World Water Week Daily Monday 26 August, 2019

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world water week daily | MONDAY 26 AUGUST | 2019
WATER FOR ALL:
WHAT ROLE FOR GOVERNANCE?
TEXT | NICK CHIPPERFIELD PHOTO | THOMAS HENRIKSON
Has governance failed to improve
water provision and therefore be
abandoned? This was one of the
claims explored during a fastpaced
debate session as World
Water Week kicked off yesterday.
Centring on the core theme of the
Week – Water for Society: Including All
– two teams of experts chaired by Mark
Fletcher from Arup explored challenges
and opportunities facing rules-based
governance.
Defending the motion “This house
believes water governance in public and
private sectors is not the best way to
tackle the water crisis”, Asma Bachikh,
International Water Resources Association,
made the case that principles
underpinning water governance were
vague and unfit for purpose.
“We need to focus on practical solutions
rather than principles – principles
have not been useful,” Bachikh said,
arguing for the wider use of technologies
such as Artificial Intelligence (AI)
to improve water management.
On the opposing team, Deepesh Jain,
Water Youth Network, highlighted governance
successes and warned that in
the absence of governance structures,
the most vulnerable in society risked
being left behind.
Katrin Bruebach, 100RC, argued that
legal and regulatory frameworks are
flawed, leaving the “equitable management
of water resources as just a big
dream”.
“We need to stop being naïve. We
need to face the reality of persistently
poor governance, especially at higher
levels of decision making,” she said.
Håkan Tropp from the OECD called for
a shift of focus away from governance to
investment in technology and infrastructure,
harnessing the benefits of AI
and big data, as well as improving birth
control and controlling urbanisation.
Thomas van Waeyenberge, AquaFed,
spoke about how improved governance
over the past 20 years has promoted the
rights of women, indigenous populations
and other groups.
“Governance
can mainstream
ideas and open
up space
for other
opinions,
and I think
this is how
we should run
the world and
run our water.”
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Photo: Alexandar Vujadinovic
MONDAY: WORLD WATER WEEK DAILY
Redesigning Kiruna’s water management
Cities rarely have a chance to rethink main water management systems
from scratch. There are however exceptions, as presented during a session
yesterday. In Kiruna, a remote city of about 20,000 inhabitants, in the very
north of Sweden, a unique relocation of the city centre is under way, to
allow for the large iron mine in the area to expand.
Over several years, the city centre is being moved three kilometres. This
involves building new houses and physically moving the ones of historical
value. It has also opened up for a new take on water management.
In the new Kiruna, nature is being brought into the city, in the shape of
parks and other green spaces. They serve several purposes, such as opening
up the city to the wild surrounding landscape and giving its citizens open
urban spaces for recreation. More importantly though, the low-lying parks
provide a source for sustainable water management, primarily in the shape
of open stormwater systems to support the city’s population.
WAVE helps
companies
value water
Yesterday, WWF presented their new
WAVE (Water And ValuE) tool, which
aims to assist companies and investors
to calculate both water-related risk and
its potential financial impact. According
to Alexis Morgan from WWF, this is a
very important aspect of water stewardship
and sustainable business planning.
The tool forms part of a larger
framework, Water Risk Filter, also
developed by WWF. It combines data
about water-related risks and actual
financial impacts, as reported by corporations.
This allows for more accurate
risk assessments. However, as Morgan
pointed out, WAVE can also be used to
explore potential scenarios regardless
of their likelihood. This gives room for
local knowledge and experience, which
in some cases may be a better source of
information than previous events and
probabilities.
WATER
RESILIENCE
flourishes in
rooftop garden
scheme
TEXT | NICK CHIPPERFIELD
PHOTO | THOMAS HENRIKSON
Community-initiated, community -
-led: two key characteristics of a smallscale
initiative in the Aida refugee
camp in Bethlehem, one that now
serves as a vital food source for some
100 families and that drives community
cohesion. Kholoud Al Ajarma, Mediterranean
Youth for Water Network,
project volunteer and former refugee
herself, described the project during
yesterday’s Equity in Climate Change
Adaption seminar.
The Asset-based Community Development
initiative seeks to shift development
work among refugee communities
from being needs-based to
being asset-based by focusing on and
mobilizing individual and community
talents and skills.
“Local people own the process and
push solutions forward. They are part
of the change they are creating,” Al
Ajarma said.
“There’s something to learn from
every person you meet. There are
always stories that are learnt every
day from the community. And I think
that as long as I believe that there are
things to learn, I will always be happy
to learn,” Al Ajarma said.
She went on to say that the “essence”
of these projects was making people
see their own significance, that they
have agency over their own destiny.
The scheme now includes 25 rooftop
gardens that provide people with herbs
and vegetables, with excess produce
being given away to neighbours. The
scheme has also helped promote the
role of women in the camp, as they
tend to be responsible for the home.

RETHINKING SANITATION IN
REFUGEE CAMPS
3
questions
to …
TEXT | ANDREAS KARLSSON
With only 17 per cent of the world’s
70 million refugees and displaced
persons having access to safe
sanitation, experts agree that
refugees are being left behind in
the fulfilment of SDG 6.
Achieving safe water and sanitation
services in refugee camps is an enormous
challenge and financing it is often regarded
as one of the main obstacles. This was
discussed in debts at a seminar yesterday.
The traditional response to a refugee
crisis is often to initially try to do as much as
possible with as little resources as possible.
Early investments in refugee camps’
infrastructure are kept to a minimum
since they are thought of as a temporary
solution to a temporary problem. In reality,
the average lifespan of a refugee camp
in the world is well over 20 years and often
these low and inadequate investments
will, over time, turn into very high operational
costs for such camps.
As pointed out by Murray Burt, UNHCR,
this is somewhat ironical, since the available
sums usually peak at the early stages
of a humanitarian crisis. This is part of
what he referred to as the CNN factor: the
close correlation between media attention
and the willingness to donate money.
“So, why not use this to our advantage
and invest in more long-term, sustainable
solutions from the outset. That way we
spend the money when we have it and as
a result of proper systems being put in
place, the operational cost over time will
be significantly lower.”
Similar to this, hosting countries are
often reluctant to invest in expensive
sanitation systems in refugee camps due
to their perceived temporality. Camps are
generally located in remote border areas
and when they are eventually evacuated,
whatever is left serves no purpose to the
host country.
During the seminar, governments were
challenged to rethink their entire approach
to refugee camps, perhaps even
consider them as a chance to benefit from
outside investments.
“Every refugee I have met wants to return
home as soon as possible. So, let’s say
a government incorporates a refugee camp
into its existing infrastructure and makes
sure that it has proper sanitation. Once
the crisis is over, there will be a well-functioning
area for the permanent population
to make use of. A bit like when Olympic
villages are built by countries hosting the
event,” Burt said.
What it boils down to, he stated, is that
the development side of a government
should keep in close contact with the humanitarian
side. That is often not the case
in countries hosting large refugee camps.
Aditi Krishna,
Iris Group
In what ways does inadequate
menstrual hygiene
management affect women
in the workplace?
“The definition of adequate
menstrual hygiene management
ranges from awareness
and knowledge, to access
to facilities with water and
soap, including an environment
in which women feel
comfortable. If this is lacking,
it could lead to women staying
home when menstruating,
women being criticised,
an unpleasant work experience
and lack of dignity.”
Why do we see little
advancement in this area?
“Historically, it’s an issue
that hasn’t attracted much
attention, also menstruation
is such a taboo subject. A
workplace can be defined in
a very diverse way: a home
where a domestic worker is
not allowed to use the toilet,
a marketplace where the
toilets may be dirty or lack
water, a garment factory
where the toilets are locked
or not sex-segregated.”
Photo: UNHCR
How can we solve the
problem?
“We need to increase donor
attention and investment,
and couple them with committed
governments. To promote
women’s economic empowerment,
we need more
programmes showing the
link to outcomes for women
and businesses. To break the
taboo is a very challenging
issue, it involves addressing
social norms relating to what
it means to be a woman.”

Self-help tool to increase cooperation
TEXT | Görrel Espelund PHOTO |thomas henrikson
Yesterday, the Economist Intelligence Unit launched its Blue Peace
Index, assessing sustainable management of transboundary waters
in five regions.
Less than 30 per cent of the world’s
transboundary water resources are
governed by formal collaboration. It
is a worryingly low figure as improved
transboundary water cooperation
The launch of the Blue Peace Index.
comes with a range of economic, social,
environmental and political benefits.
This was the message when the
Econ omist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
and the Swiss Agency for Development
and Cooperation launched the Blue
Peace Index – a new research tool
measuring collaborative and sustainable
management of transboundary
waters.
“The topic is the most underappreciated
amongst non-specialists,”
said Conor Griffin from the EIU.
In this, the first edition of the Index,
collaboration in five river basins has
been assessed according to five categories:
policy and legal frameworks, institutions
and participation, water management
instruments, infrastructure and
financing, and the cooperation context.
One major objective is to bring the
findings to a non-specialist audience
and to make it into a self-help tool to
encourage various stakeholders to improve
cooperation.
“We selected these rivers because of
their diversity, each one having lessons
for other basins. Look at Senegal where
the cooperation has gone far beyond
water management and involves food
security as well as malaria prevention.
With the Index we want to show practical
technical solutions,” Griffin said.
world water week voices
What are your expectations for the Week?
Beth Warne, United
Kingdom, The Economist
Intelligence Unit
“I am here to
launch the Blue
Peace Index. So,
it is much around
getting it out there
and hearing what
people have to
say about it.”
Dongil Seo, South
Korea, Department
of Environmental
Engineering
“To learn about
the issues of world
water and how to
solve these issues.
While here I want
to gather as much
information as
possible.”
Therese Rudebeck,
Sweden, University
of St Andrews
“Meet old and
new friends and
collea gues, this is
a good networking
opportunity. My
hope is that things
will have moved forward
from last year.”
Negash Wagesho,
Ethiopia, Ministry of
Water and Energy
“My key expectation
is to make
partnership and
to network with
various development
partners
across the
world.”
Joshua Tetteh-Nortey,
Ghana, Kumasi
municipality
“It is my first
time here and
I’d like to identify
new strategies
implemented in
other parts of the
world around water
and sanitation.”
Zoe Wilkinson, United
Kingdom, Stone
Family Foundation
“To meet partners
that we work
with and to build
relation ships and
network. I’d also
like to find out more
about what people
are doing.”
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Publisher: Torgny Holmgren
stockholm waterfront daily • 25–30 AUGUST, 2019
SIWI EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor: Maria Sköld
Graphic Designer: Marianne Engblom
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Contact us at: waterfront@siwi.org
WORLD WATER WEEK DAILY EDITORIAL STAFF
Görrel Espelund, Andeas Karlsson
and Nick Chipperfield
Photography: Thomas Henrikson
and Mikael Ullén