tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/clean-water-22683/articlesClean water – The Conversation2023-09-06T12:26:55Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125852023-09-06T12:26:55Z2023-09-06T12:26:55ZThe US committed to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, but like other countries, it’s struggling to make progress<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546246/original/file-20230904-15-tjmfsz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=229%2C467%2C3173%2C2207&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many colonias along the Texas-Mexico border still lack basic infrastructure, including running water.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/TexasBorderColonias/47c19c2a66e340d49a1d534f3b6df91e/photo">AP Photo/Eric Gay</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a Zen parable, a man sees a horse and rider galloping by. The man asks the rider where he’s going, and the rider responds, “I don’t know. Ask the horse!”</p>
<p>It is easy to feel out of control and helpless in the face of the many problems Americans are now experiencing – <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs/">unaffordable health care</a>, <a href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/poverty-awareness-month.html">poverty</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/ipcc-report-climate-solutions-exist-but-humanity-has-to-break-from-the-status-quo-and-embrace-innovation-202134">climate change</a>, to name a few. These problems are made harder by the ways in which people, including elected representatives, often talk past each other.</p>
<p>Most <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/06/21/inflation-health-costs-partisan-cooperation-among-the-nations-top-problems/">people want</a> a strong economy, social well-being and a healthy environment. These goals are interdependent: A strong economy isn’t possible without a society peaceful enough to support investment and well-functioning markets, or without water and air clean enough to support life and productivity. This understanding – that economic, social and environmental well-being are intertwined – is the premise of sustainable development. </p>
<p>In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly <a href="https://press.un.org/en/2015/ga11688.doc.htm">unanimously adopted</a> 17 <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/12/sustainable-development-goals-kick-off-with-start-of-new-year">Sustainable Development Goals</a>, known as the SDGs, with 169 measurable targets to be achieved by 2030. Though not legally binding, all nations, including the U.S., agreed to pursue this agenda.</p>
<p>The world is now halfway to that 2030 deadline. Countries have made some progress, such as reducing extreme poverty and child mortality, though the COVID-19 pandemic <a href="https://www.un.org/en/desa/it%E2%80%99s-now-or-never-achieving-sdgs-hinges-effective-crises-response">set back progress</a> on many targets.</p>
<p>On Sept. 18-19, 2023, countries are reviewing global progress toward those goals during a meeting at the United Nations. It’s a good opportunity for Americans to review their own progress because, as we see it, sustainable development is fundamentally American.</p>
<h2>Environment, economy and health intertwined</h2>
<p>Though not widely recognized, sustainable development has been a core American policy since President Richard Nixon signed the <a href="https://www.energy.gov/nepa/downloads/national-environmental-policy-act-1969">National Environmental Policy Act </a> into law in 1970. The law says that Americans should “use all practicable means and measures … to create and maintain conditions under which man [sic] and nature can exist in productive harmony and fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans.”</p>
<p>While it is tempting in today’s sour political climate to dismiss this as wishful thinking, the U.S. has made some progress reconciling economic development with environmental protection. </p>
<p>Gross domestic product, for example, grew 196% between 1980 and 2022, while total emissions of the six most common non-greenhouse air pollutants, including lead and sulfur dioxide, fell 73%, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/air-trends/air-quality-national-summary">according to the Environmental Protection Agency</a>. </p>
<p>The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, a major sustainable development law, is designed to further accelerate the use of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through tax credits and other incentives. <a href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/the-us-is-poised-for-an-energy-revolution.html">Goldman Sachs</a> estimated the law would spur about US$3 trillion in renewable energy investment. The law has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/one-year-biden-still-needs-explain-his-signature-clean-energy-legislation-2023-08-16/">already been credited with creating</a> 170,000 new jobs and leading to more than 270 new or expanded clean energy projects. That impact further demonstrates that environmental goals can align with economic growth.</p>
<p>The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals cover a broader range of environmental, social and economic issues, and there are indicators for assessing progress on each.</p>
<h2>How is America doing?</h2>
<p><a href="https://dashboards.sdgindex.org/rankings">The U.S. ranked 39th</a> out of 166 countries in a 2023 review of national efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.unsdsn.org/about-us">Sustainable Development Solutions Network</a>, which operates under the auspices of the U.N. Secretary-General, finds that America is lagging behind the targets set <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">for many of the Sustainable Development Goals</a> that are critical to the nation’s defense, competitiveness and health, such as reducing obesity, increasing life expectancy at birth, protecting labor rights, reducing maternal mortality, decreasing inequality and protecting biodiversity.</p>
<p>To understand where the U.S. is falling short, we asked <a href="https://www.eli.org/sites/default/files/files-pdf/GoverningforSustainability-TOC.pdf">26 experts working on various areas of sustainable development</a> to review the nation’s progress and make recommendations for future action. The resulting 2023 book, <a href="https://www.eli.org/eli-press-books/governing-sustainability">Governing for Sustainability</a>, provides some 500 U.S.-specific recommendations for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.</p>
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<img alt="A young child, looking bored, sits on a woman's lap as a nurse tests her blood pressure." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546248/original/file-20230904-27-721s7p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Residents waited in long lines for a free annual health clinic in Wise, Va., in 2017. A nonprofit operated the annual pop-up clinic for two decades until the state expanded Medicaid eligibility in 2019, which helped more residents afford local health care.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/ruby-partin-and-her-adoptive-son-timothy-huff-visit-a-free-news-photo/820902146">John Moore/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Health and access to quality health care loom large in many of the goals. The authors in several chapters explain why the nation cannot eliminate poverty or hunger, or have a vibrant economy, gender equality or education gains, without widely available, affordable health care. Yet, the U.S. has some of the <a href="https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2023/07/why-are-americans-paying-more-for-healthcare">highest health care costs in the world</a>. Several states have <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/georgia-medicaid-program-work-requirement-off-slow-start-102389380">rejected efforts to expand eligibility</a> for federal Medicaid health insurance for low-income residents, leaving many people without care.</p>
<p>Similarly, the authors show that human health, ecological health, clean water and economic vitality <a href="https://www.eli.org/eli-press-books/governing-sustainability">all require sound climate policy</a>. A quickly warming world <a href="https://theconversation.com/8-billion-people-four-ways-climate-change-and-population-growth-combine-to-threaten-public-health-with-global-consequences-193077">poses new health risks</a>, decimates ecosystems, strains potable water supplies and reduces global economic productivity.</p>
<p>Clean and abundant water is critical to a functioning economy and a stable, diverse ecosystem, and yet some areas of the United States <a href="https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-rules-the-us-is-not-required-to-ensure-access-to-water-for-the-navajo-nation-202588">still lack clean water</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/youth-living-in-settlements-at-us-border-suffer-poverty-and-lack-of-health-care-103416">indoor plumbing</a>. This often occurs in communities of color and low income, and it can impede economic prosperity and development in these areas.</p>
<p>Ready access to nutritious food is also a bedrock need to support many of the Sustainable Development Goals, from poverty alleviation to education, yet far too many American children <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001%2Fjamanetworkopen.2021.5262">rely on school lunches</a> for <a href="https://www.ppic.org/blog/feeding-children-when-schools-are-closed-for-covid-19/">basic sustenance</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man squints into the sun as he holds a large hose that pours water into a tank in the back of a pickup truck." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546249/original/file-20230904-27-t1qoyk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A U.S. Army veteran fills a tank in the back of his pickup with water in Laredo, Texas, to provide water for his mother’s home. Rural residents in parts of the Southwest have to truck in clean water.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/carlos-salas-u-s-army-veteran-fills-his-water-tank-that-is-news-photo/916823510">Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>The goals covering <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal16">peace, justice, strong institutions</a> and <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal17">partnerships</a> are necessary to achieve all of the goals. A society at war with itself and without rule of law cannot support a vibrant, diverse economy and lasting democracy. This has been shown repeatedly as some developing nations <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/10/20/understanding-and-responding-to-global-democratic-backsliding-pub-88173">backslide from democratic progress</a> and prosperity to civil war and poverty. <a href="https://www.eli.org/eli-press-books/governing-sustainability">Developed nations</a> are subject to the same forces.</p>
<h2>Taking the reins</h2>
<p>Sustainable development is emphatically not about government alone solving the nation’s problems. Businesses, universities and other organizations, as well as individuals, are essential to help the country realize its environmental, health and climate goals, fair practices and living wages. </p>
<p>The right place to “take the reins” is where you are, and with the problems or tasks in front of you – at work and at home. Figure out more sustainable ways to use water and energy, for example. Look at what our book recommends and what others are already doing to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. Seize opportunities such as saving money, and reduce risks by, for example, cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Every individual can contribute to a better future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212585/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Halfway to the SDGs’ 2030 deadline, countries have made progress, but most are struggling to meet all 17 goals. The US is no exception.Scott Schang, Director of Environmental Law and Policy Clinic; Professor of Practice, Wake Forest UniversityJohn Dernbach, Professor of Law Emeritus, Widener UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2069482023-07-10T14:45:16Z2023-07-10T14:45:16ZNearly a third of Nigerians don’t have access to a basic supply of water. This is partly because of loopholes in a law<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535764/original/file-20230705-29-crz55s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Access to clean water is a major issue in Nigeria. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Water, sanitation and hygiene facilities are essential for health and welfare. Providing them is one of the core duties of the state.</p>
<p>In Nigeria, funding for these projects comes from the government’s budget and from development partners. UNICEF, the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the European Union, and the US Agency for International Development all provide aid. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/media/2986/file/Evaluation%20Report%20on%20WASH%20Programme%202014%20-%202017.pdf#page=12">UNICEF report</a> shows that between 2014 and 2017, international development partners and the government invested a total of US$188.3 million in sanitation projects in Nigeria. </p>
<p>But the report <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/media/2986/file/Evaluation%20Report%20on%20WASH%20Programme%202014%20-%202017.pdf#page=12">shows</a> that Nigeria is still one of the top three countries globally in terms of the number of people living without safe water and sanitation. It <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/media/2986/file/Evaluation%20Report%20on%20WASH%20Programme%202014%20-%202017.pdf#page=12">adds</a> that only 68% of the Nigerian population have access to a basic water supply, 19% use safely managed sanitation facilities and 24% practise open defecation. </p>
<p>Unsafe water and poor sanitation and hygiene are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4199018/">some of the major causes</a> of Nigeria’s high rates of mortality and morbidity among children under five. They increase vulnerability to water-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea.</p>
<p>There have been public procurement reforms that seek to regulate abuse of rules, processes and standards in the awarding and delivery of public-sector contracts. But despite the reforms, eliminating the massive deficits in the water and sanitation sector through competitive, transparent, accountable and cost-effective procurement processes has become increasingly difficult. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03056244.2023.2194164">a recent paper</a> we analysed data from selected local government areas where there were UNICEF-funded sanitation projects. Based on this, we argue that procurement regulation has been subverted to make money in the service delivery sector. </p>
<p>Our findings provide an explanation of the deplorable state of sanitation facilities in Nigeria. The problem is not just a lack of funding or capacity, as has been argued before, but a legal choice. </p>
<h2>Procurement in Nigeria</h2>
<p>Nigeria enacted a procurement law in 2007. <a href="https://www.bpp.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Public-Procurement-Act-2007pdf.pdf">The Public Procurement Act 2007</a> brought a sense of regulation to the procurement process in the country. Before this, there was no law either at the state or federal level guiding public procurement. It was intended to check abuse in the awarding and delivery of public-sector contracts. </p>
<p>Section 24 (3) of the Public Procurement Act sets out that contracts must be awarded to the bidder with the lowest bid that meets the contract’s terms and conditions. </p>
<p>Our study focused on how this practice undermined the delivery of sanitation projects in Nigeria.</p>
<p>We drew on field data from sanitation projects in states across the country: Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Jigawa, Katsina, Rivers and Yobe. The procuring entities were ministries, extra-ministerial offices, government agencies, parastatal organisations and corporations. They awarded UNICEF-funded projects to the lowest responsive bidders (contractors) between 2013 and 2019. The projects were meant to provide water and sanitation facilities. </p>
<p>We observed that four firms were accused of committing a procurement offence. They subcontracted their commitments to other firms at prices lower than the sums in the contract. </p>
<p>We saw that influential individuals under-quoted contract sums, apparently to keep a hold on procurement processes. They then won contracts and diverted contract sums or subcontracted to third parties who either failed to do the work or delivered substandard work. The poor standard could be seen from the reports of the procuring entities.</p>
<p>Contrary to the expectation that the procurement legislation would promote broader participation in contract management, this study found that accepting the lowest bid limited the involvement of credible, trusted and tested firms known for the delivery of quality work, goods and services. Quality work would necessarily cost more than the lowest bid. </p>
<p>The procurement law could have provided, instead, for bidding that emphasised quality, experience and reputation. It appears lawmakers made sure that the law left loopholes.</p>
<p>Reputable firms are seemingly incapable of getting contracts because they lack access to powerful state actors. Highly placed individuals use the bidding mechanism to engage in sharp practices.</p>
<p>The result is low quality service delivery. </p>
<h2>How Nigeria got here</h2>
<p>For decades, poor sanitation and hygiene facilities in Nigeria were connected to weak project execution, paucity of funds and limited government capacity. Corruption, overvaluation of projects and favouritism in contract awards added to the problems. Attempts to prevent these challenges provided the basis for public procurement reforms. </p>
<p>The reforms were supposed to improve accountability on the part of government and others in public procurement. Fairness, value for money and cost effectiveness were also expected. </p>
<p>But the lowest evaluated bid system is more susceptible to manipulation than a qualifications-based bidding mechanism.</p>
<p>The reforms have not had the desired impact in the water and sanitation sector. </p>
<h2>Appropriate reform</h2>
<p>An appropriate reform of the service delivery sector should enhance participation in procurement processes by civil society organisations, the media, beneficiary communities and relevant professional bodies. </p>
<p>Contract sums must also be in line with market realities. Tested and trusted contractors must be engaged to manage procurement of works and services.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nigerians lack access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities despite investment in these areas. Procurement law contributes to this inadvertently.Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, Professor of Political Science, University of NigeriaChikodiri Nwangwu, Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of NigeriaKelechi Elijah Nnamani, Lecturer and Researcher, Department of Political Science, University of NigeriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2006892023-06-05T12:09:06Z2023-06-05T12:09:06ZArsenic contamination of food and water is a global public health concern – researchers are studying how it causes cancer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529435/original/file-20230531-23-iq2312.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C937%2C768&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One symptom of arsenic poisoning is the growth of plaques on the skin called arsenical keratosis.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/tQzvii">Anita Ghosh/REACH via Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in the Earth’s crust. Exposure to arsenic, often through contaminated food and water, is associated with various negative health effects, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304375/">including cancer</a>. </p>
<p>Arsenic exposure is a global public health issue. A 2020 study estimated that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba1510">up to 200 million people wordwide</a> are exposed to arsenic-contaminated drinking water at levels above the legal limit of <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/arsenic/standards.html">10 parts per billion</a> set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization. <a href="https://publications.iarc.fr/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-The-Identification-Of-Carcinogenic-Hazards-To-Humans/Some-Drinking-Water-Disinfectants-And-Contaminants-Including-Arsenic-2004">More than 70 countries</a> are affected, including the United States, Spain, Mexico, Japan, India, China, Canada, Chile, Bangladesh, Bolivia and Argentina.</p>
<p>Since many countries are still affected by high levels of arsenic, we believe arsenic exposure is a global public health issue that requires urgent action. <a href="https://stempel.fiu.edu/research/labs/cancer-research/">We study</a> how <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cristina-Andrade-Feraud">exposure to toxic metals</a> like arsenic can <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v42J5dMAAAAJ&hl=en">lead to cancer</a> through the formation of <a href="https://theconversation.com/triggering-cancer-cells-to-become-normal-cells-how-stem-cell-therapies-can-provide-new-ways-to-stop-tumors-from-spreading-or-growing-back-191559">cancer stem cells</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Arsenic water contamination predominantly affects communities of color in the U.S.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Arsenic contamination of food and water</h2>
<p>Your body can absorb arsenic <a href="https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/arsenic/what_routes.html">through several routes</a>, such as inhalation and skin contact. However, the most common source of arsenic exposure is through contaminated drinking water or food.</p>
<p>People who live in areas with <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/arsenic">naturally high levels of arsenic in the soil and water</a> are at particular risk. In the U.S., for example, that includes regions in the Southwest such as Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. Additionally, <a href="https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/environmental-and-occupational-medicine-3485">human activities</a> such as mining and agriculture can also increase arsenic in food and water sources.</p>
<p>High levels of arsenic can also be found in <a href="https://theconversation.com/should-we-worry-about-arsenic-in-baby-cereal-and-drinking-water-57948">food and drink products</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2018.01.018">particularly rice</a> and rice-based products like rice cereals and crackers. A 2019 Consumer Reports investigation even found that <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/water-quality/arsenic-in-some-bottled-water-brands-at-unsafe-levels-a1198655241/">some brands of bottled water</a> sold in the U.S. contained levels of arsenic that exceeded the legal limit. Alarmingly, multiple studies have also found that several <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/most-baby-foods-contain-arsenic-lead-and-other-heavy-metals/">popular baby food brands</a> contained arsenic at concentrations much higher than the legal limit.</p>
<h2>Arsenic and cancer stem cells</h2>
<p>Chronic exposure to arsenic increases the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djx201">risk</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136071">of</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134128">developing</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.epi-13-0234-t">multiple</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.08.070">types</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0041-008x(02)00022-4">of cancer</a>.</p>
<p>The mechanisms by which arsenic causes cancer are complex and not yet fully understood. However, research suggests that <a href="https://doi.org/10.3109%2F10408444.2010.506641">arsenic can</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021%2Facs.chemrestox.9b00464">damage DNA</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-013-1131-4">disrupt cell</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfy247">signaling pathways</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-12-73">impair the</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cotox.2018.01.003">immune system</a>, all of which can contribute to cancer development.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Microscopy images of ovarian epithelial cells before and after chronic arsenic exposure" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529436/original/file-20230531-17-e8zn68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The image on the left shows ovarian epithelial cells under normal conditions. The image on the right shows the cells after three weeks of chronic arsenic exposure at 75 parts per billion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cristina M. Andrade-Feraud/Azzam Laboratory at FIU</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scientists <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289%2Fehp.1204987">have also linked</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1289%2Fehp.0901059">chronic arsenic exposure</a> to the development of <a href="https://theconversation.com/triggering-cancer-cells-to-become-normal-cells-how-stem-cell-therapies-can-provide-new-ways-to-stop-tumors-from-spreading-or-growing-back-191559">cancer stem cells</a>. These are cells within tumors thought to be responsible for cancer growth and spread. Like normal stem cells in the body, cancer stem cells can develop into many different types of cells. At what stage of cellular development a stem cell acquires the genetic mutation that turns it into a cancer stem cell remains unknown.</p>
<p><a href="https://stempel.fiu.edu/research/labs/cancer-research/">Our research</a> aims to identify what type of cell arsenic targets to form a cancer stem cell. We are currently using cell cultures obtained from the same organ at different stages of cellular development to examine how the origins of cells affect the formation of cancer stem cells.</p>
<p>Preventing chronic arsenic exposure is critical to reducing the burden of arsenic-related health effects. Further research is needed to understand arsenic-induced cancer stem cell formation and develop effective strategies to prevent it. In the meantime, continued monitoring and regulation of this toxic metal in food and water sources could help improve the health of affected communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diana Azzam receives funding from the Florida Department of Health and the National Institute of Health.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cristina Andrade-Feraud does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Millions of people worldwide are exposed via soil and water to arsenic, whether naturally occurring or related to pollution. Chronic exposure is linked to the formation of cancer stem cells.Cristina Andrade-Feraud, Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Health Sciences, Florida International UniversityDiana Azzam, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1653762021-11-06T12:18:31Z2021-11-06T12:18:31ZCongress passes $1T infrastructure bill – but how does the government go about spending that much money?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418131/original/file-20210826-23-i3p4sq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6863%2C4578&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The $1 trillion bill was a heavy lift for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (center). Next up: the budget reconciliation bill known as Build Back Better.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/house-speaker-nancy-pelosi-speaks-to-a-reporter-as-she-news-photo/1336194937?adppopup=true">Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. Congress passed an infrastructure bill that funds more than a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-technology-business-broadband-internet-congress-d89d6bb1b39cd9c67ae9fc91f5eb4c0d">trillion dollars in nationwide federal spending</a> on Nov. 5, 2021.</p>
<p>The bill puts <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/10/senate-infrastructure-bill-what-is-in-it/">about US$240 billion</a> toward building or rebuilding roads, bridges, public transit, airports and railways. <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/breaking-down-the-infrastructure-bills-impact-on-climate-change">More than $150 billion is slated</a> for projects that address climate change, like building electric vehicle charging stations, upgrading energy grids and production to work better with renewables, and making public transit more environmentally sustainable.</p>
<p>There’s funding for cybersecurity, clean water and waste treatment systems, broadband internet connections and more.</p>
<p>The bill is the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/10/us/politics/infrastructure-bill-passes.html">largest investment in the nation’s infrastructure in decades</a>. </p>
<p>So how does the government go about spending all that money? </p>
<p>Officials are required to follow certain procedures, regulations and guidelines for advertising and gathering bids, reviewing them and then hiring contractors to do the work. This process is called “public procurement.”</p>
<p>What’s interesting to me and my colleagues who study public procurement policy is how this massive influx of spending <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2019.1644654">can be used as</a> an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPM.2019.099553">innovative policy tool</a> to further the government’s social, economic and environmental goals. </p>
<p>Judging from President Joe Biden’s executive orders <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/">prioritizing action on climate change</a> in contracting and procurement and ensuring <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/04/27/executive-order-on-increasing-the-minimum-wage-for-federal-contractors/">equitable compensation</a> for workers employed by federal government contractors, his administration will encourage the use of the power of procurement to achieve environmental, social and economic policy goals. </p>
<p>To understand how public procurement can be used to improve social equity or speed up climate action, it helps to know the basics of how it works.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418132/original/file-20210826-21-s7v0uh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A car drives along a road in need of repair" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418132/original/file-20210826-21-s7v0uh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418132/original/file-20210826-21-s7v0uh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418132/original/file-20210826-21-s7v0uh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418132/original/file-20210826-21-s7v0uh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418132/original/file-20210826-21-s7v0uh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418132/original/file-20210826-21-s7v0uh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418132/original/file-20210826-21-s7v0uh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rhode Island consistently ranks as one of the worst states in America for the condition of its infrastructure, with an estimated 24% of its roads in poor condition.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/car-drives-along-a-road-in-need-of-repair-on-april-09-2021-news-photo/1311722271?adppopup=true">Spencer Platt/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do government officials buy infrastructure?</h2>
<p>The process starts with a formal demand from an agency like the Department of Transportation or Public Works and the selection of the best procedure for awarding the contract for a funded project. </p>
<p><a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA471905.pdf">For several decades, government infrastructure procurement</a> processes have generally taken one of two forms: “design-bid-build” or “design-build.” </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA471905.pdf">design-bid-build option</a>, governments separate the contracts into two tracks – project design and project construction, one following the other. A major advantage of <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA471905.pdf">design-bid-build</a> is that agencies are familiar with this traditional way of building things. The main disadvantage is that it requires a three-way relationship – with the government working with both the designer and the builder, and the designer and builder also working together – that heightens the potential for conflict during the project. And that can sometimes lead to increased costs. </p>
<p>An example of the design-bid-build method is the Virginia Department of Transportation’s <a href="https://www.cormankokosing.com/project/i-95-telegraph-road-interchange-improvements/">I-95/Telegraph Road Interchange project</a>, which involved building 11 new bridges and highway flyover ramps in Alexandria. A professional services firm named Dewberry <a href="https://www.dewberry.com/insights-news/article/2014/03/24/I-95-Telegraph-Road-Interchange-Project-Honored-with-Two-Engineering-Awards">designed the project</a> – winning engineering awards as well as praise for avoiding negative impacts on local residents and businesses – and the separate construction firm <a href="https://www.cormankokosing.com/project/i-95-telegraph-road-interchange-improvements/">was Corman Kokosing</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Express lanes above a busy interstate highway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423934/original/file-20210929-66205-19q6y0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423934/original/file-20210929-66205-19q6y0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423934/original/file-20210929-66205-19q6y0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423934/original/file-20210929-66205-19q6y0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423934/original/file-20210929-66205-19q6y0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423934/original/file-20210929-66205-19q6y0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423934/original/file-20210929-66205-19q6y0d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Express lanes built as part of the I-95/Telegraph Road Interchange project in Alexandria, Va.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-the-395-southbound-hot-traffic-lanes-express-lane-news-photo/1205773786?adppopup=true">Linda Davidson/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA471905.pdf">design-build procurement process</a>, potential contractors bid to do both the design and construction of the infrastructure as a single package. The main advantage of this type of contract is the direct relationship between the contractor and the government. The designer and construction firm work together as a unified project team, which may significantly decrease project completion time. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA471905.pdf">design-build</a> also requires a high level of expertise in drafting design and construction specifications from the government, because decisions need to be made early in the process, and changes may lead to an increase in costs. </p>
<p>An example of the design-build methodology is the <a href="https://dbia.org/project/us-15-over-indian-field-swamp-bridge-replacement-project/">US 15 over Indian Field Swamp Bridge Replacement Project</a> in Dorchester County, South Carolina. </p>
<p>With both of these infrastructure procurement options, the process is typically competitive among contractors, and the government owns, operates, finances and maintains the final bridge, roadway, mass transit line or other asset. </p>
<h2>Public-private partnerships</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/24/fact-sheet-president-biden-announces-support-for-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-framework/">Biden administration</a> has also proposed using <a href="https://doi.org/10.2753/PMR1530-9576370407">another common type</a> of procurement for the infrastructure spending – public-private parnerships.</p>
<p>These partnerships <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2017.1313445">divide the costs</a> of designing, building, operating and maintaining a project between a private sector firm and the government over 25 or 30 years before the agreement phases out. The private firm may receive some or all of the revenues the project generates during that time.</p>
<p>Let’s say the infrastructure needed is a new toll road. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.2753/PMR1530-9576370407">government enters into a contract</a> with a private company to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain this new highway for a certain period of time. In exchange, the private company makes back its costs by collecting the revenues from the tolls. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/project_profiles/va_capital_beltway.aspx">The Capital Beltway High Occupancy Toll Lanes</a> project in Fairfax County, Virginia, also called the 495 Express Lanes project, is just such a public-private partnership. The government agency is the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the private partner is a company formed specifically for this project called Capital Beltway Express LLC.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423929/original/file-20210929-66198-obmzf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Traffic on highway next to express lane" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423929/original/file-20210929-66198-obmzf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423929/original/file-20210929-66198-obmzf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423929/original/file-20210929-66198-obmzf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423929/original/file-20210929-66198-obmzf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=384&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423929/original/file-20210929-66198-obmzf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423929/original/file-20210929-66198-obmzf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423929/original/file-20210929-66198-obmzf9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Capital Beltway High Occupancy Toll Lanes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/there-is-usually-less-traffic-in-the-express-lanes-of-the-news-photo/858536806?adppopup=true">Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Proponents argue that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2017.1313445">public-private partnerships</a> may help the government provide better <a href="https://www.theigc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Strategies-for-effective-procurement-FINAL-Feb2019.pdf">infrastructure without increasing public debt</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Like what you’ve read? Want more?</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=likethis">Sign up for The Conversation’s daily newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Public policy researchers in the Netherlands have also found that by supporting the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2018.1428415">development of trust</a> and commitment between the partners, public-private infrastructure partnerships can lead to better results in many ways, such as effective design solutions, reduced environmental impact, lower costs and better relations with and support from local communities or organizations. </p>
<p>But there are also critics. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2753/PMR1530-9576370407">Policy scholars</a> have noted that these partnerships may not really <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/3552389">save governments money</a>. Other scholars have raised concerns that these arrangements cede too much <a href="https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/149401">public control</a> of infrastructure to <a href="https://trid.trb.org/view/889355">the private sector</a>, which may look out <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13876980500209363">more avidly for its own financial interests</a> than those of the public.</p>
<p>By inserting demands into government contracts, the new infrastructure spending could be used to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-8947.2004.00099.x">promote fair wages</a>, health care benefits, fair working conditions for people employed by government contractors and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1504/IJPM.2019.099553">ensure that products are sourced in a sustainable and ethical manner</a>. This approach can also be used to demand <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/09513551211223785">locally</a> produced goods and services, <a href="https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJPM.2019.099553">support</a> for veteran-, minority- and women-owned businesses and spur market <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048733307000741">innovation</a>, <a href="https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJPM.2019.099553">environmentally friendly</a> products and services.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165376/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ana Maria Dimand does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The government uses a process called public procurement. A professor of public policy explains how the process works and how it is increasingly used to achieve social goals.Ana Maria Dimand, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Administration, Boise State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1586862021-04-27T18:28:43Z2021-04-27T18:28:43ZBill C-230 marks an important first step in addressing environmental racism in Canada<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397366/original/file-20210427-13-1q0q4xj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C42%2C3472%2C2284&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aamjiwnaang First Nation is surrounded by 'Chemical Valley,' a large complex of petrochemical plants, located near Sarnia, Ont.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Jon Lin Photography/flickr)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This past winter, <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/covid-19-environmental-racism-canada/">COVID-19 outbreaks at two Coastal GasLink work camps in northern British Columbia spilled over into neighbouring Wet’suwet’en communities</a>, according to media reports. The spread of disease to Indigenous communities through industrial projects is an example of environmental racism — when government policies discriminate against racialized communities by disproportionately exposing them to harms from industrial and other toxic activities. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=E&billId=10653234">Bill C-230</a>, a private member’s bill that aims to address environmental racism, has passed second reading in a 182-153 vote, and is now under discussion with the environment parliamentary committee before it returns to the House of Commons. If the bill is passed, Canada would become one of the first countries in the world to require the government to develop a national strategy to tackle environmental racism. </p>
<p><a href="https://environmentaljustice.ca/">As law professors with expertise</a> in matters relating to both the environment and social justice, we argue that this move is necessary both for reasons of justice and also to fulfil Canada’s human rights obligations. </p>
<h2>What’s in the proposed bill</h2>
<p>Nova Scotia MP Lenore Zann introduced Bill C-230 to compel the minister of the environment to create a national strategy to redress environmental racism within two years. </p>
<p>This strategy would include making efforts to identify, document and monitor environmental racism, creating processes to increase the participation of Indigenous, racialized and other affected communities in environmental policy-making, providing redress for harm due to environmental injustice and ensuring access to clean air and water. </p>
<p>The case for a law like this is stronger than ever. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-environmental-justice-cb3aa847ed4c5a6a5c188a6ff9a0062c">Other jurisdictions are currently seeking to address environmental racism</a>, and the federal government is taking action to tackle climate change and other environmental issues. But most importantly, unjust environmental burdens continue to be placed on racialized communities in Canada. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nKhIYFDnCoY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Trailer for ‘There’s Something in the Water,’ a film about environmental racism in Nova Scotia, based on the book by Ingrid Waldron.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When Baskut Tuncak, the U.N. special rapporteur on toxic chemicals, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24678&LangID=E">visited Canada in 2019</a>, he found that Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by toxic exposures. In a statement, he wrote that he had “observed a pervasive trend of inaction by the Canadian government” in addressing the health threats of toxic exposures and their cumulative effects. </p>
<p>Canada, unlike the U.S., lacks data on environmental racism. Bill C-230 would require the federal government to: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Collect information and statistics relating to the location of environmental hazards … examine the link between race, socioeconomic status and environmental risk … [and] collect information and statistics relating to negative health outcomes in communities that have been affected by environmental racism.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Environmental racism in Canada</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ejatlas.org/country/canada">Many racialized and low-income communities have borne the brunt of polluting industries and other environmental hazards</a>, including oil and gas extraction, pipelines, refineries, mineral mining and sewage dumping. These communities cause few of these problems, and they benefit the least from the activities and industries at issue. Relatedly, they often have little power to influence site placement, cleanup and other decisions. </p>
<p><a href="https://niche-canada.org/2021/02/17/africville-a-story-of-environmental-racism/">Historic Africville</a> is a notable case. Africville, a Black community in Halifax, became the site of a railway, a slaughterhouse and an open-pit dump. The city then relocated residents, under the auspices of neighbourhood improvement, and acquired the valuable shoreline. <a href="http://pridenews.ca/2020/03/31/nova-scotia-take-environmental-racism-seriously/">Black communities in Nova Scotia</a> continue to resist proposals to locate environmentally hazardous facilities near their communities. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.amnesty.ca/our-work/issues/indigenous-peoples/indigenous-peoples-in-canada/grassy-narrows">mercury poisoning in Grassy Narrows First Nation</a> and the <a href="https://ecojustice.ca/case/defending-the-rights-of-chemical-valley-residents-charter-challenge/">chemical contamination of Aamjiwnaang First Nation</a> are also tragic examples of the uneven impacts of environmental burdens. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man fishes next to a refinery south of Sarnia, Ont." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397362/original/file-20210427-21-1jyguns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C35%2C3273%2C2089&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397362/original/file-20210427-21-1jyguns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397362/original/file-20210427-21-1jyguns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397362/original/file-20210427-21-1jyguns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397362/original/file-20210427-21-1jyguns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397362/original/file-20210427-21-1jyguns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/397362/original/file-20210427-21-1jyguns.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A man fishes next to a refinery south of Sarnia, Ont., in 2007.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CP PHOTO/Dave Chidley</span></span>
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<p>As climate change and its impacts become more significant, it’s important to pay attention to who it affects most. In its <a href="https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/18781/index.do">recent decision on climate pricing</a>, the Supreme Court of Canada declared that climate change is “an existential challenge” that has the potential to cause “irreversible harm [that] would be felt across the country and would be borne disproportionately by vulnerable communities and regions.” </p>
<p>Recent efforts at reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people and the Black Lives Matter movement have <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/at-every-turn-canada-chooses-the-path-of-injustice-toward-indigenous-peoples/">demonstrated the continuing salience</a> of — and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7522660/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-report-anti-indigenous-racism-canada/">urgent need</a> for — <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/black-lives-matter-promises-2020-blm-1.5928455">anti-racist</a> and decolonial strategies. The fight against systemic environmental racism is a key element of this.</p>
<h2>A growing trend</h2>
<p>Recent developments, both in Canada and abroad, show some promise in terms of recognizing and protecting environmental rights, and ending environmental racism. In the United States, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/27/fact-sheet-president-biden-takes-executive-actions-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad-create-jobs-and-restore-scientific-integrity-across-federal-government/">President Joe Biden signed an executive order</a> in January that has a significant focus on environmental justice. It includes a “<a href="http://cdn.americanprogress.org/content/uploads/2021/03/16083513/Justice40-Recommendations.pdf">commitment to delivering 40 per cent of climate investment benefits to disadvantaged communities</a>.” </p>
<p>Climate bills with a strong focus on environmental justice are also moving through legislatures in <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-new-legislation-improve-environmental-justice">New York</a> and <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-baker-signs-climate-legislation-to-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions-protect-environmental-justice-communities">Massachusetts</a>. Canada could follow suit by linking its <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2020/11/government-of-canada-charts-course-for-clean-growth-by-introducing-bill-to-legislate-net-zero-emissions-by-2050.html">proposed Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act</a> (Bill C-12) with environmental justice and Bill C-230. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bill-c-12-canada-must-embrace-best-practices-if-it-want-to-reach-its-greenhouse-gas-targets-158863">Bill C-12: Canada must embrace best practices if it want to reach its greenhouse gas targets</a>
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<p>The net-zero bill is stronger than Bill C-230 because it would legally bind the feds to achieving the net-zero target by 2050. It also requires five-year targets with mandatory plans and progress reports, and an independent review of the results by the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, so that changes in government will not derail the goal. Adding an explicit commitment to environmental justice and plans to achieve it would enhance Canada’s net-zero bill. </p>
<p>In addition, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2021/04/government-of-canada-delivers-on-commitment-to-strengthen-the-canadian-environmental-protection-act-1999-and-proposes-to-recognize-a-right-to-a-hea.html">proposed changes</a> to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act include adding a right to a healthy environment, a commitment to uphold the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the obligation to consider vulnerable populations and the cumulative effects of harmful substances. </p>
<h2>A new precedent</h2>
<p>The Biden administration’s plan sets a much more ambitious goal than Bill C-230. However, Bill C-230 is the perfect opportunity for Canada to set a national precedent with this demonstrable commitment to environmental justice and addressing the legacy of environmental racism. </p>
<p>Laws and rights, on their own, can be toothless if they do not come with binding duties, explicit standards and adequate enforcement. The government, civil society and citizens will need to be active and vigilant to redress and prevent environmental racism. The law will also need to be backed up with adequate resources and transparency to ensure that the national strategy is participatory, adequately resourced and leads to continual renewal and improvement. </p>
<p>Although Bill C-230 would merely be a first step in a larger process, it is an important one in the right direction that can act as a catalyst for more transformative change, particularly if it is linked with other current policy ambitions, such as the net-zero carbon emissions bill and the proposed amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather McLeod-Kilmurray has received funding from SSHRC. She is a member of the Ottawa Food Policy Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angela Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Addressing environmental racism in Canada is not only a matter of justice, but also of meeting Canada’s human rights obligationsAngela Lee, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityHeather McLeod-Kilmurray, Professor, Faculty of Law, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1401672020-06-08T07:51:45Z2020-06-08T07:51:45ZCOVID-19 heightens water problems around the world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340018/original/file-20200605-176546-1vkao9j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C30%2C5081%2C3357&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Water is now a more precious, strategic and scarcer than ever before in human history.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com/greenaperture</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 will unquestionably delay achievement of the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a>, the latest global attempt to improve the quality of life of billions of people around the world by 2030. </p>
<p>Increasing access to clean water and sanitation are among the 17 SDGs. During normal times, and even more during the present pandemic, access to clean water and proper sanitation is essential. </p>
<p>But we must now rethink how we achieve the goals laid out in the SDGS. First, we should stop looking at access to safe water as the problem of developing countries alone – it is a global problem that worsens under extreme conditions like the current pandemic. </p>
<h2>How COVID-19 heightens water problems</h2>
<p>During the current pandemic, a lack of clean water for drinking and proper hygienic practices has become a major concern for cities in the developing world, especially in slums, peri-urban areas and refugee camps. </p>
<p>Countries in Africa and South Asia, with some 85% of the world’s people live, face particularly daunting challenges to access clean, drinkable water. </p>
<p>But the problem is not confined to these areas. Developed countries are increasingly facing similar concerns. After catastrophic experiences with water utilities in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/dec/10/water-company-city-officials-knew-flint-lead-risk-emails-michigan-tap-water">Flint</a> in 2014 in the US, and in 2000 in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/inside-walkerton-canada-s-worst-ever-e-coli-contamination-1.887200">Walkerton, Canada</a>, which seriously affected the health of a large number of people, millions in these two countries are now using point of treatment systems in their homes to further purify city water. They are also buying bottled water because they perceive it to be cleaner and safer. In overwhelming percentage of cases of people in developed countries, from Japan and Singapore to western Europe and the US, are doing this out of choice and not because they have to.</p>
<p>But the financial impact of lockdown and growing unemployment means that spending extra on safe water has become a problem for many households – and millions are struggling to pay their utilities bills, including for water. </p>
<p>In the US, some 57 million people in <a href="https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/covid19protections/">several states</a> have been allowed to continue receiving water from their utilities even if they cannot currently pay for it. But there are still many poor and disadvantaged people who did not have access to water services before the pandemic, and <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-health/2020/04/18/navajo-nation-water-shortage-contributing-covid-19-spread/2992288001">still do not have them</a>.</p>
<p>In the European Union (EU), most member states need to increase their annual water supply and sanitation expenditure by more than 25% to comply with <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-urbanwaste/legislation/directive_en.htm">EU Drinking Water and Urban Wastewater Treatment Directives</a>. This will also contribute towards reaching the SDGs. But in these uncertain times, the EU will have to rethink how best to make use of scarce financial resources to achieve their goals.</p>
<p>The pandemic has further worsened the living conditions and health of millions of people in both developed and developing countries, and it is unclear when this situation might improve. Even in the world’s richest country, USA, <a href="http://uswateralliance.org/sites/uswateralliance.org/files/Closing%20the%20Water%20Access%20Gap%20in%20the%20United%20States_DIGITAL.pdf">at least two million people still do not have access to piped water</a>.</p>
<h2>The need for leadership</h2>
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Baca juga:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-water-issues-matter-to-world-leaders-110185">How to make water issues matter to world leaders</a>
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<p>From the late 1970s, the United Nations have advocated for improved source of water. But this term does not mean clean and safe water, even though UN organisations use these terms interchangeably. </p>
<p>COVID-19 has focused global attention to clean water for frequent handwashing, drinking and personal hygiene. Political leaders will now have to give increasing attention not only to access to water but also to its quality. It will be an even more daunting task, in both developed and developing countries, to regain the trust of their people that water they are receiving is safe to drink and for personal hygiene because of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07900627.2019.1670506">extensive past mismanagement in most countries of the world</a>.</p>
<p>The world needs leadership, long-term sustainable policies, robust legal and regulatory systems, strong institutions, and services that are reliable and provided irrespective of the circumstances. For example, Singapore ensured all these conditions were fulfilled from 1965 onwards. As a result, its water management is now <a href="https://www.routledge.com/The-Singapore-Water-Story-Sustainable-Development-in-an-Urban-City-State/Tortajada-Joshi-Biswas/p/book/9780415657839">one of the best in the world</a>.</p>
<p>The absence of enlightened political leadership in nearly all countries of the world, both developed and developing, will exacerbate the problem in the coming decades because of increasing uncertainties due to both expected events like climate change and unexpected ones like COVID-19. </p>
<p>Water affects all aspects of life, economic activity and ecosystems. As the British-American poet, W.H. Auden wrote: “Thousands have lived without love but none without water.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140167/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Para penulis tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi di luar afiliasi akademis yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>During normal times, and even more during the present pandemic, access to clean water and proper sanitation is essential.Cecilia Tortajada, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of SingaporeAsit K. Biswas, Distinguished visiting professor, University of GlasgowLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1367652020-04-21T16:17:52Z2020-04-21T16:17:52ZThe future of cities in the face of twin crises<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/329081/original/file-20200420-152567-euqtqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C112%2C1500%2C1010&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Global cities such as Wuhan (pictured in March 2018) require investments in lower-carbon urban development to enhance public health.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wuhan_-_Guanggu_Tram_-_Buxingjie_-_P1520156.JPG">Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Before January this year, many people around the world had never heard of Wuhan. Today, this Chinese megacity – population 11 million – has achieved notoriety as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-timeline.html">birthplace of a pandemic</a>.</p>
<p>The global connectivity of cities such as Wuhan has enabled the rapid spread of Covid-19 around the planet. Now the density and dynamism of cities – the very qualities that make them rewarding places to live and work – prove a threat. Global economic and cultural capitals have been the first to be overwhelmed: Hong Kong, London, New York City, Milan, Seoul. Cities once defined by bustling streetscapes are now in lockdown: Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Delhi, Madrid, San Francisco.</p>
<h2>A critical point for cities and the climate</h2>
<p>Our first concern at this time must be protecting lives and livelihoods. Looking forward, this pandemic could shape city life for years to come – years that are also critical for the climate crisis.</p>
<p>The near-term impact of Covid-19 seems to be an extraordinary drop in global greenhouse gas emissions. The lockdown in China <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-coronavirus-has-temporarily-reduced-chinas-co2-emissions-by-a-quarter">temporarily reduced the country’s CO₂ emissions by a quarter</a>. The world is on track for the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-coronavirus-set-to-cause-largest-ever-annual-fall-in-co2-emissions">largest-ever annual reduction of CO₂</a> – a 4% fall relative to 2019. Emissions will need to continue falling after the lockdown is lifted – but the costs must be borne more equitably.</p>
<p>The rich can bear the pandemic – their incomes continue to be paid, their homes tend to be more spacious and they largely face this new risk in good health. The poor in inner-city neighbourhoods cannot, however. Millions of people are being confined in apartments without natural light or green space. Millions work in essential jobs where they are poorly paid and particularly exposed to Covid-19 – bus drivers, carers, cleaners, police, teachers, supermarket staff and, of course, health care workers. Millions have pre-existing health conditions linked to poverty, such as malnutrition and diabetes.</p>
<p>The poor in informal settlements face an even more precarious situation. Without basic services such as piped water, <a href="https://theconversation.com/india-and-coronavirus-lack-of-access-to-handwashing-facilities-among-poor-makes-fight-even-harder-135087">handwashing is hard</a>. Overcrowding means that social distancing is not possible. Those who cannot go out to work in the day cannot feed their families in the evening. Those that travel to work, face higher exposure rates. From Barcelona to Buenos Aires, London to Lagos, the tight relationship between poverty, health and risk in cities is being thrown into stark relief.</p>
<p>In the medium-term, climate change may be deprioritised as decision-makers focus on public health and economic recovery. In this case, emissions will quickly rise again. Extended social distancing in cramped living spaces might fuel public appetite for sprawling suburbia. This would threaten ecosystem services and biodiversity, increasing exposure to climate hazards while reducing people’s ability to adapt. Fear of using mass transit may inspire the large-scale use of private cars (as we are already seeing in Wuhan). Meanwhile, the upfront costs associated with building retrofits, electric vehicles and solar panels may not be palatable during a recession.</p>
<p>Yet lower-carbon urban development is one of the best strategies to enhance public health and support inclusive economic development. Low-carbon measures in cities could generate <a href="https://urbantransitions.global/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Climate-Emergency-Urban-Opportunity-report.pdf">returns worth nearly US$24 trillion by 2050</a> – all while creating decent jobs, improving air quality and enhancing energy security.</p>
<h2>Ensuring new investments are climate-safe</h2>
<p>National stimulus packages must seize this urban opportunity – once transmission rates have fallen and testing is improved. How? Investments in affordable housing and basic services need to be at the heart of any fiscal response in order to enhance the resilience of urban residents. New water points are already being established in the slums of Jakarta, Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro so that people can wash their hands more frequently; access to safe drinking water and sanitation should be a priority even without the new impetus of coronavirus.</p>
<p>Expanding sidewalks and cycle lanes will also be important, allowing people to travel safely and inexpensively around their neighbourhood. Berlin, Bogota and Mexico City are already converting roads into cycle lanes to facilitate safe travel by critical workers and safe exercise by otherwise housebound urban residents. Safer, greener streets will also reduce pressure on urban parks if the lockdowns continue.</p>
<p>Investments in decentralised renewables and electric vehicle charging infrastructure could create good local jobs quickly. The solar industry alone accounted for a quarter of a million jobs in the USA in 2019. These investments would also tackle toxic air pollution, which is linked to much higher rates of death in people with Covid-19.</p>
<p>In such a turbulent and precarious times, it is hard to look ahead and prepare for another existential crisis – but we must. If climate change is deprioritised in urban areas in the wake of the pandemic, it is unlikely that global warming will be held <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/SPM-for-cities.pdf">below 1.5°C</a>.</p>
<p>National governments can ensure a quicker economic recovery and greater resilience to future shocks by placing more inclusive, sustainable cities at the heart of their fiscal stimulus.</p>
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<p><em>Created in 2007 to help accelerate and share scientific knowledge on key societal issues, the AXA Research Fund has been supporting nearly 650 projects around the world conducted by researchers from 55 countries. To learn more, visit the site of the <a href="https://www.axa-research.org">Axa Research Fund</a> or follow on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/axaresearchfund?lang=fr">@AXAResearchFund</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136765/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marta Olazabal research is supported by the Axa Research Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Colenbrander ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>After the Covid-19 pandemic, we must seize the opportunity to make urban centers more livable places by investing in affordable housing, basic services, clean energy and active transport.Marta Olazabal, Research Fellow, Basque Centre for Climate Change, BC3, BC3 - Basque Centre for Climate ChangeSarah Colenbrander, Coalition for Urban Transitions, World Resources InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1346252020-03-30T10:59:32Z2020-03-30T10:59:32ZCoronavirus: what might more hand washing mean in countries with water shortages?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/323679/original/file-20200327-146683-f81q7d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=876%2C0%2C4299%2C2863&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/water-droplets-faucet-concept-drought-crisis-1109864651">Releon8211/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Different strategies for resisting the spread of the new coronavirus <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-coronavirus-measures-have-worked-around-the-world-133933">have emerged in different countries</a>. But <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51711227">the one</a> that has cut through everywhere is simple and, supposedly, can be done by anyone: “Wash your hands with water and soap for at least 20 seconds.”</p>
<p>This advice takes plentiful safe water for granted, but in many parts of the world, clean fresh water isn’t guaranteed. Where it is, it may be in scarce supply. What will happen in such places if and when the pandemic escalates and the need for proper sanitation grows ever more urgent?</p>
<p>According to the World Health Organization, <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1272446/retrieve">frequent and thorough hand washing</a> can help reduce your chances of contracting infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Worldwide statistics <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/water-access">for 2017</a> revealed that poor sanitation and limited access to hand-washing facilities contributed to around 1.5 million deaths. Nearly 2.2 billion people are currently living without safely managed water outlets, and around <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water">22% of healthcare facilities</a> in the least developed countries lack basic water services.</p>
<p>Clean water and good hygiene is the absolute minimum that’s needed to combat the spread of the new coronavirus. But in sub-Saharan Africa, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/19/community-infections-could-happen-any-time-kenya-prepares-for-covid-19-coronavirus">World Bank reported</a> that around 75% of people living in rural areas live in homes that lack adequate facilities for hand washing. One charity working in the Western Province of Kenya found that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/mar/19/community-infections-could-happen-any-time-kenya-prepares-for-covid-19-coronavirus">95% of the households</a> they visited had no access to running water. </p>
<p>It’s been known for a while that countries without a reliable system of supplying water to everyone are likely to be more vulnerable to infectious diseases. The mortality rates from diarrhoea <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/diarrheal-diseases">in 2017</a> were highest in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Here, unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation were the highest risk factors for developing the disease among people who are 70 years and older. </p>
<p>Likewise, <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/diarrheal-diseases">72% of deaths</a> from diarrhoea among children under five in 2016 were caused by unsafe water, mostly in drought-prone countries in southern Africa. But even places with a sufficient supply of clean water are likely to face an intolerable strain as frequent hand washing becomes essential.</p>
<h2>A tipping point</h2>
<p>In Jordan, where over <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/water-access">93% of people</a> had access to safe water in 2015, a water sector official recently declared that demand for water has <a href="http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/water-resources-operating-highest-capacity-demand-surges-40-cent">jumped by 40%</a> since the government ordered people to stay home as part of a nationwide curfew. That’s on top of a steady rise in water demand <a href="https://thearabweekly.com/jordans-water-shortage-made-worse-refugee-crisis">of 22%</a> since 2011, as Syrian refugees have arrived, fleeing the civil war. The growing population has limited each individual’s share of water in Jordan to less than 80 litres per day.</p>
<p>The sudden increase in water demand in countries where supply is already strained could cause widespread shortages. But in places where a regular, safe water supply doesn’t exist, the risk of infection could multiply.</p>
<p>Like COVID-19, water scarcity is a global problem that needs collective action. There is no more urgent a time to address the world’s water crisis than now, when people are constantly being reminded to use water to combat the spread of the virus.</p>
<p>Acting on climate change is one way to limit the droughts that are behind many surface-water shortages, as is reforming agriculture to reduce pumping for irrigation. Managing water sources as a commons, with access guaranteed to all, is equally important.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 health crisis has taught us so far that collective action is the proper way to address a common problem, if not the only one. This should compel researchers to do all they can to communicate their findings and expertise, to bridge the gap between the scientific community and everyone else. Sharing knowledge within the community in a more inclusive way would help others devise innovative solutions for protecting water sources, improving sanitation and developing hygiene projects. </p>
<p>Let the COVID-19 outbreak remind us all how important safe running water is in keeping us healthy, and spare a thought for those who cannot count on it always flowing. Ensuring that clean water and hygiene is a right guaranteed to all is an urgent demand for global justice, but it is also vital in preparing the world to resist the development of future pandemics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134625/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Raya A. Al-Masri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More than two billion people live without reliable access to clean water.Raya A. Al-Masri, Researcher in Resources Governance and Sustainability, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1046982018-10-17T11:43:18Z2018-10-17T11:43:18ZIndia: why collecting water turns millions of women into second-class citizens<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240802/original/file-20181016-165905-kwbunp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The reality for many women in India.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTUzOTcxNTg5NywiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMzkwODA3NzIxIiwiayI6InBob3RvLzM5MDgwNzcyMS9tZWRpdW0uanBnIiwibSI6MSwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCJ2aFErMlU3akI0MTZlUytoYlc4b3hEWG1NNDQiXQ%2Fshutterstock_390807721.jpg&pi=33421636&m=390807721&src=UgpUkYIbVgYRlySCDMCmRg-1-0">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A family in India needs fresh water. But this family can’t just turn on a tap. Instead, the women in the household must walk to fetch it, sometimes travelling miles carrying plastic or earthenware pots, possibly with a child or two in tow, to the nearest safe source – regularly repeating the journey up to three times a day. In the scorching summer months of April and May, when temperatures regularly exceed 40C, it is a particularly gruelling daily ritual – and when they get home they must complete their other household chores: cooking, washing, bringing up the children, even helping on the family farm.</p>
<p>These women are reminiscent of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durga">many-armed Hindu goddess, Durga</a> – they have so many daily tasks, they could doubtless do with an extra set of hands. But they aren’t the exception. This is the reality for millions of women in India. From the Western Ghats and the mountainous north-east to the arid desert state of Rajasthan, women across the country act as water collectors. And this gender specific role has a severe impact on every aspect of their lives, from their health and social life to education and their ability to have a real say in the community.</p>
<p>It is estimated that 163m Indians still don’t have access to clean, <a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/water/19-of-world-s-people-without-access-to-clean-water-live-in-india-60011">running water</a>. Until that’s fixed, this significant national problem will prevail, with women paying the biggest price.</p>
<h2>A woman’s burden</h2>
<p>Water collection in India is a woman’s job, irrespective of her physique – and there’s no respite, even when she’s menstruating, ill, or has something else to do. As groundwater resources are placed under increasing pressure due to over-reliance and unsustainable consumption, wells, ponds and tanks can also regularly dry up, escalating the water crisis and placing a greater burden on women to travel long distances. Access to unsafe drinking water also results in the spread of water-borne diseases. And women are often the first victims of both water scarcity and water pollution.</p>
<p>In urban areas, long queues of women with colourful plastic water pots are eye-catching. But such images also highlight problems of water scarcity and the long waits they endure for the water tankers that deliver it in cities.</p>
<p>Urban woman, especially on the outskirts of cities and in slum areas, face the particular <a href="http://www.saciwaters.org/pdfs/Periurban%20Water%20Woes%20and%20Development%20Contradictions.pdf">burden of this water scarcity</a>. In some areas, water is occasionally supplied in the middle of the night, meaning that these women are deprived of sleep and their productivity is affected. Indeed, there are women in the <a href="http://ncw.nic.in/pdfReports/WomenandWater.pdf">global south who are denied education</a> purely because they have to collect water rather than go to school. In fact, one report revealed that almost <a href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/health/23-girls-drop-out-of-school-on-reaching-puberty-59496">23% of girls in India drop out of school</a> on reaching puberty due to a lack of water and sanitation facilities.</p>
<p>When girls have to drop out of school to help their mothers collect water and perform other household tasks, they are denied their right to education – which is now a fundamental right under Article 21A of <a href="http://mhrd.gov.in/rte">the Indian Constitution</a>. The saying goes: “Educate a woman, and she shall educate her family” – well, not these women. And because they’re missing out on the opportunities education provides, so are their other family members.</p>
<p>Collecting water is an irksome journey, especially in dry areas during heat waves. But it can be a dangerous one, too. Women may risk physical attack, for example, or abuse. The situation is made worse by the lack of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-27635363">adequate sanitation facilities</a> both at home and en route to the water source. And things are even worse for women from the lower strata of society who are even <a href="http://www.indiawaterportal.org/sites/indiawaterportal.org/files/Caste%2C%20gender_%20and_%20the_%20rhetoric_%20of_%20reform_%20in_%20India%E2%80%99s_%20drinking_%20water_%20sector_Deepa_Joshi_EPW_2011.pdf">denied access to water sources like public wells</a>. This caste discrimination persists even though the Indian Constitution – which ensures equal access to public wells without any discrimination based on religion, race, caste, and sex – is 70 years old.</p>
<h2>What the law says</h2>
<p>India is a federal democratic country divided into the centre (or union government), 29 states, and seven union territories. The power to make laws is divided between the union government and the states as per Schedule 7 of the Constitution of India, 1950. Accordingly, state governments can legislate on issues related to water, except for those matters involving inter-state rivers and water disputes. </p>
<p>However, the central government has also <a href="https://mdws.gov.in/about-us">initiated several programmes</a> and policies to ensure universal access to water in rural and urban areas, such as the National Rural Drinking Water Programme. Access to water is, after all, a fundamental right, covered by the “right to life” that is guaranteed by the Constitution. Indeed, Indian law far predates the international human rights regime on this. The broader human right to water was only recognised in 2002 under <a href="http://www.refworld.org/docid/4538838d11.html">General Comment 15</a> of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240803/original/file-20181016-165894-bx66v8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240803/original/file-20181016-165894-bx66v8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240803/original/file-20181016-165894-bx66v8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240803/original/file-20181016-165894-bx66v8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240803/original/file-20181016-165894-bx66v8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240803/original/file-20181016-165894-bx66v8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/240803/original/file-20181016-165894-bx66v8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many communities can’t just turn on a tap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTUzOTcxNTk5NiwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTE0MzcwOTQzOSIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xMTQzNzA5NDM5L21lZGl1bS5qcGciLCJtIjoxLCJkIjoic2h1dHRlcnN0b2NrLW1lZGlhIn0sImRYcTVKNGFHWVNGcjVMZHlxUkloRnpDS2l5MCJd%2Fshutterstock_1143709439.jpg&pi=33421636&m=1143709439&src=UgpUkYIbVgYRlySCDMCmRg-1-6">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>The three obligations on states regarding the human right to water – “respect, protect and fulfill” – have been recognised by the Indian courts in several cases (such as <a href="https://www.globalhealthrights.org/asia/subhash-kumar-v-state-of-bihar-ors/">Subhash Kumar v State of Bihar, 1991</a> and <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/665405/">Vishala Kochi Kudivella Samprakshana Samiti v State of Kerala, 2006</a>). However, there is no legislation in India that explicitly recognises and implements this fundamental right to water. Instead, every five years, each new government brings with it its own pet programmes for water supply – and none of them have genuinely addressed the issue of water collection for women nor suggested any practical way to ease their burden.</p>
<h2>How to tackle the crisis</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/india-water-crisis-shortage-niti-aayog-report-drought-mismanagement-a8403286.html">Several parts of India</a>
face severe water scarcity and drought during the summer months. The reason for this water scarcity lies at the grass-roots level – unsustainable water consumption and unscientific ways of managing water supply. Traditional water sources and groundwater recharging points, such as tanks, ponds, canals and lakes, are either neglected, polluted or used or filled in for other purposes. </p>
<p>Only with the constructive involvement of all of society’s stakeholders can this problem be solved. And it must be solved soon. With the increasing threat of climate change, water scarcity could soon be an irreparable issue – and not just for women, but for everyone in society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gayathri D Naik does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you have to devote hours a day to collecting water, you miss out on education, a social life and other human rights.Gayathri D Naik, Research Scholar, School of Law, SOAS, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/998742018-07-18T12:58:42Z2018-07-18T12:58:42ZWhy smart policies are key to solving the world’s clean water problems<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227803/original/file-20180716-44103-bxbfni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Globally consumers are increasingly taking charge of their own drinking water supply.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around 2.5 to 3 billion people worldwide don’t have <a href="https://thirdworldcentre.org/publication/assessing-global-water-megatrends-2/">access to clean water</a>. There are at least another 1.5 billion in developed countries who may have access to clean water but don’t trust its quality. </p>
<p>A number of widely publicised events about unreliable water services in countries have added to this mistrust. Seventeen years ago Walkerton in Canada had the country’s worst e.coli contamination of domestic water supply. It resulted in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19180129">seven deaths and 2300 illnesses</a>. In 2014, Flint, Michigan, USA, changed its source of water supply to Flint River. This corrosive source dangerously increased lead contamination of domestic water which severely affected people’s health, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jul/03/nothing-to-worry-about-the-water-is-fine-how-flint-michigan-poisoned-its-people">especially children</a>.</p>
<p>Many other incidents, in cities ranging from Sydney in Australia to Hong Kong, have made people increasingly sceptical of the quality of water they get at home. </p>
<p>To be on the safe side, consumers all over the world are increasingly taking charge of their own <a href="https://theconversation.com/people-in-african-cities-are-taking-charge-of-their-water-supplies-and-its-working-91758">drinking water supply</a>. Installations of expensive water treatment systems are exploding in the <a href="https://www.giiresearch.com/report/gwi260459-global-water-market-meeting-worlds-water.html">developed world</a>, as is consumption of <a href="https://www.giiresearch.com/report/gwi260459-global-water-market-meeting-worlds-water.html">bottled water</a>. In cities like Tokyo, Berlin, London and New York, fewer and fewer people are drinking water <a href="http://www.sacities.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/PDF/State-of-Water-in-Cities_FINAL-e-version_spreads.pdf">from the tap</a>.</p>
<p>The trend in developing countries has taken a different route. Households, from Delhi to Dakar, have become <a href="https://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/global_typology.pdf">mini-utilities</a>. Even if water only comes on for a few hours every day, residents have found ways to deliver 24-hour supply by collecting it in underground tanks, pumping it into overhead tanks and then distributing it. Households have also installed their own treatment systems for <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/geo2.9">clean drinking water</a>.</p>
<p>After decades of work on urban water and waste water management in some 40 countries, we <a href="http://explore.tandfonline.com/page/pgas/cijw-professor-asit">have concluded</a> that there is no reason why urban centres of 200 000 or more people cannot have access to clean water that can be drunk straight from the tap without any health concerns. We already have the technology and funds to make this possible. So what’s missing?</p>
<p>Very often the view is that technological developments will solve water problems. But policies are just as critical, as are “softer” aspects such as management, governance and institutions. Unless these get adequate attention, neither technology nor additional investment funds are likely to resolve the world’s clean water drinking problems. </p>
<p>A decade ago we predicted that unless management practices improved very significantly at least one city in Africa would face unprecedented water crisis within <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/africas-manmade-water-crisis-asit-k-biswas/">20 years</a>. Our prediction <a href="https://www.policyforum.net/tightening-the-taps-cape-towns-water-crisis/">was accurate</a>. Unless politicians in African cities improve water management as a priority, our studies indicate there will be at least 15 other cities which will face severe water problems <a href="https://news.nus.edu.sg/sites/default/files/resources/news/2018/2018-07/2018-07-06/WATER-st-pA21-6jul.pdf">by 2035</a>.</p>
<h2>Why policies matter</h2>
<p>The trend is progressively towards less water use. This reduction has been made possible through different policy approaches. This includes pricing water appropriately as well as incentives for using less water, particularly in times of drought.</p>
<p>But what assumptions should be made about consumption when designing policies? How much water a person needs to survive is tricky, partly because it differs dramatically depending on the country and on whether the person is living in a city or a rural area. </p>
<p>Only one multi-year <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/1981-09-01/water-third-world">study</a> has been done on this issue. It was in the 1960s in Singapore. It concluded that a person needs 75 litres to lead a healthy and productive life. In Singapore, per capita water use in 2017 was 143 litres, nearly double this amount. In contrast, in the US, it varies from 300–380 litres. In South Africa, it is around <a href="https://www.news24.com/Analysis/do-south-africans-each-guzzle-235-litres-of-water-per-day-20180412">235 litres</a>.</p>
<p>There is good reason to believe people can lead a healthy and productive life with 75 litres to 85 litres of water per day. For example, water consumption in Czech Republic is now <a href="http://eagri.cz/public/web/en/mze/water/water-management/">88 litres per capita per day</a>. In several West European cities like Leipzig, Malaga, Tallinn, Barcelona and Zaragoza, average water use is 95 litres per capita per day <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275117307655">or less</a>. Denmark now has an average water use of <a href="https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/state-of-green/news/danes-water-consumption-the-lowest-ever-recorded/">104 litres</a>. </p>
<p>And it’s possible to shift behaviour patterns as both Cape Town has showed recently and as was the case in <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cities-thirsting-water-asit-k-biswas-1/">the 2014–2015</a> drought <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/23/brazil-worst-drought-history">in Sao Paulo</a>. </p>
<p>Thanks to water pricing, initiatives for using less water, fines for excessive use and very effective public awareness campaigns, Sao Paulo reduced its per capital daily water use from 145 to 120 litres. Since Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area has around 22 million people, these policies saved 550 million litres of drinking water <a href="https://www.genevawaterhub.org/news/water-talk-special-edition-prof-asit-k-biswas-clean-water-increasingly-thirsty-urban-world">every day</a>. Since 80-85% of domestic water used becomes waste water, this means some 470 million litres waste water will not be produced, and thus will not have <a href="https://www.genevawaterhub.org/news/water-talk-special-edition-prof-asit-k-biswas-clean-water-increasingly-thirsty-urban-world">to be treated</a>.</p>
<h2>Change in focus</h2>
<p>Technological developments will undoubtedly help to solve the world’s urban water problems. But there is increasing evidence that if the aim is to provide everyone with access to clean water, then increasing focus must be placed on governance, institutional issues and policies. </p>
<p>Urban water problems of the world are solvable. Knowledge, technology and funds to solve them have been around for at least a decade. But lack of sustained political will has been the most important missing link critical factor to improve urban water governance in nearly all cities of the world. Sadly there aren’t many signs that this may change any time soon.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99874/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Unless African cities improve water management many will face severe water problems by 2035.Asit K. Biswas, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of SingaporeCecilia Tortajada, Senior Research Fellow, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of SingaporeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/869332017-11-09T19:21:08Z2017-11-09T19:21:08ZSome remote Australian communities have drinking water for only nine hours a day<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193908/original/file-20171109-11954-6ng74t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2048%2C1364&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Communities in Cape York are among those with restricted access to mains water. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidboily/34848810261/">NomadicPics/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Some remote Australian communities have access to drinking water for only nine hours a day for part of the year, but these households can still use up to ten times the average of urban households.</p>
<p>Many communities in the Torres Strait Islands have their mains water supply limited to nine hours a day during the week, and 16 hours a day at weekends, during the six-month dry season from May to October. Some remote Aboriginal communities in mainland Australia have similar restrictions. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/water-in-northern-australia-a-history-of-aboriginal-exclusion-60929">Water in northern Australia: a history of Aboriginal exclusion</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<p>The vast majority of these residents do not pay directly for water, as they live in public housing. A three-year research project has been using smart meters to monitor water use as well as promoting community discussion. We found the water is largely used for things that might be viewed as luxuries in an urban setting but which play an important role in community life, such as dampening roofs for cooling and washing fishing gear.</p>
<p>The challenge, therefore, is finding ways to manage this unsustainable water use, apart from physically turning off the water. By understanding the challenges of life in remote Australia and working closely with locals, we identified some reasonable and realistic ways to reduce water use. </p>
<h2>Revealing the reasons for high water use</h2>
<p>Water restrictions, which have been in place on and off since the early 2000s, exist for a simple reason: there is not enough water to meet demand, especially during the dry season. </p>
<p>Providing water to remote and isolated communities is expensive, whether it comes from a desalination plant (which turns seawater into drinking water) or from a groundwater bore. Typically a diesel generator is used to generate power for water extraction, treatment, pumping and sewage management.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193733/original/file-20171108-2028-6ih8gp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193733/original/file-20171108-2028-6ih8gp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193733/original/file-20171108-2028-6ih8gp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193733/original/file-20171108-2028-6ih8gp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193733/original/file-20171108-2028-6ih8gp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193733/original/file-20171108-2028-6ih8gp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193733/original/file-20171108-2028-6ih8gp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193733/original/file-20171108-2028-6ih8gp.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Leaking taps contribute to high water use in some remote communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cara Beal</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For the past three years I have led a team of Griffith University researchers investigating how water was being used, and how it could be reduced. We installed smart meters in three remote communities, across the Torres Strait Islands, Cape York and the Northern Territory. </p>
<p>The data revealed an average daily use of 900 litres per person, rising to more than 4,000L per person per day in some cases. (The average southeast Queensland household daily use is around <a href="http://www.seqwater.com.au/south-east-queenslanders-continue-use-water-wisely">180L per person</a>.) Once the energy costs of pumping and treating this water via diesel-fuelled generators are included, it’s clear this is unsustainable.</p>
<p>We then broke down household water use into categories such as showering and outdoor, and discussed water use habits with each participating household. This gave unprecedented insights into how, where and why water is being used in remote community households. </p>
<h2>Beating the dust and heat</h2>
<p>Outdoor water use makes up, on average, at least 75% of total household water demand. This can get even higher in the dry season. Leaking taps are also a major contributor. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193895/original/file-20171109-14161-1omszzu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193895/original/file-20171109-14161-1omszzu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193895/original/file-20171109-14161-1omszzu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193895/original/file-20171109-14161-1omszzu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193895/original/file-20171109-14161-1omszzu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193895/original/file-20171109-14161-1omszzu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193895/original/file-20171109-14161-1omszzu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193895/original/file-20171109-14161-1omszzu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=688&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Average residential water use per person in three remote communities from Far North Queensland and the Northern Territory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cara Beal</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We spoke to participants in Cape York and the Torres Strait about their water use during the middle of the dry season. We found five key drivers for this high outdoor water use (aside from leaks):</p>
<ul>
<li>dust control (and flea control) from non-surfaced roads and yards</li>
<li>cooling down (watering the house roof and bare earth or concrete driveways to create an evaporative effect) </li>
<li>washing down boats and fishing or hunting equipment </li>
<li>physical amenity (gardening or greening) </li>
<li>social amenity (having a continuous source of tap water was an important resource during social gatherings, including sorry camps, tombstone openings, cultural events and extended family gatherings). </li>
</ul>
<h2>Reducing drivers of high water use</h2>
<p>In urban areas, outdoor household water use is often described as “discretionary”. This implies that the water is associated with “wants” (like car washing, irrigation or filling pools) more than “needs” (drinking, cooking or personal hygiene). </p>
<p>But in the case of these remote communities, our research suggests that outdoor water use is often linked directly to health and well-being. In areas where temperatures during winter regularly climb above 30°C, dust suppression, cooling and flea control are not trivial desires.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193904/original/file-20171109-14199-10a85a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193904/original/file-20171109-14199-10a85a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193904/original/file-20171109-14199-10a85a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193904/original/file-20171109-14199-10a85a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193904/original/file-20171109-14199-10a85a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193904/original/file-20171109-14199-10a85a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193904/original/file-20171109-14199-10a85a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193904/original/file-20171109-14199-10a85a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Water is used for controlling dust from unsealed roads and bare earth in remote communities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cara Beal</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This means that simply adopting the typical urban water management approach is unlikely to reduce demand. Poor sanitation in <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-a-fallacy-that-all-australians-have-access-to-clean-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-61436">many Indigenous communities</a> further complicates the situation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-a-fallacy-that-all-australians-have-access-to-clean-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-61436">It’s a fallacy that all Australians have access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The challenge is to reduce water demand, to allow restrictions to be eased in the future, while maintaining a sustainable level of water use in these communities. </p>
<h2>Community-involved solutions</h2>
<p>We asked our participants from two communities in western Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands how they would reduce high outdoor water use. </p>
<p>Overwhelmingly, they observed a need for more education and awareness of why water conservation is important. Before piped water systems, people were deeply connected to their water sources and could self-manage their supplies. </p>
<p>Nowadays many communities have only one or two good-quality water sources, and the Western-style built infrastructure acts as a barrier to this previous personal connection to water. The economic value of water is also poorly understood in many remote communities. </p>
<p>Similarly, service providers (and others) need to develop a greater understanding of the cultural, social and spiritual value of water from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island person’s perspective. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-role-of-water-in-australias-uncertain-future-45366">The role of water in Australia's uncertain future</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Our team, together with the participants and local service providers, trialled a water efficiency pilot program. This involved both residents and local councils learning about the importance of conserving water and offering suggestions on ways to do this. Talking with the residents, it become clear that high outdoor water use was not purely driven by the fact that water is free for them. </p>
<p>Many of the activities were centred on health (cooling and dust suppression) and food provision (fishing and hunting). Nevertheless, ways of reducing water use were identified. These included watering after dark, reporting leaks, using tap timers and washing hunting and fishing equipment on grass. </p>
<p>The pilot programs have shown promising results, although their funding will shortly end. The challenge will be to change behaviour over time. If this can be done, it will go a long way to reducing the need to limit some communities to nine hours of treated water a day.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86933/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Beal receives funding from the Queensland State Government (Accelerate Fellowship) and the Australian Government (ARC LP). </span></em></p>Some remote Australian communities have access to drinking water for only nine hours a day but can use ten times the average of urban households.Cara D. Beal, Senior research fellow, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/842512017-09-25T23:06:12Z2017-09-25T23:06:12ZDeclaring a water crisis over isn’t the end of the ordeal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187225/original/file-20170922-2621-dmudrk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=301%2C457%2C1953%2C1508&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Demonstrators at a 2010 Toronto rally protesting the mercury contamination of the Wabigoon-English waterway in northwestern Ontario carry long blue banners meant to represent a river.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cpimages.com/fotoweb/cpimages_details.pop.fwx?position=17&archiveType=ImageFolder&sorting=ModifiedTimeAsc&search=grassy%20and%20narrows&fileId=7ED4E565C8CEED275AEAE4A023E6F0DBFE75CC55B6586039AFA3A4A9FE951D3F22B34ACC50499F0099000C676EF56B79FD8133928F397B420252357DFD02BED28915C22CD11247F9A53DBCAAA339F67CCEC3DBF06283ADB76431DD783AC2851241D208CC5F04D67A94ACA3FBCF800D05A8EBD4D202BD2075716A33B9CB9E5412">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Water crisis is over and lead levels back to normal in Flint</em>, read the headlines. The Michigan city has been besieged with water quality challenges for the past three years. Incidents of <em>Legionella</em> infections leading to 12 deaths in 2014 and 2015 further complicated matters. </p>
<p>Virginia Tech professor Marc Edwards, a leading water expert, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/09/15/flints-drinking-water-crisis-is-over-expert-says.html">declared the end of the Flint water crisis</a>. He urged residents to continue to use filters until the infrastructure upgrades are complete, but acknowledged it would be some time before residents would trust officials as guardians of water quality. </p>
<p>Factors contributing to the Flint water crisis are not unique. </p>
<p>Inadequate and aged water infrastructure are common sources of problems. While upgrading infrastructure after a crisis is necessary, and technological advancement can overcome some water quality management challenges, those efforts are only effective if implemented consistently and maintained properly.</p>
<p>Underlying issues that become apparent after a crisis must also be addressed. They include public trust, accessibility, the need for environmental protections and for strong communication between officials and the communities.</p>
<h2>Water crises have a long history</h2>
<p>Just over 17 years ago, the tainted water crisis in <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/inside-walkerton-canada-s-worst-ever-e-coli-contamination-1.887200">Walkerton, Ont.</a> led to 2,300 cases of gastroenteritis and seven deaths. Amid excessive rainfall, cattle manure run-off from an adjacent farm contaminated the shallow drinking water well. </p>
<p>The community’s prolonged exposure was attributed to a lack of training and education of key personnel, and lack of action when the test results showed fecal contamination.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187226/original/file-20170922-17241-1u2o7e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187226/original/file-20170922-17241-1u2o7e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187226/original/file-20170922-17241-1u2o7e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187226/original/file-20170922-17241-1u2o7e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187226/original/file-20170922-17241-1u2o7e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=794&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187226/original/file-20170922-17241-1u2o7e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187226/original/file-20170922-17241-1u2o7e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187226/original/file-20170922-17241-1u2o7e6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=998&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dalton McGuinty, then premier of Ontario, tours the Walkerton Clean Water Centre in this 2010 file photo. Seven people died and thousands were sickened by e. coli contamination.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cpimages.com/fotoweb/cpimages_details.pop.fwx?position=12&archiveType=ImageFolder&sorting=ModifiedTimeAsc&search=walkerton%20and%20water&fileId=7ED4E565C8CEED275AEAE4A023E6F0DBFE75CC55B6586039AFA3A4A9FE951D3F22B34ACC50499F0099000C676EF56B79FD8133928F397B420252357DFD02BED20471346439AB1C9025718ECCB1B8DD22CEC3DBF06283ADB76431DD783AC2851241D208CC5F04D67A94ACA3FBCF800D05A8EBD4D202BD2075716A33B9CB9E5412">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Similarly, in Camelford, England, a major pollution incident occurred in 1988 when 20 tons of aluminium sulfate, a toxic chemical used in water treatment, was introduced into the water system. </p>
<p>At concentrations 3,000 times the acceptable level, lead and copper were released from distribution pipes, leading to short-term illnesses such as headaches, abdominal pain and flu-like symptoms. There was also long-term harm, which can include kidney disease and even death. </p>
<p>The situation was worsened by poor governance and communication with the affected community.</p>
<p>The Walkerton and Camelford communities enjoy improved oversight of their water resources and infrastructure. In contrast, First Nations communities do not always see improvements after crises. </p>
<h2>First Nations often forgotten</h2>
<p>From 1962 to 1970, wastewater containing mercury from a paper mill was dumped into the Wabigoon-English River. It is the water supply for the First Nations communities of Grassy Narrows and Wabaseemoong, each about 100 kilometres from Kenora near the Ontario-Manitoba border. </p>
<p>The river is still contaminated with mercury, and indemnities granted to the paper mill owners from the federal and Ontario governments severely limit cleanup and monitoring. </p>
<p>While the First Nations communities received monetary compensation, the loss of a commercial fishery removed the primary source of income for the residents, and 90 per cent of the population continue to show signs of exposure to mercury. </p>
<p>The federal government reported in July that there were 150 <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/topics/health-environment/water-quality-health/drinking-water/advisories-first-nations-south-60.html">drinking water advisories for First Nations south of the 60th parallel</a>. Shoal Lake 40 First Nation on the Manitoba-Ontario border has been under boil-water advisory (BWA) since 1997, while Winnipeg continues to draw its freshwater supply from Shoal Lake.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187228/original/file-20170922-17306-1qtqr7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/187228/original/file-20170922-17306-1qtqr7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187228/original/file-20170922-17306-1qtqr7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187228/original/file-20170922-17306-1qtqr7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187228/original/file-20170922-17306-1qtqr7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187228/original/file-20170922-17306-1qtqr7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/187228/original/file-20170922-17306-1qtqr7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A boy from the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation sits on a bridge over a channel in this 2015 file photo. The isolated reserve has been under a boil-water advisory for 20 years, one of Canada’s longest.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.cpimages.com/fotoweb/cpimages_details.pop.fwx?position=9&archiveType=ImageFolder&sorting=ModifiedTimeAsc&search=shoal%20and%20lake%20and%20water&fileId=7ED4E565C8CEED276553137C3F07278F0211563F5E7047DF3AAB663AE59BB0CF1642B0B80D34257E6710EC2568FB7698B59B4D70A14C35A58152C97161CDE0D63844BDFF2720F9C87D4E06917A93A5E1827DEA4F077132B842F841C1FF39A6F82A1B1FF576DC98DFC84C9926EBA1BC6E6D803494D4FDDF378833CEC7257DD9F872A4174B5D4BD80B2EFE72117E85DAC0">(THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clearly, an inequity in water quality services in First Nations compared to non-First Nations communities exists. It has contributed to the disparity and lack of trust and satisfaction about their water supply among First Nations.</p>
<p>Limited consultation with First Nations communities for projects related to their traditional lands and natural resources around them causes further distrust.</p>
<p>Canada, with about <a href="https://www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/default.asp?lang=En&n=1C100657-1#ws46B1DCCC">20 per cent of the world’s fresh water</a>, is perceived as a water-rich nation, but only a fraction — about 6.5 per cent — is renewable. </p>
<p>Changes in water quality owing to depletion of non-renewable groundwater supplies, contamination due to the release of inadequately treated or untreated sewage, discharge of emerging contaminants and climate change all pose challenges to the sustainability of water resources and the supply of safe water.</p>
<h2>Solutions not always simple or clear</h2>
<p>At any given moment, there are hundreds of boil water advisories in effect across Canada, many lasting more than five years. There is no national standard to determine when a BWA should be implemented. Reasons for BWAs include problems with disinfection systems and failed microbiological tests. </p>
<p>BWAs are an important precautionary tool regarding water safety. However, frequent and/or long-lasting BWAs may affect consumer behaviour to such a degree that people stop heeding them.</p>
<p>The development and implementation of risk management plans for water, based on quality requirements, is limited by what is considered safe. </p>
<p>In the context of human health, safe water contains negligible, if any, levels of harmful contaminants such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses or protozoa, cancer-causing chemicals or any other acutely toxic substance. </p>
<p>Other potential and emerging contaminants such as personal-care products, pharmaceuticals and antibiotic-resistant microbes may cause less acute illness. And they may affect populations such as the frail, elderly and children quite differently, making them difficult to address and include in risk management plans.</p>
<p>Acute crises draw attention to the need for multi-level risk management plans that are preventative rather than reactive, address the greatest risks, draw on experience and adequately invest resources for risk mitigation. </p>
<p>The failures serve to remind us that investing only in infrastructure and personnel training is not enough.</p>
<p>There must also be investment in programs and resources that incorporate broader environmental protection requirements, community involvement, education and research to better address contemporary water issues and prevent future water crises.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Liss receives funding (research) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Southern Ontario Water Consoritium (SOWC), Ontario Research Fund (MRI-ORF), matching industry support from private sector technology companies (water and wastewater treatment), and research support from Queen's University (2010-17) and Ryerson University (2017-).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Majury receives funding from Public Health Ontario, Canadian Foundation of Infectious Diseases and Public Health Agency of Canada currently. She has no conflicts of interest to declare.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Haley Sanderson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The declared end of Flint, Mich., contaminated water crisis echoes similar claims worldwide. Evidence shows victims of past and ongoing water crises, especially Indigenous people, continue to suffer.Steven Liss, Vice-President Research & Innovation; professor of chemistry and biology, Faculty of Science, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityAnna Majury, Clinical Microbiologist, Public Health Ontario. Assistant professor Department of Biology and Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences;, Queen's University, OntarioHaley Sanderson, PhD student, Environmental Studies, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/744452017-03-13T15:42:07Z2017-03-13T15:42:07ZCholera: how African countries are failing to do even the basics<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160465/original/image-20170313-19274-14qp32p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cholera is usually transmitted through contaminated water or food.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ahmed Saad/Reuters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>There have been a spate of cholera outbreaks in a number of sub-Saharan countries including <a href="http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/cholera-reaches-south-sudans-second-largest-city-un-says-20170310">South Sudan</a>,<a href="http://www.africareview.com/news/Cholera-outbreak-hits-Mozambique/979180-3816754-qkokjg/"> Mozambique</a> and <a href="http://www.capitalradiomalawi.com/news/item/7417-health-officials-in-malawi-raise-alarm-over-cholera-outbreak-in-mozambique">Malawi</a>. Cholera can <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0156674">move</a> from one country to another, killing hundreds of people in its wake. The Conversation Africa’s Health and Medicine Editor Joy Wanja Muraya spoke to Sam Kariuki on how to facilitate prevention, detection and better responses to public health threats associated with the disease.</em></p>
<p><strong>Why are cholera outbreaks common and deadly in Africa?</strong></p>
<p>Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/">kill within hours</a> if left untreated.</p>
<p>Each year <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/">1.3 to 4.0 million</a> cases of the illness occurs around the world, leading to between 21 000 to 143 000 deaths. About two thirds of these are in developing countries, mostly <a href="http://www.who.int/pmnch/media/press_materials/fs/fs_mdg4_childmortality/en/">in sub Saharan Africa.</a>.</p>
<p>Cholera is caused by a gram negative bacterium called <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/cholera/index.html">Vibrio cholerae</a> usually transmitted through <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs399/en/">contaminated water or food</a> in areas with poor sanitation and lack of clean drinking water.</p>
<p>Cholera is referred to as a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19762952">disease of poverty</a> because of the lack of social development in the areas in which it occurs. </p>
<p>The constant threat of natural catastrophes such as flooding and man made ones including civil unrest, make the management and prevention of cholera a huge challenge in most of Africa. </p>
<p>Several conditions on the continent make it fertile ground for the emergence and rapid spread of cholera. These include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Inadequate <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309339708_Notes_from_the_Field_Chlorination_Strategies_for_Drinking_Water_During_a_Cholera_Epidemic_-_Tanzania_2016">access to clean water</a> and sanitation facilities, especially in peri-urban slums, where basic infrastructure isn’t available.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cholera-kenya-idUSTRE7AE1LD20111115">Camps</a> for internally displaced persons or refugees, where minimum requirements of clean water and sanitation have not been met. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00052860.htm">Crowded camps</a> are fertile ground for a cholera outbreak.</p></li>
<li><p>Other humanitarian crises including flooding and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/14/haiti-cholera-hurricane-matthew-aid-agencies">earthquakes</a>, civil unrest or war that causes disruption of water and sanitation systems. </p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>What has been the progress of cholera outbreak responses in Africa?</strong></p>
<p>Providing communal toilets, water vending points and improved sewage disposal in urban informal settlements have borne fruit in <a href="https://www.wsp.org/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/330200725049_afBetterWaterandSanitationForTheUrbanPoorGoodPracticeFromSSA.pdf">Kenya</a> and <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.953.5918&rep=rep1&type=pdf">Ghana.</a></p>
<p>But generally the lack of <a href="http://www.ncdc.gov.in/writereaddata/linkimages/April-June%20084234621084.pdf">comprehensive programs </a>for improvement of general public health especially for vulnerable populations like refugees and informal settlement residents is a challenge. </p>
<p>African countries have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19443768">not achieved</a> nearly enough. This is true when it comes to detecting primary cases and then isolating and treating them to arrest further transmission. This is particularly the case in refugee camps.</p>
<p>Very often efforts to <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001893">provide clean drinking water</a>, safe disposal of sewage and improved housing are poorly coordinated, halfhearted and mediocre.</p>
<p>The increase in population especially in <a href="http://www.un.org.za/cholera-highlights-urban-risk-factors/">urban informal settlements</a> has been exponential over the last two decades posing a major challenge for public health as more people flock to the cities in search of jobs.</p>
<p>On top of this a lack of political maturity in many African countries as well as greed for political power has led to civil unrest and chaos which in turn has resulted in internal displacements of huge populations.</p>
<p>There are recommended <a href="http://www.who.int/topics/cholera/vaccines/en/">vaccines</a> that can minimise the spread of cholera. But they are rarely used as for most governments this not a priority.</p>
<p>Cost matters! Unlike cholera vaccine, most of the <a href="http://www.who.int/immunization/programmes_systems/supply_chain/benefits_of_immunization/en/">Expanded Programme on Immunisation</a> vaccines are usually provided free through the GAVI initiative. Hence my suggestion that the cholera vaccine be made part of EPI initiative for endemic areas/regions.</p>
<p><strong>Are there reasons for optimism?</strong></p>
<p>Vaccines can <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/">prevent up to 65% </a> of vulnerable populations from getting cholera. This also keeps away other food borne diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, E. coli and diarrhoea.</p>
<p>Currently there are three <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(16)00037-1/abstract">WHO pre-qualified</a> oral cholera vaccines: Dukoral®, Shanchol™, and Euvichol® and they all require two doses for full protection. </p>
<p>Dukoral® is mainly used for travellers. Dukoral® provides approximately 65% protection against cholera for two years. Shanchol™ and Euvichol® are essentially the same vaccine produced by two different manufacturers. The current cost for a 2 -dose regimen is US$3·7 for Shanchol and Euvichol and $10·5 for Dukoral. It may be high time these vaccines were placed on the same level of importance as EPI-supported vaccines especially for endemic areas in order to increase affordability and faster roll-out.</p>
<p>There must be a minimum of two weeks delay between first dose and booster dose for these two vaccines.</p>
<p>But apart from better use and distribution of available vaccines, much more needs to be done. Investment is needed especially for vulnerable and at risk populations living in slums and <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/afr/news/latest/2015/12/5685137c9/unhcr-battles-cholera-worlds-largest-refugee-complex.html">refugee camps</a>.</p>
<p>Surveillance and mapping cholera hot spots is critical to encourage prompt treatment and control measures when a primary case is identified.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74445/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samuel Kariuki does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A lack of decent sanitation and clean drinking water are fertile ground for a cholera outbreak.Samuel Kariuki, Researcher Microbiology/Infectious Diseases, Kenya Medical Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/666902016-10-20T15:29:06Z2016-10-20T15:29:06ZEquitable access is key to meeting water, sanitation and hygiene targets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142318/original/image-20161019-20336-ip8sko.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman carries water she has collected from the Turkwel River near Lodwar in Turkana County, north-west Kenya.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Hope/REACH</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UN’s millennium development goal target of halving the amount of people with access to safe drinking water has been met. The same is sadly not true of the sanitation target. And the transition to the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs">sustainable development goals</a> for water and sanitation has created even more ambitious targets. These will require real change within this sector to achieve them by the 2030 deadline.</p>
<p><a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg6">Goal 6</a> of the sustainable development goals, released in 2015, involves ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. The indicators which will be used to track progress were only <a href="http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/47th-session/documents/2016-2-IAEG-SDGs-Rev1-E.pdf">agreed in March</a> 2016. It’s early days, so changes and shifts might not be visible to those outside the sector. </p>
<p>I’m happy to report that there are shifts towards greater equity in access – which is important because, as research has previously shown, progress in the provision of water and sanitation tends to benefit wealthier populations. The poor are left out in the cold.</p>
<p>The sustainable development goals aim to provide access to all. but to achieve this will take major changes in the sector. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140915/original/image-20161007-21433-14m7fbw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140915/original/image-20161007-21433-14m7fbw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140915/original/image-20161007-21433-14m7fbw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=231&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140915/original/image-20161007-21433-14m7fbw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=231&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140915/original/image-20161007-21433-14m7fbw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=231&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140915/original/image-20161007-21433-14m7fbw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140915/original/image-20161007-21433-14m7fbw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/140915/original/image-20161007-21433-14m7fbw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=290&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Targets for access to water, sanitation and hygiene: then and now.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Equality in access</h2>
<p>The millennium development goal focus of halving the number of people without access to water meant that the target could be achieved without helping the poorest. By 2012, <a href="http://www.wssinfo.org/">the Joint Monitoring Programme, or JMP,</a> analysed progress toward the targets by wealth. This highlighted how progress was often greatest for the wealthiest, while there was little change <a href="http://www.wssinfo.org/documents/?tx_displaycontroller%5btype%5d=wealth_quintiles">for the poorest</a>. </p>
<p>Senegal is an example how different progress can be for the richest and poorest in a country which met the MDG target on water. The progress the country made was unequal. In urban areas, access to improved water sources decreased for the poorest between 1995 and 2012. In rural areas, rapid progress for the second wealthiest group still left them 17 years behind that of the wealthiest.</p>
<p>Across the sector there is now a focus on how to extend access to water, sanitation and hygiene services to those who are most marginalised, but also to those who are least able to afford to pay. The target is to make water affordable for all. But this is the one area not currently captured in the SDG indicators. Extending sustainable services to all will require different financing models to address both construction and maintenance, and this remains a key topic under discussion.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142248/original/image-20161018-15137-13b2wnd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142248/original/image-20161018-15137-13b2wnd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142248/original/image-20161018-15137-13b2wnd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142248/original/image-20161018-15137-13b2wnd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142248/original/image-20161018-15137-13b2wnd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=369&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142248/original/image-20161018-15137-13b2wnd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142248/original/image-20161018-15137-13b2wnd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142248/original/image-20161018-15137-13b2wnd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Senegal met the MDG target for water, but progress was unequal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A better level of access</h2>
<p>There are three key critical areas in which the bar for what is considered access is being raised: safer water quality, integration of hygiene, and safe management of sanitation.</p>
<p>By the end of the MDG period it was clear that <a href="http://www.wssinfo.org/definitions-methods/watsan-categories/">improved water sources</a> did not equate to safe drinking water. A rapid assessment of <a href="http://www.wssinfo.org/water-quality/">drinking-water quality</a> in five countries – Ethiopia, Jordan, Nicaragua, Nigeria and Tajikistan – demonstrated the gap between improved water sources and safe water. Over half of protected dug wells did not provide safe water and nor did around a third of protected <a href="http://www.wssinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/report_wash_low.pdf">springs and boreholes</a>. </p>
<p>These results <a href="http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0042-96862012000300015&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en">showed</a> that in Nigeria the proportion of the population with access to safe water was <a href="http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/90/3/11-094284/en/">15%, or 22 million people</a> lower than estimated based on the MDG indicator. Similar results were found for 4 of the 5 countries included in the study, with a 7-16% decrease in access when water quality was taken into consideration.</p>
<p>Going forward, the SDG indicator for safely managed drinking water services is <a href="http://www.wssinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/JMP-WASH-Post-2015-Brochure.pdf">defined</a> as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a basic drinking water source which is located on premises, available when needed and free of faecal and priority chemical contamination.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A basic drinking water source is an improved drinking water source with a round trip collection time of no more than 30 minutes including queuing. Where existing data is available, there will be reports against this indicator in the coming year. </p>
<p>But data is not widely available. This will be one of the major outcomes from the SDG for water: millions more people across the globe will have their water sources monitored, with increasing pressure on those that provide water services to ensure water isn’t just available, that it is also safe to drink. The area is already seeing progress with the implementation of water quality testing being expanded in household <a href="http://mics.unicef.org/methodological_work/3/WATER-QUALITY">surveys</a>.</p>
<p>How this data will be made available to water users and decision makers at a local level is not yet clear. But it is essential that this is addressed in the coming years to help deliver safe accessible drinking water for all.</p>
<h2>The hygiene gap</h2>
<p>There is often limited attention given to hygiene. The inclusion of hygiene in target 6.2 is the result of sustained <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000367">advocacy and research work</a> within the sector.</p>
<p>About 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have been included in <a href="http://www.wssinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/JMP-Update-report-2015_English.pdf">surveys</a> demonstrating that, on average, only 13% of the population have access to a handwashing facility at home with soap and water. That is around half the population that had access to sanitation in those same countries, and about one fifth of those with access to water. The inclusion of hygiene in the sustainable development goals will ensure the sector continues to build on this important work. </p>
<h2>Safe sanitation</h2>
<p>The emphasis in the millennium development goals was on toilet infrastructure only. This has left what has been described as the <a href="http://www.thedailystar.net/city/untreated-faecal-sludge-huge-threat-health-1225666">second generation sanitation challenge</a>: how to remove excreta building up in pit latrines and septic tanks and how to treat it?</p>
<p>Many toilets aren’t accessible to emptying trucks, or are at risk of collapse if they are emptied. Where equipment is available for desludging, waste is still commonly dumped into waterways as treatment works do not have the capacity. Raising awareness of these issues and communicating them through <a href="http://sfd.susana.org/about/the-sfd">shit flow diagrams</a> is crucial. The sector is changing how it works to address the whole faecal sludge management chain.</p>
<p>The sustainable development goals add new dimensions to evaluating access to drinking water and sanitation, and now hygiene. In the millennium development goals infrastructure was a focus, but with the sustainable development goals it will expand to include management and behaviour change. Progress against the SDG targets for water, sanitation and hygiene may appear slow as these are incorporated into such initiatives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66690/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katrina Charles receives funding from the UK Department of International Development.</span></em></p>Progress in terms of water and sanitation has traditionally favoured those with money. But the hope with the SDG’s is that this gap will be plugged in the future.Katrina Charles, Lecturer and course director in Water Science, Policy and Management, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/634522016-08-07T20:08:41Z2016-08-07T20:08:41ZWithout action, Asia-Pacific ecosystems could lose a third of their value by 2050<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133196/original/image-20160805-493-2lorc3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Clean water and access to food are two of the most priceless ecosystem services.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/ecosystem-services">Ecosystem services</a> – the natural processes that allow Earth to sustain life and provide us with everything we have and see – are facing an uncertain future. </p>
<p>Between 1997 and 2011, the global value of ecosystem services <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert_Costanza/publication/262489570_Changes_in_the_global_value_of_ecosystem_services/links/53d1961a0cf220632f3c1922.pdf">declined by up to US$20 trillion per year</a> as a result of changing land use. To put that in context, the world’s entire GDP is currently <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2016/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=77&pr.y=8&sy=2016&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=001%2C998&s=NGDPD&grp=1&a=1">just under US$74 trillion</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app5.147/full">Our research</a> shows that, in the Asia-Pacific region, this downward trend is likely to continue unless there are significant policy changes. By 2050, we predict that ecosystem service values could drop by 34% from their 2011 base value of US$13 trillion.</p>
<p>But, more optimistically, we also forecast that ecosystems could grow in value by 24% by mid-century, if policies are put in place to safeguard these crucial environmental values.</p>
<h2>An Asian century (of ecosystems)</h2>
<p>The Asia-Pacific region has historically followed the global trend in ecosystem depletion. But the future doesn’t have to be like the past. The decisions we make as a society will determine what our world will look like in that future.</p>
<p>With that in mind, our research focused on a range of land-use scenarios to try to forecast the consequences of various social, environmental and economic policies. </p>
<p>We used these scenarios to derive estimates of land-use change (urban, cropland, forest, grassland, wetland, desert), population, GDP and other variables such as inequality up to the year 2050. Changes in total value of ecosystem services in these scenarios were estimated to be due to two factors: the change in area covered by each ecosystem type; and the change in the “unit value” – the total value of all the marketed and non-marketed ecosystem services, per area, per year of each ecosystem type due to degradation or restoration.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133197/original/image-20160805-513-378f8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133197/original/image-20160805-513-378f8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133197/original/image-20160805-513-378f8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133197/original/image-20160805-513-378f8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133197/original/image-20160805-513-378f8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133197/original/image-20160805-513-378f8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133197/original/image-20160805-513-378f8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/133197/original/image-20160805-513-378f8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bees and pollen: the archetypal example of an ecosystem service.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the Asia-Pacific region, Afghanistan shows the greatest potential losses and gains, as do other countries that are more susceptible to desertification. At the same time, these countries also have the greatest potential for reversing land degradation. </p>
<p>On the other hand, in this region, countries like Japan and New Zealand have the least potential for fluctuations in their ecosystem service values. This is because they are already highly developed and potentially have more stable climates. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132902/original/image-20160803-12201-bcshlu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132902/original/image-20160803-12201-bcshlu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132902/original/image-20160803-12201-bcshlu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132902/original/image-20160803-12201-bcshlu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132902/original/image-20160803-12201-bcshlu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132902/original/image-20160803-12201-bcshlu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132902/original/image-20160803-12201-bcshlu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132902/original/image-20160803-12201-bcshlu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Map of the Asia-Pacific region showing the scale of percent change from the 2011 base map in terrestrial ecosystem services value for each country in each of the four scenarios.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Australia’s prospects</h2>
<p>Australia, second only to China in ecosystem services value, also shows an extensive range of values among our four scenarios. Starting with a terrestrial ecosystem services value of US$3.4 trillion per year in 2011 (roughly three times <a href="http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/gdp">Australia’s GDP</a> that year), we forecast that by 2050 ecosystem services could grow in value by as much as 21%, or decrease by up to 29%. </p>
<p>This translates to either a gain of US$700 billion per year or a loss of US$980 billion per year – a figure that’s not far short of Australia’s <a href="http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/gdp">current annual GDP</a>.</p>
<p>The scenarios used incorporate a range of world views and policies, and the impacts of these on the entire, integrated system, including population, energy use, equity, environmental change, climate change and more. Our research features a country-by-country breakdown of the outcomes of each scenario, although it is impossible to separate out the impact of individual policies, especially given the differences in each country.</p>
<h2>The consequences and solutions</h2>
<p>The loss of ecosystem services will be felt most strongly by the poorest in any society, as they depend most directly on ecosystem services. They are the first to feel the effects when those services begin to disappear, and the least able to replace or ameliorate the loss. Increasing ecosystem services, on the other hand, would <a href="http://www.bioline.org.br/pdf?nd13075">increase sustainable human well-being</a>.</p>
<p>Around the world, the focus on ecosystem services has been growing quickly. Recent major policy reforms in this direction include a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2016/m-16-01.pdf">White House memo</a> directing US federal agencies to incorporate ecosystem services into their planning, investment and regulations.</p>
<p>Other countries have also begun to incorporate ecosystem services in their policies. The European Union has mandated all member countries to produce national ecosystem service assessments, for use in policy and decision-making.</p>
<p>At the international level, the United Nations has set up an <a href="http://www.ipbes.net/">Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services</a>, analogous in structure and function to the <a href="http://ipcc.ch">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a>. The international <a href="http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=iss_pub">Ecosystem Services Partnership</a> has also been established to co-ordinate and facilitate the exchange of information and expertise across the world.</p>
<p>We have taken ecosystem services for granted for far too long. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/un-sustainable-development-goals">UN Sustainable Development Goals</a>, adopted last year by all UN countries, include specific calls to promote sustainable use of <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda/goal-15.html">terrestrial ecosystems</a>, to halt and reverse <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda/goal-15.html">land degradation</a>, to ensure <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda/goal-6.html">clean water</a> and <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?page=view&nr=164&type=230&menu=2059">food security</a>, as well as to safeguard life both <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda/goal-15.html">on land</a> and <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/post-2015-development-agenda/goal-14.html">in the oceans</a>. </p>
<p>If we are taking these goals seriously, we need to put natural capital and ecosystem services “on the books” as a major contributor to sustainable well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Current land-use patterns could see the value of ‘ecosystem services’ – the natural processes that sustain life – plummet by mid-century. But with the right policies we can turn this trend around.Ida Kubiszewski, Senior Lecturer at Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National UniversityPaul Sutton, Director of Graduate Studies, University of DenverRobert Costanza, Professor and Chair in Public Policy at Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National UniversitySharolyn Anderson, Senior Lecturer, School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/625192016-07-19T18:37:53Z2016-07-19T18:37:53ZDragonflies as sentinels for freshwater conservation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131102/original/image-20160719-7877-6zji86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Viewed from space, our planet is a blue speck of mostly water in a seemingly endless expanse of darkness. It is this water that is vital for life as we know it. This wonderful life is amazingly complex, yet very fragile. Away from the sea, it is fresh water on which life depends, especially free running water and precious wetlands, all of which are teeming with life. </p>
<p>Yet fresh water is the most threatened habitat on <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/oct/11/freshwater-species-under-threat">Earth</a>. </p>
<p>Several thousand species worldwide live in freshwater habitats, from the smallest ponds to the largest rivers. Some are highly sensitive to any human impact while others are real opportunists. They will inhabit the most artificial of habitats, like cattle troughs and even bird baths. It is this range of sensitivities that make them very useful as measures for the quality of fresh water. </p>
<p>When a water system becomes degraded through human impact like pollution or damming, there is a change in the species profile away from sensitive specialists towards insensitive generalists. We can quantify this and relate it to whether a fresh water system is deteriorating or improving.</p>
<p>A prominent group of species associated with water and that can tell us something about the state of our water resources is dragonflies – the collective term for true dragonflies and damselflies. When they are young they live in the water as larvae, then later emerge as flying adults that grace fresh waters throughout the world, except the ice caps. Both life stages are predatory. </p>
<p>So these beautiful insects are near the top of the food chain and have few natural enemies other than birds. These are occasionally frogs, spiders and robber flies. At times humans enjoy the larvae as a tasty addition to a side dish. For example, in Bali, larvae may be fried in coconut oil and served with vegetables. Indeed, dragonflies and humans are much more intimately linked than normally <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265306344_Valuing_dragonflies_as_service_providers">thought</a>. </p>
<h2>Tracking dragonflies</h2>
<p>In South Africa, a water-scarce country, we have been conducting <a href="http://www.cons-ent.com/">research</a> on new ways for assessing the quality and ecological health of fresh water systems using dragonflies. There are 162 species of dragonfly in South Africa alone. Some are sensitive specialists, while others are hardy generalists. This and their two-staged lifestyle, with dependencies on both the water and land, make them excellent candidates for freshwater assessment. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131097/original/image-20160719-8011-1gig311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131097/original/image-20160719-8011-1gig311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/131097/original/image-20160719-8011-1gig311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=609&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131097/original/image-20160719-8011-1gig311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=609&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131097/original/image-20160719-8011-1gig311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=609&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131097/original/image-20160719-8011-1gig311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=765&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131097/original/image-20160719-8011-1gig311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=765&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/131097/original/image-20160719-8011-1gig311.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=765&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dragonflies like the white malachite are excellent candidates for water assessment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Samways</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We have developed an index that is based on three main features of each species in turn. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The general distribution of a species;</p></li>
<li><p>Its threat status (its rating on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red List); and</p></li>
<li><p>Its sensitivity to human modifications of the water system.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>When a system deteriorates there is a shift in the total scores of all the species present from high to low. When systems are restored there is a shift in the other direction from low to high. Using dragonflies it is possible to determine whether there should be concern about a system that is going downhill or whether a system is improving, and how well it’s doing. </p>
<p>Using dragonflies to this end is incredibly simple. All you need is a good guide, a pair of close-focus binoculars and a sunny day. </p>
<p>Recently all our research has been synthesised into a <a href="http://biodiversityadvisor.sanbi.org/literature/4327-2/suricata/">user-friendly manual</a> showing how to undertake fresh water assessments. As this index operates at the level of species, it is highly sensitive. And as dragonflies are relatively easy to identify, it is easy to use.</p>
<h2>Next steps</h2>
<p>Dragonflies are pushed away from their normal habitats when invasive alien trees like eucalyptus, wattles and pines shade the water and bank. This can lead them to become locally extinct. This means that the removal of alien trees from the banks of rivers, in particular, is an important nature conservation exercise. It has been one of the great contributions to South Africa’s nature conservation through the governmental <a href="https://www.environment.gov.za/projectsprogrammes/wfw">Working for Water Programme</a>.</p>
<p>But not all human activities are harmful to dragonflies and other water, fauna and flora. Farm dams can encourage many species that would otherwise be very scarce in the area. Good nature conservation dams are those with constant water levels, much water weed and marginal vegetation, and no pollutants, especially fertilisers and pesticides used in agriculture. </p>
<p>Successful management of fresh water biodiversity depends on the quality of data on the species that these ecosystems support. Projects monitoring the health of fresh waters are a vital component of this. The process of fresh water assessment is very pleasant, like going bird watching. This new approach makes freshwater assessment so much easier than in the past and makes a major contribution to nature conservation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62519/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Samways receives funding from National Research Foundation and from Mondi. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John P. Simaika does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Freshwater is one of the most threatened resources on Earth. Dragonflies can tell us what we need to know about the state of this precious resource.Michael Samways, Professor, Conservation Ecology & Entomology, Stellenbosch UniversityJohn P. Simaika, Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/588202016-06-09T13:14:19Z2016-06-09T13:14:19ZAfrica is failing to close the gap on providing water and sanitation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125111/original/image-20160603-11585-pgzw5j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Africa, more than 315,000 children die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring access to clean water and sanitation for all <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300">by 2030</a> is an ambitious target for Africa. According to new <a href="http://afrobarometer.org/publications/ad76-lack-of-safe-water-and-sanitation-spurs-growing-dissatisfaction">research</a> by non-partisan research network Afrobarometer, nearly half of Africans don’t have access to clean water and two-thirds lack access to sewage infrastructure. Improvements in both of these areas have been made in the past decade, but huge numbers of Africans still live without these basic necessities.</p>
<p>The lack of access to water and sanitation has not gone unnoticed by people living in Africa. Almost half of the continent’s citizens are not happy with the way their governments are handling water and sanitation. </p>
<p>The global Millennium Development Goals’ target for drinking water was met in <a href="http://www.wssinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/JMP-Update-report-2015_English.pdf">2010</a>. About 2.6 billion people have gained access to improved sources of drinking water since 1990. Five developing regions met the drinking water target, but the Caucasus and Central Asia, Northern Africa, Oceania and sub-Saharan Africa did not. In the area of sanitation, the target was missed by nearly 700 million people. The only developing regions to <a href="http://www.wssinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/resources/JMP-MDG-assessment-snapshot-in-English.pdf">meet the sanitation target</a> were the Caucasus and Central Asia, Eastern Asia, Northern Africa and Western Asia.</p>
<p>Lack of access to water and sanitation is a matter of life and death. Contaminated water and inadequate sanitation help transmit diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery and typhoid. In Africa, more than 315,000 children die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by unsafe water and <a href="http://www.wateraid.org/what-we-do/the-crisis/statistics">poor sanitation</a>. Globally, deaths from diarrhoea caused by unclean drinking water are estimated at 502,000 each year, most of them of <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs391/en/">young children</a>.</p>
<h2>The situation on the ground</h2>
<p>To assess the situation on the ground, the research looked at 36 African countries in 2014/2015 and asked nearly 54,000 citizens about their access to water and sanitation. This was in addition to recording direct observations in the thousands of surveyed communities. </p>
<p>We found that almost half (45%) of Africans went without enough clean water for home use during the past year, while one in five (19%) did so many times or always. One-third of surveyed communities (36%) lacked access to a piped-water system, and two-thirds (68%) lacked access to sewage infrastructure. </p>
<p>The infrastructure situation has improved somewhat over the past decade. Across 18 countries that Afrobarometer has tracked since 2005, the share of communities enjoying piped-water supplies increased by 14 percentage points, and sewerage has been extended to an additional 8% of communities.</p>
<p>Even for those who live in zones with the necessary infrastructure, however, access to clean water and toilets is often difficult. More than half (51%) of those surveyed said they had to leave their compound to access water. One in five had to leave their compound to use a latrine, and another 8% had no access at all to a latrine or toilet, even outside their compound.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125671/original/image-20160608-3492-1ytjoi8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125671/original/image-20160608-3492-1ytjoi8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125671/original/image-20160608-3492-1ytjoi8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125671/original/image-20160608-3492-1ytjoi8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125671/original/image-20160608-3492-1ytjoi8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125671/original/image-20160608-3492-1ytjoi8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125671/original/image-20160608-3492-1ytjoi8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125671/original/image-20160608-3492-1ytjoi8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">About 45% of people in Africa go without sufficient clean water for home use.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Afrobarometer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125672/original/image-20160608-3477-1nnahs9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125672/original/image-20160608-3477-1nnahs9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125672/original/image-20160608-3477-1nnahs9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125672/original/image-20160608-3477-1nnahs9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125672/original/image-20160608-3477-1nnahs9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125672/original/image-20160608-3477-1nnahs9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125672/original/image-20160608-3477-1nnahs9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125672/original/image-20160608-3477-1nnahs9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rural residents fare far worse when it comes to access to water and sanitation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Afrobarometer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rural residents are far worse off than their urban counterparts when it comes to access to water and sanitation. Two-thirds (66%) of rural respondents had to go outside their compound to access water, compared with 30% of urbanites. About 27% had to go outside the compound for a toilet and 11% had no access at all to a toilet. This is compared with 12% in urban areas, where just 3% had no access to toilet facilities.</p>
<p>Experiences vary widely across countries. Almost 74% of citizens in Gabon and 72% in Liberia reported going without enough water at least occasionally, compared with 8% in Mauritius and 15% in Cape Verde. Going without enough water many times or always affected more than one-third of citizens in Madagascar (42%), Gabon (39%), Guinea (38%) and Togo (37%).</p>
<p>By region, Central Africa had the highest proportion of respondents who said they went without enough water at least once (55%), while North Africa recorded the lowest (33%). Rural residents were more likely than their urban counterparts to experience water scarcity (50% vs 39%).</p>
<h2>Where water ranks as a priority</h2>
<p>Water supply ranked fifth in importance across 36 countries when citizens were asked about the most important problems facing their country. It followed unemployment, health, education and infrastructure/transport. But it was well ahead of concerns about political violence, corruption, electricity, crime and security, and agriculture. And water supply was the top problem identified in water-poor countries like Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger.</p>
<p>On average, a majority (55%) of citizens rated their government’s performance in handling water and sanitation services as fairly bad or very bad. These negative appraisals were the majority view in all regions except North Africa, but even there, 46% rated their government’s handling of water and sanitation services as bad.</p>
<p>And public dissatisfaction is increasing. Across the 18 countries that Afrobarometer has tracked over the past decade, negative public ratings of government performance in providing water and sanitation services increased from 41% in 2005/2006 to 55% in 2014/2015. They worsened dramatically in Madagascar, where there was an increase of 47 percentage points in fairly/very bad ratings, followed by Ghana (28-point increase in negative ratings), Senegal (23 points), Botswana (16 points), Mali (15 points) and South Africa (13 points).</p>
<p>These declining performance ratings should be a red flag for democratic governments that are still unable to provide their citizens with these most basic services. Safe and readily available water is a human right and an important contributor to public health. Improved access to safe water and sanitation boosts economic growth, contributes to poverty reduction, and is fundamental to achieving the goals of improved health and education, greater food security, and improved environmental sustainability.</p>
<p>So modest improvements in coverage of water supply and sewerage systems are set alongside significant declines in government performance ratings. Perhaps this seeming incongruity indicates that citizens’ expectations about the quality of infrastructure and services that they should receive (or even demand) from their governments are rising.</p>
<p>Other questions still require further exploration, for example the question of whether progress can best be realised through local control and/or nongovernmental organisations or foreign investment, or whether centralised government investment, management and control of water infrastructure is the better approach.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58820/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There have been modest improvements in water and sanitation provision in Africa, but there is still a long way to go. Most citizens rate their governments’ performance in this sphere poorly.Corah Walker, PhD Student, Department of Political Science, Michigan State UniversityCarolyn Logan, Deputy Director of the Afrobarometer & Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and MSU’s African Studies Center, Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/500452015-11-19T11:17:50Z2015-11-19T11:17:50ZTalking heads: what toilets and sewers tell us about ancient Roman sanitation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102339/original/image-20151118-14191-5yzen5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C460%2C4073%2C2379&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ruin of a second-century public toilet in Roman Ostia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/7870818466">Fr Lawrence Lew, OP</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I’ve spent an awful lot of time in Roman sewers – enough to earn me the nickname “Queen of Latrines” from my friends. The Etruscans laid the first underground sewers in the city of Rome around 500 BC. These cavernous tunnels below the city’s streets were built of finely carved stones, and the Romans were happy to utilize them when they took over the city. Such structures then became the norm in many cities throughout the Roman world. </p>
<p>Focusing on life in ancient Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia, I’m deeply impressed by the brilliant engineers who designed these underground marvels and the magnificent architecture that masks their functional purpose. Sewer galleries didn’t run under every street, nor service every area. But in some cities, including Rome itself, the length and breadth of the main sewer, the Cloaca Maxima, rivals the extent of the main sewer lines in many of today’s cities. We shouldn’t assume, though, that Roman toilets, sewers and water systems were constructed with our same modern sanitary goals in mind.</p>
<p>The streets of a Roman city would have been cluttered with dung, vomit, pee, shit, garbage, filthy water, rotting vegetables, animal skins and guts, and other refuse from various shops that lined the sidewalks. We moderns think of urban sewers as the means to remove such filth from streets – and of course flush away human waste that goes down our toilets.</p>
<p>Researching Roman urban infrastructure for my new book <a href="http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-5298.html">The Archaeology of Sanitation in Roman Italy</a> made me question whether the Romans shared the same vision. The archaeological evidence suggests that their finely constructed sewer systems were more about drainage of standing water than the removal of dirty debris. And Romans’ sense of cleanliness and privacy around bathroom matters was quite different from our tender modern sensibilities.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102334/original/image-20151118-14183-1m8yeu7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102334/original/image-20151118-14183-1m8yeu7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102334/original/image-20151118-14183-1m8yeu7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102334/original/image-20151118-14183-1m8yeu7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102334/original/image-20151118-14183-1m8yeu7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102334/original/image-20151118-14183-1m8yeu7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102334/original/image-20151118-14183-1m8yeu7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102334/original/image-20151118-14183-1m8yeu7.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inside a tunnel of Rome’s sewer, the Cloaca Maxima.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sewers managed excess water more than waste</h2>
<p>The Cloaca Maxima in Rome was not part of a <a href="https://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300101867">master plan to sanitize the city</a>. Its purpose was removing water that pooled on the city’s uneven streets and draining water from low-lying areas when the adjacent Tiber River flooded, which happened quite frequently. Its main function was drainage – and what it drained ran right back into Rome’s major drinking supply before the aqueducts, the Tiber.</p>
<p>Roman sewers moved filthy water away from where it hindered cleanliness, economic growth, urban development and even industry. My work in the sewers of Herculaneum and Pompeii – both buried by the pyroclastic flow caused by Mount Vesuvius’ volcanic eruption in AD 79 – has brought me to the same conclusion.</p>
<p>At the bottom of one sewer under a street in Herculaneum, the first excavators found an <a href="http://www.quartoknows.com/books/9780711231429/Herculaneum.html">ancient deposit of hardened sludge</a> measuring about 1.35 meters high. No amount of water, however fast-flowing, would have been able to remove that. Several ancient sources state that Roman sewers needed manual cleaning from time to time, a job often done by city slaves or <a href="https://archive.org/stream/letterswithengli02plinuoft/letterswithengli02plinuoft_djvu.txt">prisoners</a>. I’d argue these urban sewer systems provided minimal sanitary benefits overall.</p>
<h2>Plenty of toilets, few sewer hookups</h2>
<p>Public and private toilets were sprinkled throughout the city of Pompeii. But despite the city’s sewer infrastructure, virtually none of these toilets had sewer connections. We have similar evidence for ancient Herculaneum.</p>
<p>In fact, almost every private house in these cities, and many apartment houses in Ostia, had private, usually one-seater, toilets not connected to the main sewer lines.</p>
<p>And these cesspit toilets were often situated in the kitchen, where food was prepared! The comforting smells from a hearty stew would have mingled with the gross odors from the nearby open cesspit. Collected waste was either sold to farmers for fertilizer or used in <a href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Columella/de_Re_Rustica/1*.html">household gardens</a> – which must have made for some pretty stinky garden parties from time to time.</p>
<p>According to Ulpian’s Digest, written between AD 211 and 222, connections to the sewers from private dwellings certainly were legal. So why didn’t property owners hook up to the public sewer lines?</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102332/original/image-20151118-14214-1pedy5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102332/original/image-20151118-14214-1pedy5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102332/original/image-20151118-14214-1pedy5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102332/original/image-20151118-14214-1pedy5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102332/original/image-20151118-14214-1pedy5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=895&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102332/original/image-20151118-14214-1pedy5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1125&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102332/original/image-20151118-14214-1pedy5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1125&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102332/original/image-20151118-14214-1pedy5t.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1125&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A private toilet under the stairs in Herculaneum’s Casa del Gran Portale.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One reason may be tied to that fact that Roman sewer openings had no traps. One never could be sure what might climb out of an open sewer pipe and into your house.</p>
<p>We have at least one dramatic ancient story that illustrates the danger of hooking your house up to a public sewer in the first or second century AD. The <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0590%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D13">author Aelian tells us</a> about a wealthy Iberian merchant in the city of Puteoli; every night a giant octopus swam into the sewer from the sea and proceeded up through the house drain in the toilet to eat all the pickled fish stored in his well-stocked pantry.</p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Broken connections in a Herculaneum house’s terracotta downspout within the wall would have caused stinky leaks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Adding to the stench of Roman life, my close examination of ancient plumbing found that many downpipes from house toilets on upper floors would have suffered serious leakage inside the walls as well as oozing onto the outside of the walls too. The fittings of these terracotta downpipes loosened over time, and their contents would have caused stink everywhere.</p>
<p>I was able to identify at least 15 upper-story toilets at Pompeii and others at Herculaneum and elsewhere. In some cases, I <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Roman_Toilets.html?id=bF1jXwAACAAJ">obtained proof through scientific testing</a> for urine and/or excrement that the spillage was indeed human waste from these pipes. </p>
<h2>Public toilets held their own hazards</h2>
<p>Even public latrines – multi-seater toilets that were almost always connected to the main sewer lines of a city – posed serious threats to users. Don’t be fooled by the clean white marble and open-air sunniness of the reconstructed ruins we can see today; most Roman public toilets were dark, dank and dirty, and often situated in small spaces. Those who could “hold it” long enough to return to their own houses with their own cesspit toilets certainly would have done so.</p>
<p>One public toilet at Ostia, with its revolving doors for access and fountain basin for cleaning up, could handle more than 20 clients at a time. I have found no evidence that Romans had to pay to use public toilets, and we really don’t know who managed or cleaned them, apart from the possibility of public slaves. To our modern eyes there was almost a complete lack of privacy in such facilities; but bear in mind that Roman men would have been wearing tunics or togas, which would have provided more screening than a modern man would enjoy with pants that have to be pulled down. Perhaps a bigger problem for today’s standards of cleanliness: the Roman version of toilet paper in many cases was a communal sponge on a stick.</p>
<p>Even worse, these public latrines were notorious for terrifying customers when flames exploded from their seat openings. These were caused by gas explosions of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and methane (CH4) that were rank as well as frightening. Customers also had to worry about rats and other small vermin threatening to bite their bottoms. And then there was the perceived threat of demons that the Romans believed inhabited these black holes leading to the mysterious underbelly of the city.</p>
<p>One late Roman writer tells a particularly exciting story about such a demon. A certain Dexianos was sitting on the privy in the middle of the night, the text tells us, when a demon raised itself in front of him with savage ferocity. As soon as Dexianos saw the “hellish and insane” demon, he “became stunned, seized with fear and trembling, and covered with sweat.” Such superstition would provide another good reason for avoiding sewer connections in private house toilets.</p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Goddess Fortuna on the wall of a the Suburban Baths in Pompeii.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Going to a public toilet was definitely a dangerous business, so it is no wonder that the Goddess Fortuna often appears as a kind of “guardian angel” on the walls of toilets. We don’t tend to put religious shrines in our toilets, but we find them again and again in both public and private toilets in the Roman world.</p>
<p>One graffito on a side street in Pompeii directs a warning at a toilet-user himself: “Crapper Beware the Evil”… of crapping on the street? Of putting your bare bottom on an open toilet hole for fear of biting demons? Of the ill health you will feel if you do not move your bowels well? We’ll never know for sure, but these are likely possibilities, I think.</p>
<p>When we look at the evidence for Roman sanitary practices, both textual and archaeological, it becomes obvious that their perspectives were quite different from ours. Gaining a better understanding of Roman life on their streets, in their public spaces, and in their private dwellings shows us that they were in the early stages of developing systems that we’ve adopted – with upgrades – for our own problems with sanitation and clean water today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50045/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Archaeological and textual detective work is filling in some information about how ancient Romans used and thought about their sewers thousands of years ago.Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow, Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.