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World Prepares To Talk ‘Dirty’
Sahana Singh
BEPPU - Although 2.6 billion people in the world – two-thirds of whom are in southern or eastern Asia – are living without access to basic sanitation, the issue has been a poor cousin to water in terms of visibility and financing. It has not received much attention from policymakers in the past. However, efforts are on to reverse this neglect.   more >>
Leaders Reaffirm MDG Commitment
Message from Beppu
BEPPU - At the end its two-day meeting, the 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit formally confirmed yesterday the region’s commitment to achieve Target 10 of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG): halve by 2015 the number of people who lack access to drinking water and basic sanitation, and to zero by 2025.   more >>
Lack of Gender Focus Frustrates Policymaker
Richel Langit-Dursin
BEPPU - When floods and droughts strike, it is the women and children who suffer most. But when it comes to managing water-related disaster management, they are left out.   more >>
Academic Debate Vs Real Action
Zofeen T. Ebrahim
Is access to water a social good, a fundamental right of the citizens or a service that they should be paying for, even if at a subsidised rate?   more >>
Small Islands Have No Time To Waste
Kalinga Seneviratne
BEPPU - The South Pacific whose voice is usually muted in regional forums was quite audible at the water summit, perhaps by default. Although 49 countries were invited to send their heads of state, only 9 turned up and 7 of them were from the South Pacific island nations. Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau and Tuvalu were represented at the highest level.   more >>
Tommy Koh: Putting Issues on the Agenda
Sahana Singh
BEPPU - Tommy Koh, chair of the Governing Council of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum, believes access to drinking water and sanitation are two of the most important human needs.   more >>
Solid Solutions to Liquid Problems
Alejandro Kirk
BEPPU, Dec 4 - The Asia-Pacific Water Summit kicked off Monday with both royal protocol and a sense of urgency: 700 hundred million people in the region do not have access to drinking water and two billion lack basic sanitation. Yet, most of those same people are in danger of losing their homes and lives due to heavy rains and floods.   more >>
Commitments Given, But Funds Needed
Richel Langit-Dursin
BEPPU, Dec 4 - Leaders of developing states in the Pacific found common ground at the 1st Asia-Pacific Water Summit. The heads of Palau, Nauru, Bhutan, Kiribati, Kyrgyz, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Niue, Tajikistan and Tuvalu pledged their political commitments, but also stressed their need for financial and technical support from donor and development agencies to address water problems in their countries.   more >>
Improved monitoring of investments and results
Sahana Singh
BEPPU, Dec 4 - Various experiences in the region have indicated that there is an urgent need to improve policies for monitoring investments and results in the water and sanitation sector. It was found in a series of studies conducted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) as well as a Regional Workshop on Monitoring of Investment and Results of Water Resources Management, held in Kuala Lumpur in October 2007, that there is no proper system in place for the same.   more >>
CEOs: Good actions means good business
Alejandro Kirk
BEPPU, Dec 4 - The prevailing thinking among business, academic and public sector representatives meeting here is that without the private sector actively involved in providing management and technology, there is no solution to the shortage of drinking water and sanitation in the Asia-Pacific region.   more >>
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interviews
‘It’s a very slow process’
Sara Ahmed, chair of the non-governmental Gender Water Alliance, talks to Terra Viva’s Richel Langit-Dursin about women participation in water management issues.
‘Toilets Are Not Sexy Enough’
Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation, talks to TerraViva’s Sahana Singh about a subject that started out as a hobby but soon became the purpose of his life.
‘Countries Learn From One Another’
Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, chairman of the United Nations Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, talks to Terra Viva’s Sahana Singh about the importance of water summits.
audio
‘We’re All Working Towards The Same End’
Ravi Narayanan, vice chair of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum, explains to TerraViva’s Richel Langit-Dursin why the water summit complements the climate change conference in Bali.
‘It’s Time to Focus on Solutions’
Erna Witoelar, U. N. Special Ambassador for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
audio
audio clips
Investing In Water As A Human Right
rip&read
Solidarity Among Countries Needed to Solve Sanitation Problem
Civil Society Groups Says Summit Ignoring Water Privatisation
International Year of Sanitation 2008 launched in the Asia-Pacific Region
Not Nuke Hydro Power Is The Alternative Energy Source Says Nepal
Climate Change Threatens Island Freshwater Resources
Asia-Pacific Water Museum to be established in Thailand
Water Summit Cries Out for Greater Political Will
Water Is at the Root of Much of Asia’s Woes Says Japan’s Crown Prince
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the terraviva team
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