Jessica Biel joins celeb climb to Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for water

Actresses Jessica Biel and Isabel Lucas are joining up with rapper Lupe Fiasco to climb Africa’s highest peak – Mount Kilimanjaro, to raise awareness about the need for clean water worldwide.

The Summit on the Summit expedition, set for January 2009, is the brainchild of singer and producer Kenna. His father suffered from waterborne diseases as a child in Ethiopia.

Biel, 27, said she was “astonished” to learn that more than a billion people across the globe have no access to clean water.

Justin Timberlake – who’s been romantically linked with Biel – may also be joining the climbers.

Kenna said more celebrity climbers will be announced in the coming months.

Funds raised will support clean water projects implemented by Procter & Gamble’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) Program, UNHCR and Play Pumps International. Procter & Gamble Co.’s PUR water treatment brand and HP are sponsoring the Summit on the Summit.

Dr. Greg Allgood, Founder and Director of the CSDW Program, will also be joining the climb as one of the Summit on the Summit team’s water experts.

Source: Sandy Cohen, AP / KansasCity.com, 24 Sep 2009 ; PR Newswire, 29 Sep 2009

New Host for WSSCC Secretariat

An agreement was reached earlier in 2009 to transfer the hosting of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) Secretariat from the World Health Organization (WHO) to the service provider arm of the United Nations, UNOPS. The transfer of host operations is occurring in stages and will be completed by 31 December 2009. UNOPS, which is based in Copenhagen, has a brief to expand the capacity of the UN to implement its peace-building, humanitarian and development operations, and it undertakes project management, procurement and other support services to United Nations agencies and other international organisations.

In related news, the WSSCC announces that it has been accepted as a member of the World Water Council (WWC).

Source: WSSCC News, Sep 2009

Relief International and EnterpriseWorks/VITA Merge

Relief International (RI), a relief and development organisation based in California has joined forces with EnterpriseWorks/VITA (EWV), a Washington, D.C. based non-profit that combats global poverty through sustainable, enterprise-oriented solutions. The merger was announced on July 1st, 2009.

Founded in 1990, RI has offices and operations in 19 countries with a focus on bridging relief to development. Emergency water supply services are part of RI’s Shelter & Infrastructure program. EWV (originally Appropriate Technology International and later merged with Volunteers in Technical Assistance) has for more than four decades helped millions of small producers and other entrepreneurs.

EWV’s water and sanitation programme includes development and distribution of products include drilling and lifting technologies, water filters for potable water, and small-scale irrigation solutions.

“The synergy between RI and EWV is a natural one of providing a full range of services to low-income communities. This is the future of international development aid being realized today,” says Don Feil the CEO of EWV. “Together we provide a global and sustainable approach to economic development through creating value-chains and linking the most vulnerable, marginalized and rural communities to economic opportunities.”

The combined organizations shall maintain offices in California and Washington, D.C. working together in more than 30 countries to combat global poverty through humanitarian and economic development programmes based on sustainable, enterprise-oriented solutions.

Source: EWV, 01 Jul 2009

Global Water Partnership and European Water Partnership Sign Memorandum of Understanding

At the end of the Global Water Partnership’s (GWP) Consulting Partners meeting and the start of the Stockholm World Water Week, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the GWP and the European Water Partnership (EWP) on 16 August 2009.

In the MoU, both organisations acknowledged their “common interest in improving water resources management for
sustainable development” and stated their willingness to collaborate on:

• organization of and participation in meetings, conferences, symposia, workshops, courses, and exhibitions on fields of interest to both signatories
• identification, development and implementation of joint research and projects, including the exchange of their results
• facilitation of implementation of EU water policies and legislation. by bringing key stakeholders together for dialogues and other activities at all levels from regional to national and local levels in order to create public awareness and shared ownership
• contributing to the vision mapping process for Europe by sharing experience, information and documentation as well as by actively participating in working meetings on the vision mapping and participating in the European Policy Summit
• sharing experience in awareness-raising, capacity building, knowledge exchange and water governance
• sharing experience on addressing climate change issues and contributing to the European Dialogue on Climate Change Adaptation and Water.

Source: GWP, 26 Aug 2009

Global Water Partnership appoints new Technical Committee Chair

The Global Water Partnership has appointed Dr. Mohamed Ait Kadi as the new GWP Technical Committee Chair, effective October 1, 2009.

Dr. Ait Kadi is President of the General Council of Agricultural Development in Morocco. He is also Professor in the Department of Equipment and Hydraulics at the Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine Hassan II in Rabat, Morocco.

Dr. Ait Kadi was one of the first members of GWP’s then-named Technical Advisory Committee. He was nominated by King Mohammed VI of Morocco as a resident member of the King Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Technology, the most prestigious scientific institution in the country.

Dr. Mohamed Ait Kadi

“The world is rapidly entering an era in which water is at the core of several emerging issues”. said Dr. Ait Kadi. “The highest priorities on the current development agenda—food, energy, climate, poverty, conflicts—are all related to water. There is enormous scope for GWP to provide global leadership in technical excellence, facilitate the exchange of knowledge and strengthen partnerships with strategic allies so that water issues are acted on at the highest levels.”

In addition to providing overall leadership to the GWP Technical Committee, Dr. Ait Kadi will work closely with GWP’s international network to implement the 2009-2013 Strategy.

Dr. Ait Kadi has been a key player in the Moroccan water sector and contributed to drafting the new water law in 1995. He served as Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries. He was also appointed Chief Agricultural negotiator of the Morocco-United States Free Trade Agreement. On the international level, Dr. Ait Kadi served as the water and irrigation expert in the International External Evaluation Team of the FAO and member of the advisory panel in the World Bank for the evaluation of water projects. He was member of the founding committee of the World Water Council and initiated the process of hosting the first World Water Forum in Marrakech, Morocco, and was president of its organising committee.

Source: GWP, 01 Sep 2009