India

This is a report from the Central Pollution Control Board  https://www.indiawaterportal.org/tt/wq/res/NWMP-2007.pdf (approx. 6 MB). Since the report extensively covers all parts of the country, we are soliciting comments and discussion about the results therein.

An average trekker leaves behind approximately 100,000 kgs of water bottles per year. During average trekking of a week , trekker drinks up to 50 litres of water. Each trekker leaves behind 50 PET bottles along the track. PET bottles can take 1,000 years to biodegrade. Nine out of 10 water bottles end up as garbage or litter, and that means millions per day. PET bottles require massive amounts of fossil fuels to manufacture and transport, leaving behind carbon foot prints. Billions of bottles show up at landfills every year. The entire energy costs of the lifecycle of a bottle of water are equivalent, on average, to filling up 250 ml of each bottle with oil. "Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 US cars for a year," according to the study. "Worldwide, some 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year."

Water MOVES is a quarterly published by Society for Promotion of Wastelands Development under a Sir Dorabji Tata Trust supported Water Governance Project. The prime focus of the newsletter is on water governance.

In the current edition of the Down To Earth, the editorial by Sunita Narain highlights a particularly thorny problem being faced by India at present. The issue of waste water processing & what happens to the processed waste water is currently one that raises petitions & calls for judiciary oversight!

We talk so much about washing hands, when washing it the right way produces the safety from diseases as enunciated by most national / international organisations. Even washing with soap might not help. Handwashing with soap is one of the most easily available & effective methods to prevent diarrheal & related infections.

Today is Blog Action Day 2008, where blogs all over the world are writing about poverty. We thought we would use this opportunity to talk about water and poverty.

Since its foundation in 1968, the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) has facilitated the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge so that governments, professionals and organisations can better suppo

A call to discussion on "Zero Discharge of Treated Water to Water bodies" has been initiated by George Dsouza on the Answer A Question forum on India Water Portal.

Sangeeta Deogawanka, a frequent contributor to the Portal, sent us this tongue-in-cheek piece on how recycling of sewage water might be received in India. (We welcome contributions from all readers to the India Water Portal blog !

The World Water Week concluded at Stockholm on August 23rd. with 2400 scientists, leaders and various representatives from more than 100 countries. Action is crucial, stakes are high and time is running out, were the key messages coming from the World Water Week (August 17th - 23rd). The focal points throughout were sanitation and hygiene, climate, water management, ecosystems and business issues. Studies, reports, initiatives and announcements made during the week included: Water, Agriculture and Bioenergy: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/Downloads/2008/Water_Agriculture_Bioenergy.pdf Water Resource Management: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/Downloads/2008/Water_Resource_Management.pdf Climate and Water: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/Downloads/2008/Climate_and_Water.pdf Water Economics, Finance and the Private Sector: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/Downloads/2008/Economics_Finance_and_the_Private_Sector.pdf Ecosystems and Biodiversity: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/Downloads/2008/Ecosystems_and_Biodiversity.pdf Transboundary Waters: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/Downloads/2008/Transboundary_Waters.pdf Water in Asia: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/Downloads/2008/Water_in_Asia.pdf