World Water Week Daily Wednesday 31 August, 2016

STOCKHOLM
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world water week daily| WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31 | 2016
Claire Reid
A catch-22 for young
entrepreneurs
TEXT | görrel espelund PHOTO | mikael ullén
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP CAN HELP SHAPE
THE FUTURE AND THE PLAYING FIELD HAS
CHANGED CONSIDERABLY IN THE PAST TEN YEARS.
SOCIETY HAS BECOME AWARE OF THE NEED FOR
INNOVATION AND CHANGE.
“There are a lot of opportunities and
support out there if you, as a young innovator,
are willing to do the hard work
and grab them,” says Claire Reid, social
entrepreneur and founder of Reel
Gardening in South Africa.
It’s been little more than a decade
since she was awarded the Stockholm
Water Junior Prize in 2003. At the time,
she says, the discourse was very different.
“Conversations are happening today
that didn’t happen before. The concept
of social enterprise and social impact,
match funding, leveraging. It’s here
published by stockholm international water institute
and it’s available. People are far more
open to social innovation today. In 2003
no one even talked about angel investments,
it wasn’t a
concept.”
Angel investors,
she explains, don’t
look for return on
money.
“It’s philanthropy
and they take your
business forward
without wanting
anything in return.”
One example is
the newly launched Raincoat Foundation
where young innovators are able
to access funding to take their ideas to
the next level.
“Young entrepreneurs often end up
in a catch 22-situation. They lack the
“People are far
more open to
social innovation
today”
resources needed to implement their
ideas, but without proof that their idea
is working partners deem them too
risky. So it’s up to you to take your idea,
bring it to a prototype phase, pilot it,
prove it and then scale it.”
“When you think about it, it’s actually
quite impossible,” Reid concludes.
She talks from her own experiences.
The Stockholm Water Junior Prize put
her in the limelight. But it didn’t take
her to the next level.
“Everyone told me it was a cute idea,
but that I should go back and focus on
my studies in architecture.”
A few years later, while working at a
mining company designing houses for
the miners, she realized that she had
found a perfect testing ground. People
in the community wanted to grow their
own vegetable gardens but they didn’t
know how and water was scarce.
Reid approached her employer,
explained her concept of a resourceefficient
seed-planting system and
asked for a loan to make it a reality.
That was the start of Reel Gardening.
“It was a lot of hard work. We tested
the technology from a manufacturing
point of view and it took us 18 months
before we got the process correct.
We went to market in 2010.”
One important factor that Reid
wants to point out is, that despite the
community
development
work and
the “giving
back-perspective”,
Reel
Gardening is
a full profit
company, not
an NGO.
“It’s very
rewarding to
be a social entrepreneur. The better
you do, the better people in an under-privileged
community do.
And the better society does as
a whole.”

WEDNESDAY: WORLD WATER WEEK DAILY
THAI TRIO WINS STOCKHOLM
JUNIOR WATER PRIZE
Three students from Thailand, Sureeporn Triphetprapa,
Thidarat Phianchat, and Kanjana Komkla, have won the
2016 Stockholm Junior Water Prize for their innovative
water retention device that mimics the natural water
retention characteristics of the Bromeliad plant.
As the three received the prize, Kanjana Komkla said
“I’m really happy but I think every team is the best. And
thank you everyone.”
Asked how she would want to take the winning
project further,
Sureeporn
Triphetprapa
said: “I will
use our idea to
relieve poverty
in our community.”
NEXUS THINKING
THE ONLY OPTION
Tackling the complex weave of threats to vulnerable river
basins in Africa is about understanding the interdependency
between water, energy and agricultural security investments,
as well as potential synergies with combining the
three. This issue was discussed in depth during yesterday’s
session on investing in infrastructure to shape sustainable
growth in Africa.
According to the report, which refers to the intersection
where the three sectors come together as “the nexus”,
investing in single use infrastructure may only be useful
in the short term, whereas multi-purpose infrastructure
will produce longer term benefits for all three sectors, also
offering significant opportunities for building climate resilience.
It is estimated that only about 2.5 per cent of investments
in water infrastructure incorporates this thinking.
“Above all else, the nexus is a process, a way of life. It is
also important to understand that the nexus thinking is no
longer an option, it is a necessity,” Aaron Salzberg from the
US Department of State concluded.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Sureeporn Triphetprapa,Thidarat Phianchat and
Kanjana Komkla with H. R. H. Prince Carl-Philip
of Sweden
“POTABLE WATER IS NOT A NATURAL
CONDITION, IT’S NOTHING THAT HAPPENS
IN NATURE. IT’S SOMETHING HUMANS
HAVE DEVELOPED.”
Rafael Mujeriego
President of the Spanish
Association for Sustainable Water Reuse
BUILDING TRUST
BETWEEN PUBLIC
AND PRIVATE
SECTORS
Ways of improving collaboration
between public
and private actors to
further responsible water
management were considered
during yesterday’s
Public-private platforms
for sustainable growth and
development seminar and
panel discussion convened
by the 2030 Water Resources
Group, (2030 WRG).
Echoing calls made
during the opening plenary
of World Water Week, Charlotte
Petri-Gornitzka, Director
General of the Swedish
International Development
Cooperation Agency (Sida),
said that the 2030 WRG is
shifting its primary focus
from analysis to implementation.
However, Petri-Gornitzka
called for greater
private sector participation
in development initiatives.
“Under-representation of
the private sector remains
an issue: we need to find
platforms where we have
an integrated approach to
water management. And
we won’t have a partnership
if there are not incentives
and a win-win for everybody
involved,” she cautioned.
“We don’t donate money
to the private sector. We
work with the private sector
on our terms, which means
[…] we co-invest or we share
risk,” she added.
Asked how to build trust
between actors, panellists
underlined the importance
of a neutral atmosphere,
transparency, and effective
information exchange.
“Trust is a process that
you have to build,” said
Robert Gakubia, CEO of the
Water Services Regulatory
Board, Kenya.
IDEAS FROM
SPACE TO
INSPIRE REUSE
“In space we try to conserve
our resources and recycle as
much as possible because it’s
expensive to send things up
there,” said Swedish astronaut
Christer Fuglesang,
showing a picture of himself
at the International Space
Station drinking water, or recycled
water, from a container
– with most of the liquid
coming from urine.
“It’s actually not a
problem,” he said.
At the Why waste water?
Gearing up for World Water
Day 2017 seminar, Fuglesang
shared his experiences from
space with a special focus on
water and water recycling.
“On the space station
there is no shower because
water doesn’t fall down in
weightlessness,” he said
prompting some laughs
from the audience.
On a more serious note he
showed the recycling system
where urine gets treated in
different steps, distilled and
sterilized.
“We don’t need to recycle
water in Sweden, but there
are other areas on earth
where it is needed and
maybe technology used in
space can be a source of
inspiration,” he said.

GUEST COLUMN
WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT WITHOUT
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE?
Professor Joan B. Rose
Drawn to a
hidden world
TEXT | andreas karlsson PHOTO | mikael ullén
SECURING WATER QUALITY MIGHT
BE A DAUNTING INVESTMENT
FOR POLICYMAKERS AROUND
THE GLOBE. YET HAGGLING IS
DEFINITELY NOT AN OPTION, SAYS
2016 STOCKHOLM WATER PRIZE
LAUREATE, PROFESSOR JOAN B.
ROSE.
Professor Rose has long been
at the absolute forefront of
investigating water-borne
disease outbreaks in the
world, and determining
how they can be stopped or
even prevented. Her work
around Cryptosporidium is
ground-breaking and she
was the first person to present
the widespread occurrence
of the nasty microorganism,
which is particularly
viable and cannot be killed
by chlorine.
Over the years a series
of verified outbreaks have
caused havoc around the
world, perhaps most extensively
in Milwaukee, US,
in 1993, where more than
400, 000 people were infected
and 69 people died.
“It’s a pretty harsh illness,
but most people will recover
after a week or so. People
with compromised immune
systems however are at much
greater risk, something
which is particularly
devastating for AIDS patients
without access to treatment.”
Understanding the mechanisms
behind water-borne
diseases and to spread the
knowledge is Joan Rose’s
passion and mission in life.
And she says there was never
really any doubt about her
career choice – not after her
first glance through a microscope.
“I immediately realized
I wanted to be a microbiologist.
Probably because
I saw it was a hidden world;
entities that can cause major
diseases in humans but that
no one can see.”
Rose says she is worried
yet remain optimistic for
global water quality. She
fully agrees with what has
so far been one of the major
talking points during World
Water Week: the need to
convert academic knowledge
into action.
“The problem is that water
quality is so much more
complex than water quantity,
and when it gets complicated,
people tend to simplify.
It’s not enough that people
like me understand that we
have to spend money on water
quality. The people with
the money have to understand
it too,” Rose says.
Founders of Stockholm Water Prize: Bacardi, Borealis, Europeiska
ERV, HP, Kemira, Poul Due Jensen Foundation, Ragn-Sells, Safran,
SAS, Water Environment Federation, Xylem and Ålandsbanken.
SDG 6 provides a new mandate for the water community
but implementation requires first an appreciation of
local solutions to local problems.
I am endlessly fascinated by the traditions of Jola
people who live in the Lower Casamance region of
Senegal. Settling there in the 13th and 14th centuries,
not only are Jola one of the few societies in the world to
have no caste system or social hierarchy, they also lived
lives highly adapted to their natural environment.
Casamance is low-lying and hot but has a higher
than average rainfall and the homes of the Jola took
full advantage of the availability of rainwater. Private
dwellings were built around a central courtyard and
the funnel-shaped roof directed water into a reservoir
below. This reservoir served not only as a source of
drinking water but as it evaporated, it kept the building
cool. Researchers have also documented the Jola people’s
water-wise farming practices.
I tell you about the ‘case à impluvium’ (water reservoir
house) to remind us of the beauty in the simplicity
of indigenous knowledge and the urgency of seeking
out, understanding and using that knowledge if water
projects are to be successful. The Jola, like most communities
across the developing world have not escaped
the intellectual imperialism that has unfortunately accompanied
much development policy and practice. The
result is programmes not suited to the culture, values or
even the needs of ‘beneficiaries’.
‘Participatory development’ doesn’t cut it: people
shouldn’t be asked or enticed to participate in a process
they should own to begin with. Participatory development
implies a power dynamic where the ideas reside
with one group and the responsibility to implement and
sustain an intervention resides with another group.
So what does it mean for you at World Water Week?
Claire Reid, the 2003 Junior Water Prize winner, who
participated in the opening panel on Monday summed
it up nicely. Her words speak not of making development
professionals and projects redundant but of
giving the sector a new purpose. Reid said:
“We need to appreciate the solutions that have developed
in communities as they respond to the problems
that they face.We should not look at [development]
as having to import technology. Instead, development
work is about social reconciliation; using best practice
from the ground and weaving it together with best practice
from elsewhere.
That is the role for the international community and
it is the only way projects are going to be owned, understood,
relevant and appreciated.”
Eliza Anyangwe is a writer and commissioning editor at the
Guardian, and the founder of the Nzinga Effect, a platform to
tell African women’s stories. She tweets as @elizatalks

WHAT IS THE POINT OF INTERNATIONAL WATER LAW?
TEXT | nick chipperfield PHOTO | mikael ullén
Animated discussions followed a keenly
argued debate between two expert
panels, which asked the question:
Can there be transboundary water
co-operation without international
water law?
Panel members argued respective
sides of the motion, and neither spoke
on behalf of the organizations they
represented nor in a personal capacity.
Defending the motion, Owen
McIntyre from the University of
Cork argued that international
water law establishes a “culture of
communication”, provides shared
understanding articulated in a
common language, and establishes
the “proportionality” that protects the
legitimate, reasonable interests
of states.
He went on to suggest that
international water law was “coming
of age” – maturing to match the
complexity of the development sphere.
Arguing against the motion,
Marian Patrick, SIWI, also stressed
the complexity of development issues,
and while she suggested that legal
frameworks have their place, that they
were not instrumental to underpinning
relations between states.
“International law gives us no
stability in the face of uncertainties,”
she said.
Zaki Shubber, UNESCO-IHE, reminded
participants that agreements
Panellists state their case
between states have been reached in
the past, long before the emergence of
international law.
“International water law doesn’t tell
you how to implement decisions in
relation to transboundary groundwater
contexts,” she added.
When thrown open to the floor,
opinion was perfectly divided between
the two camps – suggesting that this
debate will continue to run.
world water week voices
What are the challenges for young professionals in the water sector?
Alexander Koutsouris,
Stockholm University,
Sweden
“How to get into the
sector and find a place
where you can do the
most of the voice and
knowledge you have.”
Alice Colson, International
Water Resources
Association, France
“It’s a sector with very
many white middleaged
men and it’s quite
difficult to be accepted
as a young professional
and to show what we’ve
got to offer.”
Rochi Khemka, Water
Resources Group, India
“How to attract the best
talents to address the
urgency of the water
challenge. In other
words, the attractiveness
of the sector itself
compared to other
alternatives.”
Ana Maria Quintero,
The Nature Conservancy,
Colombia
“The sector is quite
new for young people
and there is a big
learning curve. Climate
change had a huge
movement behind it.
Water is more upand-coming.”
Jesse Starita, Robert B.
Daugherty Water for
Food Institute, USA
“Young professionals
will need to demonstrate
courage and creativity
if we are to address the
water challenges and
things interwoven with
water: governance,
sustainable growth
and climate change.”
Rochi Jennifer Khemka, Leijon, Uppsala Water
Resources University, Group, SwedenIndia
“I’m a PhD student
working with wave
power and desalination.
I’d love to know what
the water sector needs
from us researchers and
how we can collaborate.”
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Tel: +46 8 121 360 00 | www.siwi.org | Publisher: Torgny Holmgren | SIWI Editorial Staff | Editor: Victoria Engstrand-Neacsu
Graphic Designer: Elin Ingblom | World Water Week Daily Editorial Staff | Görrel Espelund, Andeas Karlsson and Nick
Chipperfield | Photography: Mikael Ullén
stockholm waterfront daily • 28 AUGUST - 2 SEPTEMBER, 2016 • CIRCULATION: 1000