Ecological Sanitation Cycle - Source GTZ.de

In addition, many cities in the Netherlands will be visited including Culemborg, Groningen, Dusseldorf in Germany, Oisterwijk, Vught, Hapert throughout this week. A filmcrew will accompany the group in order to tape the various visits to the sites as well as interviews with the participants. The footage will be used as informative and educational material during workshops on innovations and integrated urban water management.

On this blog you can read about the tour and learn from the insights of the participants. Follow our Tweets on http://twitter.com/WATERSUMMIT to follow the online conversations. Please use the hashtag #SWITCHSUMMIT for participation.

The videos are produced by Willem Thijssen from the Water Site Foundation http://watersite.ning.com and are hosted on TheWaterChannel.tv.

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From the papers presented and discussed during the last two days of the SWITCH summit, it has been assured that there are common water problems among most of the cities in the world. However, the level of acuteness is different in each city. The issue at hand is that the demand for water is increasing with urbanisation and increase of population by means of immigration from the rural areas to the main cities.

Climate change is considered as the main cause of the problems. The scarcity has become a challenging issue and water is considered the driving force for urbanisation which represents the attracting issue.

These problems request for cooperation among the different cities represented in terms of Integrated Water Resources Management. The SWITCH Global CityWater Futures Summit is considered an important platform for discussing these issues bringing together experts, politicians, media and other stakeholders.

Journalist Dzifa Azumah from Ghana News Agency in Accra

Dzifa Azumah is on Twitter, follow her news.

Cities are facing opportunities and challenges as slums are expanding rapidly. Some of the opportunities include the development of centres for creating wealth and prosperty, the driving force of global trade and engines of economic growth while at the same time cities contain pockets of poverty, exclusion and marginalisation, environmental degradation and decay.

The question was posted “Is there such a thing as sustainble urbanisation?

Is there such a thing as Sustainable Urbanisation?

Otieno explained the role of the United Nations, in particular the vision and mission of UN Habitat in aiming to provide a sustainable urban environment that can be an adequate shelter for all. This ties into their mandate as lead agency to address Millennium Development Goal 7 in improving living conditions of slum dwellers.

The UN-Habitat Water and Sanitation Trust Fund was established in 2003 as a strategic plan to focus on countries lagging behind in the achievement of MDGs, training and capacity building to overcome institutional weaknesses and inefficiencies, building strategic partnerships with financing institutions as well as addressing information and data gaps.

Various Trust Fund Delivery Mechanisms were mentioned, including regional programmes and replicable model setting initiatives, such as the Lake Victoria and the Greater Mekong Water & Sanitation Initiatives.

There are several interesting ideas being tried out by the utility which needs a close study by water utilities in India.

As a pro-poor policy the utility is committed to delivering 6000 litres of water a month free to households as part of the South African governments policy of treating water as a human right. It does so by providing a 200 litre poly-tank in every household which is filled up every night between the hours of 12.00 and 2.00. Every family is thus given access to 200 litres of water daily, without any connection charge or meter charge. Of course subsequent water is metered and charged on an Increasing Block Tariff based on consumption.

The utility also has an innovative policy for sanitation in the rural area that it serves . It has helped construct 80,000 Urine divering ecosan toilets. Here urine and faeces are collected separately and then reused as nutrients. These toilets demand no water and are the best means to reach out to a dispersed populace. Speedy Moodaliar Project Manager ETHEKWINI suggests that more tha 90% of these toilets are being used thanks to a strong community outreach programme.

In dense settlements Ethekwini has provided common ablution blocks with urine diversion toilets but also lighting and handed it to caretakers from the community. Though there are problems with some units most work when the community takes responsibility and charges a small fee for the use and for maintenance.

Having inherited a legacy from the previous apartheid regime, the utility also has to take care of 60,000 pit latrines in homes. It has evolved  some simple evacuation systems like the ‘honeysucker’ and a manually operated deep lifting spade to help empty these pits mechanically , safely and hygienically. This facility is provided free to the poor households in the Durban area.

The utility is also setting up a series of greywater treatment plants using the DEWATS- Decentralised waste water treatment systems- approach using anaerobic baffled reactors and then using Membrane Based systems to treat the water to high quality for reuse in agriculture.

Innovation: using innovation systematically the utility is looking to generate power from the reservoirs which supply the 900 mld water to the city. Ultimately it hopes to generate 15 MW per day per plant and meet part of its energy requirement from the water that comes to the city.

Lessons: By focusing on innovation, by adopting a pro-poor approach and by turning challenges to opportunities Ethekwini is showing how water and sanitation systems can be run in developing countries. Cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore should learn from the experience of Durban and find innovative solutions for the challenges of supplying water and sanitation to our citizens. The next football world cup is in South Africa an opportunity to go and learn about water and sanitation systems. Tickets anybody? Innovation is the path to water wisdom.

by S.Vishwanath

www.rainwaterclub.org

www.arghyam.org

Participants at the Global CityWater Futures Summit welcome reception

At the end of the first day of the Summit, after having been inspired by keynote speakers and exchanging ideas through a series of interactive events, participants were happy to be able to mingle during the welcome reception. The refreshments were a welcome aspect as the day’s discussions were continued informally, new professional linkages were made, and old relationships were rekindled.

Interesting presentations were held by Kala Vairavamoorthy, SWITCH Scientific Director: “A SWITCH to More Sustainable Urban Water Management”, Paul Reiter , IWA Executive Director: “Water in the city of the Future – Challenges and Opportunities for the Water Industry” and Margaret Pageler, International Executive Committee Member of ICLEI: “City Governments step up to 21st Century Water Imperatives”.

Discussions were jumpstarted by media representatives from India, Ghana and Yemen. Dzifa Azumah from Ghana News Agency in Accra asked Paul Reiter how large slums in overpopulated urban areas can cope with the lack of water supply and sanitation.
Reiter responded by saying that one of the ways such issues should be tackled is by creating steps whereby small-scale providers can play an active role in the provision of water and sanitation services. Technology should be kept simple and cost-effective.

Vishwanath Srikantaiah from Rainwater Club in Bangalore, India then asked whether water and sanitation should be considered a basic human right. Would governments then be more inclined to take action? Reiter responded saying that everyone in the audience probably agrees that it should be a basic human right, but does that also mean the services should not be paid for? Presently this is the case where the services have to be financially compensated for by stakeholders.

Finally Pageler from ICLEI mentioned in her keynote address that 1000 mayors in the US have signed the Climate Protection Agreement (Kyoto Protocol) since it was introduced in February 2005 during the US Conference of Mayors Meeting, held from 1 to 3 October in Seattle.

by @Zenrainman

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A video about the restoration of a pond in Taiwan by @zenrainman.

Panel

Tami Gavrieli from the Tel Aviv City Planning Department and David Jackman from the Tel Aviv Water Company explained that the Isreali city used various SWITCH indicators and creativity in planning for better water management. These were used in formulating guidelines for the city planning. Key challenges were identified and addressed, namely keeping centrality and regeneration of the inner city versus suburbanisation.

Also socio-economic disparities, lack of sustainable public transport, environmental nuisances (especially air pollution), preservation vs. development and the quality of green public places was taken into account. Water, however, was never an issue to be discussed at these meetings, because water was perceived as an obvious commodity to most.

“We have to shift from this system, by making sure that all innovations are implemented, and that the best can be adopted by city planners and policy makers,” he said, adding that “although water is life, it is also the number one killer with a lot of people dying from water related diseases each year.”

He mentioned the lack of people who have access to drinking water and sanitation in relation to reaching the Millennium Development Goals. “The level of service provided by the water systems is very poor. Pressure from water supply is also very low; in most cities around the world people have no regular water supply.”

“Many of these cities don’t suffer from physical scarcity of water, but are lacking the proper management of water services. As an environmental engineer I was trained by my professors to try and modify the environment so it increases the quality of life for people.”

Prof. Vairavamoorthy continues: “Urbanisation is a major issue, maintenance of the systems and their availability to provide in the future is very important. We are trying to predict environmental, global changes but there are many uncertainties in these predictions. We need to find a way to deal with these uncertainties.”

“Urbanisation is not occurring in the bigger cities, but the smaller towns are evolving inside larger cities. There are many opportunities here. In emerging towns and cities, we can make a difference. At UNESCO-IHE we aim to train the professionals to manage these changes and systems.”

UNESCO-IHE Rector Andras Szollosi-Nagy giving an opening presentation

This afternoon, the launch of the SWITCH Global CityWater Futures Summit was opened with a speech by UNESCO-IHE Rector András Szöllösi-Nagy. Addressing about fifty science experts from around the world in Delft, The Netherlands, he said urban water situations are the results of global water changes.

“If we think there are problems now, it is only the tip of the iceberg since there are more water related problems in sight with population figures doubling in some countries and pressures from climate change.”

“Water issues in an urban context are extremely important. Most people discuss climate change as a very pressing issue that receives a lot of attention, but in fact, population growth is an even greater concern.” He addressed among others the issues of governance, infrastructure and tools to measure both.

“The water cycle is changing, and this is enough indication that there are more problems ahead if water managers and planners do not act now to redesign their tool kits,” he said.

Prof. Szöllösi-Nagy said that in the past planners and water managers used to develop tool kits for forty years and beyond, but the situation demands that short term projections and developments are made to suit the changing trends.

“Long term projections are no longer necessary, because the trends keep changing within short circles,” he told participants at the three days summit.

Focus areas are:

• Sustainable Urban Drainage
• Natural systems for water treatment
• Urban Planning and Stormwater Management
• Decentralised Water and Waste Management
• Governance, Institutional Systems and Economic Instruments
• City Water Information System: Integrated modelling and decision support

1. Dzifa Azuman, Ghana News Agency, Accra
2. Mohammed Abjulmajed Al-Areki, Al-Thawara Newspaper, Taiz, Yemen
3. Vishwanath Srikantaiah, Rainwaterclub/Arghyam, Bangalore, India

We would like to thank the many media professionals who have expressed interest in attending the Summit, but due to limited funding, we have given priority to journalists who are actively engaged with development issues, namely water related topics, representing a SWITCH city in each geographical region. In addition, a French and Dutch journalist have been accredited and will take part in reporting on the Summit’s events at their own cost. Others present will be encouraged to report on the regions we were not able to secure media for.

Putting media together with practitioners

The Summit intends to create awareness and understanding among local journalists on the importance of water related issues. It also intends to put together media and practitioners who are presenting the core issues at hand in their respective cities.

Summit Blog and Twitter

Participating journalists will play an active role in the Summit, namely reporting on the discussions, challenges, outcomes and innovative ideas. These will be shared through this blog. Please take a look, leave comments, view photos, watch video interviews and read blog posts as the summit takes place. Those who would like to take part in the discussions through our Twitter stream should use the hashtag #SWITCHSUMMIT.

For more information contact:

Ms. Alida Pham,
UNESCO-IHE Communications Officer/Press Focal Point for the Summit
E-mail: a.pham@unesco-ihe.org