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I am left in shock that there have been no breakthroughs post Kyoto scenario before the much awaited historical convention – 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen. Recent study by global carbon project estimated an alarming 20% increase in CO2 emission from power plants, factories, tree-felling, and other human activities globally between 2000 and 2008, the effective period of Kyoto intervention. Latest round of talks in Barcelona has failed to find a substantial conclusion. In fact, the prospect of a legally binding treaty looks probably as late as December 2010 in Mexico City. COP15 looks as though it is another assembly for the world leaders to show their strong oratorical and rhetorical skills rather than delving into the serious matter of legally binding treaty beyond 2012. This will be a huge set back for many of us belonging to the poorest countries in the world, dedicated environmentalists, activists, and scientists, who are working for a single cause – to save the planet in peril.

I believe, after the failure of World Trade Organization (WTO) and lack of global harmony in many issues of universal significance, failure of the United Nations (UN) conferences such as this to consolidate any concrete pathways or even a realistic momentum would dwindle the faith of world’s community over the necessity, ability, and effectiveness of this organization in twenty first century that was created primarily for converging diversity and standing united in issues of global urgency.
Again the centre of hustle and bustle in the convention is North America which is historically the biggest contributor to Green House Gases (GHG) and still rising high and handsome with high per capita energy consumption. This league also contains few other notorious affluent nations like Australia, Russia, and European countries. They are at loggerheads with rising superpowers like China and India over taking the required initiatives and responsibilities for changing climate. At this time, we need a unanimous voice against the growing pessimism, skepticism, and irrational cynicism. We need to discourage this growing notion of failure and send a strong message to the coterie of hypocritical blue blooded individuals and multinationals to put off their effort to falter the upcoming talks at COP15.

Never than before, the problem of GHG reduction in a binding treaty has to follow common but differentiated responsibility. China has already surpassed America in the race to become the biggest GHG emitter globally, and there are no signs of breaking this trend that is guzzling significant amount of world’s coal and other fossils fuels. Per capita energy consumption in China and India are still behind the pinnacle of prodigality reached by America, Europe, and other affluent nations. This is where the debate is stalled and will likely continue for some time, until some island countries like Maldives, Greenland, Iceland, and shore line countries like Bangladesh will be overwhelmed by the brunt sea level rise, until drought in most of African nations kills million of people due to famine and fight for the resources, until the biggest reservoir of freshwater in the world, Glacier in Antarctica, Arctic, and in the Himalayas will be no more, threatening million of people water for basic needs of drinking water, agriculture, and many intricate consequences to follow. These are not mere rhetoric but the effects are already apparent worldwide, some in an unprecedented scale and some with un-characteristic change. Shall we still wait until it reaches to an irreversible and apocalyptic scale? Do we want it to reach to that point?

So, the fundamental question is who is going to take the lead in this global problem? Undoubtedly the leadership befalls upon the Americans and their administration. Although there is a small positive sign of positivism from USA, it’s first ever bill on CAP and TRADE is presumed to agree on a mere 4% GHG reduction below 1990 gases by 2020. European Union (EU) has been showing some hard balls by pledging 20 % reduction below 1990 by 2020. However, the active involvement of China and India has become indispensable. But it won’t be justifiable to equate their contribution in the post-Kyoto treaty with America or Europe for that matter, when millions in India and China are poor, marginalized, and hard hit by global climate change. Sustained economic growth is important, but business as usual won’t do much good either. Energy diversity and security is high agenda for sustaining the rapidly developing economy and in times to come. The intrusion of renewable energy sources and technology, like the solar and wind technologies along with carbon capture and sequestration and emerging smart grid technologies and many green technologies, in the form of climate aid and technologies transfer from developed countries, seems imminent. It will provide a win-win situation for energy availability and slowing the total emission of the developing countries eventually. It is commendable to see China taking the leading role in planning for rapid transition to renewable energy sources to fuel their economy, as China has pledged to increase the share of renewable energy to 15 % by 2020, and also to plant millions of trees. It has established a voluntary market specifically for its industry to take the advantage of carbon reduction credits, and being one of the leading nations in executing renewable energy technology.

USA should lead COP15 Convention if the post Kyoto treaty is to be realized. It is also true that the burden of responsibility falls upon the mightiest, even if the burden is under stress due to economic recession. But does this sound to be a justifiable pretext now? I wish President Barrack Obama would give a strong push to the senate, laggardly and less likely to pass the Cap and Trade bill, which may also be the voice that Mr. Obama can rally to the COP15. At least, a voice like this from the American administration could help to push the talks to more reconciliatory and prospective stages by 2010. In conclusion, I would like to quote a speech by late president John F Kennedy given just before the Cuban missile crisis in 1963, which seems to be relevant at this hour.

“First examine our attitude towards peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible, too many think it is unreal, but this is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable, that mankind is doomed, that we are gripped by the forces we cannot control. We need not accept that view. Our problems are man made, therefore they can be solved by man, and man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable and we believe they can do it again……”

“So let us not turn blind eyes to our differences, but let us direct attention to our common interests, and the means by which those differences can be resolved. If we cannot end our differences now, we cannot help make the world safe for diversity. In the final analysis our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children’s future and we all are mortal”..

Ashish Singh, ENPHO

Top


			EDITORIAL COP 15 & BEYOND All eyes are now on Copenhagen and the world is anxiously waiting for leaders to seal a deal that will move the planet towards a low carbon growth trajectory that will lead us away dangerous climate change. The writing on the wall is clear. The earth’s temperature is going off the scale (2000-2009 is the hottest decade surpassing the record set by the 90s). And although so far we have experienced less than 1º C increase in average temperature, the impacts have started to become severe. Here in Nepal we have seen rapidly shrinking glaciers, increase in extreme weather patterns and affects on all sectors including health, agriculture and livelihood. As on the most vulnerable countries, Nepal needs to take bold and proactive steps to address climate change through effective advocacy for concrete action by developed as well as developing countries. Developed countries need to commit themselves to reduce their emissions by 45% compared to 1990 levels by 2020 and countries like India and China also need to follow a low carbon growth path. In the mean time we also need to try and reduce our own emissions and assist vulnerable communities in adapting to climate change. There is always need for additional research and negotiations but the bottom line is we need effective action and we need it now.












TO NAY SAYERS, SKEPTICS AND CYNICS: BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION I am left in shock that there have been no breakthroughs post Kyoto scenario before the much awaited historical convention – 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen. Recent study by global carbon project estimated an alarming 20% increase in CO2 emission from power plants, factories, tree-felling, and other human activities globally between 2000 and 2008, the effective period of Kyoto intervention. Latest round of talks in Barcelona has failed to find a substantial conclusion. In fact, the prospect of a legally binding treaty looks probably as late as December 2010 in Mexico City. COP15 looks as though it is another assembly for the world leaders to show their strong oratorical and rhetorical skills rather than delving into the serious matter of legally binding treaty beyond 2012. This will be a huge set back for many of us belonging to the poorest countries in the world, dedicated environmentalists, activists, and scientists, who are working for a single cause – to save the planet in peril. I believe, after the failure of World Trade Organization (WTO) and lack of global harmony in many issues of universal significance, failure of the United Nations (UN) conferences such as this to consolidate any concrete pathways or even a realistic momentum would dwindle the faith of world’s community over the necessity, ability, and effectiveness of this organization in twenty first century that was created primarily for converging diversity and standing united in issues of global urgency. Again the centre of hustle and bustle in the convention is North America which is historically the biggest contributor to Green House Gases (GHG) and still rising high and handsome with high per capita energy consumption. This league also contains few other notorious affluent nations like Australia, Russia, and European countries. They are at loggerheads with rising superpowers like China and India over taking the required initiatives and responsibilities for changing climate. At this time, we need a unanimous voice against the growing pessimism, skepticism, and irrational cynicism. We need to discourage this growing notion of failure and send a strong message to the coterie of hypocritical blue blooded individuals and multinationals to put off their effort to falter the upcoming talks at COP15. Never than before, the problem of GHG reduction in a binding treaty has to follow common but differentiated responsibility. China has already surpassed America in the race to become the biggest GHG emitter globally, and there are no signs of breaking this trend that is guzzling significant amount of world’s coal and other fossils fuels. Per capita energy consumption in China and India are still behind the pinnacle of prodigality reached by America, Europe, and other affluent nations. This is where the debate is stalled and will likely continue for some time, until some island countries like Maldives, Greenland, Iceland, and shore line countries like Bangladesh will be overwhelmed by the brunt sea level rise, until drought in most of African nations kills million of people due to famine and fight for the resources, until the biggest reservoir of freshwater in the world, Glacier in Antarctica, Arctic, and in the Himalayas will be no more, threatening million of people water for basic needs of drinking water, agriculture, and many intricate consequences to follow. These are not mere rhetoric but the effects are already apparent worldwide, some in an unprecedented scale and some with un-characteristic change. Shall we still wait until it reaches to an irreversible and apocalyptic scale? Do we want it to reach to that point? So, the fundamental question is who is going to take the lead in this global problem? Undoubtedly the leadership befalls upon the Americans and their administration. Although there is a small positive sign of positivism from USA, it’s first ever bill on CAP and TRADE is presumed to agree on a mere 4% GHG reduction below 1990 gases by 2020. European Union (EU) has been showing some hard balls by pledging 20 % reduction below 1990 by 2020. However, the active involvement of China and India has become indispensable. But it won’t be justifiable to equate their contribution in the post-Kyoto treaty with America or Europe for that matter, when millions in India and China are poor, marginalized, and hard hit by global climate change. Sustained economic growth is important, but business as usual won’t do much good either. Energy diversity and security is high agenda for sustaining the rapidly developing economy and in times to come. The intrusion of renewable energy sources and technology, like the solar and wind technologies along with carbon capture and sequestration and emerging smart grid technologies and many green technologies, in the form of climate aid and technologies transfer from developed countries, seems imminent. It will provide a win-win situation for energy availability and slowing the total emission of the developing countries eventually. It is commendable to see China taking the leading role in planning for rapid transition to renewable energy sources to fuel their economy, as China has pledged to increase the share of renewable energy to 15 % by 2020, and also to plant millions of trees. It has established a voluntary market specifically for its industry to take the advantage of carbon reduction credits, and being one of the leading nations in executing renewable energy technology. USA should lead COP15 Convention if the post Kyoto treaty is to be realized. It is also true that the burden of responsibility falls upon the mightiest, even if the burden is under stress due to economic recession. But does this sound to be a justifiable pretext now? I wish President Barrack Obama would give a strong push to the senate, laggardly and less likely to pass the Cap and Trade bill, which may also be the voice that Mr. Obama can rally to the COP15. At least, a voice like this from the American administration could help to push the talks to more reconciliatory and prospective stages by 2010. In conclusion, I would like to quote a speech by late president John F Kennedy given just before the Cuban missile crisis in 1963, which seems to be relevant at this hour. “First examine our attitude towards peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible, too many think it is unreal, but this is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable, that mankind is doomed, that we are gripped by the forces we cannot control. We need not accept that view. Our problems are man made, therefore they can be solved by man, and man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable and we believe they can do it again……” “So let us not turn blind eyes to our differences, but let us direct attention to our common interests, and the means by which those differences can be resolved. If we cannot end our differences now, we cannot help make the world safe for diversity. In the final analysis our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breathe the same air, we all cherish our children’s future and we all are mortal”.. Ashish Singh, ENPHO Top :: ENPHO NEWS :: PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN PROMOTING SAFE WATER & SANITATION ENPHO, together with USAID, organized a conference on 9 November to explore possibilities for promoting safe water and sanitation through the regular activities of private sector companies. Executive Director of ENPHO, Bhushan Tuladhar, Joint Secretary Ministry of Physical Planning and Works Mr. Suman Sharma, Mr. Peter Oyloe Resident Advisor AED N-MARC and Mr. Suranjan De, CEO of Varun Beverage Pvt. Ltd (Pepsi) addressed the gathering. After experiences sharing on PPP approach for safe water promotion, certificates were distributed for committed partners. Organizations that have expressed their commitment include DHL, Koshi Gas, Nepal Pharmaceutical Laboratory, Mero Mobile, Kathmandu Guest House, and Rural Microfinance Development. COLLOIDAL SILVER FILTER DISTRIBUTION AT DUKUCHAP ENPHO, together with Rotary Club of Mid town, Rotract club, Karunamaya Foundation, and A vision for clean water US jointly organized a half-day orientation & Filter distribution program at Dukuchap VDC of Lalitpur district on 7 November. During the program 106 set of colloidal silver filters were distributed to poor and deprived families. WORKSHOP ON PESTICIDE USE AND FOOD SAFETY IN KATHMANDU VALLEY ENPHO joined hands with University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) and Food Testing and Research Institute Vienna (LVA) from Austria as well as Tribhuvan University, Department of Community and Family Health, Institute of Medicine to organize a workshop on “Pesticide Use and Food Safety in Katmandu Valley” was held from Oct 27 to Nov 2, 2009. The workshop included practical training on using the HPLC System for environmental analysis, and interaction with 26 farmers and retailers of Kalimati Fruits and Vegetable Market, media and the resource persons. ORIENTATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE TO JOURNALISTS On 20 November, ENPHO, together with the British Council, organized a one day orientation on Climate Change to young journalists. During the programme, journalists learned about the science of climate change, current issues related to climate change and the politics of climate change. “WORLD TOILET DAY” CELEBRATION AT ENPHO On 19 November, World Toilet Day, ENPHO, together with youth members of Paschim Paaila campaign organized an orientation on sustainable sanitation. The group also visited the village of Gundu to observe the application of ecological sanitation. Amazed to see the use of feaces as soil stabilizer, one of them exclaimed “There is no sign of faeces! It has all been converted to ashes”. Highly sensitized group members expressed their commitment to work for raising advocacy and awareness to further promote ecosan. REFRESHER TRAINING AND MONITORING OF POINT OF USE WATER TREATMENT A review meeting was organized with the representative of 75 women saving groups of Lalitpur Municipality on 15th and 16th November to promote point of use (POU) drinking water treatment and develop the strategy for effective supply of POU products within the community. Similarly, a refresher training on safe drinking water and proper hygiene practices was organized to 50 students of Ratnakali Primary School and 25 local people of Rai tole, Hetauda Municipality on November 18. They are using SODIS for safe drinking water in the school. Since all the households are interested to use SODIS, 600 SODIS bottles were handed over by the municipality to the local community group. They will sell the bottles in the community. Out of 7456 households monitored in five municipalities, 5920 households are treating drinking water. It was found that 58.29% are using candle filter, 48.09% boiling, 11.11% SODIS, 5.42% Piyush, 4.47% Water Guard, 3.91% CS filter, 0.37% Biosand filter and 4.29% are using other treatment methods. SCHOOL LED TOTAL SANITATION IN DHULIKHEL MUNICIPALITY ENPHO has signed an agreement with Japan Water Forum Fund to implement a water and sanitation improvement project at primary schools in Dhulikhel Municipality. The project, which focuses on three schools Chayal Devi Primary School, Kali Devi Primary School and Mandaladevi Primary School, aims to improve the hygienic condition and ensure safe drinking water and proper sanitation in the schools and surrounding community through School Led Total Sanitation (SLTS) campaign. The program is integrated with the ongoing UEIP program of Dhulikhel Municipality. An orientation program on SLTS was conducted to 25 school teachers, school management committee (SMC) and parent teachers association (PTA) on November 10 where they have committed to declare their area as open defecation free (ODF) area. TRAININGS ON BIOSAND FILTER CONSTRUCTION ENPHO in collaboration with CAWST conducted a five-day “Bio-sand Filter (BSF) Technician training” and a three-day “Community Health Promoters training” from November, 1-9 in Bhadrapur, Jhapa. Sixteen local technicians participated in the BSF training and 13 community health promoters were trained on techniques of Community Health Promotion, Behavior Change communication and effective monitoring of Household Water Treatment System (HWTS). Similarly, a three-day training for Community Health Promoters on “Safe Water, Sustainable Sanitation and Health” was organized 18 Female Health Volunteer (FHV) from Sharadanagar and Patiyani VDC’s of Chitwan district from 12 to14, November. The training focused on providing knowledge on HWTS, Sustainable Sanitation and reducing Indoor Air Pollution. The participants also learned about techniques for behavior change and community health promotion. EDUCATIONAL VISIT ON SUSTAINABLE SANITATION On 14-15November, ENPHO organized a two-day educational field visit to local leaders and community members of Dahrechowk to observe practical aspects of sustainable sanitation Altogether 48 teachers, students, journalists and local leaders observed and leaned about technologies such as urine diverting ecosan toilets, rain water harvesting systems, biogas, vermi composting, urine application in vegetable farming, point of use water treatment and improved cook stoves at the Central Human Resource Development Unit at Nagarkot, village of Gundu and the residence of Bhushan Tuladhar. “ONE HOUSE ONE TOILET” CAMPAIGN IN GULARIA “One House One Toilet” campaign was launched on the occasion of World Toilet Day 2009 with stone laying program at five communities of Gulariya municipality. Out of 874 households in these communities, only 161 have toilets. A series of activities was organized under the SWASHTHA project in these communities for awareness on safe water, better sanitation and hygiene. ODF DECLARATION IN CHITWAN At a program jointly organized by Kiran Secondary School and Kiran Ganesh Primary School of Sharadanagar VDC in Chitwan on 13 November, the two school catchment areas were declared open defecation free. These schools, which had initiated School Led Total Sanitation Campaigns with support from the SWASHTHA project being implemented by ENPHO, were honored with certificates and cash prize of Rs. 15,000. PARTICIPATIONS/PRESENTATIONS On 12 November, ENPHO’s Promotional Manger Rajesh Adhikari gave a presentation on “Water saving techniques at house hold level and house hold water Treatment system” for Center for Self- Help Development (CSD) district Managers at Kharipati, Bhaktapur. On 13 November, ENPHO’s Executive Director Bhushan Tuladhar presented a paper titled “Environment and Health Impacts of Improved Cook Stoves” at the International Conference on Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development held in Kathmandu. Mr. Bipin Dangol, Programme Manager at ENPHO, made a presentation on Arsenic Testing and Mitigation initiatives in Nepal at the “Project completion Workshop on the CIDA-GOB funded Bangladesh Environmental Technology Verification – Support to Arsenic Mitigation (BETV-SAM)” organized by Government of Bangladesh and supported by Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and OCETA, Canada on 22-23 November. Top :: LOCAL NEWS :: PLEA TO SAUDI ARABIA TO PAVE WAY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS Scores of climate change activists gathered in front of the United Nations Building at Pulchowk, Lalitpur, to urge the global body to exert pressure on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia not to obstruct the current climate change negotiations. It has been blamed that Saudi Arabia had tried to prevent countries from reaching a consensus on reducing green house gas emission in the past negotiations and is still in the same position at present. "Saudi Arabia considers the ambitious climate agreement a threat to its oil trade and historically it has tried to prevent countries from reaching such an agreement," said Dipendra Bhattarai, an activist. The delegates from around the world are gathered in Barcelona, a meeting prior to the Copenhagen meeting on climate change scheduled for December. According to the organisers, this was one of the 15 peaceful protests taking place in different developing countries. Saudi Arabia is believed to be one of the most active developing countries in the negotiations and it has been reported that it is continuously lobbying against the deal. Source: www.thehimalayantimes.com, 5 Nov 50M POUNDS UK AID FOR CLIMATE CHANGE FIGHT IN NEPAL As Nepal geared up to raise issues of snow melting in the Himalayas during the Copenhagen conference, it has bagged a huge amount of financial assistance from the UK government´s Department for International Department (DFID) for coping with problems of climate change and deforestation. Tony Burdon, deputy head of DFID Nepal, announced 50 million pounds aid to help Nepal fight the adverse impacts of environmental problems caused by climate change and deforestation. “We do not think it is sufficient but it is a start,” Burdon told a press meet in Kathmandu. Out of the total amount, 40 million pounds will be spent on protecting forests by helping local people to eke out a living. The rest of the money will be spent on helping local people to enhance their resilience power to the impacts of climate change. This program consists of improving emergency warning systems, guarding vulnerable people from natural disasters and supporting community water schemes. Earlier this year, the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown had called for an international financial initiative worth $100 billion to support developing countries to combat climate change. In response to his call, the European Union (EU) agreed to increase the figure to $135 billion. The support from DFID, which has already announced 172 million pounds to Nepal over the next three years, comes as a part of the international initiative. Source: www.myrepublica.com/, 13 Nov POTABLE WATER PROJECTS DEFUNCT Hundreds of residents in Beltar and Triveni VDCs of Udayapur district have been deprived of drinking water facilities since long after two mega drinking water projects in the area have been defunct. More than Rs. 20 million was spent on the projects financed by the Asian Development Bank. The villagers alleged that the defunct was prompted due to negligence on part of technicians of District Drinking Water Office and users' committee. The water distribution has been halted ever since the damage on the pipeline of Triveni Drinking Water Project. Keshav Thapa, a local said that the project could not be operated due to conflict between users’ committee and technicians. He blamed the lack of quality goods in construction for the damage of some structures of the projects. According to Thapa, the bone of contention now is who will repair the damages. Due to the failure of the project, at least 3, 000 residents of Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Triveni VDC, Beltar bazaar and some wards of Beltar VDC have been deprive of drinking water. Source: The Himalayan Times, 17 Nov WATER LABORATORY REMAINS UNUTILIZED The regional Drinking Water Laboratory of Nepalgunj has remained unutilized owing to absence of technical staffs in the office. The laboratory was established with the help of Asian Development Bank (ADB) six months ago. The Public Service Commission has not provided two technical staffs necessary for the laboratory. Ramkrishna Bhattarai, the head of Drinking Water Laboratory, Nepalgunj, said that the letter for asking the appointment of necessary number of the technicians has already been sent to the Public Service Commission. “According to WHO, around 24 chemicals are to be examined in the water and the laboratory will examine all chemicals,” Bhattarai said. Source: The Rising Nepal, 7 Nov Top :: GLOBAL NEWS :: USE OF RECYCLED WATER TO BE MANDATORY IN BANGALORE The Government of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, will slash the selling price of recycled water and establish 20 supply points to promote its use for nonpotable purposes. Recycled water is presently manufactured at only two places in the City – the Vrishabhavati Valley and Yelahanka and sold at areas in the vicinity. “The recycled water is being sold at Rs 16 [US$ 0.34) per cubic metre. This will be brought down to Rs five [US$ 0.11] per cubic metre in future. Twenty filling points and equal number of storage tanks will be set up,” disclosed Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, on Wednesday, 21 October 2009. The minister said that tenders will be called for production of recycled water in three months and water would be made available within 18 months. A sum of Rs 1,000 crore [US$ 213 million] has been set aside for implementation of the project, the Minister said. “When the project is completed, it would be made mandatory to use recycled water for purposes other than cooking and drinking,” he declared. Source: http://washasia.wordpress.com,2 Nov 2009 COMPANY STARTS MARKETING URINE-SEPARATING TOILETS IN CHILE Chilean chemical solutions firm Sinquiver is looking into marketing urine separation systems in Chile, the firm’s wastewater manager Alistair Marsh told Bnamericas. There are several advantages to the system, according to Marsh. “First of all, you don’t need freshwater to flush urine so you save on water use and costs,” he said. The concept involves installing a different pipeline which would channel the urine to be stored in a tank. “Urine is a huge source of nitrogen and phosphate which could then be used for the production of fertilizer,” Marsh said. “This kind of system would be especially useful in mining operations which involve a large number of people,” said Marsh, adding: “It would save water while simultaneously providing a source of fertilizer for local farmers.” An additional benefit is that by taking the urine out of sewage, wastewater is easier to treat. Urine accounts for less than 1% of wastewater but it contains about 80% of the nitrogen, 50% of the phosphate and 70% of the potassium, all of which must be removed. Nutrient removal is the most difficult aspect of wastewater treatment. By separating the urine at source, studies have shown energy savings of 25% at wastewater treatment plants. Source: http://www.bnamericas.com, 19 Nov 2009 NEW PUBLICATION ON WASH STANDARDS FOR SCHOOLS IN LOW-COST SETTINGS Guidelines on water, sanitation and hygiene in schools are widely available, but additional guidance and standards for low-cost settings are needed. The development and implementation of national policies, guidelines for safe practices, training and promotion of effective messages in a context of healthy schools will decrease the toll taken by inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene. These guidelines deal specifically with water, sanitation and hygiene, and are designed to be used in schools in low-cost settings in low- and medium-resource countries to: assess prevailing situations and plan for required improvements; develop and reach essential safety standards as a first goal; and support the development and application of national policies. The guidelines are written for use by education managers and planners, architects, urban planners, water and sanitation technicians, teaching staff, school boards, village education committees, local authorities and similar bodies. Download full publication Source: sanitationupdates.wordpress.com, 20 Nov 2009 AFFORDABLE TWIN PURPOSE TOILET FOR WORLD’S RURAL POOR The world’s poor and rural communities will soon have access not only to proper sanitation but also use of human waste fertiliser when a Singapore-based company makes available its locally-designed affordable toilets. The company, Rigel Technology, has designed a prototype of the toilet, a modular squat toilet consisting of three-in-one pan with a raised platform with a step, a compost chamber and urine collector. The prototype which is in the final stage of development was exhibited at the World Toilet Summit and Expo (WTSE) 2009, according to the company’s managing director, Christopher Ng. Speaking at a media conference here, Ng said the company decided to join hands with the World Toilet Organization (WTO) to produce affordable toilets for rural communities that had no access to sanitation as its corporate social responsibility in serving mankind. He said the maintenance-free, light (25 kg) and low-cost toilet, made of recycled materials, could be easily deployed without the need to be connected to a conventional sewerage system. The solid waste is composted for re-use as fertiliser, while the liquid waste is piped out separately via a built-in urine diverter and urea is extracted from it. Ng said the toilets, to be priced between US$30 and US$100, cheaper than building one that usually costs US$300, would be mass-produced in its factories in Sichuan, China, initially 10,000 units monthly, and marketed from early next year. Source: http://www.bernama.com, 17 Nov 2009 ETHIOPIA: SANITATION COVERAGE REACHES 54 PERCENT Sanitation coverage of Ethiopia has made progressive achievement reaching 54.8% in the current year from 11.5% in 2003, the Federal Ministry of Health (MoH) disclosed. In Ethiopia, it is estimated that about 35 million people do not have access to sanitation services and over half a million children under the age of five die every year from diarrhea. In other words, for every five children born, one will die from diarrhea before they reach their fifth birthday. Source: allafrica.com/stories/200911240360.html, 23 Nov 2009 GATES FOUNDATION AWARDS $10.9 MILLION TO STUDY IMPACTS OF SANITATION Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have received a five-year, $10.9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to evaluate several interventions to combat diarrheal disease in developing countries. Dr. Jack Colford, professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, will coordinate the project, working with the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). The goal of the new project is to determine how sanitation interventions, delivered alone or as part of combined intervention packages, impact child health and well-being. In addition to improved sanitation, the intervention packages will include drinking water improvements and hand washing solutions. The results have the potential to influence how billions of dollars are directed towards long-term improvements in health and economic outcomes for millions of children each year, said Colford. “Right now, it is unknown whether single interventions are as cost effective as combinations of these interventions. This grant will fund the first large-scale, randomized impact evaluation designed to gather rigorous evidence about this question.” The study will test the impact of these sanitation, water and hygiene interventions using a large-scale, randomized impact evaluation in Bangladesh and Kenya. These two countries are representative of the two regions that account for the majority of the world’s gastrointestinal disease burden: Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The researchers expect to enroll a total of 23,000 children in the trials, which will be monitored by several institutional review boards. Source: www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/11/05_gatesgrant.shtml, 5 Nov ZAMBIA – TOILETS SAVE EYESIGHT, NEW STUDY CONFIRMS “Believe it or not, toilets and blindness are directly connected,” says Pat Ferguson, President & CEO of Operation Eyesight. “Proper sanitation and clean water are in short supply in the developing world and that contributes to a high rate of unnecessary blindness and other serious health problems.” A new study conducted by Zambia’s Ministry of Health and supported by Operation Eyesight found that trachoma was 28 per cent more likely to strike in households that do not have proper toilet facilities. The study, which covered five districts in Zambia, found that up to 80 per cent of the households surveyed do not have toilets. “Trachoma is caused by a bacterium and is easily spread from person to person and by flies which breed on human waste,” says Ferguson. “So it’s no surprise that proper sewage disposal helps to prevent this horrible disease.” Trachoma is the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness. In parts of Zambia and Kenya where Operation Eyesight supports development projects designed to eliminate trachoma, up to 30 per cent of children age one to nine years are infected. The World Health Organization estimates more than 80 million people are affected by trachoma and about 8 million suffer the advanced stages of the disease and are visually impaired. Source:www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2009/16/c9685.html, 16 Nov 200 Top ::TEN FACTS ABOUT WATER AND SANITATION :: Over 1 billion people (one-sixth of the world’s population) lack access to improved water sources. Over 2.4 billion people (two-fifths of the world’s population) lack access to basic sanitation (Source: WHO-UNICEF). Almost 425 million children under the age of 18 lack access to an improved water supply and over 980 million lack access to improved sanitation. (Source: UNICEF) Diarrhoea occurs world-wide and causes 4% of all deaths and 5% of health loss to disability. Diarrhoeal diseases kill an estimated 1.8 million people each year, the vast majority children under five. It is the third biggest killer among communicable disease after respiratory infections and HIV/AIDS. (Source: WHO) Hygiene interventions including hygiene education and the promotion of hand washing can lead to a reduction of diarrhoea by up to 45%. Improvements in drinking-water quality through household water treatment, such as chlorination at point of use, can lead to a reduction of diarrhoea by between 35% and 39%. (Source: WHO) The weight of water that women in Africa and Asia carry on their heads is commonly 20kg, the same as the average UK airport luggage allowance. (Source: WaterAid) 2005 to 2015 is the UN’s International Decade for Action on 'Water for Life'. Poor countries with improved water and sanitation enjoy a 3.7% average annual growth as opposed to 0.1% for those without. (Source: Sachs, 2001) Achieving the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target would bring economic benefits, ranging from £1.50 to £17 per £ invested, depending on the region of the world. From a health point of view, achieving the water and sanitation MDG target, by using simple technologies, would lead to a global average reduction of 10% of episodes of diarrhoea. (Source: WHO) The average cost per water-quality test with currently available field kits is £1. A Department for International Development-funded project in Bangladesh has reduced the cost of arsenic testing to the point that it has created a private market where the poor are willing to pay to test their own wells. (Source: DFID/ Emerging Markets Group (2006), Business Linkage Challenge Fund Portfolio) Source: bristol.ac.uk Top Any part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from ENPHO, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. ENPHO would appreciate receiving a copy of any material that uses this publication as a source. Edited by: Bhushan Tuladhar & Rabin Shrestha Designed by: Babukaji Magar To unsubscribe please email us at: rc@enpho.org with "unsubscription" in the subject field. Environment and Public Health Organization G.P.O. 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