From: www.unwater.org
International World Water Day is held annually on March 22nd, as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
Today, one in two people on the planet live in a city. The world’s cities are growing at an exceptional rate and urbanisation is a continuum. The main reason they are growing is because of natural increase in urban population, but also due to rural-to-urban migration and reclassification of rural areas to urban areas.
93% of the urbanization occurs in poor or developing countries, and nearly 40% of the world’s urban expansion is growing slums. Between 1990-2001 the world’s slums increased at a rate of 18 million people a year, and is projected to increase to 27 million new slum citizens per year between 2005-2020.
93% of the urbanization occurs in poor or developing countries, and nearly 40% of the world’s urban expansion is growing slums. Between 1990-2001 the world’s slums increased at a rate of 18 million people a year, and is projected to increase to 27 million new slum citizens per year between 2005-2020.
Investments in infrastructure have not kept up with the rate of urbanization, while water and waste services show significant underinvestment. The central problem is therefore the management of urban water and waste. Piped water coverage is declining in many settings, and the poor people get the worst services, yet paying the highest water prices.
Few urban authorities in developing countries have found a sustainable solution to urban sanitation, and utilities cannot afford to extend sewers to the slums, nor can they treat the volume of sewage already collected. Solid waste disposal is a growing threat to health and the environment.
Cities are complicated to manage: different approaches are needed for different types of urban environments. But cities also provide the best opportunity to improve livelihoods and infrastructure development, including water and waste services.
The big opportunity is increased recycling and reuse of water and wastes, an integrated urban management. Adopting more efficient water treatment technologies and capturing water and wastes within the city will also minimize environmental and downstream pollution.
Water.org is a nonprofit organization that has transformed hundreds of communities in Africa, South Asia, and Central America by providing access to safe water and sanitation.
Water.org lists such solutions to the water crisis as:
"We believe people in developing countries know best how to solve their own problems. That’s why we forge partnerships with carefully-screened, indigenous partner organizations that understand, and are part of, the local culture. The result: a solution tailored to the needs of each community, instead of a technological fix the community has no way of maintaining."
"Community ownership is at the heart of Water.org’s philosophy. Regardless of whether the project is funded entirely by a grant or involves WaterCredit (small loans for water and sanitation), community ownership is at the center. For a project to be truly successful, communities must be viewed and must view themselves as the owners of the project. That’s why Water.org engages communities at every stage and at every level – from project planning, building and financing, to ongoing project maintenance."
"Good hygiene practices and access to sanitation facilities are critical to achieving sustainable improvements in community health. Clean water may be available in a household, but if hand-washing and other practices are not routinely followed, the promised health benefits will not materialize. Similarly, access to a latrine does not ensure that the latrine will be used or properly maintained. Without a good understanding of the link between hygiene and disease, the health benefits of safe water and sanitation can be easily lost."
"The WaterCredit Initiative represents the creation of a new space at the intersection of water and sanitation and microfinance. By catalyzing small loans to individuals and communities in developing countries who do not have access to traditional credit markets, WaterCredit empowers people to immediately address their own water needs. As loans are repaid, they can be redeployed to additional people in need of safe water."For more information on the water crisis around the world, and the possible solutions, visit www.unwater.org and www.water.org.
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