UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka was given the coveted Göteborg Award for Sustainable Development on 24 November 2009. Widely known as the “Nobel Prize for the Environment”, she shared the 2009 award with Enrique Peñalosa, the former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, and the world renowned hero of the environment, Sören Hermansen, of Samsö, Denmark.
The ceremony marked the 10th anniversary of the award, which this year stressed the the urban dimension of the climate change and environment debate. The Göteborg Award, one million Swedish crowns (US$ 144,000), is shared equally by the three winners.
The jury commended Dr. Tibaijuka for “leading a successful global undertaking that includes water supplies and empowering women to improve their surroundings” and as one of the initiators of Cities in Climate Change, for “advancing the practical climate work being carried out in major cities”.
The Göteborg Award for Sustainable Development is funded by the City of Göteborg, together with the Second Swedish National Pension Fund, Carl Bennet AB, Elanders AB, Eldan Recycling, Folksam, Götaverken Miljö, Handelsbanken, Nordea, Peab, Schenker AB and SKF.
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).
WaterAid Sverige (Sweden) officially launched [on 8 June 2009] at a prestigious event hosted by the UK Ambassador to Sweden, Andrew Mitchell. WaterAid Sweden’s distinguished chair is Jan Eliasson, the former United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Darfur and President of the United Nations General Assembly.
WaterAid Sverige has been in development since late 2007, when Per Stenbeck, then UNICEF’s International Fundraising Director, floated the idea to Andrew Cook. In his original concept paper, put forward to the WaterAid Board in March 2008, Per commented that he had for many years been impressed by the WaterAid concept, believing it had “potential way beyond the shores of the UK”.
Per Stenbeck’s appointment as General Secretary of WaterAid Sweden was confirmed in March 2009, and a Board of eight members recruited, drawing expertise from the fields of health, development, the environment, the Swedish water industry, and the media.
The focus for WaterAid Sverige will be on fundraising, awareness building and development education.
Water For People, a nonprofit international development organization based in Denver, Colo., USA, has named Ned Breslin its Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Mr. Breslin has been serving in the role of Acting CEO for the past eight months. He joined Water For People in January 2006 as the Director of International Programs.
As Director of International Programs, Mr. Breslin oversaw the organization’s expansion into the Dominican Republic, Peru, Rwanda, and Uganda, as well as led the existing programs in Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, and Malawi. During his tenure, international programs grew from a $3.3 million budget to a $6.5 million budget, [providing safe water] to 91,722 people and sanitation facilities to 92,983 people in 2008.
Mr. Breslin has worked in the water and sanitation sector for several NGOs since the 1980s, including the Lutheran World Relief, the Mvula Trust and WaterAid. He has a Masters of Arts Degree from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies from St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.
In an open letter to Shashi Tharoor, activists from his native state of Kerala in India, accuse the former UN Under-Secretary General of “insensitivity and unconcern to align with the criminal Coca-Cola against the people of Plachimada”. Mr. Tharoor is a member of the Advisory Board of Yatn, the Coca-Cola India Foundation. In 2004, activists convinced local officials in Kerala to shut down the Coca Cola bottling plant in Plachimada, which was blamed for a drastic decline in both quantity and quality of water available to local farmers and villagers.
In his response, Mt. Tharoor stressed that “Foundation is financed by the Coca-Cola Company as part of its corporate social responsibility”and that his “membership of the Foundation’s Advisory Board aims at promoting [...] a number of concrete projects, particularly in the area of safe drinking water”. Although he does “not represent the company in any way”, Tharoor said he “inquired into the matter to satisfy” himself “that these allegations [against Coca Cola] had been thoroughly examined [and largely refuted] by the competent authorities”. “Finally, with regard to the discontinuation of the supply of drinking water by the company”, Tharoor continued “I note that this supply in fact continued till December 2007, almost four years after the plant’s forced closure, but that it was not practical for the company to continue beyond that date in view of its lack of operations in the area”.
Addressing the activists, Tharoor writes that “the only result of your agitation over the Plachimada plant has been to close down an investment worth over Rs 80 crores in our state, which provided direct employment to 400 people and indirect employment to more than 5000 persons, including transporters, construction workers, and distributors. While all these people are now out of a job, no one has benefited from your continued protests. Instead, the image of Kerala as a place in which it is unwise for businesses to invest has been reinforced”. [...] “And instead of being dismayed by my service in such a Foundation, I urge you to applaud whatever help the other Advisory Board members and I can provide to steer the Foundation’s resources towards helping people on issues like safe drinking water, energy resources, waste management, and the development of backward areas”.
The text of “An Open Letter to Shashi Tharoor” and Tharoors response are available here.
São Paulo state water utility Sabesp [from Brazil] will sign its first international agreement on January 9 with Costa Rican state water utility AyA. [...] The five-year agreement contemplates commercial, legal and management cooperation between the two companies. The utilities will identify areas of common interest before signing specific contracts, through which Sabesp will transfer technology to implement programs, such as combating water losses. [Sabesp] will also provide advice in areas such as construction, operation, financing, production, distribution, collection, treatment and sewage disposal.
Source: BNAmericas [subscription site], 08 Jan 2008
Camille Dow Baker, volunteer President & CEO of the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST), based in Calgary, Canada, is the winner of the 2008 Lewis Perinbam Award in International Development.
The award recognizes exceptional grassroots achievements in improving life in developing countries and expanding awareness of those countries among the Canadian public.
CAWST provides engineering services promoting simple household-scale water and sanitation technologies, especially biosand filters, in developing countries. toward their local water and sanitation situation.
The award was presented by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) to Ms. Dow Baker on 07 November 2008.
The India Water Portal has won a Manthan Award for ICT and Digital Content in Development, in the E-Science and Environment category.
The Manthan Award recognizes best practices in e-Content and Creativity in SAARC countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan & Afghanistan). It was launched on 10th October 2004, by Digital Empowerment Foundation in partnership with World Summit Award and American India Foundation.
The award citation reads:
“So far knowledge about water in India existed in silos of universities, governmental and non-governmental organizations. Traditional knowledge and understanding around water were in serious threat. The launch of the India Water Portal has come as a timely resource centre in providing holistic information and content base on water and various issues. Reaching out to a visitor base of around 600 each day and 18000 visits a month, the commitment of the Water Portal to reduce both the digital and the content asymmetry prevalent in India can be validated from their emphasis on “language portals”, “multimedia courses” and the “Kannada Radio shows”. With multilingual options, the India Water Portal hopes to create effective advocacy and awareness
regarding water related issues among general masses in order to achieve solutions for water woes.”
Dr. Andrew Cotton has become the new Director of WEDC, the Water Engineering Development Centre at Loughborough University, UK, with effect from 1 August 2008. He
Ian Smout
has worked for WEDC for more than 20 years, including five years as the Director of the WELL Resource Centre Network for Water, Sanitation and Environmental Health.
Dr. Cotton succeeds Ian Smout, who was Director for six years. Mr. Smout has taken up the role as Principal Programme Manager in WEDC.
Mr. Edgar Quiroga from Colombia and Mr. Peter Cookey from Nigeria have been elected as new WSSCC Steering Committee members for Latin America and Anglophone Africa, respectively. Their terms begin with the Steering Committee meeting in Geneva in October 2008. The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) is is a global membership organisation that works to improve the lives of poor people in developing countries.
