Other
Organisations
The organisations below are a "starting point" for people
interested in researching community based rural water supplies.
CARE
Since the 1950s, an estimated 10 million people in 30
countries have gained access to safe drinking water through CARE's
Water, Sanitation and Environmental Health Program. With CARE's help,
some 20,000 communities have built and maintained their own water
systems. The goal of the program is to reduce the health risks of
water-related diseases and to increase the earning potential of
households by saving time spent on gathering water. CARE works
directly and through local NGOs with members of rural communities and
urban neighborhoods, providing the assistance and training they need
to construct and manage low-cost water and sanitation systems. CARE
subsidizes the construction, but the community makes significant
contributions in cash and labor, and pays the full cost of operation
and maintenance. The program helps the community to identify their
water and sanitation related health problems and to improve hygiene.
In 1996, CARE helped 664,779 people gain access to improved water and
sanitation services through 64 projects in 29 countries.
http://www.care.org/programs/health/water_sanitation.html
Centre for Science and Environment
The Centre for Science and Environment is one of India's
leading environmental NGOs with a deep interest in sustainable
natural resource management. CSE's strategy of "knowledge based
activism" has won it wide respect and admiration for the quality of
its campaigns, research and publications which are trying to bring
about change in an extremely difficult situation. For nearly two
decades now, CSE has tried to educate a whole nation, from many of
its top political leaders to its numerous rural activists, about the
importance of sustainable development, especially for the daily
survival of the country's poor and its rural women. CSE has provided
advance warnings, perceptive analyses and intellectual leadership in
the field of environmental management. CSE's insistence on respect
for democracy, people's participation, traditional knowledge and
modern science make it different even from most environmental
organisations.
http://www.cseindia.org/html/au/au1.htm
Garnet
GARNET is a mechanism for information exchange in the
water supply and sanitation sector using low-cost, informal networks
of researchers, practitioners and funders of research Key points:
GARNET is concerned with applied research in the water supply and
sanitation sector for developing countries; Designed for researchers
and users of research; Both global and local, with representation in
French and Spanish language speaking regions; Concerned with specific
topics in the sector (all aspects, including technology, management
and health/social issues);
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/cv/wedc/garnet/
International Development Research
Centre
The International Development Research Centre is a public
corporation created by the Canadian government to help communities in
the developing world find solutions to social, economic, and
environmental problems through research. The Institution provides
access to general information about IDRC, including the Centre's
brochure on how to apply for funding, guides for researchers,
information on awards, the annual report, Reports magazine, the Press
Room, and the Centre's program of research.
Research Programs offers direct access to pages explaining IDRC's
research initiatives and international secretariats. Resources links
to the Centre Library, databases, our Booktíque, and IDRC's
archives.
http://www.idrc.ca/
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative
Council
The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council was
established in 1990 at the end of the International Drinking Water
Supply and Sanitation Decade. Its purpose is to maintain the momentum
of the Decade, by providing a regular way for water and sanitation
sector professionals to exchange views and experiences and develop
approaches which will mean faster achievement of the goal of
universal coverage. Why concerted action is needed. Every day, about
10,000 people die unnecessarily from diarrhoeal disease. Their deaths
are caused because they and their families, along with 70% of the
people of the developing world, have no access to even the most basic
sanitation services. Many gatherings of world leaders have agreed
that a safe supply of drinking water is and hygienic means of
sanitation are basic human needs. Yet the situation continues to get
worse. Shared concerns. A growing core of dedicated people is
striving to reverse that trend. They come from a range of
backgrounds. They share a professional interest and a personal
concern for helping the unserved urban and rural poor to better
health and wellbeing and a cleaner living environment. The Water
Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) helps them to
share their concerns, their knowledge and their experience with one
another. It provides opportunities for problem-solving, access to
combined expertise, continuous dialogue on key issues, and
publications which set out guidelines, and codes of conduct developed
by experts working together over several years. In the WSSCC everyone
has an equal voice. Individuals from community-based organizations
and NGOs share views with those from donors, government agencies,
development banks, etc., in a neutral forum. The common cause of
accelerated progress towards water and sanitation for all provides
the focus and the motivation.
http://www.wsscc.org/
IRC
IRC is an independent, non-profit organization supported
by and linked with the Netherlands Government, the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council.
http://www.irc.nl/aboutirc/index.html
International Water Resources
Association
IWRA has strived to improve water management worldwide
through dialogue, education, and research for over 25 years. Since
its official formation in 1972, the organization has actively
promoted the sustainable management of water resources around the
globe. The world is a much smaller place today than when IWRA began
its work due to advancing technologies and global social changes. The
belief that sustainability requires interdisciplinary action and
international cooperation is a driving force behind the association.
IWRA seeks to improve water resource outcomes by improving our
collective understanding of the physical, biological, chemical,
institutional, and socioeconomic aspects of water. IWRA is committed
to the sound management of water resources through advancing water
resources and related environmental research promoting water
resources education improving exchanges of information and expertise
networking with other organizations who share common interests and
goals providing an international forum on water resource issues. IWRA
is about networking. Networking the people, information, and
organizations that are vitally concerned with the global
sustainability of water resources. IWRA is one of nine founding
members of the World Water Council and played a key role in its
formation as an organization committed to global water policy. IWRA
is committed to its members and their professional development and
advancement. IWRA provides its members with access to the latest in
information, programs, and international experts. The present
leadership of IWRA is strongly committed to the goals of the
organization and to providing the membership with a quality
organization.
http://www.iwra.siu.edu/about/index.html
The Water and Sanitation Program
The Water and Sanitation Program is an international
partnership that began with pilot initiatives in the late 1970's.
Together with partners in government, donor agencies, the private
sector, and nongovernmental organizations, the Program promotes
innovative solutions tailored to local needs and conditions. The
Program's work has evolved over two decades and is based on
principles that emerged at the end of the International Water and
Sanitation Decade and adopted at the 1992 Conference on Water and the
Environment in Dublin and the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and
Development in Rio de Janeiro. The Program advocates a demand-based
approach and three strategic objectives provide the framework for
activities.
http://www.wsp.org/English/index.html
WaterAid is the UK's specialist development charity working
through partner organisations to help poor people in developing
countries achieve sustainable improvements in their quality of life
by improved domestic water supply, sanitation and associated hygiene
practices.
http://oneworld.org/wateraid/
Perhaps more than any other sector, Water Supply and
Sanitation hits on all the main themes of the development agenda:
poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, private sector-led
growth, participatory development and good governance. Because water
is so essential to life, the World Bank Group strives to help its
member countries ensure that everyone has access to efficient,
responsive and sustainable water and sanitation services.
http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/water/
