World Water Week Daily Thursday 1 September, 2016

STOCKHOLM
waterfront
world water week daily| THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1 | 2016
Jan Eliasson
Naina Lal Kidwai
Money to be saved, and made,
in preventive work
TEXT | andreas karlsson PHOTO | mikael ullén
PREVENTION WAS VERY MUCH IN FOCUS
DURING YESTERDAY’S STOCKHOLM WATER
PRIZE SYMPOSIUM. SEVERAL SPEAKERS AND
PANELLISTS WERE PROMOTING PROACTION
BEFORE REACTION.
Being a long-time advocate for water
related issues, UN Deputy Secretary
General Jan Eliasson was one of the
speakers to focus on the benefits of
proaction.
“Prevention is extremely important.
We only have to look at the costs. We
have about half the money we need to
live up to our human rights obligations,
of which providing access to clean water
is one. The bill is increasing exponentially,”
Eliasson said, concluding that,
in a language that he said policymakers
usually understand, preventive action
will save money. A lot of money.
Eliasson was supported by Naina Lal
Kidwai of the India Sanitation Coalition
who drew attention to the skewed prioritization
in most countries’ budgets.
“Compare almost any country’s
health budget and water budget and
you will find that the latter is a fraction
of the former. No politician wants to
be seen as someone who cuts back on
health investments, but with greater
spending on water, the health sector
would not need as much money. It is
that simple.”
She went on to say that in fact
there is not only money to be saved
by preventive work within the water
sector; there is even money to be made.
Entrepreneurs should indeed be – and
in some places they already are – lining
up to enter the sanitation business.
“We are starting to see people make
a lot of money dealing in shit, some
of them already having made millions
while simultaneously contributing to
the common good.”
Amused by her choice of words,
Eliasson, commented that a somewhat
blunt yet very clear vocabulary is often
very effective. He himself was an early
adopter of everyday words such as
“toilet” in the diplomatic lexicon, not
to mention his introduction of “open
defecation”, something which has
indeed opened up policymakers’ eyes
to what is a huge problem around the
world.
Adding to the discussion about how
to approach prevention, Eliasson stated:
“We are cursed by a vertical approach
and fail to see the much needed horizontal
perspective. Take water, it cuts
across so many sectors, affecting the
realization not only of SDG 6 but also
several other goals.”
So how do we shift focus to prevention?
How do we become proactive
rather than reactive? Coming from an
economics background, Kevin Urama
from the African Development Bank
suggested that it all boils down to
policies and regulations.
“On an academic level we may
understand the risks and how things
work, but that is not enough. I believe
water pricing and pollution taxes are
tools that need to be explored.”
published by stockholm international water institute

THURSDAY: WORLD WATER WEEK DAILY
STOCKHOLM WATER PRIZE
MANY GAINS WITH
IRRIGATED FIELDS
Last night, Professor Joan B. Rose
received the Stockholm Water Prize
from H.M. Carl XVI Gustaf, King
of Sweden.
According to the Stockholm Water
Prize Nominating Committee “The
world is blessed with few individuals
who can tackle the increasing and
changing challenges to clean water
and health, starting from state-ofthe-art
science through dedicated
and original research, then moving to
professional dissemination, effective
lobbying of the legislative arena,
influencing practitioners, and raising
the general awareness. Joan Rose is
the leading example of this extremely
rare blend of talents.”
URBAN PLANNING TO
MINIMISE DISASTER RISK
Disasters such as floods and droughts tend to
ignore economic and development barriers,
affecting rich and poor countries alike. This
was demonstrated during a seminar yesterday,
where a series of case studies set out to
shed some light on how to minimize the risk
of being affected.
Experiences from several Asian countries,
as well as a developed countries such as the
Netherlands, with an excellent track record
in fighting floods, despite the fact that two
thirds of the country lie below sea level,
pointed to a range of important factors: risk
assessment, awareness campaigns and the
decision-making process. However, the
discussion kept returning to the conclusion
that we have the power to minimize the
risk of being affected in the first place by
adopting responsible and sustainable urban
planning for the future.
Prof Joan B. Rose receives the prize from H.M. King Carl Gustaf
of Sweden in Stockholm City Hall
“I am overflowing with gratitude.
It is a prize that honours water, it honours
the blue planet and it honours the
human condition,” Professor Rose said
after accepting the prize.
MORE INTERACTION NEEDED
BETWEEN MARINE AND
FRESHWATER SDGS
Considering how closely related future challenges
for freshwater and marine life are, it
might come as a surprise how little interaction
there is between the two fields. This question
was covered during the Source to Sea: Bridging
marine and freshwater SDGs session yesterday,
focusing on the relationship between SDG 6
and SDG 14.
According to the unanimous panel, no
one can really doubt the connection between
marine life and freshwater. Untreated wastewater
accounts for about ten per cent of excess
nutrient loads in coastal areas. Adding to that,
dams and diversions upstream often reduce
necessary freshwater and sediment flows to
deltas downstream. Coastal ecosystems are
also in many places heavily affected by riverborne
pollution.
Despite this, as Torkil Jønch Clausen from
Action Platform on Source to Sea Management
noted, the SDG indicators are largely
blind to the interdependency between realizing
SDG 6 and SDG 14, something which the
platform he represents aims to change.
NUMBER OF THE DAY
3.4
BILLION
Water access and water
management play a central
role in nutrition outcomes.
However, this is an area
often overlooked, according
to yesterday’s session: Beyond
the drinking glass: Expanding
our understanding
of water-nutrition linkages.
Dawit Mekonnen from
the International Food
Policy Research Institute
shared some insights gained
from projects conducted
by ILSSI (Innovation Lab
on Small Scale Irrigation)
in Ethiopia, Ghana and
Tanzania.
The results show that
irrigation can be part of
the solution to eradicate
malnutrition and, at the
same time, bring several
other benefits to the
community.
Apart from a larger yield,
which can lead to increased
household incomes, it is
easier to grow on irrigated
fields in lean seasons.
Irrigation water can be
used for other purposes
such as washing and bathing.
And it can help farmers
grow more nutritious crops.
The project did not show
any direct link between
irrigation and dietary diversity,
probably due to factors
such as taste and habits.
The findings were echoed
by Sara Marks from EAWAG.
She presented results from
multiple-use water projects
that showed a clear correlation
between multiple-use
water systems and improved
food security.
SOME 3.4 BILLION PEOPLE WILL LIVE IN WATER-
STRESSED AREAS IN ASIA BY 2050.
SOURCE: ASIAN WATER DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK PROJECTION.

high level discussions
on future water work
Csaba Korosi
TEXT | görrel espelund PHOTO | mikael ullén
DELEGATES WERE INVITED TO AN INTERACTIVE PRE-
SENTATION AND CONSULTATION SESSION WITH REPRE-
SENTATIVES OF THE HIGH LEVEL PANEL ON WATER.
The Pillar Hall was packed yesterday when
Csaba Korosi from Hungary took the floor.
Korosi is one of the representatives (Sherpas)
of the High Level Panel on Water that was
launched earlier this year.
“The purpose of the Panel is to motivate
action towards achievements of SDG 6, and to
advocate financing and implementation,” he
said.
The structure is simple, Korosi explained.
The Panel includes ten heads of state from
all over the world, together with two special
advisors. It is assisted by Sherpas, and a joint
secretariat composed of experts from the UN
and the World Bank.
“We have identified areas where we think
the big movements must happen: resilient
economies and societies, universal access to
safe water and sanitation, human settlements,
water and environment, and water infrastructure.”
“We also need good water governance,
integrated and transparent water data, and
we need to have a new look on how we value
water.”
The actions the Panel is considering are
state appeals to a number of stakeholders:
institutions, governments, civil society and the
business community. Furthermore, the panel
is looking at fostering finance commitments,
innovation and collaboration.
“We’re here to seek your support, it will
be key to success. I plead to you: innovate,
initiate, collaborate and scale up because everyone’s
contribution will be critical,” Korosi
concluded.
Following the presentation, delegates were
asked two questions: What is your greatest
hope for the Panel?; and: How could your
organization/constituency contribute to this
agenda?
Some 20 lively round-table discussions
prompted many ideas that were then presented
at the end of the session. Some wanted
the Panel to link up with regional structures.
Others urged it to contribute to UN reform
of water architecture, and to put water at the
heart of the global agenda.
“We expect leadership in terms of pushing
the topic of water high up on the agenda,
promoting water at all levels and then
create momentum. Use this momentum to
kick start on the ground, but also kick start
whoever is needed,” said Maren Heuvels from
Borda Germany.
A long line of contributors wanted to give
their feedback including Piers Cross from
Sanitation and Water in South Africa who
called for concrete action:
“Let’s not have just another icing on the top.”
The plan of action of the High Level Panel on
Water will be presented on September 21 in
New York.
“WOMEN ARE THE
BACKBONE OF
SUSTAINABILITY”
SMALL-SCALE WATER
ENTERPRISES IN INDIA
CONTRIBUTES TO DEVELOPMENT
IN RURAL AREAS.
Participants at the
Practical solutions for
sustainable small water
enterprises in India
seminar yesterday, heard
how small-scale water
businesses had been
successfully established
across the country.
Poonam Sewak, from
the Safe Water Network,
revealed how her organization
supports the establishment
of small water
enterprises across India
that are “managed by entrepreneurs
and driven by
the needs of local communities”.
Sewak outlined a series
of platforms designed to
help small-scale water enterprises
expand, including
digital tools, integrated
knowledge benchmarks,
and training modules. She
also underlined the importance
of the involvement of
women at the local level.
“We were restless to get
better female representation,
and now there are 66
females employed in our
operations. We find that
women tend to be more
disciplined and judicious
– they are the backbone of
sustainability,” Sewak said.
A point reinforced by
Sean Kerrigan of World
Vision, when describing
the extent of change in the
water and development
sectors.
“We discovered that
having women in leadership
and governance
positions of these enterprises
was integral to their
success,” he said.

A FLOURISHING FOOD EFFICIENT FUTURE?
TEXT | nick chipperfield PHOTO |mikael ullén
PRACTICAL MEASURES, TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCES, AND IMPROVED REPRESENTATION
IN POLICY MAKING WERE KEY THEMES THAT
EMERGED DURING YESTERDAY’S HUNGRY
ASIA: GROWING MORE FOOD WITH LESS WATER
SESSION, WHICH LOOKED AT WAYS OF IMPROVING
AGRICULTURE WATER MANAGEMENT ACROSS THE
CONTINENT.
Rikke Olivera, from the International
Fund for Agricultural Development, underscored
the importance of supporting
small-scale farmers with, for example,
rainwater harvesting, supplementary
irrigation, and integrated soil and water
management.
“We also give farmers a voice at the
[water policy] table, and get policies and
planning processes to better reflect their
interests,” Olivera said.
“Access to markets and access to
financing are crucial. But it’s also important
that the transformation does
not come all in one go, rather, that it is a
steady process over time,” she added.
There was an upbeat edge to the
seminar, with several participants and
speakers touching on the progress that
had been made in various areas, including
technological innovations such as
drip irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, and
solar pumps.
Alok Sikka, International Water
Management Institute, highlighted the
importance of water rights for farmers
Rikke Olivera
and communities to ensure that they
have greater control over their resources.
However, he cautioned that establishing
such a framework where one does not
currently exist faced resistance from “entrenched
interests in existing irrigation
bureaucracy.”
world water week voices
What are you doing today?
Luca Lucentini, National
Institute of Health, Italy
“I will be presenting
a case study from
Italy about water
sustainable MDGs
and the situation
in Italy.”
Ulrike Kelm, Aquafed,
Germany
“I’m here to network
with international
stakeholders
like government
representatives
and NGOs. It’s
important that we
all work together.”
Rose Kinuthia, Water
Services Trust, Kenya
“We provide water
services to underserviced
communities,
so I’m going to Good
water governance for
inclusive growth and
poverty reduction.”
Roger Madrigal-
Ballestero, Efd-CATIE,
Costa Rica
“I’ll do a presentation
on good water
governance. I’ll be
listening to the Eye on
LAC session. I work
in Latin America so it
seems interesting.”
M.D. Dikoko, Sedibeng
Water, South Africa
“My country is
water-scarce so I’m
here to learn from
other countries. I’d
like to hear about good
governance of water
and especially re-use
of water.”
Naomi Parekh, Sanitation
Khemka, and Water Water for
Rochi
Resources All, USA Group, India
“I went to a Unicef
breakfast and the LAC
session. We want to
increase our number of
partners in the region so
I want to know what the
hot topics are.”
Digital updates
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STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL WATER INSTITUTE | Box 101 87 | Visiting Address: Linnégatan 87A | SE-100 55 | Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: +46 8 121 360 00 | www.siwi.org | Publisher: Torgny Holmgren | SIWI Editorial Staff | Editor: Victoria Engstrand-Neacsu
Graphic Designer: Elin Ingblom | World Water Week Daily Editorial Staff | Görrel Espelund, Andeas Karlsson and Nick
Chipperfield | Photography: Mikael Ullén and Jonas Borg
stockholm waterfront daily • 28 AUGUST - 2 SEPTEMBER, 2016 • CIRCULATION: 1000