Water

Journalist Irfan Shahzad on Using the Pen to Right Water Concerns
Pakistani journalist, essayist, researcher and editor Irfan Shahzad is breaking the media silence over water issues and bringing headlines that reach beyond the current controversy to cover the back-seat issues deeply affecting the readers. Less commercially driven editors and more knowledgeable journalists, he says, are keys to media-inspired change in the water sector.

Journalists Enter Water Debate Via ADB Workshops
Getting both policy makers and the public to understand the heart of their city’s water problems starts with good reporting of the facts and sides of the issues. For 2 years, ADB has been helping connect journalists with the facts and the arguments hot on the water agenda through media workshops.

---

Local Media Find Global Audience with Asia Water Wire
It’s one thing to inform local readers about water issues, it’s another to gain a global audience. That’s just what the Asia Water Wire offers journalists writing about water in Asia. From disasters, to dams, to cultural water rituals, this new product by Inter Press Service is helping fill the water information gap.

---

Showcasing Stories from the Asia Water Wire
Almost 80 percent of stories on the Asia Water Wire, an online resource for news and features on water topics, are the work of ADB’s Media Network. More than 400 journalists belong to the network and have participated in an ADB Media Workshop on water issues. Here’s a sampling of Asia Water Wire stories.

Singapore: Technology Turns Water Weakness into Strength
Singapore showcases its water purification technologies that guarantee safe drinking water for all Singaporeans.

Philippines: Northern Mine Switching to Water
An old gold mine in the mountain resort of Baguio City is transformed into a reservoir to provide water for the city’s residents.

Nepal: Villagers Solve Own Water Woes
Local residents take the initiative with a collective investment and bring water to household taps in Ilkache, Kathmandu.

Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan: Border Residents Manage ’Mad’ River
Communities ignore political boundaries to harness the unmanageable Tentek-say River on the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyz Republic border.

Pakistan, India Join Hands to Clean Canal
Villagers along the polluted Hudiara drain on the India-Pakistan border team up to improve water quality in the canal, which is their primary water source.

Comprehensive Review of ADB’s Water Policy Implementation Nears Completion
The Review of ADB’s Water Policy Implementation is already in its final stages. The Review Panel Work Sessions, stakeholders’ consultations and ADB staff workshops are finished; the client and stakeholder survey results are out; and ADB’s inputs in water related conferences are accounted for. The Review Panel’s report is being finalized.

---

New Pilot and Demonstration Activities Approved
New ADB Pilot and Demonstration Activities (PDAs) on improving urban water services in Dehradun, India and Shandong Province, PRC were approved in November 2005. PDAs support innovative initiatives by NGOs and local communities in improving water services, especially to the poor. To date, 24 PDAs have been approved and are in various stages of implementation.

---

Asian Journalists to Meet on Water Issues
Journalists across Asia will showcase their best work on promoting water issues at an ADB Media Workshop in Bangkok in February. The regional event will gather journalists-turned-water advocates who participated in the first regional workshop in Phnom Penh in 2003 and in national workshops in India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan and the People’s Republic of China.

---

Afghanistan: 400,000 in Western Afghanistan to Benefit from Integrated Water Resources Project
Afghanistan’s Hari Rud River Basin needs better management to boost agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods. ADB’s assistance package of US$75 million will help carry out the task that will benefit 400,000 poor people in western Afghanistan.

---

People’s Republic of China: Songhua River Pollution Stunting Development, ADB Official Tells Workshop
ADB’s Toru Shibuichi calls for the cleanup of the Songhua River Basin in a keynote speech at a workshop on Revitalizing Northeast China and Promoting Investment in Harbin. Shibuichi says the pollution of the Songhua River needs to be addressed for PRC to support the economy of this important industrial belt.

---

Indonesia: Farmers Return to Their Land in Aceh and Nias
Agricultural communities in Aceh and Nias, Indonesia, where ethnic strife once prevailed, have begun reclaiming their land razed by the Asian tsunami in December 2004. Rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts initiated by ADB have restored damaged facilities, improved drainage and provided agriculture support equipment to farmers’ groups.