World Water Week Daily - Wednesday 28 August, 2019
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
STOCKHOLM<br />
waterfront<br />
world water week daily | WEDNESDAY <strong>28</strong> AUGUST | <strong>2019</strong><br />
Woman cleaning the Goa beach during a volunteer event.<br />
POOLING POWER FOR<br />
SOURCE-TO-SEA SUCCESS<br />
TEXT | NICK CHIPPERFIELD PHOTO |MIKAEL ULLÉN and istock<br />
The urgency of successfully<br />
implementing practical steps<br />
to achieve SDG 6 and SDG 14<br />
was the overriding message at<br />
the High-level Panel on Bringing<br />
Together Oceans and Freshwater,<br />
with emphasis on local, inclusive<br />
measures.<br />
“I’m here to find out how we can mutually<br />
improve our act. Let’s get along<br />
the riverbanks, along the foreshores: it’s<br />
not rocket science, let’s get on with the<br />
job,” said Peter Thomson, UN Secretary<br />
General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean.<br />
“There’s only a certain amount of H 2<br />
O<br />
on the planet; yes, there’s a freshwater<br />
“What’s good for SDG 6<br />
is good for SDG 14.”<br />
community and a saltwater community,<br />
but we’re all on the same team.<br />
What’s good for SDG 6 is good for SDG<br />
14,” Thomson said.<br />
“Village schemes, individuals – that’s<br />
where the solutions lie. There’s some<br />
great work being done, but there’s a lot<br />
of work that still needs to be done there.<br />
We need to step all that up,” he added.<br />
Isabella Lövin, Deputy<br />
Prime Minister of Sweden<br />
and Minister of Environment<br />
and Climate, echoed<br />
the call to pool efforts to<br />
improve fresh and saltwater<br />
quality, stressing the strong inter linkage<br />
between the two.<br />
“Partnerships across sectors are<br />
needed. We can only solve our problems<br />
if we do this together,” Lövin said.<br />
These were themes that also emerged<br />
at the earlier, related session Preventing<br />
plastics in our waters: more than<br />
banning straws.<br />
Announcing the publication of a<br />
report on marine litter prevention,<br />
Ruth Mathews, SIWI, noted the need<br />
for behavioural change that extends all<br />
the way from local level – river basins –<br />
to national and on to global level.<br />
“We need to transform how we govern<br />
plastics and how we finance interventions<br />
to start controlling our plastic<br />
waste,” Mathews said.<br />
Robyn Gwee, Deltares, urged moves to<br />
more resource-efficient economies.<br />
“I think we need to change the way<br />
we manage our waste, and the way<br />
we design our products.<br />
Banning straws starts a<br />
conversation, but we really<br />
need to move towards preventative<br />
solutions rather<br />
than bans,” Gwee said.<br />
published by stockholm international water institute
WEDNESDAY: WORLD WATER WEEK DAILY<br />
Call for ACTION to<br />
save AMAZONAS<br />
The Amazonas ecosystem is<br />
heavily affected by informal,<br />
so-called artisanal, mining,<br />
primarily for gold. As a direct<br />
result, almost 6,000 square kilometres<br />
of rivers and creeks have<br />
been destroyed and more than<br />
500 square kilometres of forests<br />
removed to give way for smallscale<br />
mining.<br />
Mercury pollution affects<br />
vast areas with resulting health<br />
concerns for humans and animals.<br />
Mining activities also have<br />
a negative impact on human<br />
rights, perhaps most importantly<br />
for indigenous peoples in the<br />
region.<br />
Yesterday, Conservation X<br />
Labs, together with partners,<br />
launched the initiative Artisanal<br />
Mining Grand Challenge, calling<br />
for ideas and inventions to prevent<br />
further destruction and promote<br />
restoration of the Amazonas<br />
ecosystem. There is a cash prize<br />
connected to the challenge,<br />
working as an incentive for aspiring<br />
actors to find solutions.<br />
According to Conservation X<br />
Lab, the model with challenges<br />
and prizes to generate new ideas<br />
and solutions has proven very<br />
successful in the past.<br />
TEXTILE sustainability hampered<br />
Collaboration and transparency are essential for the textile industry to improve<br />
social and environmental conditions throughout the garment supply chain.<br />
That was the conclusion at yesterday’s Promoting due diligence in the textile<br />
sector: European alignment session.<br />
Another discussion point centred on standards and guidelines, and how to<br />
align them to make them more effective.<br />
“There are already many solutions<br />
around, and one challenge is sharing.<br />
Brands that have just started their<br />
sustainable journey should be able to<br />
learn from others. Sharing solutions<br />
is a way of up-scaling. However, there<br />
are so many standards today that<br />
it can get confusing,” said Andreas<br />
Edele, from German Partnership for<br />
Sustainable Textiles.<br />
Asif Masood, Sarena Textile Industries, from Pakistan agreed:<br />
“As a producer, you may work for 15 brands with 15 different standards. There<br />
Andreas Edele.<br />
should be one standard. Also, as an industry, we work with the same processes<br />
and techniques that were invented in the 19 th century. It is not for our era. If we put<br />
more focus on research and development, it could solve a lot of issues,” he said.<br />
NUMBER OF THE DAY<br />
41%<br />
OF GIRLS IN NEPAL MISS<br />
SCHOOL DURING THEIR<br />
MENSTRUATION.<br />
Source: Menstrual Hygiene Day<br />
Photo: iStock<br />
WINNERS OF STOCKHOLM<br />
JUNIOR WATER PRIZE <strong>2019</strong><br />
Last night the <strong>2019</strong> winner of Stockholm Junior <strong>Water</strong><br />
Prize was announced – Macinley Butson from Australia.<br />
The H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden presented<br />
the prize to her during a festive ceremony at Berns Stora<br />
Salongen in Stockholm. Macinley Butson was awarded for<br />
a novel and innovative ultraviolet radiation sticker that<br />
can be used to measure solar UV exposure required to<br />
sanitise drinking water.<br />
Read more about the winner in tomorrow’s<br />
<strong>Water</strong>Front <strong>Daily</strong>! Photo: Jonas Borg
3<br />
questions<br />
to …<br />
Peter Njaggah from Kenya’s <strong>Water</strong> Services Regulatory Board.<br />
FIGHTING CORRUPTION<br />
IN THE WATER SECTOR<br />
TEXT | ANDREAS KARLSSON PHOTO |MIKAEL ULLÉN<br />
Corruption often thrives in societies<br />
where there is a lack of collective<br />
action for a common good. In a<br />
well-attended session yesterday,<br />
corruption in the water sector<br />
was discussed and illustrated with<br />
examples from around the world.<br />
The level of mutual trust within a system<br />
is usually thought of as a key factor to<br />
combat corruption. As described by many<br />
political scientists and philosophers over<br />
the years, interaction and cooperation<br />
tends to promote such trust, which in<br />
turn helps combat corruption.<br />
During the session Building collective<br />
action against corruption in the water<br />
sector, Peter Njaggah from Kenya’s <strong>Water</strong><br />
Services Regulatory Board, spoke about<br />
the importance of increasing consumers’<br />
sense of participation. This can be difficult<br />
in a complex political environment.<br />
“In Kenya, we have many institutions between<br />
the top political level and consumers.<br />
Enabling consumers to make their voices<br />
heard has been an important tool for us in<br />
the fight against corruption,” Njaggah said.<br />
Creating consumer-driven water action<br />
groups as well as a web-based service<br />
where consumers can complain and report<br />
corruption using their mobile phones has<br />
proven effective, according to Njaggah.<br />
“Unfortunately, corruption shows itself<br />
in many ways and trying to contain it is<br />
a bit like trying to contain water. You fix<br />
one leak and it starts pouring out somewhere<br />
else. We must also remember that<br />
the fight against corruption is an important<br />
part of general social development,<br />
because the poorest people – already the<br />
most vulnerable in society – are the ones<br />
who suffer most from corruption,” he said.<br />
In an example from Argentina, José Luis<br />
Inglese from AYSA, the country’s largest<br />
water and sanitation provider, described<br />
how his organization has worked actively<br />
to combat corruption.<br />
“In the past, we had a situation where<br />
bidders [for government projects] and<br />
officials knew who was going to present<br />
proposals and they often arranged how<br />
many proposals there would be, who<br />
would win, and at what price,” he said.<br />
By simplifying the procedure, making<br />
it more transparent, yet at the same time<br />
withholding information about bidders<br />
until the closing date, AYSA has doubled<br />
the number of proposals made for each<br />
tender.<br />
Over three years, successful quotes have<br />
gone from being an average of nine per<br />
cent over estimated budget to being 21 per<br />
cent under.<br />
“Key components have been a commitment<br />
from the top, technology to facilitate<br />
transparency, and, perhaps most importantly,<br />
a significant reduction of bureaucracy.<br />
Every step of bureaucracy will<br />
certainly increase the risk of corruption,<br />
so that is a major issue to deal with.”<br />
RAJIV RANJAN<br />
MISHRA,<br />
NATIONAL MISSION FOR<br />
CLEAN GANGA<br />
What are your expectations<br />
for the <strong>Week</strong>?<br />
“We are here to learn from<br />
others, as well as showcasing<br />
what we have done. National<br />
Mission for Clean Ganga<br />
is probably the largest and<br />
biggest river cleaning project<br />
in the world. River Ganges<br />
is 2,500 kilometres long and<br />
43 per cent of the Indian<br />
population depend on its<br />
water. I have made presentations<br />
in some seminars<br />
and I have attended others.”<br />
Who has visited your<br />
exhibition stand?<br />
“We have had government<br />
representatives from African<br />
countries who have shown<br />
an interest in learning<br />
from our experiences; I<br />
just spoke to a representative<br />
from Australia about<br />
similarities between our<br />
countries and how we can<br />
collaborate. And then we<br />
had a man from NASA who<br />
had seen our panels and got<br />
interested in our mapping.<br />
I didn’t expect that.”<br />
How can we achieve water<br />
for all?<br />
“We need to pool our<br />
resources and prioritise.<br />
We need to encourage the<br />
public not to waste water,<br />
harvest rainwater, protect<br />
water and learn how to<br />
store water. <strong>Water</strong> management<br />
is a most pressing<br />
issue, one can only distribute<br />
water to all if you have any<br />
water to distribute.”<br />
Photo: Görrel Espelund
Busting myths on water and migration<br />
TEXT | NICK CHIPPERFIELD PHOTO |MIKAEL ULLÉN<br />
The dangers of simplistic arguments linking migration with water<br />
stress were exposed at the Demystifying the water security-migration<br />
nexus session yesterday, which unpicked misconceptions related to<br />
water and displaced people.<br />
“<strong>Water</strong> has an important relationship<br />
to migration, but it is often proximal<br />
or secondary. The reality is deeper and<br />
more complex,” Guy Jobbins, Overseas<br />
Development Institute, said.<br />
According to Jobbins, cross-boundary<br />
migration lies beyond the reach of<br />
the poorest people, who are typically<br />
unlikely to be able to finance migrating<br />
to a new country. He cited evidence that<br />
suggests people who have adequate access<br />
to water are more likely to migrate.<br />
“It is the responsibility of water professionals<br />
to draw attention to nuance<br />
and to avoid simplistic messages. We<br />
need to be careful not to perpetuate<br />
myths, otherwise we risk propping up<br />
xenophobic narratives and obscuring<br />
other policy options,” Jobbins said.<br />
While water security has a role in<br />
migration, evidence shows that water<br />
should be considered more as a threat<br />
multiplier, with the core causes of<br />
migration more likely to be related to<br />
governance issues, economic opportunity,<br />
and other drivers.<br />
Fatine Ezbakhe, MedYWat, also<br />
stressed the risk of over simplified<br />
conclusions leading to poor policy<br />
development for migration and other<br />
developmental issues.<br />
“It’s really important to look at<br />
existing governance frameworks: water<br />
governance can mitigate effects of environmental<br />
drivers, but poor governance<br />
could amplify them,” she warned.<br />
world water week voices<br />
What’s your best water saving advice?<br />
Danielle Pedi, US<br />
Bill & Melinda Gates<br />
Foundation<br />
“Buckets and<br />
timers in showers,<br />
grey water to flush<br />
toilets. When it’s<br />
brown flush it<br />
down, when<br />
it’s yellow let<br />
it mellow.”<br />
Farah El Aoufir,<br />
Morocco<br />
Moroccan Ministry of<br />
Energy, Mines, <strong>Water</strong><br />
and Environment<br />
“We need to<br />
communicate<br />
better and sensitise<br />
the public about<br />
water scarcity.<br />
Good governance,<br />
on all levels,<br />
is key.”<br />
Gulnora Khushkadamov,<br />
Tajikistan<br />
The Regional Environmental<br />
Centre for<br />
Central Asia<br />
“At the<br />
University of<br />
Central Asia in<br />
Khorog, water is<br />
treated and reused.<br />
The same goes for<br />
all new buildings<br />
in the city.”<br />
Sakshi C. Dasgupta,<br />
India Swiss Agency<br />
for Development<br />
Cooperation<br />
“More restrictions<br />
on things such<br />
as swimming<br />
pools in luxury<br />
housing complexes,<br />
which waste<br />
water meant for<br />
other purposes.”<br />
Kulule Mekonnen<br />
Duffera, Ethiopia<br />
Amref Health Africa<br />
“Drip irrigation<br />
for agriculture,<br />
grey water in<br />
schools for agricultural<br />
projects,<br />
taps that close<br />
automatically,<br />
laundry water<br />
to flush toilets.”<br />
Matt Hangen, US<br />
<strong>Water</strong>4<br />
“Effective<br />
pricing is key.<br />
Today, we pay<br />
less for water than<br />
what is sustainable.<br />
Balance this for the<br />
poor with technical<br />
solutions.”<br />
App<br />
Digital updates<br />
Don’t forget to download the<br />
<strong>World</strong> <strong>Water</strong> <strong>Week</strong> app, for all the<br />
latest updates throughout the day,<br />
and engage with us on social media.<br />
Join the conversation on #WW<strong>Week</strong>!<br />
<strong>World</strong> <strong>Water</strong> <strong>Week</strong><br />
in Stockholm<br />
Stockholm International<br />
<strong>Water</strong> Institute (SIWI)<br />
@siwi_water<br />
@siwi_youth<br />
Stockholm<br />
International<br />
<strong>Water</strong> Institute<br />
www.vimeo.<br />
com/siwi<br />
STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL WATER INSTITUTE<br />
Box 101 87 | Visiting Address: Linnégatan 87A<br />
SE-100 55, Stockholm, Sweden<br />
Tel: +46 8 121 360 00 | www.siwi.org<br />
Publisher: Torgny Holmgren<br />
stockholm waterfront daily • 25–30 AUGUST, <strong>2019</strong><br />
SIWI EDITORIAL STAFF<br />
Editor: Maria Sköld<br />
Graphic Designer: Marianne Engblom<br />
Tips and comments?<br />
Contact us at: waterfront@siwi.org<br />
WORLD WATER WEEK DAILY EDITORIAL STAFF<br />
Görrel Espelund, Andeas Karlsson<br />
and Nick Chipperfield<br />
Photography: Thomas Henrikson<br />
and Mikael Ullén