News and Articles

A couple of years from now, beer, cola, rice, breakfast cereal, cotton T-shirts and many other goods may come with a new logo: a label which says the water used to make this product came from a sustainable source. The scheme, unveiled at the World Water Forum in Istanbul on Tuesday, seeks to make a "Water Stewardship" tag as successful as Forest Stewardship Certification, a fast-growing system that combats illegal or unsustainable logging. "That there is a crisis in water is a given, and that we need to address it is a given. That's why there's so much momentum behind developing a global standard," said Michael Spencer, director of the Water Stewardship Initiative of Australia, part of the project. Access the full article here: Coming soon: 'Sustainable water' certification

The words above are from a user & beneficiary of the Ask A Question Service on the India Water Portal, powered by a collaboration with WES Net.

"If it had not breached at Kusaha, it would have anyway breached at this point," points a villager towards the probable location on the eastern bank in village Rajabaas near Prakashpur in Sunsari district of Nepal, located 14 km upstream of Kusaha where the Eastern Afflux embankment of the Kosi had breached on the August 18, 2008.

Anjal Prakash from SaciWATERs, Hyderabad report on the theme, 'Knowledge, Education and Capacity Development Strategies'.

Coordinated by UNESCO , IHE with about 24 other institutions around the world, the session focused on the issues related to knowledge management and development. This is with in the context of sharing newly gained knowledge through appropriate systems. In particular, the session addressed the need of strengthening the role of education, knowledge and capacity development in sustainable use and management of water resources. Friday witnessed the deliberations of the main theses in three parts , knowledge management and development, institutional capacity building and empowering organizations and people. In his opening remark, Richard Meganck, head of UNESCO , IHE and Kusum of NetWater & WfWp stressed the need to energized actors outside traditional water sector. They called for bridges divides between theoretical and political boundaries. "The capacity building needs go beyond training to develop talent and it starts where training ends"said Ms Athukurala.

The South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers & People has published a critique of the India's National Action Plan on Climate change (NAPCC), titled: "There is little Hope here". India is more vulnerable to the climate change impacts than the US, the Europe or even China. And the poor within India, whose contribution to the climate change is the least, are the most vulnerable, considering their dependence on natural resources. The report, which includes recommendations of several civil society consultations, concludes that the NAPCC has been formulated through a most non transparent process; it will help neither the poor, nor the climate. The climate change provides a unique opportunity to make India's development path people and environment friendly, but the NAPCC completely misses that opportunity. There is little doubt that the responsibility of having created this specter that threatens our very survival, lies with the policies and practices of the counties of the Global North. It is also true that the western world, the UN and all the various multilateral agencies, including the UNFCCC have not managed to come up with anything more than feeble, cosmetic efforts towards addressing this challenge. Given these circumstances, the western world has forfeited the right to lecture on this issue.

The Jan Jagaran Abhiyan (JJA) is a nascent group working in Araria, towards creating a just and equitable society. It is led by young, committed professionals who are looking to work in the challenging socio-economic context of the state of Bihar.

The workshop notes are a record of the actual ground level experiences, understandings/misunderstandings and conversations regarding the floods in North Bihar.

The attached files below are the set of the workshop notes. We welcome comments which will passed back to Barh Mukti Abhiyan.

Since its foundation in 1968, the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) has facilitated the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge so that governments, professionals and organisations can better support poor men, women and children in developing countries to obtain water and sanitation services they will use and maintain The Source Water and Sanitation News Service from IRC provides news in English, French and Spanish with an emphasis on rural and peri-urban areas in developing countries. The current Source South Asia Water & Sanitation News edition has a wide range of articles. Some highlights are: Asia: Unilever to replicate Project Shakti on other international markets - http://www.irc.nl/page/46761 Afghanistan: OCHA Humanitarian Action Plan's Appeal for water and sanitation - http://www.irc.nl/page/46636