High level officials from more than 15 Arab countries, including 8 ministers in charge of water, and some 80 water experts from the Arab region and beyond attended the formal launching [on 6 July 2008] of the Arab Water Academy (AWA) in Abu Dhabi, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, deputy prime minister of the UAE and chairman of the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD).
The Arab Water Academy is the brainchild of the Cairo-based Arab Water Council (AWC), a regional water policy think-tank chaired by Dr Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation and former President of the World Water Council, who also attended the meeting. Hosted by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB)’ s Dubai-based International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), in partnership with EAD, the Academy is a groundbreaking regional capacity development programme targeting decision-makers and industry executives. The Academy is being supported by the IDB and the World Bank.
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Speaking to, reporters, Dr Shawki Barghouti, the ICBA Director General, said “The Academy will serve as a regional center of excellence for capacity development,for example, in integrated water resources management, utility management and water governance with a view to improving the delivery of water services through sustainable water sector strategies for advancing national economies of countries in the Arab region”. The Academy will also make extensive use of virtual communication platforms, media and broadcasting resources.
[...] the Academy will also forge strategic partnerships with leading academic and research institutions worldwide, such a Harvard University, Oxford University, Cambridge University and Cranfield University.
The 2008 International Water Association (IWA) Grand Awards go to both Dr. Jim Gill for mastering the
Prof. Mark van Loosdrecht
implications of climate change in Australia and Professor Mark van Loosdrecht for pioneering new wastewater treatment techniques.
Professor Mark van Loosdrecht of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, is a globally recognized pioneer of new techniques that synthesise environmental biotechnology and good engineering practice. Hhe has been instrumental in developing wastewater treatment, biofilm processes, nutrient removal and the production of chemicals by open microbial cultures. These techniques have contributed worldwide to major improvements in the effectiveness and energy efficiency of water treatment.
Dr. Jim Gill
Dr. Jim Gill is CEO of the Water Corporation of Western Australia, which has been faced with serious challenges in the provision of water services due to climate change. At a time when many had not yet recognized the serious implications of climate change for water supply, Dr. Gill and his team were literally saving Perth and other areas of Western Australia from running out of water.
The awards will be presented during the IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition from 7th- 11th September in Vienna, Austria.
A campaign, organised by the Belgian radio station Studio Brussels and the Red Cross, to raise money for drinking water projects, has won a prestigious “Titanium Lion” award at the Cannes Lions 2008 International Advertising Festival [free registration required to browse the web site]. The campaign was in support of the annual charity event ‘Music for Life‘ which is part of the “Serious Request” project initiated by Dutch radio station 3FM to raise money for Red Cross development projects.
The “viral” campaign involved a black boy who showed up on Flanders’ best watched station ‘één’ during three days, always in prime time. He quickly drank the host’s glass of water and then ran off. The most frequently asked question during these days was: ‘have you seen the thirsty black boy?’ The whole thing started to lead a life of its own on the internet and in other media. After claiming the campaign, the organisers raised 3,3 million euro in 6 days time.
“Joburg Water has been recognised for its work in conserving water, winning an award from the national Department of Water Affairs and Forestry for water conservation and water demand management in the domestic sector.
According to the city’s official website, this is not the only recognition it has received.
Earlier this year, Joburg Water won an award from the Water Institute of Southern Africa for its Olifantsvlei Treatment Works, which was recognised as the best managed large facility in the country”.
“The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) Executive Committee (ExCOM), meeting in extraordinary session, has appointed Mr. Bai-Mass Taal as the first Executive Secretary on 10 May 2008 after conducting interviews of six candidates short-listed from a field of over thirty applicants by its Technical Advisory Committee (AMCOWTAC). Bai-Mass Taal served as a Cabinet Minister in The Gambia, first as Secretary of State for Fisheries, Natural Resources and the Environment in 2004-2005 and later as Secretary of State for Fisheries and Water Resources from 2005 to 2006″.
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Bai-Mass Taal should assume duty in July 2008 and will be based at the AMCOW Secretariat in Abuja.
Anaesthetist John Snow, who died 150 years ago aged 45, showed that cholera was transmitted in water, not air.
After mapping the pattern of cholera deaths in London, he identified a water pump in Soho as the source of the epidemic and took direct action to disable it.
The tribute, jointly organised by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the charity WaterAid, took place on 17 June 2008 at the John Snow pub in Soho where the pump once stood where a special RSC Chemical Landmark blue plaque was unveiled. The plaques mark locations at which remarkable scientific achievements have been undertaken.
Mr Johnson was joined by TV news anchorman Jon Snow and others bearing the same surname for the event. Glasses of clean, uncontaminated water were served to all the guests in honour of the man whose foresight saved millions of lives.
Gilles Forget, Regional director of the International Development Research Centre’s (IDRC) West and Central Africa office in Dakar, Senegal, is retiring after 25 years with the Canadian institute. Forget’s career at IDRC was largely spent working in health, science, and the environment. In 1997, Forget became team leader for the newly established Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health programme. In April 2008, the Government of Senegal bestowed on him the title of Officer of the National Order of Merit of Senegal.
One of the achievements he is particularly proud of is the Aquatox project which he started with his colleague Andrés Sanchez. The project “put into the hands of people, even those with little or no education, very simple tests that allow them to determine if water is contaminated by pesticides, chemicals, and so on. By training kids in primary schools in 26 countries, including Canada, to use small testing kits, we showed that anyone can do this.”
Somali gunmen have kidnapped five local aid workers, four of whom, including team leader Fadumo Hajiyow, work for the Italian NGO Water For Life (WFL) on 30 June 2008. The fifth victim was identified as an agronomist with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
WFL founder, Elio Sommavilla, said two of the kidnapped Somalis had been due to fly to Italy to receive an award. WFL team leader Fadumo Hajiyow was among those ,WFL trains Somali geologists.
Paul van Hofwegen, who for the past 5 years was a Programme Director at the World Water Council (WC), is joining the World Bank in Jakarta, Indonesia. He will be working on development and implementation of water programmes that involve different Ministries, Local Authorities and beneficiary groups in Indonesia.
NIRAS, one of Denmark’s largest firms of consulting engineers and planners, has won a capacity building consultancy contract in the water sector in Sri Lanka, financed by Danida. NIRAS won the contract, worth DKK 7.3 million, against three Danish competitors - COWI, Grontmij-Carl Bro and Rambøll.
The consultancy is linked to the Danish mixed credits portfolio in Sri Lanka, which includes the Colombo Sewage Rehabilitation project and four other water supply and sanitation projects. It will involve assisting Sri Lankan authorities with managing information systems, reporting and tariff structures.
The Sri Lankan water authority has been decentralised and the regional centres need to be upgraded. The Sri Lankan government identified the need for capacity building, and the project was approved in principle in Copenhagen in 2006. The tender process is about to be finished.
Paul van Hofwegen, who for the past 5 years was a Programme Director at the World Water Council (WC), is joining the World Bank in Jakarta, Indonesia. He will be working on development and implementation of water programmes that involve different Ministries, Local Authorities and beneficiary groups in Indonesia.
