A colorful set of students from around the world covering events and issues in the field of sustainability economics and management.
Student Reporters Iliana Sepulveda and Arjun Bhargava contributed equally to this post. Wars over water? Nowadays, this concept does not sound unfamiliar at all. Shared natural resources offer a challenge from the political standpoint, given that its management has implications for the autonomy and wealth of different countries and states. As the IUCN notes, of the two » read on
Since the beginning of days humans have always tried to imitate nature, both in real life and in mythology (e.g. Daedalus and Icarus trying to imitate the flying of the birds). As technology advances, many advances return back to the concept of imitating nature in order to preserve a balance on earth. For example, the » read on
Student Reporters Iliana Sepulveda and Arjun Bhargava contributed equally to this post. Imagine living in Marwar, an area in the Thar Desert that translates to the “Land of Death” in the Sanskrit language. Imagine being part of a village which does not have a single source of safe drinking water within a radius of 1.6 » read on
By all accounts, Maude Barlow is one of the preeminent international firebrands championing the rights to water for both humanity and nature. She sat down with me on March 16 at the Alternative World Water Forum in Marseilles to enjoy some Mariachi and to talk some frank talk about water rights and why the market-based, » read on
I interviewed Her Excellency Ms. Edna Molewa, the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille. South Africa is unique — as a nation as it has a higher financial water budget than defense budget. This is a remarkable achievement for any nation irrespective of » read on
Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch, thinks that World Water Forum organizers should have been ashamed that fracking, the colloquial term referring to unconventional natural gas drilling, was not at the top of the Forum’s agenda. I can understand her frustration. Over six days of panels, I could only find one dedicated » read on
Water, food, and energy are fundamentally inter-connected. Before I began learning more about this water, food, and energy nexus leading up to the World Water Forum, I didn’t understand the full implications of this. Water is necessary for providing food and energy to populations in modern societies. Water is used to grow vegetables and grains » read on
The World Water Forum provided a unique opportunity for some of the authors and directors of wH2O: The Journal for Gender, Water and Sanitation at the University of Pennsylvania to meet face-to-face for the first time. StudentReporter.org Editor Caroline D’Angelo, co-chair and Editor-in-Chief of wH2O, sat down with Marcia Brewster, an wH2O author, to discuss green growth, water » read on
We offer four reporter slots for our alumni reporters at the oikos Young Scholars Academies (application deadline 25 May, 2012 for Academies in Switzerland and 30 April, 2012 for the Development Academy in Kenya). In August 2012, oikos will conduct four young scholars academies, three in Switzerland and one in Kenya: The oikos Young Scholars » read on
Student Reporters Heidi Travis and Arjun Bhargava contributed equally to this post. The Volta River is spread over parts of six West African countries. The percentage of basin area in each of the six countries is as follows: 2.48% in Cote d’Ivoire, 42.9% in Burkina Faso, 3.41% in Benin, 41.6% in Ghana, 3.12% in Mali, » read on
It is common knowledge that we are unsustainable consumers of water resources. Agricultural, household and industrial use deplete the Earth’s freshwater and experts state that water shortages will cause the next wars. One of the most water sensitive regions of the world is the Middle East. Rich in fossil fuels, but water-poor, the Arab world » read on
Abdoulkader Issoufou is working with Reseau Projection, with a group of 26 other young water professionals, to edit and translate the daily newsletter of the World Water Forum. Abdoulkader is from Niger, is otherwise employed by Save the Children, and runs the NGO (non-governmental organization) Ong Tassa. His story is different from many of his » read on
With a cup of a native Finnish drink made from the flower of the fir tree, I sat down at Finland’s booth at the World Water Forum’s Exhibition Hall to learn about how the country has solved issues relating to the sustainable use of their waters. Finland has a unique position at the Forum in » read on
The World Water Forum 6 took place from March 12-17th, 2012 in Marseille, France. The Forum aimed at bring people together, allowing for conversation, presenting solutions, spreading awareness, solving challenges, and making commitments. The Forum, according to the event’s website, “…mobilises creativity, innovation, competence and know-how in favour of water. It gathers all stakeholders around » read on
Low quality water is essentially wastewater that has been treated using high-level technology so that it can be used (or more aptly reused) to irrigate agricultural and industrial crops and recharge aquifers. Why would we switch to using low quality water when we currently use fresh water for agricultural irrigation? Sources of freshwater are steadily » read on
The United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for sanitation is “to halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.” There are an estimated 2.5 billion people who currently lack access to basic sanitation, with more urban people lacking basic sanitation than rural people. These statistics » read on
One of the hotly debated topics among environmental wonks, public sector representatives and companies is the value of water. Water is a resource considered to be ‘free’ and a public right by many. Why is it that our most necessary life-sustaining resource carries so inadequate a monetary value in relation to other resources such as oil? » read on
At the 6th World Water Forum, a Village of Solutions was built in an attempt to raise participants’ awareness of global water and sanitation issues through exhibits and special events in an enjoyable and educational manner. The Village of Solutions had several exhibits that included a library, a school, a factory, and a town hall. » read on
Inside the Alternative World Water Forum On March 16, I attended the Alternative World Water Forum. The Forum Alternatif Modial de L’Eau (‘FAME’ for short) is situated at the Dock des Suds, and my first impression upon arriving was how buzzing the place was. This was no ‘occupy’ movement of the kind you tend to see lately in » read on
Have you ever engaged in political debate or taught an informational session IN A SLUM? That’s what some were doing at the World Water Forum last week in the Village of Solutions‘ make-shift demonstration slum. Veolia, the largest private water service company in the world, presented the stand pictured above as a ‘solution’ to the water » read on
As discussed in my previous post, there are a number of ways to finance water projects. However the topic of what options cash-strapped municipalities with low or non-existent credit ratings have for financing their water projects requires a more intensive look. This is a big concern for municipalities around the world because they need to » read on
At the World Water Forum 6, Student Reporter Eva Papadimas and I were interviewed by Suez Environment’s Water Blog. It was a rare case of reversing roles: the previous day Student Reporter Maria-Tzina Leria had interviewed Jean Marc Jahn, CEO for a Suez-affiliated company in Algeria. For the reverse interview, Suez staffers asked us about the Student » read on
Water is a unique resource because it is both local and global. Water flows over international and state borders, between conflict areas and through cities and industrial areas. Upstream withdrawals and inputs greatly affect downstream users, who may or may not have legal recourse to challenge inappropriate water activity of upstream users. This phenomenon is » read on
It has become fashionable to be sustainable: More and more companies try to aquire a green identity, products and labels rival for lucrative sustainable customer’s favour. A trendy image certainly accelerates things: More customers encourage companies to develop sustainable technologies, therefore, sustainability policies can be introduced faster. However, this process is also blurring the topic and » read on
