Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene May -June 2017 | Page 41

Publications
While access to clean water has reached 2.6 billion more
people since 1990, this progress is now under threat. If
we do not address existing challenges to water security
and ensure everyone everywhere has reliable access to safe
water by 2030, the threats posed by climate change could
be devastating for us all.
Wastewater: An untapped resource
WORLD WATER DEVELOPMENT REPORT
What if we were to consider
the vast quantities of domestic,
agricultural and industrial
wastewater discharged into
the environment everyday
as a valuable resource rather
than costly problem? This is
the paradigm shift advocated
in the United Nations World
Water Development Report,
Wastewater: the Untapped
Resource, launched 22 March
2017 on the occasion of World
Water Day.
A large proportion of wastewater is still released into
the environment without being either collected or
treated. This is particularly true in low-income countries,
which on average only treat 8 % of domestic and
industrial wastewater, compared to 70% in high-income
countries. As a result, in many regions of the world,
water contaminated by bacteria, nitrates, phosphates
and solvents is discharged into rivers and lakes ending
up in the oceans, with negative consequences for the
environment and public health. The volume of wastewater
to be treated will rise considerably in the near future
especially in cities in developing countries with rapidly
growing populations. “Wastewater generation is one of the
biggest challenges associated with the growth of informal
settlements (slums) in the developing world.
Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems and
sanitation in developing countries (DEWATS): a
practical guide
Author(s): Ulrich, Andreas (ed),
Reuter, Stefan (ed), Gutterer,
Bernd (ed), Sasse, Ludwig,
Panzerbieter, Thilo, Reckerzugl,
Thorsten, Bremen Overseas
Research and Development
Assocation (BORDA)
Price: £49.75
ISBN: 9781843801283
Publisher: WEDC
Year: 2010
Place of publication: Loughborough University, UK
Physical: Book
The international discussion about the conservation
of water resources and more target-oriented poverty-
alleviation strategies creates a favourable environment
for new sanitation approaches and innovative wastewater
treatment solutions.
In many countries, a rapidly upcoming demand for
decentralized wastewater treatment systems (DEWATS)
and a demand for efficient community-based sanitation
(CBS) can be observed. DEWATS is designed to be
an element of a comprehensive strategy for city-wide
planning and sustainable infrastructure development. In
this book, not only are the technical requirements for
the efficient treatment of wastewater at a given location
explained, but the specific socio-economic conditions and
steps for community action planning are also taken into
consideration.
This book is essential reading for urban service providers
(utility managers and employees, governments, regulators,
and advisers, urban planners, private sector); national
and local government (especially those working with the
delivery of urban services); bodies of international co-
operation and technical assistance; academic institutions;
international NGOs; professional bodies; and local
community-based organizations (customer groups, NGOs,
CBOs).
The Water, Food, Energy and Climate Nexus
Challenges and an agenda for action
Global trends of population
growth, rising living standards
and the rapidly increasing
urbanized world are increasing
the demand on water, food
and energy. Added to this is
the growing threat of climate
change which will have huge
impacts on water and food
availability. It is increasingly
clear that there is no place
in an interlinked world for
isolated solutions aimed at
just one sector. In recent years the “nexus” has emerged
as a powerful concept to capture these inter-linkages of
resources and is now a key feature of policy-making.
This book is one of the first to provide a broad overview
of both the science behind the nexus and the implications
for policies and sustainable development. It brings
together contributions by leading intergovernmental
and governmental officials, industry, scientists and other
stakeholder thinkers who are working to develop the
approaches to the Nexus of water-food-energy and
climate. It represents a major synthesis and state-of-the-art
assessment of the Nexus by major players, in light of the
adoption by the United Nations of the new Sustainable
Development Goals and Targets in 2015.
With a foreword by HRH the Prince of Wales
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