*by Daniel Shemie, Timm Kroeger and Claudio Klemz, The Nature Conservancy
Policies and investments that move from mitigation to prevention make wastewater profitable and safe for public health
Looking at cases of drought like the one currently affecting Bolivia, it's amazing (and unacceptable) how much water we waste. According to the U.S.
We usually talk about the water and sanitation crisis in terms of what people lack when they don’t have safe water to drink or a decent toilet: dignity, health, and especially for women and girls, safety.
But what if we focused on the human potential that could be unlocked by water supply and sanitation, and on what the public and private sectors could gain by meeting the enormous global demand for these basic services?
Brazil is a country with continental dimensions and, as a result, has a large diversity in climatic, economic and cultural characteristics. As for other developing countries, sewage treatment is a major challenge.
Cities have historically developed around one key resource: water. This dependence explains why water security is at the core of every city’s future. This is particularly important in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC), where 80% of the population lives in urban areas.
I am Italian. I am a man. I go to the bathroom. Do I always wash my hands after my morning duties? Of course I do! I am a diligent clean person! I mean, OBVIOUSLY when I just pee and I do not get pee on my hands, once in awhile I may just skip it. And sure, if I am in a rush to work, I may just rinse them quickly… but water “cleans it all”, right?
This is so, so wrong. There are 3 things we (must) know:
This year, my family and I decided to spend the holidays in the Caribbean: we spent our days under the sun walking on fine white sand enjoying the weather and delicious food. Everything was just like a postcard, except for one detail – trash on beaches. Although waste management may seem easy like child’s play, it is actually quite complicated! We are used to watching waste disappear when garbage trucks pass in front of our door to take away the things we do not want anymore, things that smell bad and are not useful.