Water

Joe Madiath on Championing 100% Sanitation Coverage in Rural Communities in India
Gram Vikas, one of several nongovernment organizations operating in Orissa, has helped over 200 rural villages acquire good quality toilets and bathrooms, coupled with at least 3 taps per household and 24 hour water supply. Joe Madiath, head of Gram Vikas, talks about how these poor communities gave their all to make this possible.

Are Countries in Asia on Track to Meet Target 10 of the Millennium Development Goals?
Target 10 calls for halving, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation. How far have countries in Asia and the Pacific gone to meet Target 10? And what is the price tag for reaching this end? Four international development agencies partnered to find some answers.

---

On Water Supply
Securing the Lives and Landscape of Hidden Paradise
The village of Hidden Paradise in the city of Bacolod, Philippines sits in striking contrast to neighborhoods nearby. It’s a community of former squatters with tidy homes and clean, dry streets, a safe drinking water supply, and healthy children. How did the community work this transformation, and can it be replicated in other slums?

---

On Sanitation
Meeting the Sanitation Challenge: Low Technology, High Rewards
The river in Thimi, Nepal is in a sad state, carrying tons of silt, industrial pollutants, agricultural chemicals and untreated sewage. Nepal’s Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO) is gradually solving the problem through ecosan toilets and reed bed treatment systems. ENPHO’s success makes one thing clear: keeping systems simple keeps them affordable and manageablem — the two keys to sustainability.

Panel on the Review of ADB’s Water Policy Implementation meets for last working session
The Review Panel met for its 4th and final work session to assess ADB’s Water Policy Implementation, taking into account inputs from in-country and regional consultations, ADB staff workshops, client and stakeholder surveys, and consultations with private sector and civil society stakeholders. The Panel is expected to submit its report to ADB soon. Read the results of the Panel’s 3rd work session.

---

ADB Seeks Civil Society Feedback on Water Operations
Civil society groups discussed the merits and limitations of ADB’s Water Policy in a consultation for the 2005 comprehensive review of ADB’s water policy implementation. Simultaneously, some 20 civil society representatives gathered outside ADB Headquarters to press ADB to review its water policy, particularly on the role of the private sector.

---

Private Sector Urges ADB to Help Mitigate Political and Economic Risks to Facilitate Private Sector Participation
Mitigating political and economics risks, project financing, regulation, and the role of the private sector in water operations were some of the key issues discussed in the private sector consultation for ADB’s water policy implementation review held last October. Read the Meeting Report.

---

Korea Hosts NARBO Training Workshop on Technology for Integrated Water Resources Management for River Basins
The Network of Asian River Basin Organizations (NARBO) and the Korea Water Resources Corporation (KOWACO) jointly held the 3rd NARBO Training Workshop on 14-18 November, in Daejeon, Korea, with the theme "Technology for Integrated Water Resources Management - River Basin Approach." View the presentations.

---

Uzbekistan: ADB to Help Rehabilitate Drinking Water and Sanitation in Two Provinces
Rural residents in Kashkadarya and Navoi provinces in Uzbekistan have safe drinking water and sanitation close at hand. Through a US$25 million ADB loan, piped water supply systems will be upgraded, public and school latrines will be built, and wastewater drainage facilities will be improved.

---

Bangladesh: $20 Million Loan to Help Improve Flood Management and Irrigation in Southwest Bangladesh
ADB plans to enhance the livelihood of the rural population in Southwest Bangladesh with this new project designed to improve weak flood control and drainage/irrigation schemes, deliver agriculture and fishery support services, and strengthen institutional capacity of supporting agencies. The Bangladesh Water Development Board will implement the project.

---

PRC: Helping Bring Clean Water to Harbin and Clean up the Songhua River
As millions of people in Harbin, People’s Republic of China (PRC) struggle to recover from the recent toxic spill in the Songhua river, ADB is working on a number of projects to provide them with cleaner and more reliable water source.

---

Kazakhstan: Private Sector Operations at Forefront of ADB’s Updated Strategy
For Kazakhstan in 2006-2008, ADB will focus on the role of the private sector in rural development and water supply provision, according to ADB’s Country Strategy and Program (CSP) Update. ADB’s Adrian Ruthenberg says “The rapid development of this oil rich country has led to an inevitable shift in ADB’s development priorities.”

---

Cambodia: $18 Million Grant to Help Provide Clean Water and Sanitation to Poor around Tonle Sap
ADB will help provide safe drinking water to 1 million people in the Tonle Sap basin, Cambodia, through a US$18 M grant. Alfredo Perdiguero, ADB Project Economist, says “The project will improve the quality of life and health of rural Cambodian people, who have suffered greatly from using water unfit for human consumption and from poor hygiene.”