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Kenya

Partnering for green growth in water and sanitation: Lessons for Kenya from Korea

Lewnida Sara's picture

 Magnificent. Splendid. That was the only way to describe the intricate web of waterways, bridges, road, and rail transport that we gazed out on as our bus transported us from Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, to our hotel. The learning from our Knowledge Exchange had started even before the event had officially begun! All along our winding drive, the infrastructure on display demonstrated an appreciation and understanding of the importance of working with, rather than against, nature. Green Growth, they call it.
 
It was an apt introduction. That’s because the Korean Green Growth Trust Fund, in collaboration with the World Bank Water Global Practice, had organized a Knowledge Exchange event that would focus on water-related issues; how to mainstream green growth concepts in water resource management; and water and sanitation service provision.
 

Soyang Dam, Korea

Solving for water security at the source

Andrea Erickson's picture

Aerial view looking south toward the Gulf of Mexico down the Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana.
Photo © Carlton Ward Jr.
 

New York City faced a challenge in the 1990s: the city needed a new water filtration system to serve its nearly 8 million people. But the prospect of spending $6 to 10 billion on a new water treatment plant, and another $100 million on annual operating costs, was daunting. So, city officials took a closer look at the source of their water—the Catskill Mountains.
 
Water from the Catskills flows through 120 miles of forests, farmlands and towns to reach New York City. When that landscape is healthy, it acts as a natural purifying system, but certain development and agricultural practices can result in impaired water quality. For city officials, reaching out to local farmers and landowners and compensating them to restore and conserve their lands in the watershed, combined with some land acquisition, proved to be significantly cheaper than building and operating a new treatment plant.
 

Money from waste? Revamp your view on sanitation

Daniel Ddiba's picture

As an undergraduate student in Kampala, my head was full of thoughts about how I was going to make a living after my studies. Back then Rich Dad Poor Dad was still a best-seller, and I thought to myself: I can become a billionaire if I sell a billion of something to a billion people. Needless to say, it would have to be something that anyone can afford, like toothpaste or chewing gum.
 
So, I wondered, what does every human need? It dawned on me: everyone needs water, food, and energy, every day. The next question was how I could make valuable goods from all the three as a civil engineer.

 

Blended Finance: a key to achieve universal access to water supply and sanitation by 2030

Aileen Castro's picture



What does it take to finance sustainable water supply and sanitation? The World Bank Group takes this question very seriously indeed. That’s why during the recent Global Water Summit, the World Bank Group partnered with the organizer, Global Water Intelligence, to present the key concepts of Blended Finance to participants from all over the world.
 
But what is blended finance and why is the World Bank talking about it?

How small social enterprises tackle drought challenges in East Africa

Caroline Weimann's picture
Photo: Caroline Weimann/Siemens Stiftung

This past February, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta officially declared the drought in his country a national disaster. No rain had fallen for months in East Africa, causing a dire living situation.
 
Tribes migrated to find water and food, and we saw an increase in the amount and severity of conflicts, specifically between herders and owners of large farms.
 
In the cities, the situation is not much better. Nairobi’s main water supply is a dam which is currently only 20% full. The Nairobi Water Company is rationing water, and many people only have running water once a week.

Agriculture is suffering; the price of milk has risen from 40 to 65 Kenyan Shillings (KES) for half a liter in just six months. Maize meal, a staple food, has gone up nearly 40%, with the state recently announcing a subsidy for maize.

Water and War: The turbulent dynamics between water and fragility, conflict, and violence

Claudia W. Sadoff's picture
View the full infographic here

For the past two years, the rains have been poor in Somalia. What comes next is tragically familiar. Dry wells. Dying livestock. Failed harvests. Migration.  Masses of people in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The same is happening in Yemen, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria. However, poor rains are not the only water problem that creates havoc. Floods, water-borne diseases, and transboundary water conflicts can all cause severe human suffering and disruptions to political, economic, and environmental systems.

Pulling the chain: Business solutions for managing human fecal waste

Krishna Chaitanya Rao's picture
To understand why innovation in fecal sludge management matters, ask yourself this: In 15 years, when almost 5 billion people are using on-site sanitation, solutions like pit latrines and septic tanks, what will the world do with all the fecal waste? About half that many people use onsite sanitation today, and we already have a hard time keeping up.

Protecting our water sources brings a wealth of benefits

Andrea Erickson's picture
The journey of our water from source to tap is long, and not one we think much about. For most of us, our water starts high in the mountains, hundreds of miles away. From there, water flows across natural and working lands until a portion is channeled to water pipes that move water to our faucets, to farms, and to various types of businesses.

5 avantages potentiels de l'intégration des TIC dans vos projets d'eau et d'assainissement

Fadel Ndaw's picture
Also available in: English

Le Programme Eau et Assainissement (WSP) de la Banque mondiale vient de terminer une importante étude sur la façon de valoriser le potentiel des technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC) pour 'améliorer les services d'eau et d'assainissement en Afrique. Selon un rapport du GSMA, en 2014, 52% de tous les déploiements d’outils de transfert d'argent via le téléphone mobile à l’échelle mondiale se trouvaient en Afrique subsaharienne et 82% des Africains avaient accès à une couverture GSM. En comparaison, seulement 63% avaient accès à l'eau potable et 32% à l'électricité. Cette adoption rapide de technologies-mobile en Afrique offre une occasion unique pour la région de faire face au manque criard de données et d'informations sur les infrastructures d'eau et d'assainissement existants et leur gestion actuelle - une barrière pour l'extension des services aux pauvres.

How Countries Can Improve Access to Water for Women

Bhuvan Bhatnagar's picture
Because of water’s multidimensional role in economic development and poverty reduction, addressing the constraints that women and girls face in accessing and managing water is essential for achieving impact. 
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Challenges of gender inequality in water include:​
  • Women are disproportionately underrepresented in water sector decision making at many levels.
  • Women and girls are often charged with domestic water collection, disadvantaging other spheres of life, such as education.
  • Men benefit disproportionally from economic opportunities generated by the capital-intensive nature of water development and management.
  • Women and girls have specific sanitation needs, both for managing menstruation and for protection against gender-based violence. 

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