resources are devoted to it….”

“…Before the earthquake, safe water access was amongst the lowest in Latin America and the Caribbean, nwhilst access to sanitation was amongst the lowest
in the world… “

“…Whilst the IFRC works mainly in larger camps and neighbourhoods, other agencies and NGOs are working in small camps that are not accessible to
larger de-sludging machines. They have also taken this “improve on what exists” approach, consulting with camp dwellers to learn and build upon their own practices. They are currently piloting a number of different options. These include field-testing the distribution and safe collection of biodegradable bags in locations where there appears to be no other viable solution (for example, no space for more conventional toilets), installing toilets that use little or no water, and investigating options to introduce manual de-sludging pumps that would improve upon the bayacou system of toilet clearance used prior to the earthquake…..”

“There are huge challenges in meeting the long-term sanitation needs for Haiti, but at the same time great opportunities exist to make substantial improvements
to the sanitary environment of Port-au-Prince and beyond. The key is to support the Haitian authorities in investigating and putting in place pioneering sanitation solutions. The crucial starting point is to ensure that equal importance, support and funding is channeled to sanitation as well as the provision of water in tackling the long-term rebuilding of Haiti…”

“…Investment in formative research is needed now  in areas such as the barriers and motivational factors to achieving improved sanitation within Haitian society,
the ability and willingness to pay for it, and whether there is an openness to adopt innovations such as the agricultural use of human-derived fertiliser or the conversion of excreta into energy through biogas production. All these issues must be properly researched, together with a better understanding in how to carry out urban mass sanitation, given that most experience to date stems from rural and peri-urban situations.

Haiti is still in the first phase of recovering from the devastating effects of the 12 January earthquake, but now is the time to look forward – to the next six months and also to the next 10 or 20 years. The decisions made now will have the most profound influence in helping the country deliver a prosperous future for its citizens. Making sure that sanitation is given equal priority and funding
to the provision of water – and seizing opportunities to put in place innovative long-term approaches to solid and human waste management in Haiti requires immediate action, research and planning.”

PDF LINK

Looking for Realism – African sanitation report

there was a report  new report out this winter   called

REACHING THE MDG TARGET FOR

SANITATION IN AFRICA

– A CALL FOR REALISM –

It is a 50 page report by Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is available in pdf format

Sections are

• REACHING THE MDG TARGET FOR SANITATION IN AFRICA – A CALL FOR REALISM
• BUILDING POLITICAL COMMITMENT FOR SANITATION IN A FRAGMENTED INSTITUTIONAL LANDSCAPE
• HOOKED ON SANITATION SUBSIDIES
• CHALLENGES IN SUPPORTING HYGIENE BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
• MEASURING PROGRESS IN SANITATION

It is not soft in its observations. It  reference multiple source in substantiating its title.

Like the following:”Many private organizations
and government departments have focused on providing toilets aimed at achieving high coverage
rates rather than motivating their use and maintenance (17).  The end result is the construction of
toilets that are either not wanted, inappropriate or unused. “

Seems Like we need to be doing some more reality checks and long term monitoring of solutions.

Join the United Wash Campaign and use the Football World Cup to help the cause of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Wash United Logo

WASH United is a coalition of international and African civil society organizations, United Nations agencies, governments and leading actors from the world of football using the power of sport to promote safe drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for all people, everywhere. In their campaign for the 2010 World Cup, WASH United focuses on eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Mali, Lesotho, Uganda and Tanzania). In addition, WASH United has also targeted activities taking place in Europe to raise awareness among the general public and decision makers.
WASH United is also a Club that already counts among its members some of the world’s biggest football stars like Didier Drogba, Nwankwo Kanu or Stephen Appiah. WSSCC is a partner to this project and calls on all members to join this great initiative. Join WASH United and Take Action:

§  As an individual living in a community or country where people lack access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, you can help by :
- Inviting your friends and family to team up with WASH United
- Informing your friends, colleagues, peers and family about the importance of WASH for health and dignity
- Spreading the word that football superstars like Didier Drogba, Nwankwo Kanu or Stephen Appiah are now Champions for WASH
- Circulating WASH United materials and participating in WASH United Events
- Approaching local and national decision makers and demanding that they increase efforts to ensure WASH for all
- Helping to generate political will at the international level by signing our petitions

§  As an individual living in a community or country where all people enjoy access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, you can help by:
- Inviting your friends and family to team up with WASH United
- Informing  your friends, colleagues, peers and family about the water and sanitation crisis in many parts of the world – and encouraging them to act
- Purchasing the WASH United Team Shirt at our cooperation partner
- Engaging with the Parliamentarian representing your community and/or the Ministry in charge of development cooperation, calling for a stronger focus on WASH in your country’s development cooperation
- Creating political pressure: write to your Member of Parliament and demand vigorous efforts to end the water and sanitation crisis
- Helping to generate political will at the international level and act in solidarity with people lacking access to WASH by signing our petitions

Join WASH United

To know more and to register, go to www.wash-united.org.

Watsan progress – OR NOT

The Guardian posted  whats surly to be controversial article, speaking with Prof Asit Biswas, where he make the statements  leading to the byline Water pollution expert derides UN sanitation claims. The artilce by Juliette Jowit guardian.co.uk,  quotes Prof Biswas  as saying:

"The shadow of a woman collecting drinking water from a communal tap is cast on a wall in the squatter suburb of Kliptown in Johannesburg. Photograph: Saurabh Das/AP"

“If somebody has a well in a town or village in the developing world and we put concrete around the well – nothing else – it becomes an ‘improved source of water’; the quality is the same but you have ‘improved’ the physical structure, which has no impact,” said Biswas. “They are not only underestimating the problem, they are giving the impression the problem is being solved. What I’m trying to say is that’s a bunch of baloney.”

This is in apparent frustration to reports fro the UN

according to Juliette Jowit : ‘In its latest report on the progress of the UN Millennium Development Goal to halve the proportion of people lacking access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, the World Health Organisation said that since 1990 1.3 billion people had gained access to improved drinking water and 500 million better sanitation. The world was on course to “meet or exceed” the water target, it said, but was likely to miss the sanitation goal by nearly 1 billion people.’

I assume people in the field will  be backing Prof Asit Biswas, while I fear those in the mas media and in power will take the UN finding at face value,  diminishing the focus of the on  Watsan  and millennium goals.

e-Learning course on Governance in Urban Sanitation

Course Background
In 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Millennium Development Goals that challenged the global community to reduce poverty and increase the health and well-being of all peoples. Two years later, the World Summit on Sustainable Development added access to basic sanitation as a centerpiece of sustainable development strategy and set a series of actions to achieve the global sanitation target – halving the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by the year 2015.

Yet, nearly 40% of the world’s population still lacks adequate sanitation. Indeed, developing access to sanitation services poses technical, institutional, financial and also social and cultural challenges. Major obstacles relate to governance deficiencies, especially the lack of adequate institutional framework. Other hindrances include the weak priority given to sanitation and the insufficiency of substantial investment in the sector. Besides investment, sustainable solutions should also adequately address the other dimensions, especially institutional and financial aspects. It is thus essential to implement sustainable institutional arrangements ensuring the setting up of a political anchor for the sanitation sector as well as responsiveness to the demand, transparency and accountability to users, financial sustainability, and the involvement of all the actors in their area of expertise.

On the basis of these needs, UNITAR’s Local Development Programme has developed and proposes the e-learning course Governance in Urban Sanitation.

Course Goal
The goal of the course is to enhance the capacity of local decision-makers and sanitation professionals to make the most enlightened decisions and investments in the area of urban sanitation. It provides analytical tools to understand the financial and institutional framework of the sanitation sector, taking into account the needs of urban poor communities.

The course consists of 4 modules:

• Module 1 – Introduction to Sanitation
• Module 2 – Economics, Pricing and Financing of the Sanitation Sector
• Module 3 – Institutional Aspects of the Sanitation Sector
• Module 4 – Sanitation and Poverty

Learning Objectives
At the end of the course, participants should be able to:
Identify the benefits of sanitation;
Analyze costs and financing of sanitation services;
Identify suitable institutional arrangements and evaluate service provider options, benefits and limits;
Integrate accountability when structuring relationships;
Make communities and microfinance organizations partners in extending sanitation services to the poor;
Assess specific situations and recommend financial and institutional strategies at the local level towards urban sanitation improvement.

Methodology
Learning activities are based on sound adult learning pedagogical principles. They are distributed in such a way to ensure the achievement of the learning objectives in a flexible manner: learning materials can indeed be consulted in a non-linear way so as to provide participants with a high degree of flexibility in choosing both the learning pace that is the most adequate to them. Thus, participants are responsible for their own learning throughout the course. All learning activities are moderated by high level sanitation experts.

Learning materials include the following elements:

• Basic reading materials (compulsory) intended to understand the basic concepts and principles of modules’ subject-matter;
• Advanced reading materials (optional) for participants willing to learn more about the topic;
• External links to relevant, publications, reports and websites;
• Glossaries of terms and of acronyms as supportive learning tools;
• A community discussion board (forum) will allow participants to discuss topics initiated by the course moderator and to post questions, comments or new discussions.

The learning time is estimated to be about 5 hours per week. This includes study time (about 3 hours/week) and participation in collaborative activities (about 2 hours/week). Time dedicated to assessment activities is not taken into account in this estimation.

Course Completion & Certification
Successful completion of the course requires participants to achieve a minimum total score of 70% and entitles to a certificate of completion. A certificate of participation will be issued to participants who took all the mandatory exercises but achieved a score inferior to 70%.

Assessment Activities
The assessment activities are organized as follows:

• A self-assessment quiz which enables participants to analyze their level of knowledge before and during the course, making them able to decide how to approach the learning materials and which parts to focus on. This exercise is not graded and can be taken as many times as desired.
• 4 tests, corresponding to each one of the 4 course modules, aim at evaluating participants’ comprehension of the course content. The 4 tests altogether account for 40% of the final grade.
• A case study where participants can apply their knowledge practically. The basis of the case study scenario takes as a basis the concrete situation participants’ municipality/region faces with regards to sanitation. The case study accounts for 40% of the final grade.
• An innovative peer-to-peer review exercise providing an ideal breeding ground for knowledge and experience sharing. Participants evaluate and discuss each other’s case study in the framework of specific group forums. Ultimately, the moderator will provide comments and grade to each participant related to his/her review of another participant’s case study and subsequent discussions with fellow-participants. The peer-to-peer review accounts for 20% of the final grade.

Conditions of participation
The course is open to decision-makers from local governments as well as representatives of service providers (national governments, private sector, NGOs) and international organizations involved in the sanitation sector worldwide. It is advisable to have prior basic knowledge of urban sanitation and/or urban environmental issues. Participants should also have access to a computer with a reliable Internet connection.

Fee and Registration
Course fee is USD 400 per participant. Deadline for registration is 9 April 2010, or when the course is fully subscribed.

Contact
For further information, contact Mr. Nicolas Plouviez at sanitation@unitar.org.

Construction Technology How-to video’s for Watsan Devices Published on YouTube

An organization out of Germany called EMS has produced and posted on YouTube  a great set of educational videos surrounding the building of  of storage tanks, pumps, solar heater, wells, latrines and many other relate watsan devises.  It is apparent that it comes from their first hand experience:  “More than 10,000 wells have been drilled in South America since introduction of the EMAS concept “assistance to self-help”. EMAS stands for “Escuela Movil Aguas Y Saneamiento Basico” (Mobile school for drinkable water and sanitation) Their home site site is also in Spanish and German

The videos are designed to be understood by watching without use of audio commentary. There are bylines in Spanish and English to introduce a topic and  to indicate time lapsed but that is it.  Music is overlayed with the sounds of sawing  troweling and pumping. They are filmed  in a great style such that one quickly catches on to  concepts.  Obviously, don’t expect to master the skills presented just by watching. There is bound to be some trial and error. The following  list of videos  as of Jan 4 2009. IT looks like it will grow. The videos titled General – introducing the EMAS technologies – part 1 (view below) & part 2 is a great place to start, to see a sampling of what it is all about.

• General – EMAS training center in Puerto Perez, Bolivia
• General – introducing the EMAS technologies – part 1 & part 2
• General – making pipe fittings, air chambers, etc – part 1 & part 2
• Hydroelectricity – small hydroelectric plants – part 1 & part 2
• Irrigation – using a windmill, a pedal powered pump, and drip irrigation
• Irrigation – using a windmill, a pedal powered pump, and drip irrigation – part 1 & part 2
• Kitchen – making a kitchen sink
• Latrines – the EMAS VIP latrine – part 1- part 3
• Pumps – EMAS handpump used in well near the home – part 1 & part 2
• Pumps – EMAS high pressure handpump – part 1- part 5
• Pumps – EMAS high quantity handpump – part 1 – part 5
• Pumps – EMAS hydraulic ram – part 1 & part 2
• Pumps – EMAS pedal-powered pump – part 1 & part 2
• Pumps – standard EMAS handpump using fittings – part 1 – part 3
• Pumps – standard EMAS handpump using pipes – part 1 – part 4
• Pumps – windmill powering EMAS pump – part 1- part 6
• Rainwater harvesting – different rainwater tanks – part 1 – part 3
• Solar heating – hot shower using bottles
• Solar heating – solar water heater – part 1 & part 2
• Solar heating – using the sun to heat a room
• Solar heating – using the sun to heat a room – part 1 – part 5
• Spring catchment – combined with long-distance pumping
• Spring catchment – using PVC tubes
• Storage tanks – Ferrocement tank using inner form – parts 1-3
• Storage tanks – ferrocement tank
• Storage tanks – small ferrocement tank and sink
• Storage tanks – underground cistern in sandy soil – part 1 & part 2
• Water heating – theory of solar water heater – parts 1 -6
• Water treatment – subsurface wetland with greenhouse
• Water treatment – subsurface wetland with greenhouse – part 1 & part 2
• Well drilling – required materials – part 1- part 3
• Well drilling – sludging with temporary casing – part 1- part 3
• Well drilling – standard EMAS method – part 1 & part 2
• Well drilling – suction variant to standard EMAS method – part 1 & part 2
• Wells – improving a existing shallow hand-dug well

They are “Published in cooperation with http://www.akvo.org.“

DRY TOILET 2009 Conference proceedings and presentations

The proceedings from the DRY TOILET 2009 conference held by Global Dry Toilet Association of Finland are  available   They are  a great resource and available at  http://huussi.net/tapahtumat/DT2009/full.html

The summary  is also avaliable in  – suomi (Finish) and Russian as a pdf

The Suomi version of the  home page is http://www.huussi.net/

Session	Presentations & Country Focus
1 PROMOTING ECOLOGICAL SANITATION IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE MDG’S
“Composting Toilet – The Bangalore, India experience” Sustainable sanitation in Namibia’s lowest income urban areas: “The potential of composting toilets” “To dry or not to dry?-People matter in scaling up dry sanitation” “Dry Toilets in Tajikistan” “Sustainable sanitation beyond Taps & Toilet” “Prevalence of Ecological sanitation uptake and associated factors in Kabale municipality, Uganda”		India, Namibia, Finland, Tajikistan, Nepal, Uganda
2 HEALTH AND SAFETY ASPECTS RELATED TO DRY SANITATION
“Toilets and health throughout history” “The public health safety of using human excreta from urine diverting toilets for agriculture: The Philippine experience” “Dry Toilet – A boon to rural community” “Ecological sanitation: inactivation of pathogens in faeces from dry toilet – grey water disposal” “From pit latrine to a safe and sustainable toilet.” “Possible public health implication of excreta re-use in poorly sanitated rural farming communities of Ebonyi state, South-East Nigeria”		Philippines, India, Argentina, Belarus, Nigeria
3 IMPLEMENTING ECOLOGICAL SANITATION IN EMERGENCIES
“Sanitation in the disaster cycle – immediate response, preparedness and risk reduction” “Provision of Dry Toilets in earthquake hit areas of Pakistan – learning from first hand experience” “Eco-toilet for disaster preparedness” “Introducing ecological sanitation in emergency: Some lessons learned from a pilot project Bangladesh” “Sanitation in IDP and refugee camps in Chad: the current and future challenges”		Pakistan, Bangladesh, Chad
4a PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES IN RE-USE OF EXCRETA
“Pathogens of concern for developing countries and risk of reusing ecosan sludge in agriculture” “Urine from separating toilets for non-edible plants” “From pit latrine to nutrient conservation” “Re-use of human’s urine in market-gardening in South-Benin: financial returns analysis” “Biogas generation – a multi-dimensional development approach”		Mexico, Benin, Ethiopia
4b PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES IN RE-USE OF EXCRETA continues
“Dry toilet compost and separated urine as fertilisers for cabbage and potato – a case study from Finland “ “Prospects and Challenges in the reuse of human excreta in Nakuru Municipality, Kenya” “Use of Faecal Sludge for Agriculture in Tamale Metropolis: perception of Farmers, Consumers and Relevant Agencies” “Positive spin offs using mobile urinals and UD toilets in Burkina Faso” “Study on the compost produced by compost bins and ecosan latrines and survey on knowledge attitudes and practices in usage of compost bins and ecosan latrines”		Finland, Kenya, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Sri Lanka
5 CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING ECOLOGICAL SANITATION
“Evaluation of social and cultural acceptance of the biotoilet system” “Social representattions of hygiene and excretes disposal - The case of ecological dry toilets introduction in Quibdo and Tumaco-Columbia” “Towards a common goal. The challenges of the sanitation sector in Zambia” “Living with the marginalised: Addressing the socio-economic and cultural aspects in implementing Oka-Dry Toilets in Madimba; case of Lusaka” Sari Huuhtanen*, Finland; Michelo Katambo, Zambia: “The challenge of social change; experiences from Zambia dry-sanitation project (ZASP, 2006-2008)”		Mexico, Columbia, Zambia
6 GENDER ASPECTS RELATED TO DRY SANITATION
“Gender aspects of ecological sanitation with urine diverting dry toilets” “Female local latrine builders: Contributing towards objectives of International Year of Sanitation, 2008″ “Women and ecological sanitation” “Promotion of dry toilets for reducing vulnerability for the poor women having Islamic and cultural values in urban slums of Bangladesh”		Nepal, Uganda, Bangladesh
7a TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DRY TOILETS
“Is the Agricultural utilisation of Treated Urine and Faces recommendable?” “Developing low cost composting toilet for developing countries” “Solar thermal sanitation of human faeces – an affordable solution for ensuring sustainability of EcoSan activities” “Feasibility assessment of application of onsite volume reduction system (OVRS) for source-separated urine” “Urban slum dwellers in Kenya and Bangladesh benefit from using Peepoo bags which are self-sanitising and biodegradable”		Kenya and Bangladesh and others
7b TECHICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DRY TOILETS continues
“From the outhouse to indoor dry toilets in Finland” “Estimation of water evaporation rate from composting toilet” “Implementation of urine-diverting dry toilets in multi-storey apartment buildings in Ethiopia” Dry sanitation in multi-story apartment buildings: “The case of Dongsheng, Inner Mongolia, China” “The humanure toilet”		Finland, Ethiopia, Inner Mongolia, China
8 CAPACITY BUILDING
“Going to scale with urine diversion in Sweden – From individual households to municipal systems in 15 years” “The processes of adaption during the introducing urine diverting toilets in Kyrgyzstan” “Influence of social, cultural, economic and gender aspects in dry toilet as eco-sanitation tool. Case study of Sukuma-nomadic community in Malinyi, Tanzania.” “Experiences with ecosan systems to provide sustainable sanitation for schools in Kenya and India” “Gold Factory – An experimental art project with dry toilets”		Sweden, Kyrgyzstan, Tanzania,Kenya, India
Side event SUSTAINABLE SANITATION FOR TOURISM AND RECREATION
“Toilet provision in the Cairngorms national park, Scotland, UK” “Experience of biotoilet installations on Kizhi island, Republic of Karelia, Russia” “Promotion of sustainable development of rural communities around especially protected natural areas in Kazakhstan” “Public toilets and care practices in nature parks in Finland, current situation and recommendations for improvement”		Scotland, Republic of Karelia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Finland

Publication of the first GLAAS report is scheduled for March 2010.

GLAAS initiative

Global Annual Assessment on Sanitation and Drinking-water

WHO is leading the GLAAS initiative on behalf of UN-Water. Publication of the first GLAAS report is scheduled for March 2010.

The UN-Water  Secretariat requested a report on progress in the assessment and how its results will fit into the Global Framework for Action on Sanitation and Water Supply. The information is available on the following web

UN-Water, an inter-agency mechanism formally established in 2003 by the United Nations High Level Committee on Programmes, has evolved out of a history of close collaboration among UN agencies. It was created to add value to UN initiatives by fostering greater co-operation and information-sharing among existing UN agencies and outside partners

UN-Water focuses on:

• Providing information policy briefs and other communication materials for policy- makers and managers who work directly with water issues, other decision-makers that have an influence on how water is used, as well as the general public.

• Building the knowledge base on water issues through efficient monitoring and reporting systems and facilitating easy access to this knowledge through regular reports and the Internet.
• Providing a platform for system-wide discussions to identify challenges in global water management, analyse options for meeting these challenges and ensuring that reliable information and sound analysis informs the global policy debate on water.

Related Sites:

Interview with  Federico Properzi who is a technical officer with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the project manager for UN-Water’s Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS).

UN Water Documents

WHO Water Sanitation and Health (WSH)

GLAAS