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News on Water and Sanitation, Nigeria

Wateraid organises urban water and sanitation reforms workshop

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 WaterAid is organizing a Training of Trainers workshop on urban water and sanitation reforms Kathmandu, Nepal, 20 – 24 July 2009

 

The pilot Training of Trainers (ToT) Workshop is designed for (future) trainers and leaders of CSOs interested in engaging in urban reforms processes.

The course programme is suitable for CSO network leaders, urban advocates and NGO members and staff.

 

Interested participants should apply to WaterAid:

 

Timeyin Uwejamomere

Policy Officer, Urban

WaterAid , 47 – 49 Durham Street,

London SE11 5JD

Tel: 02077934569

Email: timeyinuwejamomere@wateraid.org

 

Or

 

Mary O’Connell

Policy Officer, Capacity Building

WaterAid, 47 – 49 Durham Street,

London SE11 5JD

Tel: 02077934541

Email:maryoconnell@wateraid.org

 

Written by babalobi

April 17, 2009 at 6:34 pm

World Water day and corruption in the water sector

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World Water Day 09 Special: Corruption in transboundary waters.

Every year on the 22nd of March, many individuals and organisations draw attention to a pressing issue in the water sector on World Water Day. The theme of the 2009 World Water Day is on transboundary waters.

Water crosses many borders across the world. Two in every five people in the world today live in international water basins. This creates global interdependencies among nations and people, but also opens opportunities for corruption. The Global Corruption Report 2008 has dedicated an article to the challenges that corruption poses to transboundary water management.

The article by Transparency International states that corruption in transboundary water can cause international conflict, destabilise entire regions and lead to ecological disaster. It can derive from commitments states enter into through multilateral water treaties, 200 of which have been signed in the last fifty years. Or it can be tied to fiduciary duties to govern water responsibly and sustainably, in accordance with established international norms and agreements such as the Dublin Principles or Agenda 21.

Yet, tackling corruption in transboundary water-sharing is difficult for two reasons. It is harder to prevent and punish because of its international context, and it has very grave consequences. TI states that “preserving and sharing the benefits of a common good such as a river basin is vulnerable to a serious free-rider problem: everyone has a strong incentive to take more than their fair share if there is suspicion that others also do so.

Trust in the effective enforcement of commitments on all sides is essential to sustaining such agreements. But water corruption fatally undermines this trust by thwarting enforcement and opening the door to irresponsible water grabs or water pollution.” As a result, shared water ecosystems become more vulnerable to overuse and ecological collapse.

One attempt to tackle these issues is the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses. It codifies important principles of prior notification, equitable and reasonable utilisation and no significant harm for the use of transboundary waters. These principles inform many international water-sharing agreements, but only few countries have so far signed up to the convention.

If you would like to comment on this article or voice your opinions on the issue of corruption in transboundary waters, please join the discussion in the WIN forum.

Download the full article

Written by babalobi

March 21, 2009 at 7:34 pm

Water and Sanitation conference: call for abstracts

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The World Water Week is calling for the submission of abstracts. Deadline is Feb. 1, 2009

 

 

 

 

The First Announcement for the 2009 World Water Week in Stockholm, August 16-22, provides  information on the theme, structure, and special focus of the 2009 Week.

It also provides guidelines for convening a seminar or side event or submitting an abstract for presentation during the 8 workshops.

The theme for 2009 is Water – Responding to Global Change: Accessing Water for the Common Good  with Special Focus on Transboundary Waters.

Download the First Announcement and learn more about the 2009 World Water Week at www.worldwaterweek.org.

 

Written by babalobi

December 18, 2008 at 7:38 am