Water

Bindeshwar Pathak on Crusading for Human and Environmental Dignity
“Affordable and sustainable technology is essential for social reform,” says Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the Sulabh International Social Service Organization. That’s why he turned to technology when he started his crusade to restore the dignity of scavengers who clean up human excreta, treated as the lowest of the low in Indian society. His innovations have since improved the lives of millions and liberated over 120,000 scavengers from the scorn and humiliation their work engenders.

India: Toilet Technology for Human Dignity
If dignity is denied to people without toilets, what is left for people who clean up human excreta? This is what scavengers in India, born into the unfortunate “untouchables” caste, have to contend with everyday. To liberate these scavengers from the filthy task, a nongovernment organization lent a compassionate hand by providing a new toilet technology. But could this organization also change their lives?

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People’s Republic of China: Rising Eco-Towns Boasts No-Flush Toilets
A big housing development project is bringing ecological sanitation toilets that do not require water to a water-scarce municipality in the northern region of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The largest urban project of its kind in the PRC, the project also boasts of an onsite eco-station complete with greywater treatment and thermal composting of organic materials. Will there be enough takers to ensure the sustainability of this project and ecotown concept?

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Philippines: San Fernando’s Dry Alternative
Three years ago, residents of coastal and upland villages in San Fernando City polluted their drinking water with their own excreta. Today, they take pains to practice safe hygiene and sanitation. An innocent looking dry toilet and an untiring city mayor propelled this shift through a 2-town ecological sanitation pilot project that has evolved into a citywide movement. Can the city carry the momentum forward to the entire province and neighboring towns?

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Toilets of Asia: From Crude to Improved
Many of Asia’s more developed countries now have state of the art toilets that could well belong in a sci-fi movie. But it wasn’t long ago that defecating in the open was the thing to do. The last three decades have seen some shifts in the toilets used in the region—from floating facilities to waterless latrines to electronic contraptions. View some images.

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Benchmarking Program for Central Asian Water Utility Network Takes Off
Members of the Central Asia and South Caucasus Water Utilities Network (CASCWUA) met on 22-28 March in Tashkent for a workshop on performance benchmarking and continuous improvement, marking the start of CASCWUA’s first initiative to develop the capacity and improve the service levels of its members. The workshop was followed by a meeting to discuss the network’s business plan for 2008-2009.

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Projects to Pilot Arsenic Mitigation in Cambodia, Bangladesh
ADB recently approved two US$50,000 projects to help mitigate arsenic contamination in Southeast Asia. One will test an arsenic filter technology in Cambodia; the other will enable women in Bangladesh to take the lead in arsenic mitigation. Arsenic contamination has reached alarming levels in both countries and is threatening people’s health, especially in rural areas where people rely on groundwater for their drinking water needs.

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Indonesia: Pilot Projects on a Roll in Water Utilities Collaboration, Soil Erosion Prevention, and Watershed Protection
Indonesia is having its fill of new small water projects supported by ADB. Four water utilities are collaborating to optimize Greater Bandung’s raw water resources. The viability of vetiver plants in preventing erosion is being tested in the Citarum river basin. A Geographic Information System is being established to bring better water resources management in the Cimanuk river basin. What impacts would these three projects bring to Indonesia’s water sector?

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ADB Holds Regional Forum on Small Piped Water Networks
Representatives from governments, water utilities, small water providers, NGOs, and development partners will come to ADB on 17-18 April to discuss lessons from RETA 6265: Implementing Pilot Projects for Small Piped Water Networks (SPWN). The Forum will present the different approaches used by the RETA to deliver 24 x 7 piped water supplies to poor communities and introduced a draft SPWN toolkit, which will provide detailed instructions on applying the SPWN model.

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SEAWUN to Build Capacity of Members on Nonrevenue Water (NRW) Reduction
The South East Asian Water Utilities Network (SEAWUN), in collaboration with ADB and the World Bank Institute, will hold a series of workshops on NRW Reduction this year. The workshop series, designed to train SEAWUN members on strategies to reduce water losses and to study the impacts of service connection designs on water losses, is part of ADB's Water Operators Partnership Program. The first workshop in the series will be held on 12-16 May.

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Philippines: Economy to Ease in 2008, Water Infrastructure Investment to Increase
The Philippine economy will expand at a slower pace over the next two years, following its strongest surge in 30 years in 2007, says ADB’s flagship publication, Asian Development Outlook 2008 (ADO). Despite the predicted slow economic growth however, the Government is expected to raise infrastructure investment, mainly for transportation, power, and water projects to help attract employment-creating industries.

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Nepal: ADB Backs Huge Infrastructure Project to Ease Water Shortages
After delays due to political circumstances, Nepal’s $317.3 million Melamchi Water Supply Project is finally pushing through, with ADB providing a $137M loan and the Government of Nepal contributing $90.6M. Other development partners will shoulder the rest. ADB’s Leonardo Boenawan Sondjaja said, “This project is the only realistic way to obtain a sustainable, long-term supply of drinking water for Kathmandu Valley.”

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Pakistan: $75M ADB Loan to Help Farming
ADB will lend Pakistan $75 million to build multipurpose dams, irrigation canals, and drinking water supplies across the Potohar Plateau near Islamabad. ADB’s Arnaud Cauchois says, “The project will give farmers reliable water supply, which will increase crop and livestock productivity, and people’s incomes. It will also increase households’ access to cleaner water and reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases.”

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Viet Nam: Apex Body Undertakes Performance Benchmarking and Peer Review
Viet Nam’s National Water Resources Council will benchmark its performance against those of other Asian national water sector apex bodies, starting with a peer review exercise in April to be conducted by the heads of Malaysian, Philippine, and Thai apex bodies. These countries undertook performance benchmarking in 2006 and are currently implementing their change programs. This exercise is part of ADB’s support for national water reforms.

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1. What did you think of this issue?
2. Our next theme is on cost recovery. Can you suggest ongoing or completed country-based reforms that we can feature?