id21 Water

Learning from water supply failures in Malawi

id21 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:50:17 +0000

The Lilongwe Water Board is the sole water supply authority in Malawi’s capital city. However, its service suffered from inadequate response to system and community problems and lack of transparency in water billing. In response to a request for assistance from the community, WaterAid Malawi developed a strategic partnership with the Lilongwe Water Board, aimed at improving management of water services in unplanned low-income neighbourhoods

Putting people at the centre of informal settlement upgrading in Pakistan

id21 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:44:04 +0000

The Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) has transformed sewage systems in low income, informal settlements (‘katchi abadi’), where 60 percent of Karachi’s population lives. OPP has challenged development approaches, which are very technical and overly-dependent on government and donor support. Such approaches treat poor communities as objects, rather than drivers, of development.

Potential of pro-poor water connection subsidies in Cambodia

id21 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:32:29 +0000

After decades of conflict, Cambodian water planners are struggling to provide supplies to urban residents. Many households do not use water from a network connection. Instead they rely on dirty and unreliable sources. Getting poor householders connected is unlikely without subsidies and regulatory reform.

Environmental damage threatens prawn farming in Bangladesh

id21 — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:32:39 +0000

South-west Bangladesh is densely populated and most families are poor. Freshwater prawn farming is an important source of income. In recent years, the high demand for prawns overseas has greatly increased local earnings. However, productivity is lower than in other exporting countries, such as Vietnam. Extensive prawn production is also creating environmental issues, such as overharvesting of species

Lessons from a long-term river dispute in India

id21 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:20:53 +0000

India has approximately 13.5 percent of the world’s population but only about 3 percent of the world’s total renewable water resources. This leads to conflicts over supplies. How can policymakers tackle the problems of water sharing?

Lessons from water and sanitation mapping in Africa and South Asia

id21 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:19:56 +0000

2008/11 - id21 [Mapping provides clear information on access to water and sanitation in poor countries. This information can be used by citizens to demand better services and by local governments to improve service delivery. What lessons can be learnt from the use of mapping in WaterAid’s country programmes?]

Ethiopia addresses challenges in latrine building and hygiene

id21 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:12:19 +0000

2008/11 - id21 [Poor hygiene and sanitation are the main causes of death in southern Ethiopia. The Bureau of Health has now introduced a successful strategy in Mirab Abaya and Alaba woredas (or districts) to build latrines and teach people about the importance of sanitation and hygiene]

Challenges of maintaining water pumps in Zimbabwe

id21 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:02:12 +0000

2008/11 - id21 [In Zimbabwe, the provision of water and sanitation services was once impressive. Now operating and maintaining hand pumps is a challenge. What has gone wrong? What kind of pump management systems can best enhance the resilience of disaster-affected communities?]

Water supply projects succeed when villagers want and maintain them

id21 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:40:08 +0000

2008/09 - id21 [n villages in Peru, Bolivia and Ghana water supply systems are still working up to 12 years after construction. They succeed because villagers request them, manage them, and can get spare parts and technical help. However, some people still use unsafe water sources and the water systems do not pay for themselves]

Mechanisms to manage the variability of flow in water treaties

id21 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:40:46 +0000

2008/09 - id21 [Most policymakers acknowledge the importance of addressing flow variability in water treaties, but there has been little analysis of the mechanisms actually used to do it. How can water treaties be flexible enough to consider changing flow variability whilst also being enforceable?]

A sustainable livelihoods approach to watershed management in India

id21 — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:48:48 +0000

2008/04 - id21 [Over half the cultivated area in Andhra Pradesh depends on rainfall, although the State is prone to drought. A sustainable livelihoods approach to watershed development could prove a useful strategy for the development of this and other dryland areas]