Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene August 2018 | Page 16

briefing
Heads of state call
for shift in the way
water is valued
KENYA
WATER
INDUSTRY
ASSOCIATION
The High-Level panel on Water, consist-
ing of eleven heads of state and a special
advisor, calls for a funda mental shift in
the way the world manages and values
water. In its report Making Every Drop
Count: An Agenda for Water Action, the
Panel presents several recommendations
for changing the way the world under-
stands, values, and manages water.
“With increasing scarcity, we must
recognize the many values attached to
water, be it economic, social, environ-
mental, cultural or religious”, Torgny
Holmgren, Executive Director SIWI ,
commented.
The report also sets forth a new approach
to catalyze change, and build partner-
ships and coope ration, outlining why an
integrated and inclusive approach that
draws in sectors like agriculture, and
other stakeholders, such as city mayors,
is needed.
80 %
World Water Day celebrations around the
world highlight nature-based solutions
The theme of this year’s World
Water Day, Nature for Water,
put the spotlight on how one
can work with nature, instead
of against it.
As more than 2 billion people
lack access to safe drinking
water and more than twice
that number lack access to safe
sanitation, the international
community is drawing attention to nature-based solutions for the water challenges
of the 21st century.
“Water is the essence of life, but we don't save it enough. It’s time to change
mindsets, it’s not about development versus the environment,” said Erik Solheim,
head of UN Environment.
The 2018 edition of the UN World Water Development Report, published in
the leadup to World Water Day, outlines a range of nature-based solutions for
water management, from personal measures that can be applied in the home, to
examples of “green” infrastructure that can be applied to rural and urban land-
scapes – such as planting new forests, restoring wetlands, and constructing green
walls and roof gardens.
World Water Day is celebrated every year on March 22. It sets the foundation
for the theme of World Water Week, the largest annual water event, in late August.
Globally, 80 percent of wastewater flows back into the
ecosystem without being treated or reused, contributing to
a situation where around 1.8 billion people use a source of
drinking water contaminated with faeces. (Source: UN-Water)
1.8
billion
people
Bruce Rittmann and Mark van Loosdrecht
win 2018 Stockholm Water Prize
Professors Bruce Rittmann and Mark van Loosdrecht have
been named the 2018 Stockholm Water Prize Laureates for
revolutionizing water and wastewater treatment.
Professors Mark van Loosdrecht and Bruce Rittmann are
widely recognized as leaders in the field of environmental
biotechnology-based processes for water treatment. Their
pioneering research and innovations have led to a new gener-
ation of energy-efficient water treatment processes that can
effectively extract nutrients and other chemicals – both valuable
and harmful – from wastewater.
Mark van Loosdrecht is Professor in Environmental
Biotechno logy at Delft University of Technology, The Nether-
lands. Bruce Rittmann is Regents’ Professor of Environmental
Engineering and Director of the Biodesign Swette Center for
Environmental Biotechnology at the Biodesign Institute,
Arizona State University, USA.
In its citation, the Stockholm Water Prize Nominating
Committee recognizes Professors Rittmann and van Loosdrecht
for “pioneering and leading the development of environmen-
tal biotechnology-based processes for water and wastewater
treatment. They have revolutionized treatment of water for
safe drinking, and refined purification of polluted water for
release or reuse – all while minimizing the energy footprint”.
The professors’ research has led to new processes for waste-
water treatment currently being used around the globe.
“Together, Professors Rittmann and van Loosdrecht are lead-
ing, illuminating and demonstrating the path forward in one of
the most challenging human enterprises on this planet – that
of providing clean and safe water for humans, industry, and
ecosystems,” says SIWI’ s Executive Director Torgny Holmgren.
Read more in the interview on page 10
WATERFRONT # 1 | april 2018
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Courtesy: Waterfront
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • August 2018