Planners often depict a city as a human body. Transportation, communication, rivers and sewer systems become arteries and veins pulsing through the city; parks and open spaces become urban lungs detoxifying the air they breathe. B...
River basins are the lifeblood of nations. From the earliest civilisations they have strongly influenced human settlement and growth. Their degradation is a danger to sustainable water resources that provide domestic water supply,...
Rarely a day goes by without a news report, academic research or a government policy paper telling us that water security is at risk at a global scale. Identifying the problem is the easy part, but what can we do to fix it? Much o...
How much does the urban water cycle contribute to the carbon emissions of a country? Typically countries report on emissions from water and wastewater utilities and numbers vary from 3 to 7% of total Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions...
The rapidly growing population of cities will further exacerbate the already existing severe impacts of untreated used water on public health and environment. However, in many regions the management of waste water, respectively us...
Whether it is natural climate variability or human activities – growing population, increasing urbanisation, changing land usage and economic development – contributing to climate change, its disruptive influence on wa...
From the most ancient civilizations to today’s modern cities, water has been a key element enabling human civilization to grow, prosper and flourish. The central role of water in the development of cities cannot be overstated. T...
New scientific findings indicate that investing in watershed conservation is cost-effective for one in four cities worldwide A new analysis of more than 2,000 drinking sources (rivers, forests and other ecosystems from which water...
Recently in Kampala I met the Deputy Executive Director of the Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA), and her environment and public health team to discuss our Memorandum of Understanding. Waiting for the meeting to begin, I scann...
The Middle East and North Africa, a region beset by conflict and instability, faces unparalleled water scarcity. Solving water security problems in each country could be the driver for greater regional cooperation and peace buildi...
