Dengue is a virus spread by mosquitoes. Symptoms include fever, skin rash, joint pain and headaches. There is currently no vaccine against this disease.

From first hand experience I have never felt anything like it before in my life – it is known as the bone-breaker disease for a reason. 18hours on a bus from Kathmandu with early symptoms starting to show I thought I had somehow broken my back. It took me almost 3 months to recover.

Figure shows Dengue Google Activity for Brazil in blue against information provided by the Ministry of Health in orange

Google has developed a tool for monitoring the disease. Dengue Trends uses aggregated google search data to esetimate current dengue activity around the world in near real time. The tool works on the assumption that, for instance during flu periods, people search for data on flu symptoms (as was found during the November 2008 trial of Google Flu Trends), during hte summer more people search for information on sun burns, the same goes for Dengue.

Check out Bill Gates talking on Aljazeera.

In the past it took 20years for vaccines to be affordable in developing countries, now, by changing the business model these important medicines are now being made available to everyone.  “For the first time in history all kids get great vaccines.”

Globally it is anticipated that we need to spend between US$80-100 billion per year on climate adaptation activities, and it is believed that 80% of this funding needs to spent in cities. It is therefore increasingly important that we understand how we can build it right in the first place, how we can modify existing infrastructure and what is the best way to fund such action.

Konrad Otto-Zimmermann, Secretary General of ICLEI, argues that “a step-change is needed so that building resilience and adapting to climate change are understood as urban planning par excellence”, and based on the congress summary & the interviews, it doesn’t sound like cities are waiting around.

There were 7 key issues which the conference covered (see below), using case studies of Viet Nam, Nigeria and London to illustrate good practice. Key issues to climate adaptation in cities were:

1. Integrating resilience: identifying synergies which include; water, energy, food security and ecosystems
2.  Assessing impacts of climate change: establishing meaningful cost-benefit approaches that can be updated as better data comes available
3. Using local planning to drive resilience: combining long term and short term planning and incentives, using building codes and planning for rapid growth
4. Developing innovative finance mechanisms: using public and private funding, understanding long terms costs and knowing whether to adapt or insure,
5. Building in governance between national and local levels,
6. Linking mitigation and adaptation, and
7. Inclusion of urban poor

Out of the congress came the Bonn Declaration of Mayors which declared various points related to adaptation, UN climate negotiations and collaboration.  I found the following action points regarding climate adaptation and urban resilience particularly interesting:

• Efforts on urban resilience and adaptation need to shift from a singular, special purpose focus on specific climate-affected infrastructure and locations towards a more integrated focus on overall risks, development conditions, and local area performance.

• A move to ecosystem based adaptation recognised as offering a cost-effective and sustainable approach to adaptation that can improve human wellbeing, particularly of vulnerable groups, in the cities of the Global South.

• There is a need for financial institutions to fund locally relevant and appropriate development, rather than conventional global financing mechanisms determining which local projects are eligible for funding, underlining the following three essential bottom-up features for building adaptive capacities for resilient communities and cities;

a. Local planning processes for identifying vulnerabilities and risks,

b. Local technical and institutional capacity for designing comprehensive adaptation and resilience upgrading projects;

c. Mainstreaming new adaptation and resilience standards into conventional urban development projects, similar to recent ‘green building’ standards that have been mainstreamed into urban development and construction over the last decade.

d. Developing specialized financial instruments for comprehensive local adaptation and resilience upgrading projects in urban areas and systems known to be highly vulnerable.

e. Building additional local institutional capacity to prepare, structure and manage large scale redevelopment;

f. Local procurement of investment through managed, competitive sourcing mechanisms and processes.

The event was also used to launch the white paper ‘Financing the Resilient City’. The report presents locally responsive climate financing investment strategies and instruments. It argues that finance for resilience and adaptation need to be demand-driven, rather than having conventional global financing mechanisms determining which local actions are eligible for funding.

Climate adaptation over the past few IPCC COPs has been getting increasing attention. It is expected at the COP 17 in Durban, dialogue will continue on the consolidation of the network/mess of funding mechanisms into the controversial centralised Climate Fund (should World Bank host this or not??).

Whatever happens, it appears clear that adaptation in cities needs to happen now, with grass root actions taken to address the specific challenges with funding and governance at a local level.

Check out WaterAid’s latest campaign ‘dig toilet’s not graves’ demonstrating the chilling reality of the impact of diahhroeal diseases in developing countries. To help WaterAid to provide santiation to some of the world’s poorest people click on the link and donate.

Is Orange’s tardy call actually representative of many corporates and national donations? Oxfam recently described the aid response as feeble and woefully inadequate.

Questioning the reasons behind the “sluggish and ungenerous” donations by the international community when compared with other disasters I ask:

• Is it the recession?
• the unpopularity of Pakistan? That this is a muslim country?
• Related to Pakistan’s link to Afghanistan and the numerous British military deaths this year?
• The growing vilification of Afghanistanis – stereotyped as supporters of the Taliban (supported largely by British media)?
• Is Pakistan too distanced from the UK (with very few people understanding what life is like there,  due to the low level of tourism when compared to places like Thailand and Haiti)?
• Are people worried about accountability with organisations such as DEC (i.e. BBC’s ‘justification‘ for not showing the DEC appeal for Gaza in 2009)?
• or could it be that politically (for nations and corporates alike), responding any other way could also stir up bad press as they could be seen to be supporting countries for which there is little public compassion?

What do you think?

The article is supported by a series of videos and photos.

‘A Portable water bottle for filtration and UV sterilisation of water anywhere in the world in 2 minutes. The water bottle works by first filling the outer chamber with dirty water from any lake, stream or dirty puddle. The inner chamber is plunged though the outer chamber and the water is filtered though a custom designed filter, down to 4 micron in particle size. Once the water is clear it is sterilised for 90 seconds using a wind-up Ultra Violet bulb. Once complete the water is safe to drink. The whole process takes 2 minutes.’

The non-binding measure, was presented by the Bolivian Assembly and said the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation was “a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.” The resolution passed with 122 votes in favor, none against and 41 abstentions. Abstentions from many developed nations including the UK, Canada and the USA – perhaps worried about the demands placed on development programmes?

Asking myself why states would abstain from voting these are the only answers I have been able to find:

• USA:  “It was not drafted in a transparent, inclusive manner, and the legal implications of a declared right to water have not yet been carefully considered in this body or in Geneva,” said John F Sammis, a member of the US mission to the UN.
• Canada: convention might force Canada to “share” its water with the United States (???)
• UK: Cameron doesn’t like the addition of sanitation….. (eh?). David: sort it out!

Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain and Norway supported the resolution and obviously understand the role that water AND sanitation play in underpinning all other sectors of development; healthcare, education, employment, economic development!

Apologies for any poor taste, but I couldn’t help but find the irony when last week’s political talks in India on business subjects poles apart – brought people to the streets protesting ‘David Cameron… The Loos Mouth!’ – If only he had a loo-mouth!

David, stop stirring up shit and start talking sanitation!!!

Intervention of the Permanent Representative of the Plurinational State of Bolivia

“The Human Right to Water and Sanitation” Ambassador Pablo Solón of the Plurinational State of Bolivia before the General Assembly of the United Nations on 28 July, 2010

July 28, 2010

Mr. President,

Allow me to begin the presentation of this Resolution by recalling that human beings are essentially water. Around two thirds of our organism is comprised of water. Some 75% of our brain is made up of water, and water is the principal vehicle for the electrochemical transmissions of our body.

Our blood flows like a network of rivers in our body. Blood helps transport nutrients and energy to our organism. Water also carries from our cells waste products for excretion. Water helps to regulate the temperature of our body.

The loss of 20% of body water can cause death. It is possible to survive for various weeks without food, but it is not possible to survive more than a few days without water. Water is life.

That is why, today, we present this historic resolution for the consideration of the plenary of the General Assembly on behalf of the co‐sponsoring countries of: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, The Plurinational State of Bolivia, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Fiji, Georgia, Guinea, Haiti, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, The Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu, The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, and Yemen.

The right to health was originally recognized by the World Health Organization in 1946. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared “the right to life,” “the right to education,” and “the right to work,” among others. In 1966, these were furthered in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with the recognition of “the right to social security,” and “the right to an adequate standard of living,” including adequate food, clothing and adequate shelter.

However, the human right to water has continued to fail be fully recognized, despite clear references in various international legal instruments, such as: the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This is why we, the co‐sponsors, present this resolution in order that we now recognize the human right to water and sanitation, at a time when illness caused by lack of drinking water and sanitation causes more deaths than does war.

Every year, 3.5 million people die of waterborne illness.

Diarrhea is the second largest cause of death among children under five. Lack of access to potable water kills more children than AIDS, malaria and smallpox combined.

Worldwide, approximately 1 in 8 people lack potable water.

In just one day, more than 200 million hours of women’s time is consumed by collecting and transporting water for domestic use.

The situation of lack of sanitation is far worse, for it affects 2.6 billion people, or 40% of the global population.

According to the report on sanitation by the Independent expert,

“Sanitation, more than many other human rights issue, evokes the concept of human dignity; consider the vulnerability and shame that so many people experience every day when, again, they are forced to defecate in the open, in a bucket or a plastic bag. It is the indignity of this situation that causes the embarrassment.”

The vast majority of illnesses around the world are caused by fecal matter. It is estimated that sanitation could reduce child death due to diarrhea by more than one third.

On any given day, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from illnesses associated with lack of access to safe water and lack of sanitation.

Mr. President,

Human rights were not born as fully developed concepts, but are built on reality and experience. For example, the human rights to education and work included in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights were constructed and specified over time, with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other international legal instruments such as the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The same will occur with the human right to water and sanitation.

That is why we emphasize and encourage in the third operative paragraph of this resolution that the independent expert continue working on all aspects of her mandate, and present to the General Assembly “the principal challenges related to the realization of the human right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation and their impact on the achievement of Millennium Development Goals.”

The Summit on the Millennium Development Goals is approaching, and it is necessary to give a clear signal to the world that drinking water and sanitation are a human right, and that we will do everything possible to reach this goal, which we have only 5 more years to achieve.

That is why we are convinced of the importance of the second operative paragraph of this resolution, which “Calls upon States and international organizations to provide financial resources, capacity‐building and technology transfer, through international assistance and cooperation, in particular to developing countries, in order to scale up efforts to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.”

All resolutions contain a passage that we can point to as the heart of the matter, and the heart of this resolution is in its first operative paragraph. Throughout many informal consultations, we have striven to accommodate the different concerns of the Member States, leaving aside issues that do not pertain to this resolution and always seeking balance, but without loosing the essence of the resolution.

The right to drinking water and sanitation is a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life.

Drinking water and sanitation are not only elements or principal components of other rights such as “the right to an adequate standard of living.” The right to drinking water and sanitation are independent rights that should be recognized as such. It is not sufficient to urge States to comply with their human rights obligations relative to access to drinking water and sanitation. Instead, it is necessary to call on states to promote and protect the human right to drinking water and sanitation.

Mr. President,

In our effort to seek transparency and understanding without losing perspective on the essence of this resolution, in the name of the cosponsors we would like to propose an oral amendment to the first operative paragraph of the resolution that would replace the word “declares” with the word “recognizes.”

Mr. President,

Before moving to the consideration of this resolution, I would like to ask all delegations to bear in mind the fact that, according to the 2009 report of the World Health Organization and UNICEF entitled “Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done,” 24,000 children die in developing countries every day from preventable causes like diarrhea contracted from unclean water. That is one child death every 3.5 seconds.

One, two, three…

As my people say, “Now is the time.”

Thank you very much.

Speech delivered by Ambassador Pablo Solón of the Plurinational State of Bolivia before the General Assembly of the United Nations on 28 July, 2010.

November 2009

May 2010

It was only 6 months ago we witnessed Cockermouth in North West England hit by a 1 in 1,000 year flood event causing an estimated £3m worth of damage.

Today however there is a different story hitting the headlines, as the same area is predicted to be reaching drought status within weeks. The Environment Agency this week said that this is a result of the combination of recent high temperatures, one of the sunniest Aprils in a century and five months of below-average rainfall.The image below (Environment Agency 2010)  shows that many rivers in the North West are already “notably” and in some cases “exceptionally” below-average levels for the time of year.

Today’s Guardian article reported that rainfall in the region is considerably below the long-term average, with this year being the driest new year spell since 1964 in England and 1976 in Wales. This year there is a severe risk that many rivers could dry up if the demand for water by agriculture, industry and households continues through the summer months. Speaking to the Guardian today, Rose Timlett, WWF’s freshwater policy officer said “the northern rivers are suffering already this year. These are the warning signals that we should use less water. When river flows reduce there are ecological consequences all the way up the food chain.” Here he calls for a change in the way water is allocated and abstraction licenses are managed.

When water is everywhere, as it is in the lake district, and we pay so little for it – how can we pursued businesses and households to use less water?

The business case for water efficiency is not as evident as it is for energy efficiency, however, in understanding the long term implications and the potential risks posed to business from excessive abstractions, water wastage or operating in water scarce areas. Businesses such as Coca-cola, SAB Miller, Lafarge, PepsiCo are beginning to recognise the longer term benefits of water effiency – let’s see if we can translate their learnings to the North West!

……………….

28th May 2010 update:

I’ve just been informed of this – UCL’s Department of Space and Climate Physics: Drought Monitor.

This is a publically available interactive drought monitoring tool. With a spatial resolution of ~100km it allows the user to view drought at various levels to display the number of people afffected by exceptional drought within a defined area. The hydrological drought conditions are displayed based on the two leading drought indices called the Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI).

Looking at the drought monitor for Europe over a 3month drought assessment period it is extremely suprising to see that in addition to north-west England, countries such as Czech Republic and Austria (a country that I associate with lakes and white water rafting) are also in the hot spot areas. However, looking at the same area over a longer period of time (i.e. 9months) looses any indication of drought which suggests that overall the areas are still recieving enough rainfall, so I guess that now it comes down to how water is managed and stored for use during times like now.