Meghalaya's Living Bridges

Ever so often, humans are capable of working with Nature instead of against it. It is at such times that my faith in humanity is restored. Meghalaya is now on my must-see-before-I-die list of places. So inspiring!

5 World Bank Webinars for FREE

The World Bank and the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) are hosting a weekly webinar series on the water sector. The webinar series is open to anyone who has access to the internet via a smartphone, tablet or a computer. 11 webinars were scheduled and 6 have been conducted so far. The topics that have been covered are

1. Myths of the Rural Water Supply Sector
2. Rural Water Supply and  Sanitation Challenges in Latin America for the Next Decade: Lessons from the International Seminar “Cusco+10”
3. Actions to Attract Investment to African Rural Water Supply
4. Govt.of Finland CoWASH  Program in Ethiopia
5. WASH and Equity
6. PPPs in Madagascar’s Rural Towns

The session recordings and presentations are available at http://water.worldbank.org/node/84117

Several interesting topics have been lined up for the forthcoming talks as well. See table below:

Date	Topic	Speaker/s
5/15/2012	Life Cycle Costing Approach	Catarina Fonseca - Project Director, WASHCost, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre Analysis and use of the full costs of sustainable, equitable, and reliable water services
5/22/2012	Grundfos LifeLink Payment System and Solar Technology	Rasoul Dashtbani Mikkelsen - Funding and Partnership Manager, Grundfos LIFELINK A/S Spencer Ochieng - General Manager, Grundfos LIFELINK (Kenya) Ltd. An innovative business model for Africa, Asia, and Latin America based on a solar pumps, mobile phones, and mobile banking technologies
5/29/2012	Sustainable Groundwater Development for Rural Water Supplies	Sean Furey - Water & Sanitation Specialist based at Skat, in Switzerland, and part of the RWSN Secretariat. RWSN wants groundwater to be understood and used for the benefit of everyone, in perpetuity. The three sub-themes are ‘Handpump Technology’, ‘Cost Effective Boreholes’ and ‘Cost Effective Groundwater Management’.
6/5/2012	Human Right to Water and Sanitation	Catarina de Albuquerque - UN Special Rapporteur on the right to safe drinking water and sanitation
6/12/2012	Self Supply: Supported Household Investment in Rural Water Supply	Sally Sutton - Hydrogeologist, SWL Consultants André Olschewski - Water, Sanitation and Environmental Management Specialist, RWSN/Skat Foundation Increasing access through encouraging households to invest in their own supplies

For those who are interested, the webinars offer not only useful information about various issues within the water sector across the globe but also offer opportunities to network and build contacts within the industry. Personally, I have also found interesting insights from the question and answer sessions after the presentations and also the periodic micro-surveys that are conducted such as the one featured in the screenshot below:

If you’re interested in participating, register at http://water.worldbank.org/node/84117 and don’t forget to schedule it into your calendars. Do drop me a line if you happen to join after reading this blog. Will be delighted to make your acquaintance. See you there!

James Cameron reveals Miner Avatar

A recent article in TIME features a start-up venture Planetary Resources Inc. that is backed by stalwarts such as director James Cameron and co-founder, CEO of Google Larry Page among others. Planetary Resources Inc. was in the news because they

I think TIME is asking the wrong question. Of course they can! It is just a matter of 'time' before the right technology is developed that will make this a reality, especially when so many bright minds are devoted to the cause. We take so much for granted in our modern lives. Who would have thought humans could fly like the birds or effortlessly talk to people sitting millions of miles away or travel in trains that travel on magnetic levitation and go faster than Formula One cars? Or for that matter build national economies on stuff that does not grow/ is not found in the country. There are countless examples of this. For starters, think Espresso, Americano, Machiato, Cappuccino, Latte, Doppio, Fredo and the entire Italian coffee culture that people swear by. Rather surprising considering that coffee does not grow in Italy or for that matter many other places where it is such a normal part of life. So coming back to the article, 'Can they?', I believe yes they can. 

But I'd like to pose another question. Should they? One part of me feels 'why not?'. It would certainly make life much easier for us if they find more resources. We can continue sipping our coffees and postulating about 'the ills of population growth'. I must confess though, there is another part of me that feels uneasy about this whole thing. Not because of a hidden Luddite streak in me but because it feels like we're abandoning the mess on Earth so that we can find greener pastures. Far fetched though it may be, it seems to me an extension of our use-and-throw culture. Easier to buy a new thing than mend the old. Easier to find a new relationship in our lives than make the existing one work. In my view, the statement 'We're going to bring the solar system within our economic sphere of influence' smacks of hubris. It reminds me of Parker Selfridge, the character from Avatar who points at the little rock of unobtainium and says ' This is why we're here. Because this little grey rock sells for $20 million a kilo. That is the only reason. This is what pays for the whole party, and it's what pays for your science.'

The idealist part of me feels disappointed that someone like James Cameron would be part of a mining venture. I'm sure the indigenous tribes that looked to him for solace would share my sentiments. The pragmatic part of me would probably just shrug and quote Sherlock (in his new avatar).'Don't make people into heroes John: heroes don't exist, and if they did I wouldn't be one of them.' There is another comment  on the Planetary Resources Inc. Website that gets my attention though. That of Larry Page.'Planetary Resources is definitely a great example of 'Having a healthy disregard for the impossible.'' I like that attitude. Mr.Larry Page, might I also suggest you fund a project that aims at ending global hunger? or one that aims at mining the gazzilion plastic trash particles that are choking our oceans and baby birds and turn it into something useful? or one that stops horrors such as this?

Speaking for myself, I'd like to adopt that worldview and encourage you to do so too. Why should we accept so many ills of the world as a given? Why should striving for an ideal world be dismissed as Utopian? I think 'a healthy disregard for the impossible' is warranted even in such matters. I recall one of my classes with Prof. Daanish Mustafa where he challenged us with a quote that I will not forget easily. 'It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.' - Mark Fisher. True. Certainly is. So I'd like to imagine a world where sustainable consumption is the order. Where systems create products that respect Mother Nature. Where humans realize that we are not the world, merely one part of it, where we are humble enough to recognize and not take for granted the many things Nature gives us for free. I'd like  to leave you with one of my favourite videos. It is a bit dated but it couldn't be truer today. 

Sand mining- the ‘high volume – low value’ paradox

My article on sand mining and its impacts on water resources and people posted on AQUAKNOW 
http://www.aquaknow.net/en/news/sand-mining-high-volume-low-value-paradox

Large Dams Through the Lens of Resilience: Perspectives on the Pakitzapango Dam Project in Peru

This blog entry is in continuation to the two immediately preceding ones where I asked Stavrianna and Adeniyi more about themselves and their award-wining dissertations. This post features Ana Osuna Orozco from Mexico City. Ana's topic was particularly challenging because at a broader level, she attempted to research a topic that has already been done to death in academia, but from a completely new angle. Her dissertation was entitled, 'Large Dams Through the Lens of Resilience: Perspectives on the Pakitzapango Dam Project in Peru'. Given below are her answers to the same questions I asked all three of them. 

“I don’t get this climate stuff!” - Climate change knowledge, perception and concern among corporate elites in Lagos

In my last post, I featured one of three of my classmates who had won awards for best dissertation (Environment and Development) 2010-11. Read here. This post, in continuation to the last one, features Mr.Adeniyi Asiyanbi, popularly addressed by friends as Niyi. His dissertation was entitled.- '“I don’t get this climate stuff!” -Climate change knowledge, perception and concern among corporate elites in Lagos'. Niyi hails from Nigeria. Given below are his answers to my questions. They tell a story that some of us may relate to. Current students working on their dissertation might particularly find it interesting to know how a successful student chose a topic and leveraged his background to overcome challenges.

The Learnean Hydra of Water Scarcity - A Case Study of Sifnos Island, Cyclades, Greece

 

I thought it'd be good idea to feature my classmates who won awards for best dissertation (Environment and Development) 2010-2011 at King's College, London. Unlike other years, 3 people won the award this year. Their dissertations will soon be made available on the King's website. But I'd like to present the people behind that excellent work because I believe we can take a cue from their personal stories. Each of them have been so inspiring to me in their humility, sincerity and hard work that their stories just had to be shared. The first person to be featured here is Stavrianna Kaisari. She's from a place that could be termed as one of the cradles of civilization - Greece. Her award-winning dissertation was titled, 'The Learnean Hydra of Water Scarcity. A Case Study of Sifnos Island, Cyclades, Greece'.