es 3 water

Contentsspring 2008water3.

Credits

Editor: Heloise Buckland

Editing and correction: Jaume Enciso, OlgaLlobet, Marina Martínez, Marta Moreno andMíriam Salvatierra

Editorial Committee: Teresa Franquesa,Antoni Grau, Oriol Lladó, Josep-Lluís Moner,Cristina Monge, Paula Pérez, Sonia Pérez,Inma Pruna, Montse Santolino and MarcVilanova

Creative direction: : Alexis Urusoff Ramos

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Printed on recycled paper. June 2008Legal deposit B-23656-07 ISSN 1887-7230

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Values at stake from the new water culture 4Pedro Arrojo, president of the New Water Culture Foundation, statesthat values cannot be changed by legal decree; in order to breakparadigms you have to take the classroom to the riverbanks.

The role of schools in the future of water 10Schoolteacher Carmelo Marcén analyses water as a teaching tool andproposes we take a leap from the knowledge phase towardsparticipation with a series of educational options.

Technocracy versus sustainability 13Education, ecology and management of the Baix Llobregat Campuslake. Antoni Grau, Josep-Lluís Moner and Marta Pujadas from theTechnical University of Catalonia call for more sustainable publicresource management to enable training and research in local aquaticenvironments.

Menorca: the fresh water challenge 21Miquel Camps from GOB Menorca describes their attempts to changeattitudes towards water in order to address the progressive degradationof the aquifers on an island without rivers.

Water for people, water for life 38The right to water and the role of development NGOs. FrancescMagrinyà, Aida Vila, Quique Gornés and Sonia Pérez from EngineersWithout Borders point out the educational efforts made by civil societyto encourage greater recognition of the right to water.

Water you shouldn’t drink… 43The water crisis, sustainability and education in India. Vijay Paranjpye, from the Gomukh Environmental Trust for SustainableDevelopment, stresses the importance of building literacy in resourcemanagement across many different stakeholders to achieve asustainable use of water.

In brief initiatives in and out of the classroom

Teaching resources for primary, secondary and university education 26Interview with Maria Rieradevall, expert in education and water 462050 Visions educating for a new water culture around the world 48We recommend books, films and documentaries 50Calendar of days dedicated to water and sustainability 51Ecological footprint of this magazine 52

If you wish to participate in Education and Sustainability, propose contents, subscribe or collaborate in thedistribution, please contact us at [email protected]. The theme of the next issue is Cities.

Imagine a world where human beingsknew how to organise themselves aswell as ecosystems do: self-regulatingand in balance with the environment.Imagine that our activities generated

zero emissions and didn’t waste a dropof water. And picture this - everyone onthe planet has access to safe drinkingwater and we take this vital resource

into account whenmaking all kinds ofdecisions, whether deciding to build a

casino in the desert (or not!) or choosingbetween eating meat or soya.

If this sounds like an impossible task,perhaps we need to find alternative

sources of water (apparently there’s lotsof it on Mars), or, we make a seriouscommitment to seeking long-term

solutions. For now, a good start wouldbe to train our politicians, farmers,

engineers, designers and economists towork in sync with a new water culture.

In many parts of the world the demandfor water has exceeded the supply and

at present 1.1 billion people do not haveaccess to safe drinking water: this isoften not a physical problem - lack of

water, but in fact an economic problem,caused by inequity of access and

distribution of water. Furthermore,according to recent projections, by 2040a large area of Europe will be desert. Toreverse these trends (or at least adapt to

them) a drastic change in people’smentality needs to take place. As Pedro

Arrojo explains in his article in thisedition, this transformation cannot beachieved by legislative changes alone,

but also requires major effort in terms ofeducation.

ecologists, development professionalsand students, amongst others, to sharetheir thoughts on this challenge.

We can draw some lessons from thedifferent approaches recommended;first, take the classroom to the river andnot the other way round, and second, aspointed out by Carmelo Marcén, dealwith both the biological andhydrological aspects as well as thecritical problems such as access towater, pollution and social conflicts overwater. All this, of course, withoutforgetting the learning space: trywaterless urinals, rainwater harvestingand water audits for starters. Thismagazine, for example, has cost justover two litres of water per copy.

In Spain andmany other parts of theworld there is a serious water crisis. Thisis nobody’s fault, but it is everybody’sproblem. So let’s start learning how todo things better before we really do haveto jump ship.Dive in!

The Education and SustainabilityEditorial Committee

In response to our recent reader’s survey,one person commented: "The questionis: should we just think about thecontents of our teaching? Isn’t it moreimportant to think about which kind ofteaching approach to use?" This is wherewe focus Education and Sustainability –how we can teach people to incorporatethe true value of water in their decisions– and we have asked teachers,

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The Editorial Committee does not assume responsibility for the opinions expressed by the authors in this magazine.

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R E F L E C T I O N SI N T H E C L A S S R O O M

These days we understand that as wellas providing wood, a forest islandscape, territorial identity andbiodiversity; we know that it prevents

soil erosion and allows rainwater to infiltrateand be stored in the aquifers. In the case ofmany rivers, lakes and wetlands, we havemanaged to lose our appreciation of thevalues that they offer. Economic develop-ment has been given priority to such anextent that the rivers have ended up as meresuppliers of water resources and a place todump waste. However, until just a fewdecades ago rivers were traditionally spacesfor meeting others and for enjoyment; theyserved as beaches for those who live inland;fishing and boating were not just economicactivities, but were also for leisure; theriverbanks were cool spaces for meanderingandmeeting people.

What role does education play in therecuperation of the values riversoffered us?The legislative framework of the WaterFramework Directive does not just imply achange in legal formalities, but is in fact afundamental change in the order of values,from resource management to systems

management.When we talk about a change ofvalues, whether we like it or not, these cannotbe changed by legal decree; values in a societychange little by little and education istherefore essential. Education is not just aboutlearning facts and figures but is also aboutadopting an order of values, priorities andsense of ethics in individuals. In this case it isessential that we change our relationship torivers and to nature, basing our actions on anew paradigm of sustainability.

We are now starting to recognise theimportance for our society that rivers, lakesand aquifers are in good ecologicalcondition. We are becomingly increasinglyaware of the consequences of managingthese ecosystems in a utilitarian way as ifthey were merely channels and deposits ofwater. When they are in good ecologicalcondition, rivers, lakes, and especiallywetlands, are genuine natural water purifiers.When we degrade them, beyond killing fishwe are destroying other species that wecannot see but which are the basis of thispurifying function. When we destroy thecomplex web of life of the river’s habitat, orwhen we drain a wetland (with its vastpurifying capacity), we are destroying aheritage which, without knowing it, has beenworking for us for free. This now leads us tospend millions of euros on waste watertreatment plants which do what nature didbefore, for free.

What are the most effective educationalactivities to help people understand thecomplexity of these water resources?For me the most effective thing is to go out intothe river environment, scramble on its banksand get inside the aquatic system itself; get outonto the water on a boat, or go for a swim.We

Pedro ArrojoPresident of the New

Water Culture FoundationInterview by

HHeellooiissee BBuucckkllaanndd

Just as we understand that a forest cannot be simply understood asa woodpile, we need to realisethat a river is much more than achannel of H2O. We need to movefrom the management of water tothe management of rivers asliving ecosystems.

Values at stakefrom the new

water culture

Interview with Pedro Arrojo


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the processwas not antici-pated. The world’sdeltas are like sedimentsponges which tend to become compacted bythe weight of the deposits themselves, therebyproducing a sinking process that is onlycompensated if the river deposits silt withregular flooding. The Ebro Delta also suffersfrom this type of problem as a result of theconstruction of the Mequinenza andRibarroja dams, which collapse more than90% of sedimentary flows. The Delta is

are used to understanding milk as somethingthat comes out of a carton and we are also usedto the fact that water comes out of the tap.Breaking the utilitarian paradigm of natureand the paradigm of the oversight that the keyto life is to be found in nature means returningto the aquatic environment and taking theclassroom to the riverbanks.

There are many other environmentalfunctions from which so-called environ-mental services arise. The case of the hugeAswan Dam over the Nile could serve as anexample. When the force of the river wasweakened, it was known that the Delta atAlexandria would retreat back from the sea,progressively sink and become salinated.Nevertheless, the actual speed and severity of

Values at stakefrom the new

Interview with Pedro Arrojo

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currently sinking at a rate of 4 millimetres ayear due to lack of sediments, whilst the sea isrising at a rate of another 4 millimetres as anindirect consequence of climate change.

Another significant impact of the Aswan Dambecame apparent ten years after it was built.Hundreds of kilometres of tourist beachesstarted to lose sand. We now know that mostof the sand on a beach does not come fromthe erosion of the waves but is in fact fromthe continental erosion of the rivers and fromtheir sedimentary deposits on the coastalplatforms, from where the coastal currentsare responsible for distributing the sandalong the coast. Something similar is takingplace on many beaches on the Catalan andValencian coast as an impact of the Bajo Ebrodams. Again, what was done before for freeby the river now has to be done usingexpensive artificial means.

In your opinion, what will be the long-term educational contribution of ExpoZaragoza? And what do you think of theGran Escala casino city project?

Although there are many aspects that can becriticised I think that the Expo offers a spacefor many opportunities. How many of theseopportunities will be transformed intoreality, new attitude and rebellion against thecurrent unsustainable way of doing things? Ican’t answer this question. We are making themost of the Expo to launch initiatives thathad been considered beforehand and whichare projected far beyond the Expo itself, suchas the Foro Joven Ríos para Vivirlos (YoungPeople’s Rivers for Living Forum) and theexhibition “Water, rivers and people” whichwill do a five year world tour. We consider theExpo not as a goal in itself, but as a platformto look towards the future, and theopportunity to reach millions of people whohad never even heard about the new waterculture. I am sure that it will make an impacton people, especially El Faro, the pavilion ofcitizens’ initiatives, where a multitude ofcontradictions are presented for good and forbad.

The Gran Escala casino project is not related tothe Expo, but what is certain is that the AragónRegional Government has lent its support,with an enthusiasm that I consider reckless, toa project that is the antithesis of ethics andsustainability. Is it possible to stop the project?I believe it is. This initiative is very risky, and itis highly likely that it will fail.

Looking at the water issue from anotherperspective, nowadays 1.2 billion people inthe world do not have guaranteed access to

safe drinking water. As a result it is estimatedthat more than 10,000 people, mostlychildren, die each day. However the answerdoes not usually lie in problems specifically ofscarcity, but rather in pollution and ecologicaldegradation. The trouble is that we havedegraded these ecosystems and aquifers dueto our insatiable and irresponsible zeal fordevelopment, and we have caused serious


health problems for the people who depend onthem, especially in the poorest communities.

What are the basic concepts that weshould teach future generations?In short, we have to distinguish the function ofwater for life, both the human right to access tosafe drinking water and nature’s right to behealthy. We have to teach our children, and

adults, that preserving life is the mostimportant thing. It is a matter of putting ourvalues in order and in this sense water is a goodeducational platform. Human rights areneither bought nor sold, and every child shouldbe able to understand this concept, as they havea cleaner soul and a clearer head as a result.

The United Nations declares as a human rightthe access to at least 30-40 litres of safedrinking water per person per day. Thisrepresents just 1.2% of the water that oursociety uses. In other words, there is no excuse.We are up against the challenge ofguaranteeing at least a public drinkingfountain with free drinking water near allhouses. These days, in many poorcommunities, it is usually the women and girlswho are responsible for bringing water, whichmeans walking for an average of 5 hours a day.This means that these girls cannot attendschool, amongst other consequences.

Within this context, the World Bank isproposing the privatisation of basic water andsanitation services. In short, commercialisingwater management means transformingcitizens into clients; however, when thesecitizens are poor, it involves marginalisingthem and ignoring their basic human rights.We have to distinguish between wateraccording to functions of life, what we couldcall water-for-life, the use of which should beguaranteed as a human right, and water-for-the-economy, which should be relegated to asecond priority. The right to be richer may belegitimate, but it should never be put beforethat of the human right to water or to the rightof communities and people to have livingrivers and healthy aquatic ecosystems.

In addition, the unsustainability of aquaticecosystems aggravates the problem of worldhunger, as it wrecks traditional forms ofagricultural production linked to fluvial cycles,and degrades or destroys river and marinefisheries that are essential in the diet of millionsof people, especially in poor communities.Fish is, in fact, the protein of the poor.

In summary, we are confronted with thechallenge of a cultural change which impliesassuming ethical principles of sustainabilityand equity in the management of aquaticecosystems and water as the basis of life and asa public asset.

Pedro Arrojo, Professor of the EconomicAnalysis Department at the Faculty ofEconomic and Business Sciences, University ofZaragoza, and president of the New WaterCulture Foundation.

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WATER?· ©

DANIEL FA

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Green Schools:

audit, save, reuseThe Catalan Green Schoolsprogramme is setting up a series ofinteresting and innovative education-al projects. At Primary level, someexceptional efforts are being made byCEIP La Riba. La Riba is a village in theTarragona region where water is notin short supply as the rivers Brugentand Francolí flow through it. The aimof the water-saving project, basedaround finding out the origin of thewater that the students use and itscycle, is to promote appropriateconduct for responsible water useand reduce its consumption in theirdaily activities. All pupils from theschool have been involved in thisproject, from the infants school, whouse the water that is left in theirglasses to water the plants, forexample; to high school level, wherestudents make statistical checks ofthe school’s water consumption bychecking the meter once a fortnight.

The CEIP Montseny in Sant JustDesvern has also had an interestingexperience with the “Water andDemocracy, the Uses of Water”project, within the Comenius SchoolDevelopment Project. This is the thirdand final year of this project on water,in which the democratic participativemanagement of this resource, withthe involvement of the entire schoolcommunity, is one of the key points.One of the main aspects of this

experience is the fact that thestudents themselves can manage theproject and introduce the dynamism.They therefore carry out manydifferent activities, such as creatingvideos designed for and featuring the

children, conferences, studyactivities, cleaning streams, etc. Theyhave also created a group ofReporters, who seek news related tothe environment.

At Secondary level, the experiences ofIES Ribera Baixa in Prat de Llobregatare interesting. The school has carriedout an eco-audit of water with the aimof assessing water consumption,improving its management andmoving towards a more rational useof this resource, promoting habitswhich help save water. The projecthas allowed systems for saving andreusing water to be applied whichhave reduced its consumption tolevels that are much lower than otherschools in the same town. Theinitiative includes informationpanels, stickers and specific teachingresources. In the same municipality,IES Doctor Trueta, in the process ofbecoming a Green School, has putin place measures for the reuse ofwater from the Llobregat Deltaaquifer, complemented by a rain-water collector. The implementationof this system has enabled them touse water from the aquifer forwatering plants, eliminate problemsof rusting, dampness and leaks fromthe supply, and save 70% off the waterbill, at the same time as offeringstudents the chance to learn from atangible experience.

The Foro Joven Ríos para Vivirlos(Young People’s Rivers for Li-ving Forum) is an educationalproject that encourages stu-dents from secondary andhigh school education toget closer to the rivers frommany different perspectives.This has arisen from an initia-tive from the New Water Cultu-re Foundation and is supported bydifferent autonomous and local au-thorities from the Ebro River Basin.The involvement of school teachers has beenkey to the growth of the project. Initial trainingcourses were programmed to incentivise teachersand this group has worked continually on the project. The work done by the students over the last two years in

several communities within the riverbasin area has been stimulating. Pu-pils have made visits, held debates,taken part in art and leisure activi-ties with a collective dimension, anda Young People’s Council for Rivershas been formed. All of this will cometo a climax at a joint conference on25th June within the framework ofExpo 2008. There the young peoplefrom this river basin and others from

Val-de-Marne and Lisbon will expresstheir view of rivers using art and leisu-re activities, share their experiences

and adopt an agreement which compiles their owncommitments to rivers and demands to be given tothe authorities.

�� +34 976 761488 · www.unizar.es/forojoven

SUMMONING THE W

ATER · © PEDRO BALBIS PINTO

SUMMONING THE W

ATER · © PEDRO BALBIS PINTO

YOUNG PEOPLE’S RIVERS FOR LIVING FORUM

creating a forum for young peopleRivers for living:

�� +34 93 4151112 · www.mediambient.gencat.net/cat/ciutadans/educacio_ambiental/escoles_verdes

I N B R I E FIN THECLASSROOM

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Studying the

water cycleat school

�� +34 93 2374743 · bcn.es/agenda21/a21escolar

Schools are large consumers ofwater, with a large number of peo-ple for many hours a day withmany points of consumption (toi-lets, taps, showers, kitchens, labo-ratories, etc.) which all adds up toa considerably high demand.

With this in mind, many schoolsin the city of Barcelona that parti-cipate in the Agenda 21 Schoolprogramme have developed eco-audits to determine their water

consumption and suggest mea-sures to reduce consumptionand save water. Based on infor-mation gathering (surveys, inter-views, reading meters, etc.) theyhave estimated each person’sapproximate consumption andthe school’s weekly consumption,water loss on the premises, was-tewater production, etc. These

data have allowed conclusions tobe drawn, and suggestions (bothindividual and collective) for im-provement have been debated,considered and drafted in orderto reduce overall consumption:exploitation of rainwater, waterreuse, intervention in wateringvegetation, or introducing sys-tems for reducing consumptionin toilets and taps.

Leaving to one side awareness-

raising of the water cycle in thecentre and reducing consump-tion, the most important goal ismodifying children’s habits intheir use of water resources (bothin terms of saving water and pre-venting it from becoming pollu-ted). In some schools, exhibitionshave been organised with infor-mation compiled by the students.

The Centre de l’Aigua (Water Centre) issituated in the Can Font masia (ruralproperty), in Parc de la Sèquia. The centreis a water-related interpretation centrewhich offers different services, such aspermanent exhibitions open to thegeneral public (The rational use of water,aimed at raising public awareness of wateruse, and Water in the city, explaining the

urban section of the water cycle). It is aneducational space aimed at all students ofprimary, secondary and high schooleducation, as well as the adult generalpublic. Its infrastructure includesclassrooms, laboratories, scale modelsand equipment for carrying outeducational activities with teaching andtraining centres. These activities could bevisits to the water treatment plant, oreducational workshops and training daysin the Centre itself. There is also adocumentation centre and archive forpublic consultation, designed inparticular for students and researchers onsubjects related to water.This centre, a point of reference in theregion, unites multiple public interests asit meets a pedagogical function with themission of spreading the word on water’simportance for the planet and mankind,and is a major centre for environmentaleducation in the city of Manresa.Furthermore, the surroundings of theCentre de l’Aigua, the Parc de Can Font,are vitally important within the urbangrowth of the city, where it has beenpossible to preserve an oak wood as agreen area within the urban surroundings.

��+34 93 8748616 · www.parcdelasequia.cat

Parc de la Sèquiaand the Centre del’Aigua in Can Font

PUPILS IN THE CENTRE DE L’AIGUA LABORATORY AT CAN FONT

YOU CAN USE RAINWATER TO WATER THE PLANTS YOU MUSTN’T LEAVE THE TAP RUNNING

FILLING UP THE WATER BOTTLE – CEIP PARC DE GUINARDÓ

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the future of waterThe role of schools in

The educational focus on socio-environmental issues isnot a passing trend, it is a collective responsibility. Thepower of schools to bring about change requiresstructured programmes, which can evolve in a variety ofdifferent ways. The foundations firstly have to be laid inorder to help find solutions for water to be considered ashared resource. This process requires training, andschools are a key place for this.

Carmelo Marcén,Teacher at IESMiguel Catalán

Secondary School,Zaragoza

The subject of water is often present,as much in daily conversations as inthe media; it is regularly in the news.Much the same thing happens in

schools, where water is talked about andworked with. Aspects related to its propertiesand natural cycle are most frequently touchedon; although in recent years the focus hasbeen on the uses of “water as a resource”.Included in the proposals for courses insecondary or high school education are topicslinked to the importance of water for humanbeings and other themes related to the finitenature of this resource. Curricular develop-ment happens over time, but the way that thesubject of water is represented within thecurriculum has stayed more or less the same.

Apart from its importance within the curricu-lum, the topic of water is one of the environ-mental subjects about which schools receivemost proposals from local councillors, andfrom both public organisations and privatecompanies. These proposals, while doubtlesswell-intentioned, have very different formatsand somewhat varied aims; there ends up being adisjointed set of initiatives for development,whose impact is scarcely evaluated. Schools welco-me them, but they rarely provoke collective debate.

Teaching pupils about water

So the jury is still out on how the subject ofwater can best be taught; to prove it you onlyhave to carry out a search on the internet orhave a look at the section on teachingresources in this magazine or others like it.Behind all the initiatives lies the convictionthat educational work about water is alwaysworthwhile. One assumes that its instigatorsbelieve that attitudes about water can be changedthrough teaching, that some behaviour is inneed of change, and that global educationintervention is relevant in this shift in attitude.Let us take these assumptions one by one.There are those who maintain that habits areacquired through imitation, others say thatthey are learned as a result of thoroughtraining, while some believe that neither theone nor the other is correct, but that it is theenvironment – the environmental problems atany given time – which generate the models forlife and how it evolves. It is possible that school children behave in acertain way because they do not realise thatwater is a precious and vulnerable asset,which belongs to everyone and is unequallydistributed; this is because they follow socialnorms or because they have not been given


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precise rules of conduct in this area. While it is known that intervention at theschool level is relevant to changing behaviour,less clear is that the perception and readinessfor action improve if there is social acceptance;this is the strategic situation. Pro-environ-mental actions carry more weight if backed upby similar practices in schools or society,providing they favour a sense of individualresponsibility within the social group and if atthe same time they are accompanied bycoherent institutional initiatives.(1)

In that case, given that water continues to bea social concern and is maintained as asubject in school, there is no reason to sayno to the educational activities. Thatsaid, it remains to be seen how it isto be achieved.

How do school childrenperceive water? Any proposal to makechanges in educationshould be supported bya thorough knowledgeof the existing situa-tion. A quick sum-mary would show thatthe pupils understandthat water is made upof several compo-nents, that it has a se-ries of properties, canexist in different states, isused in everyday life andhas a bearing on health; inaddition they know about itsrole in the formation of thehydrosphere and in the watercycle. Generally, pupils respondwithout difficulty to questionsabout facts and figures, but find it

much harder

the future of waterThe role of schools in

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION · FORO JOVEN RÍOS PARA VIVIRLOSARTISTIC EXPRESSION · FORO JOVEN RÍOS PARA VIVIRLOS

to evaluate processes and interactions betwe-en water and the individual and water and so-ciety. It is understandable that this should bethe case, as these topics form part of the mul-tiple curricular proposals which are taughtduring the years of compulsory education.(2)

It is also possible to see from this that someschool children do not see the relevance in sa-ving water, and that they pass the responsibi-lity on to the different authorities; they alsoshow a worrying identification with the rela-tionship between consumption of water andquality of life.(3)

There are two hypotheses to consider when de-

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veloping a plan for future action. In the firstplace, there seems to be a relationship betwe-en repetitive teaching and how much is learnt;in the second place, it seems that there is toomuch emphasis on the learning of facts and fi-gures to the detriment of concentrating onother material related to collective action,which has not managed to “seep through” ef-fectively enough into either the text books orthe curricula set by the educational authori-ties. As a consequence, it should be clear thatthe power of schools to educate has not beenlost, but that their aims need to be modified.The school syllabuses need an overhaul; thiscould come from within as there is room toachieve this in class planning processes.

Some suggestions for change Summarising the most valid educational op-tions for reversing such a deep-rooted methodof teaching is not an easy task, still less to findstrategies which will work for all schoolchil-dren. Still, following on from the aforementio-ned and working in teams to encourage parti-cipation, there are various possible options.They are complementary and would allow formultiple modifications, but they all requireplanning. � Studying problematic situations and wor-king on problem-solving.� Developing teaching units with a “globali-sing” format and aims.� Improving environmental management inschools by implementing school eco-audits.� Collaborating with networks and organisa-tions to work on the subject of water.� Studying a well known issue. Problems withthe water supply or incidences of contamina-tion, social conflicts caused by distribution, in-equality between the First and Third World, etc.These are issues which are useful to look at, al-though they do not solve the problem as theyfirst require the mobilisation of intellectual andattitudinal resources. By varying the dimen-sion of the problem, they can be used at anyeducational level. There is one condition: thatthe learning process is organised around a sin-gle argument, which makes sense of the who-le sequence. Starting from pre-existing ideasand from the recognition of habits leads to arestructuring and questioning of certain beha-viours within the group. The sequence to fo-llow, which should be short (or schoolchildrenlose interest), is simple: the creation of a glo-bal overview to highlight the situation andanalyse causes, suggest actions, develop themand evaluate the results.(2)

� Teaching proposals on the subject of water.Working around two or three aspects, above allindividual and collective uses of water, wouldmean that the most urgent situations can beidentified to work on straight away. For exam-

ple, related themes linked to the importanceof water in life or in the environment, perso-nal or collective use, etc. A few organised acti-vities should be included: something to moti-vate, to develop ideas and to apply in a practi-cal way. In this way there is time to deal withall of the issues and evaluate the results withthe pupils, making it easier to stimulate lear-ning. These proposals are recommended forgroups which still do not have a clear globaloverview of the subject, although they alreadyhave a definite interest in teaching it. � Improving the management of the school.Nowadays, the problems which the use of wa-ter generates in a school can be solved by sim-ple technical tweaking or by installing water-saving devices. However, an eco-audit of wa-ter could be useful, as it would favour collecti-ve participation in the common objective thatis sustainable management. In this case, weshould certainly consider the improvement ofenvironmental management and problem-sol-ving. If by doing this changes of attitude areachieved, these will carry over into family life. � Sharing water. The water network.There is alot on offer from organisations such as UNES-CO, Greenpeace, Intermón-Oxfam or otherscloser to home which offer materials and re-sources for schools. The creation of a water ac-tion group which could be linked to one of theexisting networks is a good way of establishingthe dynamic of learning from others and ofsharing. Initiatives from autonomous govern-ment and town halls can also be taken advan-tage of, such as Agenda 21, Green Schools,Eco-Schools, etc. Given their participative na-ture, there would need to be a strong collectiveto keep them going year after year.The unique position of schools to act as a ca-talyst for change has not been sufficiently ex-ploited, but there is still time to achieve this.In order to do so, we have to make room for theeducational practices which will create a dif-ferent vision of water. This vision seems morerelated to a revision of the relationship betwe-en humans and water, with a global dimensionand a participative aim, as opposed to just fo-cussing on water’s properties and its use as aresource.

References(1) Benayas; Poguntke; Marcén (2004). “Reco-pilación y análisis de investigaciones sobreel agua y la educación ambiental”. CongresoAgua y Educación Ambiental (pp. 165-182).Alicante: CEMACAM.

(2) Marcén (2006). Las ideas de los escolares so-bre el agua. Fundación Ecología y Desarro-llo. www.ecodes.org.

(3) Marcén (2004). “Usos y abusos del agua”.Cuadernos de Pedagogía (no. 334, pp. 34-37).Barcelona: Cisspraxis.


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municipality, which year upon year leads toflooding in different neighbourhoods in thecity. In March 2003 TYPSA, S.A. was awardedthe project to redirect part of the rainwatertowards the lake.The lack of sustainability criteria in this ACA-led project obliged the UPC to specify that thework be carried out harmonising floodprevention criteria (using hydraulicchannels) with those of respecting anaturalised environment where a wide rangeof research, teaching and educationalactivities concerning sustainability arecarried out. In particular, there is concernabout the risk of introducing polluted waterinto the lake. Meanwhile, paradoxically, aseparate Environment Department unit, the

Technocracysustainabilityvs

The ecological value of the naturalised lake on the Technical Universityof Catalonia Baix Llobregat Campus, recently included in the CataloniaWetlands Catalogue, has highlighted the challenge to meet educationaland scientific goals within the context of unsustainable public resourcemanagement.

Education, ecology and management of theBaix Llobregat Campus lakeEducation, ecology and management of theBaix Llobregat Campus lake

Antoni GrauProfessor of theDepartment of SystemsEngineering, Automationand Industrial InformationTechnology

Josep-Lluís Moner and Marta PujadasCentre for Sustainability,Technical University ofCatalonia

Despite being located in the town ofCastelldefels, the Baix LlobregatCampus breaks up the urbanlandscape. Located in an area that

was originally destined to agriculture, it takesthe form of a peri-urban park. The plan for theinstallation of a university campus inCastelldefels, approved by the academicauthorities in 1993, included the creation ofthe stratified lake to transport the Campus’water, prevent flooding risks and, at the sametime, turn it into an integrated element ofnatural environment and landscaping. Thisidea was exploited by the Agència Catalanad'Aigues (ACA; Catalan Water Agency), whoidentified the opportunity to resolve thehistorical lack of hydraulic planning in the

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Directorate General of the NaturalEnvironment, has included the lake in the"Catalonia Wetlands Catalogue".Unfortunately, however, the rapidnaturalisation that took place at thebeginning of its excavation was counteractedby the loss of water quality and ecosystemdegradation (especially as a result ofwastewater filtrations), a consequence of thepoor environmental management carried outby ACA, which reflects a total lack ofsustainability criteria.

Lake ecologyThe excavation of the subsoil to create thelake (1997-1998) contributed to achieving apioneering success:

� The lake’s naturalisation process took placerapidly, without the need to mobilise majormaterial, energy or monetary resources; theaquifer water rose with excellent quality andthe typical Llobregat Delta flora and faunaquickly colonised the environment,heightening the area’s environmental value.(1)

� A campus was created which set aside asignificant part of its space for environmentalfunctions and to reduce the ecologicalfootprint of the academic activitiesthemselves. The buildings include water,energy and resource saving devices, and thecampus managers are encouraged to makethis a normal part of running the site.

� The lake became a place for fieldwork-based experimentation and teaching forteachers and students, alongside trainingactivities and raising environmentalawareness amongst the universitycommunity and schools from neighbouringtowns.A diverse number of avifauna species, manyprotected by community rulings, have theirhabitat in the area, such as the little grebe, thegrey heron, the garza encarnada, the littlebittern or the European bee-eater. Parallel tothis is the extension of the side-necked turtlereintroduction project, coordinated byLlobregat Delta reserve technicians. Since2005 a series of releases have been carried outwhich have contributed to increasing thepopulation of this species, which is alsoprotected.The lake has become a space for the localcommunity, although the town council ispromoting its exclusive use as an urban parkand is not making the most of itsextraordinary opportunities nor theeducational resources generated to promoteenvironmental values. In the absence ofeducation and public awareness-raising

campaigns, the flora and fauna in the area issuffering from growing aggression: theintroduction of invasive species (Floridaturtle and carp); excessive feeding of ducks;invasion of pets (dogs); tipping rubbish andplastic bags. During August and September2007 periods of intense rains broke theholding wall of the work started by the ACA,which caused a serious loss of fish and severewater quality degradation.These phenomena have all caused asignificant drop in the quality of the water,and in addition an increase in levels ofeutrophication. Currently, the ecosystem’scapacity to achieve a good ecological qualityas set by the Water Framework Directive isseriously under question as is, therefore,continuing to offer the teaching and researchservices acquired over the last few years.

Educational activities on the lakeThe lake has become a space for thepromotion of interdisciplinary dialogue.Various analysis, monitoring andconservation projects have been initiated,which have turned it into a top levelexperimental fieldwork site for researchersand students. Some of these projects alsocontribute to promoting environmental andnaturalistic values within the University andbeyond, which generates interestingeducational resources and materials.Beyond the sphere of the University, the lake’slink with the land has provided new addedvalue for the town due to having become arecreational area for different social groups.Furthermore, it has made it possible toincrease the surface area of protectedmarshes, which are on the decline in Spain.

REAL LaboratoryA biannual interdisciplinary researchprogramme has been established within theCampus Environmental Plan framework(1998) with the aim of correcting deviationsfrom the Plan in campus activities. The REALLaboratory programme incentivises research,technological innovation, and training insustainability.Two calls for projects have been made since2001 with fifteen projects being carried outwith the participation of more than fiftyresearchers and students from differentdisciplines. This link between teaching andresearch in the study of real life case studiesconstitutes the lake’s great educational andlearning value.

ITINERA projectMaking the most of the interest in theCampus as a semi-urban space in whichnaturalistic, technological and social aspects

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are combined, a training and environmentalawareness-raising activity has been designed.This is namely the ITINERA project,which consists of an environmentalitinerary around the Campus withtwelve points that indicate theelements of natural andtechnological interest in thearea.Parallel to this, a volunteerproject in which univer-sity students act as gui-des on the itineraryhas been designed.Both students and

university teachers who are involved in the pro-ject and those from secondary schools have re-marked upon the positive influence the activityhas on the people who follow the itinerary, gi-ven that it makes them reflect on the negativeeffects that acquired attitudes and habits haveon this type of natural environment.

An exemplary case: the TOLLA projectThe study of ecosystems or natural systemsmainly serves to understand the complexrelationships between living things and theirenvironment. This project helps us tounderstand more clearly Man’s impact onnature and its consequences. In the sameway, predicting the behaviour of naturalsystems teaches us to make our relationshipwith the Earth more sustainable. When wealter the natural environment we needdetailed knowledge of the situation so that wecan make appropriate and responsiblechanges. In order to predict different factorsthat regulate natural systems we need toknow what they are and therefore formulatedevelopment models that, in short, representa system using mathematical equations thatreflect how it works, in the sense that theydescribe the relationship between each of thecomponents and external influences. Todemonstrate the efficacy of the models, wehave to assess them comparing thepredictions that are provided with real data. Therefore, the goal of the TOLLA project, wi-thin the REAL Laboratory framework, is fun-damentally to gather real data from the lake

over timeand create abehavioural modelthat uses these datato make a continual prediction. The first part consists of creating a databasethat allows us to gather a set of data providedby chemists and geologists, taken directlyfrom the lake. A website was set up in order topermit the use of these data by the entirescientific community,(2) which allowed themto simultaneously introduce data, obtaingraphics and access them remotely.Using the real data gathered, a complexmodel could be created of the lake’sbehaviour for use as a research tool forecologists, biologists and environmentalengineers, known as a research simulator.Specifically, the simulator predicts thedevelopment of the lake’s components interms of primary producers (phytoplankton,such as diatoms and algae), herbivores(zooplankton), nutrients or fertilisers(nitrogen, as nitrate plus ammonium) andphosphates with the aim of preventingnatural risks in these aquatic ecosystems.Amongst other things, the data that thesimulator needs are the water temperature,the concentration of oxygen dissolved, thewater level and other morphological andorographic data, which are obtained directly

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NATURALISATION OF THE LAKE (BEFORE AND AFTER) · MARTA PUJADAS

from the database. This simulatorreproduces the behaviour of freshwateraquatic systems in order to perform anecological study. To improve curricular adaptation, thesimulator’s creators translate this experienceinto the classroom for us by creating asimplified version of the model to obtain aneducational simulator. Using the samewebsite as the TOLLA project, a remotelaboratory has been created with a set ofsimulation practice exercises and dynamicsystem modelling which allows universitystudents to practice with real data andmodels from ecological systems. Theexperience has been well-received by thestudents whilst raising greater awareness ofthe environment and, more specifically,aquatic ecological systems.

ConclusionsThe advance of the sustainability culturedemands a paradigm shift, whichtransversally covers all key social sectors. Theexperience with the Baix Llobregat Campuslake has led to changes in the perception ofthe university community, school pupils andlocal residents regarding the value offreshwater bodies and ecosystems.Nevertheless, the technocratic inertia to solve

problems at "the end of the line", the simplynominalist incorporation of sustainabilitycriteria in public management and the lack ofupdated knowledge, have caused a severenegative impact and have contributed toputting the brakes on this pioneeringexperience. While institutional campaigns byACA encourage the general public to saveevery drop of water, pointing the finger atcitizens as having the greatest responsibility,often the public authorities allow millions oflitres of water to be spoiled or polluted, orpermit inadequate uses of water.The consequences of applying unsustainablepublic management criteria generatesignificant barriers to teaching initiatives andeducational experiences however pioneeringthey may be. It is essential that education forsustainability urgently penetrates thementality, values and skills of governmentsand public authority managers, includingthose working in the environmental field.

References(1) UPC Sostenible 2015 portal. The Baix Llo-bregat Campus lake(www.upc.edu-/sosten ible2015)

(2) www.tolla.upc.edu


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look for a grandparent or neighbourwho will act as a patron, orientingstudents and giving them informa-

tion on the history andsocial aspects of springs.Afterwards, an annual visitwill be made to a selectedspring to carry out anappropriate field study, as

well as a basic clean-up of the springif this is considered necessary. Thisfieldwork is based on an educationaldossier and also serves to carry outan initial diagnosis of the spring’scondition.An educational guide (for primaryand secondary levels) and a comple-mentary information dossier is avai-

lable for this practical field trip whichallows all of the information availableon the spring to be collected by allschools as the basis for later classro-om work. Finally, the students willhave access to a website where parti-cipating schools can exchange infor-mation, experiences and ideas.

Schools from Valle del Ges i el Bisaura,in the north of the Osona region, havebeen taking part in Catalonia’sEscoles Verdes (GreenSchools) Programme sin-ce the 2001-2002 schoolyear. One of their pro-grammes is “From springto spring, we learn fromwater”. This is a proposal which invi-tes open participation; it promotesknowledge, research and action instudents’ own environment and rea-lity focussing on springs as added so-cial value and water as a resource. This shared initiative is based on atraining seminar with teachers fromthe following schools: CEIP FortiàSolà, IES Cirviànum, EscolaRocaprevera, CEIP Vall del Ges andCol·legi Sagrats Cors in Torelló; CEIPLloriana in Sant Vicenç de Torelló;CEIP Josep M. Xandri in Sant Pere deTorelló; CEIP Segimon Comas andSES Bisaura in Sant Quirze de Besora.The technical coordination and crea-tion of the educational dossiers is bythe organisation viladraueduca-cio.com, which in the first year wassupported by the consortium of mu-nicipalities and the Osona regionalcouncil.Based on the central theme ofsprings, the idea is that students andtheir families work on analysing andresearching the subject with the in-tention of finding out more about thissocial and natural heritage. This project aims to develop an in-ventory of the springs in the region,go into more depth on the more edu-cational aspect of this heritage andcreate a shared space for exchange (awebsite with its own domain name)where the work done by the studentson the springs and related activitiescan be uploaded. In addition, aSpring Day is planned which will in-volve participating in the Fira Natura(Nature Fair) in Torelló where the pro-gramme will be presented. Trainingand informative material will also bedeveloped for families.In terms of the work’s methodology,the plan is for each of the schools to

From spring to spring

�� +34 93 8849131www.viladraueducacio.com The Proyecto Mediterráneo Occi-

dental (PMO; the Western Medite-rranean Project), coordinated inter-nationally by Unescocat (Catalo-nia’s UNESCO Centre since 2005), isan educational project from UNES-CO’s Associated Schools Projectwhich includes nine states from theWestern Mediterranean area (Alge-ria, Andorra, Spain, France, Italy,Libya, Malta, Morocco and Tunisia). The goals of PMO are in line withUnescocat’s action areas (peace,human rights, development, sus-tainability, interreligious dialogueand interculturalism) and are orga-nised around the following centralthemes: Taking an active part in solving en-vironmental problems, especiallythose related to the value of waterin the Mediterranean, ecotourismand natural heritage protection,and participating in the United Na-

tions Decade of Education for Sus-tainable Development (2005-2014).Putting into practice solidarity andcooperation between countries andpeople, as well as the culture of pe-ace in the Mediterranean.Contributing to better knowledgeand promoting dialogue betweencultures and religions to encouragecoexistence and respect for diffe-rence.Promoting linguistic diversity andthe preservation of the cultural he-ritage present in the whole of theMediterranean.In order to achieve these objectives,specific actions are proposed to pri-mary and secondary schools asso-ciated to UNESCO: inter-schooltwinning programmes, exchange ofteaching materials, internationalinter-school camps and teachersmeetings.

Àlex Cosials, Ángeles Rojo and Marga Serra

�� +34 93 4589595 · www.unescocat.org

WesternMediterranean

Project

BAZARUTO ISLAND · © EVELYNE CHIAROT

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Participatory assessment of water and sanitation facilities in schools in India

In April 2006 the School Sanitation pro-gramme of the Department of Educationof Andhra Pradesh commissioned theCouncil for Environmental Education toconduct a study of the water and sanita-tion facilities in schools with the supportof UNICEF. The objectives were to under-take a participatory assessment of waterand sanitation facilities in schools invol-ving students, teachers and parents, andto identify and present a set of recom-mendations for improving the installa-tions. A set of innovative participatorymethods were used to capture the inte-rest of students and teachers during theprocess:

Guided tour: teachers and students for-med separate study teams and carriedout tours of the facilities to identify thekey features of the installations.

Flash cards: students were asked to pointout the positive and negative aspects of

the water and sanitation installationsusing photos from the selected schools.

Design the best toilet: the students wor-

ked in groups to design the ‘best toilet’.

Photo documentation: teachers tookphotographs of 5 positive aspects and 5negative aspects for each of the urinals,latrines, drinking water and hand washbasins.

Score card: teachers designed a set ofcriteria to evaluate the water andsanitation infrastructure in the schools.Each teacher scored their own schoolagainst these criteria.

The study covered 30 schools in three dif-ferent districts and resulted in a series ofrecommendations to improve the infras-tructure and design, as well as the main-tenance and management of the waterand sanitation facilities in the schools.

Ushodayan Thampy, Vanitha Kommuwww.ceeindia.org

Young people from colleges and high schools in Indiadocumented case studies illustrating how waterconservation has led to energy conservation. A uniquefeature of this project was that it not only dealt with water,but also considered the relationship between water andenergy. The cases focused on behavioural practice as wellas applied engineering practice. The following paragraphshighlight the results of each case study.

Reducing tap water wastage: Water wastage has beenreduced by the introduction of a nylon orifice in the watertaps, in an industry in Surat, Gujarat. This action hasenabled a saving of 19 litres of water per minute.

Water harvesting: facing water shortage, an educationalinstitute in Mumbai set up a small-scale conventionalgravity based rainwater harvesting unit at the campus tohelp raise the ground water table and recharge the borewells. Another school in Bhavnagar has set up a rainwaterharvesting structure to water the kitchen garden whichsupplements the school children’s mid-day meal. Theconstruction of this structure was enabled through the saleof flower garlands, made and sold by school students.

Holy showers: local authorities in Andhra Pradesh have setup showers on the ghats of the Krishna River, for devoteeswho want to take a holy bath in the river during thePushkaram festival in Andhra Pradesh which lasts for 12days. This has helped in reducing water pollution as well asthe energy needed for water treatment.

Improved city supply: city managers have initiated effortsto save electricity consumed in the process of water supplyto the inhabitants through the reduction of the distance

between the source and the destination. Ahmedabad Munici-pal Corporation managed to save 60% of transmission losses.

New dam design: A new design of dam has been developedby farmers in Gir taluka, Gujarat. The dam consists of aseries of semicircular arches that increase the total area ofthe dam and reduce the pressure of the stored water on thedam wall. This new design is cheaper than the cost ofconventional check dams.

These case studies are part of a project carried out bySAYEN, in India and Sri Lanka, developed by WinrockInternational, with the support of USAID.

Savita Bharti · www.ceeindia.org

Student case studies on water conservation for energy savings

The best toilet

RAINWATER HARVESTING AT SCHOOL. PUNE, INDIA • SANSKRITI MENON

PLAYING WITH HAND PUMP • UDIT KULSHRESTHA

Mutual energy and water savings

RAINWATER HARVESTING AT SCHOOL. PUNE, INDIA • SANSKRITI MENON


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The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) aims topromote a way of life that makes us more aware ofour actions and thereby reduces our impact on theenvironment. With more than thirty years experien-ce and experimentation in alternative lifestyles, thecentre proposes practical solutions to various envi-ronmental problems. Leading by example, the centreaims to show us that we can combine a more sustai-nable life with a higher quality of life. The main areasof activity are renewable energies, sustainable buil-ding, energy efficiency, ecological crops and waste-water. The function of CAT is to explore anddemonstrate a wide range of alternatives, inspiring,informing and enabling.

The centre is aimed at people of all ages and can bevisited daily. There is also a free information andconsultancy service. The CAT has become well-esta-blished as a place to learn new things, offering cour-ses which last from a weekend to a whole year, and italso offers visits for schools linked to the NationalCurriculum. A small community lives in the centreand puts these ideas into practice. The centre runsmore than 120 courses a year, and has been adaptedfor groups with special needs, primary, secondary,universities, teachers, etc. The courses are designedin collaboration with the groups and are adapted tothe needs of the participants. The educational activi-ties available include excursions, theatre and role-playing workshops, cooperative workshops andscientific experiments, with specific educationalmaterial available for students to work on differenttopics in the classroom. In addition, the centre offersa wide range of postgraduate and continuous trai-ning programmes at the Graduate School of theEnvironment, which offers courses that focus mainlyon sustainable architecture; all of these courses areofficially recognised.

�� +44 (0) 165 470 2400 · www.cat.org.uk

Inspiring, informing and enabling through

alternative

b_TEC is a space dedicatedto knowledge transfer andtechnology; in other words,a space for interdiscipli-nary communication whe-re training, business andresearch activities are ca-rried out between universi-ties, public authorities andcompanies, who work inspecific areas and knowledgesectors in an innovativeand entrepreneurial con-text within the Spanish andinternational sphere. b_TEC heads up the design,organisation and manage-ment of the Besòs Inter-University Campus tocreate a space based onthree knowledge vectors:energy, water and mobility.Its mission revolves aroundsustainability principles,internationality, the con-nection with the social environment, communica-tion between differentagents and results-orientedinnovative work.

The Barcelona Tech SummerSessions are internationaldays, organized by b_TEC,which have become a meet-ing place between busines-ses, public authorities andinternational universitieswithin the framework ofthe Besòs Campus. Theyare aimed at specialists andstudents of these sectorsand promote activitieswhich bring knowledge to ayounger and non-specialistaudience which reachedmore than 3,000 secondaryand high school studentslast year. They also organiseactivities related to thesethemes for a more generalaudience through the dyna-mization of other spaces intheir more immediate envi-ronment, such as civic centres.

��+34 93 3560980www.btec.org

TURN THE TAP OFF • © JOHN DALKIN

WATER WHEEL, MONTE VERDE, BRAZIL. © ALVARO ALKSCHBIRS

Barcelona Tech, a new space for

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Who hasn’t studied a subject whereteachers have used examples that youwould never find in real life? I thinkit’s happened to everybody. Settingunrealistic, invented and evenridiculous exercises can fulfil, at thevery least, the theoretical goals of asubject, but it is not enough to have avast knowledge of theories, slogans,axioms, laws and more theoreticalfigures; the student should know howthese key concepts can be applied inthe real and tangible world. We areconvinced, and we therefore applythis within our classes at the TechnicalUnviersity of Catalonia, that a realexample, problem or dilemma turnstedious theory into something moreengaging and more easily-assimilatedby students. If, as well as being realexamples, these are sustainable innature or are related to environmentalissues, then teaching staff may beeven more pleasantly surprised:problem-solving sessions turn into aheated debate about matters thataffect us all and the environment as awhole, which means that (with well-directed debate and argument) thestudents’ human side can come to thesurface, however technical thesubject being studied. This pedagogical methodology iscriticised by those who don’t reallycare, those who look down on whatthey know nothing about, and thosewhose teaching notes are starting tofade although they would like to thinkof them as still being whiter thanwhite. We here defend the importanceof setting real and sustainableexamples to supplement theoreticalconcepts, but we are also realisticabout the fact that this can bring anadded difficulty for teaching staff: inthe first place we have to find realapplications which allow us to extractelements which can be used as ‘bite-sized problems’, and secondly, whichhave sustainability as the main focus. Within the teaching of Systems andAutomation Engineering, compulsorysubject in university industrialengineering studies, we believe thatwe can meet the two requirements

mentioned previously (real applica-tions with a sustainable focus) if weanalyse all the processes that takeplace in a sewage treatment plant.This type of plant contains sufficientcomplex mechanisms, apparatus andelements of process automation to beused in various subjects on ourcurriculum, whilst considering theproblem of treating water, its scarcity,reuse, contamination by spillage intothe sea or other effluents, or thebreakdown of dry sludge that isextracted from wastewater. The steps taken to create thiseducational project were firstly tocontact the managers of the companyrunning the treatment plant so thatthey could participate in the processof creating the teaching material.After the required formalities, theplant head was therefore contactedand we decided to assign a managerfor each of the processes the watergoes through; these managers (a totalof twelve people from the company)have worked closely with ouruniversity team (the project’sacademic managers) to draft eachchapter and give it the educationalfocus that was being sought, placing aspecial emphasis on environmentalimprovements which areimplemented in a latest generationplant.The result is a teachers’ book that isabout to be published, in which thereare no grand theories of automaticcontrol or regulation; in their placethere are a multitude of realproblems, examples and practicalexamples on all of the processesexperienced by wastewater fromwhen it enters a treatment plant untilit leaves, as well as treating itscontaminants and waste products.The book also aims to generatethinking on the current waterproblem and transmit it to universitystudents. The project has beencarried out at the Besòs WastewaterTreatment Plant, with the disinteres-ted collaboration of EMSSA, theconcessionary company.

Engineers of the future:

Antoni Grau · Yolanda BoleaProfessors in the Systems and Automation Engineering

Department of the Technical University of Cataloniaa reality check

WATERLESS URINAL • DANIEL LOBO

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R E F L E C T I O N SOUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

Miquel CampsLand Use PolicyCoordinator at GOBMenorca

On an island of 700 km2, with no mountains or rivers, fresh watermanagement is a real challenge. In the light of the progressivedegradation of the aquifers, GOB (Grupo Ornitológico Balear) hasdecided to undertake an initiative that is fundamentally aimed atcreating the right social climate to change the water policies that havebeen applied up to now.

Menorca

How can we change uses of water sothat they can take on sustainabi-lity criteria? Perhaps through le-gislation? Perhaps through public

complaints? Or public campaigns? These arethe questions that arise after having proventhat the real situation of Menorcan water re-serves was even more worrying than we hadsuspected.

Menorca only gets fresh water from the rainthat manages to infiltrate the subsoil. For thisto happen, it has to rain with the right inten-sity and frequency, and the water has to reachthe southern and western part of the islandwhere the permeable land is situated. In anycase, the reality is that Menorca has increa-

singly fewer water reserves and a large per-centage of the water that we do have is quitepolluted with chlorides and/or nitrates. The-se problems are also present in other placesnearby where the same policy of managingwater (as if it were an infinite resource) hasbeen applied.

We should not resign ourselves to thinkingthat the solution can be dealt with exclusivelyby technology (desalination and watertreatment plants, etc.). At GOB, which hasworked for the environment in Menorca forthe past thirty years, we were aware that thelowering of the levels of the aquifers is not justa problem for the human population on theisland. The fall in the water table (some 7

The fresh water challenge

BINIMEL-LA TORRENT, MENORCA. · EDUARD FURRÓ

The fresh water challenge

metres in 20 years) is causing springs to dryout and wetland areas to disappear, whichsignificantly affects a considerable amount ofthe island’s biodiversity. It is of no use to wildanimals and plants that we put thedesalination plant into operation if this is notaccompanied by a programme of aquiferrecuperation. The overall aim has to be torestore the volume and quality of fresh waterin the subsoil.

How is knowledge of the situationtransmitted to the community?The magnitude of the problem suggests thatif we were to approach the public authoritiesalone, it would be difficult for significant ad-vances to be made. No politician likes to askpeople to make sacrifices, nor demand com-pliance with the rules in force or inform thatnew rules are being prepared. In fact, GOBhas publicly maintained discrepancies withthe authority responsible for water resourcesfor years, as official messages have alwayscommunicated optimism with respect to thestate of the aquifers, despite the fact that theindicators showed very negative trends. Now,after having had access to official studies,which show the real situation, we cannotcontinue to evade the problem any longer.

The report The water in Menorca. Analysis andproposal document (www.gobmenorca.com),arises from these reflections. In simple lan-guage, with short texts and accompanied byillustrations, it compiles the main data onthe problems of loss of amount and qualityof the aquifers, the likely causes of this situa-tion, and the potential solutions that have tobe undertaken. A team of collaborators fromdifferent disciplines has helped create thedocument. The report’s contents are nowbeing presented across the island, and diffe-rent methods and resources are used in the-se presentations:

� The initial presentation, first at a pressconference and afterwards with a talk in theMenorca Island Council, was supported byPedro Arrojo, president of the New WaterCulture Foundation, one of the most charis-matic leaders of the campaign against theformer National Hydrological Plan and atrue authority on water policy matters.

� Presentations are being held for the gene-ral public in all towns on the island, generallyin conference format with slides, followed bya debate amongst those present. The eventsare arranged with town councils, neighbour-hood associations and groups from LocalAgenda 21.

� An adapted version of the talk has beenprepared in order to be able to offer it atsecondary schools within the framework ofthe environmental education programmesset up annually by GOB with town councilsand schools. Dozens of talks have beenprogrammed on this issue.

� Several radio messages have been recor-ded using the voices of people of differentages, origin and social status, allowingmessages on fresh water to be rebroadcastregularly by certain stations when theyhave free advertising slots.

� The water issue has also become part ofcertain excursions in the On foot aroundMenorca programme, known as WaterLandscapes, through which GOB organises aseries of guided excursions on the first Sundayof the month. These are very popular.

Proposals to public authorities Once a suitable climate has been created withthe different activities mentioned, interviewsare arranged with local authority leaders whoare responsible for matters related to water. Insp

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this case, this includes all town councils, somedepartments of the Island Council (mainly Agri-culture, Environment, Land Use Planning andLocal Cooperation) and the Balearic Govern-ment, and several bodies derived from the cen-tral Government.These interviews review the potential applica-tion of the 56 measures that have been identi-fied as being possible ways of gradually chan-ging negative dynamics. At the same time, the-se measures are thought out so that they canbe applied in three phases: 6 months, 1 year anda half, and 3 years. Each interview is written up as a public reportdrafted by GOB which is firstly inspected by theauthority in question; this report shows the ac-tivities that are being carried out, those that arebeing studied and, if they go ahead, those thatwe consider should not be done or which can-not be done. In this way, we achieve transpa-rency, a public record of agreements and a firmcommitment, and the subject is kept in the eyeof the media.

A firm pledge and a favourable context The decision to launch this initiative has beenthe fruit of an intense internal debate withinthe framework of the organisation. The subjecthas been discussed on various occasions, bothin meetings of the Board of Directors and inopen dialogues with the general public and indifferent commissions. From these thoughts itwas presumed that we were dealing with an is-sue that it would be necessary to work on per-manently, at least in the medium-term. Thecreation of a work team that meets regularly toanalyse the campaign’s progress helps face newchallenges or opportunities that arise.Emphasis should be placed on the suitablecontext offered by the Water Framework Di-rective, which obliges significant policy chan-ges to be introduced. For example, suffice tosay that in 2010 it will be necessary to applythe recuperation of costs to water services, orthat in 2015 we must have achieved the good

condition of freshwater bodies (ground, sur-face and coastal). The new water culture movement introducessome useful ideas when working in this field,and the huge amount of work that is beingdone in certain academic areas can also bevery usable if an effort is made to apply it lo-cally and facilitate understanding.Correct water management is one of the cha-llenges to be addressed in Menorca, which wasdeclared a Biosphere Reserve in 1993 andwhich has made important sustainability pled-ges in different lines of work. Hopefully withina few years we will be able to announce thatthe island can set a good example on the wa-ter issue.

References� El estado de las aguas subterráneas en el

archipiélago Balear. Isla de Menorca(2004). (The state of ground waters inthe Balearic Archipelago. Island of Me-norca). Directorate General of the Bale-aric Government Water Resources Ma-nagement. Geological and Mining Ins-titute of Spain. Ministry of Educationand Science.

� Socio-environmental observatory ofMenorca www.obsam.cat.

�Menorca island land use plan. MenorcaIsland Council. 2003.

� AquaNet Project. Menorca Island Council.� Conference on the reuse of wastewater. Se-cond Sorea Technical Conference. Maó, 2007.

� El reto ético de la nueva cultura del agua.(The ethical challenge of the new water cul-ture.) Pedro Arrojo. Ed. Paidós. Barcelona,2006.

� Pedro Arrojo. Talk held on 3 November 2006in the Molí, GOB, Maó.

� Grinmed. Meeting of experts and profes-sionals related to the subject of nitrates inMenorca. Maó, 2007.

� New Water Culture Foundationwww.unizar.es/fnca.

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I N B R I E FOUTSIDE THECLASSROOM

The mission of the AgbarFoundation is to promote theAgbar Group’s values, such asa commitment to theenvironment, research intotop quality standards,technological developmentand the desire to deliver aservice. The Foundation istherefore keen to identifyopportunities and promote ajoined up agenda for water,the environment and society,through spreading know-ledge and promoting re-search programmes, studiesand publications.The Agbar Water Museum,created around the historicCornellà pumping station, isdesigned to live water fromall points of view: scientific,technological and environ-

mental, but also from a historical, cultural, educational andleisure perspective. The schools programme, with some twentyactivities aimed at children and teenagers from infant schools topost-compulsory education, has had more than 17,000 visitsannually. It has also been successful in terms of quality education,with innovative projects which encourage students to do theirown research. Families are also offered a wide range of activities toenjoy at the Museum, discovering the secrets and phenomena ofwater. Older people are encouraged to help restore the memory ofthe uses and daily customs of water through specially-designedreminiscence activities.�� +34 93 3423538 · www.museuagbar.com

Water consumptionat work

�� +34 637160679 · www.clubemas.cat

We are becoming increasingly conscious of theneed to make people aware of the correct ma-nagement of natural resources and of water inparticular. There are now many mechanismsand technologies at our disposal in order to re-duce consumption and make better use of ourwater, but above all we can adopt good practi-ces to change behaviour. This is something thatwe can all do, whether at home or at work.

Club EMAS, an association of organisations re-gistered with this environmental managementsystem in Catalonia, has decided to invest all itsefforts in promoting the improvement in com-panies’ environmental performance on resour-ce use and preventing pollution. Within the fra-mework of the Revista de Qualitat Ambiental(Environmental Quality Magazine)which is pu-blished by Club EMAS, a poster has been desig-ned to raise awareness of the water cycle, waterconsumption and wastewater management.The poster introduces the environmental pro-blems associated with this resource, proposesgood practices that can be adopted for its use,both at home and at work, and presents a remin-der of the main legal procedures. Furthermore,it includes a part that each company can perso-nalise by introducing its consumption data, pro-cesses that consume water, activities that gene-rate wastewater and the main parameters thatcontrol it.

THE W

ATER C

ARRIER AND B

OY © XIAO GUAIEL

El Faro (the beacon), the pavilion of ci-tizen’s initiatives, will be one of themost emblematic pavilions at ExpoZaragoza 2008 where the vitality andcapacity for innovation with which ci-vil society faces water challen-ges will be reflected. ElFaro will thereby offerspecific solutions towater problems, cre-ating new awarenessand more sustaina-ble habits. It will bevery special, as it willinclude and transmitthe anonymous ef-forts of the work ofmore than 175 ci-vil society orga-nisations fromaround theworld.

El Faro revolves around several mainprinciples: the human right to drin-king water and sanitation, climatechange and all of its consequences,

major dams and infrastructu-res, the pu-

blic

management of water, the uses andabuses it is subjected to and the con-flicts which arise from it. These goalshave a lot resting on them: on onehand, raising awareness of the situa-tion the planet is facing, and morespecifically the situation of its aquaticecosystems and the beings that inha-bit them. In addition, there is the needto act responsibly as a consequence,making a firm commitment to helpingsolve the problems confronting usand preventing problems from

arising in the future sothat water can go

back to beingwhat natureintended it tobe: the stuff oflife.

El Faro: lights for a new culture

Where water liveswhere you live water

BUILDING THE BEACON, FUNDACIÓN ECOLOGÍA Y DESARROLLO

��+34 976 298282 www.elfaro2008.org

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The city of Greater Sudbury, in thenorth-east of Ontario, Canada (knownas the city of lakes as it has more than330, more than any other municipalityin the same province), has held the Sud-bury Children’s Water Festival since 2005.This festival aims to spread the word onthe importance of water to more than2,400 students and serves as a meetingplace as it is designed to be adapted tothe curricular requirements of 3rd

graders from the area’s school boards.This festival is a creative way forstudents to learn about all aspects ofwater. It includes 33 practical activitieswhere students have ten minutes eachto take part.The aim of the festival is to teachpeople about the importance of waterand its conservation, and to promotechanges in habits so that young peoplebecome catalysts for change in theirown homes, schools and immediatesurroundings. An interesting point

about this festival is that it has alreadybeen translated and adapted forFrench-speaking children, andintroduces the beliefs ofaboriginal cultures on water toparticipants.The Sudbury Children’sWater Festival offersyoungsters hands-onlearning on how topreserve and protectwater, and showsthem theimportance ofthis resourcefor plants,animalsandhumanlife.

inspiringtomorrow’s leaderswww.city.greatersudbury.on.ca

The Catalunya Estalvia Aigua(Catalonia Saves Water) campaignwas the response of the organisationEcologistes en Acció de Catalunya tothe possible water transfer from theEbro Basin to the inland river basinsof Catalonia. It arose with the aim ofdemonstrating that there are ima-ginative, participative, simple andeffective solutions to reducing do-mestic water demands. The aim wasto meet three environmental educa-tion objectives: raising public aware-ness of the need to save water and itsefficient use in the home, researchinto the relationship between uses ofwater and actual consumption, andquantifying the saving made whenwater-saving devices are installed indomestic water supply points.This campaign ran from March 2002to July 2004 as a pilot study, with thesupport of the Generalitat deCatalunya’s Agència Catalana del’Aigua; it was implemented in threemunicipalities: Torredembarra, SantaPerpètua de Mogoda and Barcelona.The main result was a saving of

between 5 and 19% of initialconsumption levels, depending onthe type and uses of water in thehome, simply with the application ofseveral simple measures such as theinstallation of water-saving deviceson the taps, showers and toilets.Awareness-raising activities werecarried out in three specific areas:local authorities, the commercialsector and the public sector. Inaddition, several infant, primary andsecondary schools activelyparticipated in specific activitiesdesigned to raise awareness amongstthe pupils, and their families, aboutthe importance of saving water.In view of the serious problems thatthe drought is having on waterresources in Catalonia, experienceswhich make people more aware of thesituation, such as activities organisedby Catalunya Estalvia Aigua, have tohelp people find possible alternativesif the decision is made to limit thewater supply to families if the droughtpersists.

FITZPATRICK SHOWER · © KEN MC COWN

SAVESGREATER

SUDBURY W

ATER FESTIVAL

CATALONIA WATER

� +34 93 4294109www.ecologistesenaccio-cat.pangea.org

Water StressWater stress occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available supply during a certain period or when poor quality restricts its use.

Source: Second World Water Forum

A vital resource

Africa

Asia

Latin Americaand Caribbean

Europe

6%

2%

27%

65%

World population distributionwithout a water supply

(by continent)

5%

2%

13%

80%Source:WHO/UNICEF

Joint Monitoring Programme, 2002.Updated in September 2002

1.1 billion peopledo not have water in their homes

2.4 billion peopledo not have access to sanitary systems

Aust

ralia

and

Ocea

niaAsia

Afric

a

Euro

pe

Sout

hAm

erica

North

and

Cent

ral A

mer

ica

15% 8% 26% 6% 8% 13% 11% 13% 35% 59% 5% 1%

Population

Fresh water

Percentage of fresh water available and world population

Number of eventsIntensity of conflict/cooperation

Formal warMilitary activity on a large scaleMilitary activity on a small scaleHostile political/military activity

Hostile diplomatic/economic activityStrong/official verbal hostility

Moderate/unofficial verbal hostilityNeutral or insignificant acts

Moderate verbal supportOfficial verbal support

Cultural or scientific accordEconomic, technological or non-military accord

Economic or military strategic supportInternational treaty on water

Unification in one nation

0 100 200 400

Events related to trans-boundary river basins

Sour

ce: W

olf e

t al.,

forth

com

ing

Sour

ce: U

N, 2

002

Millionsof inhabitants

26.4

18.0

17.9

16.7

16.0

13.2

13.0

12.8

12.5

12.4

TOKYO (JAPAN)

MEXICO CITY (MEXICO)

SÃO PAULO (BRAZIL)

NEW YORK (USA)

BOMBAY (INDIA)

LOS ANGELES (USA)

CALCUTTA (INDIA)

SHANGHAI (CHINA)

DHAKA (BANGLADESH)

DELHI (INDIA)

Megacities

Source: UNESCO based on WWDRI, UNESCO-WWAP, 2003

0 3,0001,500 6,000 9,000 12,000 15,000

Amount of water needed toproduce different foods

(litre per kilo)Source: FAO, 1997

Beef

Mutton

Poultry

Cereals

Citrus fruits

Palm oil

Pulses, tubers androot vegetables

www.unesco.org/water/wwap www.unescocat.org/water www.caixacatalunya.es/territoripaisatge

Education and SustainabilityIssue 3 · Spring 2008

Everyone needs to be aware of the importance of fresh water for life and the need to use this resource efficiently and responsibly.

Access to drinking water is

the most important requisite for health and

exercising our human rights. We all need drinking

water but, unfortunately, for a large part of the

world’s population acquiring clean

drinking water is a daily problem.

A child born in a

developed country consumes thirty to fifty times more water than a child born in a

developing country.

Each person needs

between 20 and 50 litres of clean

water every day to carry out their daily activities (cooking,

hygiene...).

Agriculture and livestock are the main sources of food and are the human activities that consume most water. Although agriculture worldwide mainly depends on rainwater, it represents 70% of the extraction of fresh water in the world.

Although sharing a hydrographical basin can be a potential conflict between countries, experience shows that this situation generates more actions of cooperation than confrontation. In the river basins analysed there have been a total of 1,200 cases of cooperative actions and 500 cases of conflict.

World population distributionwithout sanitation

(by continent)

Water, health and quality of life are inextricably linked. Access to drinking water and treatment of wastewater is essential to cover human needs and guarantee a dignified life.

Currently, 48% of the world’s population live in cities. In 2030 this proportion will be approximately 60%.In cities in poor countries where the water supply

systems are insufficient, such as Bombay or Delhi (India), a severe contradiction occurs: the poorest people do not have access to good quality water

and have to buy drinking water from private sellers at a much higher price than when it

comes out of the tap.

References

Material adapted from Water in the 21st Century by UNESCOCAT (2008), based on the United Nations report on the development of the world’s water resources: “Water for all, water for life”, edited in English by UNESCO WWAP, 2003.

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T E A C H I N G R E S O U R C E S



A vital resource

Africa

Asia


Europe

6%

2%

27%

65%


(by continent)

5%

2%

13%





Aust

ralia

and

Ocea

niaAsia

Afric

a

Euro

pe

Sout

hAm

erica

North

and

Cent

ral A

mer

ica

15% 8% 26% 6% 8% 13% 11% 13% 35% 59% 5% 1%

Population

Fresh water










0 100 200 400

Events related to trans-boundary river basins

Sour

ce: W

olf e

t al.,

forth

com

ing

Sour

ce: U

N, 2

002


26.4

18.0

17.9

16.7

16.0

13.2

13.0

12.8

12.5

12.4

TOKYO (JAPAN)


SÃO PAULO (BRAZIL)

NEW YORK (USA)

BOMBAY (INDIA)

LOS ANGELES (USA)

CALCUTTA (INDIA)

SHANGHAI (CHINA)

DHAKA (BANGLADESH)

DELHI (INDIA)

Megacities


0 3,0001,500 6,000 9,000 12,000 15,000



Beef

Mutton

Poultry

Cereals

Citrus fruits

Palm oil











A child born in a


developing country.

Each person needs



hygiene...).




(by continent)






References

Material adapted from Water in the 21st Century by UNESCOCAT (2008), based on the United Nations report on the development of the world’s water resources: “Water for all, water for life”, edited in English by UNESCO WWAP, 2003.



A vital resource

Africa

Asia


Europe

6%

2%

27%

65%


(by continent)

5%

2%

13%





Aust

ralia

and

Ocea

niaAsia

Afric

a

Euro

pe

Sout

hAm

erica

North

and

Cent

ral A

mer

ica

15% 8% 26% 6% 8% 13% 11% 13% 35% 59% 5% 1%

Population

Fresh water










0 100 200 400

Events related to trans-boundary river basinsSo

urce

: Wolf

et a

l., fo

rthco

ming

Sour

ce: U

N, 2

002


26.4

18.0

17.9

16.7

16.0

13.2

13.0

12.8

12.5

12.4

TOKYO (JAPAN)


SÃO PAULO (BRAZIL)

NEW YORK (USA)

BOMBAY (INDIA)

LOS ANGELES (USA)

CALCUTTA (INDIA)

SHANGHAI (CHINA)

DHAKA (BANGLADESH)

DELHI (INDIA)

Megacities


0 3,0001,500 6,000 9,000 12,000 15,000



Beef

Mutton

Poultry

Cereals

Citrus fruits

Palm oil











A child born in a


developing country.

Each person needs



hygiene...).




(by continent)






References

Material adapted from Water in the 21st Century by UNESCOCAT (2008), based on the United Nations report on the development of the world’s water resources: “Water for all, water for life”, edited in English by UNESCO WWAP, 2003. E

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Wastewatertreatment plant

Mountains

RiverIndustry

City

Sewers

Delta-Sea

Rain and clouds

Learning about the water cycle

through museums

The water cycleMetropolitan Area of Barcelona

�� +34 93 8515 158 · [email protected]

The CRBS permanent exhibition Urban itineraries

Centre de Cultura Contemporània(Centre for Contemporary Culture)

�� +34 93 3064 135 · [email protected]

How does Barcelona work?Barcelona City Council

�� + 34 938 515 [email protected]

www.bcn.es/agenda21/crbs

Science and TechnicalMuseum of Catalonia

Barcelona City Council�� +34 93 7368 966 fax. +34 93 7368 960

[email protected]/agenda21/crbs

Acércate al Delta (Get toknow the Delta)

El Prat de Llobregat City CouncilCases d’en Puig, �� +34 93 3709 002

[email protected]

Centro Cultural Europeode la Naturaleza (EuropeanCultural Centre for Nature)

�� +34 93 8848 [email protected]

Water Museum�� +34 93 3423 536

www.museudelesaigues.com

Campo de Aprendizaje del Bages (Learning Campin Bages)

Ter River Industrial Museum

Colònia Vidal de Puig-ReigMuseum

Igualada Leather Museumand Anoia RegionalMuseum

Cultural Centre of the Canals de Urgell

Museums are a fantastic source of educational material onthe subject of water and here we highlight some of the ex-hibitions on offer in Catalonia. We also recommend someplaces to visit in the city of Barcelona, given the great needfor education on water management in the urban environ-ment (given that 48% of the population lives in cities).

“Good management of water in cities requires, amongst otherthings, guaranteeing access to water, promoting its efficientuse (and preventing it from being wasted), offering good sa-nitary services and exercising control over pollution of bothsurface water and groundwater.” Water in the 21st century, UNESCOCAT.

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Aquifer: Underground cavities which can holdwater, making them veritable 'storerooms' ofwater resources. Many have been over-exploi-ted, meaning that they do not have the capa-city to provide resources in the event ofdrought.

Desalination: The process by which seawateris made drinkable. The positive aspect is thatit is almost impossible to exhaust the supplyof this type of water, but the high energy requi-rement needed for the process means the wa-ter has a high financial cost and pollutes theenvironment.

Drinking water: This is the name given to wa-ter for household use.

Drought: An absence of precipitation in a cer-tain area and for a considerable period of time.Given water’s capital importance, it can be ex-tremely harmful both for ecosystems and forhuman activities. Catalonia is currently suffe-ring from the worst drought in the last decadeand forecasts made on climate change predictthat they could become even more persistentin the future.

Ecological flow: The minimum circulating wa-ter that a river needs to maintain natural ha-bitats, vegetation and fauna. The increase inconsumption and drought are factors whichhave caused some rivers to currently be undertheir ecological flow.

Emergency decree: Legal tool of the Genera-litat de Catalunya’s Government to regulate ex-traordinary and emergency measures whichallow available resources to be saved. Thesupply of drinking water is the main resourcethat has to be guaranteed. Each of these mea-sures will be applied or withdrawn on a slidingscale as the levels in the reservoirs fall or arerecuperated.

Hydrological scenarios: The specification ofthe situation with water systems dependingon activation thresholds; they define the me-asures that have to be applied in any of the-se situations.

Indicator of water development: A variablethat defines the hydrological scenarios in a wa-ter system or hydrographical basin. This varia-ble could be the value of the volume of reser-ves in reservoirs or the mean value of total rain-fall over the past 30 days.

New water culture: Political option that choo-ses to resolve water supply problems throughthe regulation of demand, saving water andrespecting the natural cycles of this resource.It arose as the theoretical basis of the move-ment that opposed the Ebro River water trans-fer.

Rain: This is the main way that drinkable wa-ter is generated. In Mediterranean climates,rain is characterised by its seasonality and irre-gularity, and periods of drought can be alter-nated with flooding.

Removal of reservoir water: This is the actionof emptying water from a reservoir into anot-her downstream. This is used to maintain a suf-ficient quantity of water which guarantees itsquality. At the moment the removal of reser-voir water from the Sau River at the benefit ofthe Susqueda has been postponed but not ru-led out.

Reservoir: An artificial lake that enables waterfor different purposes to be stored. Its level ser-ves as a measuring tool when calculating exis-ting water reserves. At the time of writing thenew reservoirs in Catalonia were at 25% of theirtotal capacity, almost half of what there was atthe same time last year.

Restrictions: Reductions or cuts in the watersupply which vary according to the sector andneeds. There are currently restrictions onenergy uses, ornamental fountains and streetcleaning, and also for agricultural irrigation.Restrictions on drinking water – which is ofmost concern to the general public – have beenruled out for the moment.

Reuse: The process by which water that hasbeen used is put back into circulation once tre-ated. ACA has drafted the Programa de Reuti-lització d'Aigua a Catalonia (PRAC; Program-

key conceptsA review of the

in the management of water and droughtThe current drought in Spain Spain has led to an avalanche of

proposals, solutions and challenges which have also generatednew terminology and concepts. This short glossary should

help you find your way around this maze.

Joan CanelaSostenible.cat

journalist

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me for Water Reuse in Catalonia) which inclu-des the reuse of 58 cubic hectometres for in-dustrial uses.

River basin: An area drained by the same riverand its respective tributaries. In Catalonia the-re is a differentiation made between interiorbasins – those which have their source in thecountry and flow into it – and which representhalf of the territory. The Ebro Basin is the onlyone that is inter-territorial.

Scenario activation threshold: The value ofthe indicator on which it is decided whether toactivate or deactivate any of the emergency orextraordinary action scenarios.

Snow: This is another type of precipitation,which has the advantage of turning into watermuch more slowly, meaning that it can pene-trate the ground more and can be exploited toraise the water table more efficiently than rain.The disadvantage is that it cannot be exploi-ted as immediately or absolutely as rain, espe-cially if it falls on the heads of basins.

Supply: This is how water is distributed to pe-ople and for the different uses given to it, me-aning that it is always necessary to constructseveral infrastructures. In Catalonia the ACA(supra-municipal) and municipalities are res-ponsible for supplying it to users.

Treatment (or regeneration): Treatment towhich water is subjected in order to purify itafter it has been contaminated by human ac-tivity. There are different techniques (physicaland biological) used to do this, and differenttypes of treatment depending on the uses thewater is to be put to afterwards, although un-til now most of it has been returned to the seaor rivers.

Water: A transparent, tasteless and odourlesschemical compound, chemically composed ofhydrogen and oxygen (H2O). It is present inpractically all natural elements and is indis-pensable for life: food, agriculture, etc. Cu-rrently, however, it is also put to many otheruses for industrial and recreational purposes,which has led to a huge increase in demand forthis so-called “blue gold”. Although there arevast reserves of water on the planet, only asmall proportion is potable, and of thisamount, the majority is located in inaccessi-ble places, such as the poles or undergrounddeposits.

Water resources: This is the entire amount ofusable water, be it from rivers, lakes, ground-water, that an area or community has access to.

Water transfer: Artificial channel between twobasins which allow water to pass from one tothe other. It has the inconvenience of requiringa large infrastructure and of transferring an in-creasingly scarce resourse from one region toanother, which could lead to reluctance fromboth the recipients and the exporters.

Well: Infrastructure that allows water to beextracted from the aquifers. In order tocombat the current drought the AgènciaCatalana de l'Aigua (ACA) has set up a creditfund of 25 million euros to finance therecuperation of old wells that allow newgroundwater springs to be used.

Published at sostenible.cat, January 2008

WATER · © P. MEDINA

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PUBLICATIONS

Las tres mellizas, tres gotas de aguaA children’s story that introduces the subject of theunequal distribution of water on Earth and encourageschildren to save this resource. From 4 years old.Roser Capdevila, Carles Capdevila. Icaria Editorial,Intermón Oxfam and Cromosoma. Barcelona, 2001.

www.icariaeditorial.com (Spa., Cat.)

Activitats amb l’aiguaActivities that are designed for pupils to explore andexperiment with some of the properties andcharacteristics of water. From 4 years old.

www.xtec.es/cdec (Cat.)

El aguaA very comprehensive interactive book: water and life,states of water, environments, uses and suggestions forplay, amongst others. From 6 years old.

www.grupo-sm.com (Spa., Cat.)

Què hauríem de conèixer els mestresrespecte de l’aiguaMaterial for teachers to update their scientific knowledge.

www.xtec.es/cdec (Cat.)

Fitxes de l’aiguaTexts, diagrams, drawings, graphics, data tables,recommended reading, workshops to complete in theclassroom and recommendations for saving water.

mediambient.gencat.net (Spa., Cat.)

MULTIMEDIA

Kirikou and the SorceressAn animated film which shows how African customs

revolve around water. The main character in the story triesto free his people from the sorceress Karabá, who deprivesthe village of water.

www.kirikou.net(Spa., Eng., Fre.)

A Trip with the Drip - The Water DropBook and CD that contains basic concepts, interesting in-formation and activities on various aspects to do with water.

www.unep.org/Training/publications (Eng.)

WEBSITES

La gota CarlotaInteractive children’s story that explains the water cycle.

www.edu365.cat (Cat.)

El cicle de l’aiguaWebsite where you can find online self-evaluation ques-tions, a short practical and explanations of the water cycle.

www.edu365.cat (Cat.)

Uso, consumo y gestión del aguaThis website by the Water Services Group of Cataloniapresents the Blue Planet and explains all we need to knowabout water to put it to good use.

www.asac.es (Spa., Cat.)

Water Science for Schools Website which offers information about many aspects ofwater: definitions, where we find it, how it is used. Topicsinclude a photo gallery, graphics, maps and an activitycentre.

www.ga.water.usgs.gov/edu (Spa., Eng.)

Here we offer a selection of teaching resourcesrelated to water which are available at different

educational levels. They have been selected to offera broad overview of what is available and to reflect

a variety of themes. We have prioritised originaland new resources that are available in several

languages and are easy to find on the Internet.Please bear in mind that some resources aresuitable for several levels. The language of theresource is indicated as follows: Spa.: Spanish;Cat.: Catalan; Eng.: English; Fre.: French; Gal.:Galician; Bas.: Basque.

Teaching Resources

INFANT AND PRIMARY EDUCATION

DRY LAND •

DRY LAND • J

APINDER SINGH

JAPINDER SINGH

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PUBLICATIONS

El agua en el siglo XXIA collection of eight posters accompanied by teachingmaterials based on the First UN world water developmentreport. Contains a teachers’ guide for primary schools andanother for secondary.

www.unescocat.org (Spa., Cat.)

El agua en el siglo XXI. Segunda colecciónThe second collection of posters based on the Second UNreport on the evaluation of water resources will beavailable in June. These posters will be accompanied byinteractive teaching activities which can be accessed fromthe website.

www.postersaigua.cat (Spa., Cat.)

El agua envasadaRegular environmental education dossier in the form ofteaching units which provide data and information andsuggest teaching activities.

www.ecoterra.org (Spa., Cat.)

Troubled WatersA very realistic comic on environmental politics in theEuropean Parliament.

www.europarl.europa.eu/elections2004

(Spa., Cat., Eng., Fre. and others)

Propuesta educativa: agua y desarrolloIntermón Oxfam offers us a series of activities whichpromote the analysis of our water consumption,introduce the concepts of drinking water and waterscarcity, and orient students towards the saving of thisresource. It contains games for the youngest pupils, andactivity sheets focussing on problems of access to water,such as “Bolivia and the right to water”.

www.intermonoxfam.org (Spa., Cat., Gal. and Bas.)

Educación ambiental para laresponsabilidadA folder with three volumes: documentation, teachers’guide and workbook. The material is designed to look atthe presence of water in the world, its distribution andconsumption, its costs and the sustainable managementof this resource. Begoña Izquierdo Negredo. Mancomunidad de la Comarca de Pamplona, 2000.www.guiaderecursos.crana.org · www.bcn.es/agenda21/crbs (Spa.)

MULTIMEDIA

Ecoauditoria de l’aiguaOrientation guide for teachers to evaluate the uses of thisresource in schools. It contains a CD-ROM with recordsheets and other work documents. Teresa Franquesa. Barcelona City Council, Department of EnvironmentalEducation and Participation, 2003.

www.xtec.es · www.bcn.es/agenda21/crbs (Cat.)

Water game: for young future watermanagersBy playing this game students learn the consequences ofclimate change on their lives. They gain knowledge and de-velop critical attitudes and concerns for the environmentand the consequences of the economy on climate change.

www.trustpartners.org (Eng.)

To request theCD-ROM: [email protected]

WEBSITES

El valor oblidat de l’aiguaEducational file suitable for studying the conception andmanagement of water, and our relationship with it. Byusing this resource students will be able to understandhow the availability of water depends on how it ismanaged, perceive the causes and effects of the waterprivatisation process and develop a critical and analyticalattitude towards the inequalities that exist in the access towater resources.

www.edualter.org (Cat.)

Més enllà de l’escassetat: el poder, lapobresa i la crisi mundial de l’aiguaTeaching material based on the United NationsDevelopment Programme Human development report2006, with awareness raising and learning activities,structured according to a work dynamic by groups ofexperts. It contains a collection of six posters, a dossier forteaching staff and eight activity sheets for students.

www.unescocat.org/materialsIDH (Spa., Cat.)

La ecoauditoría del agua en tu centro educativo A guide which evaluates the uses of this resource in theschool, examines which are the most efficient and leastefficient, and sets out specific measures to save water andreduce pollution.

www.dgrechid.caib.es/ecoauditoria/inici.es.htm (Spa., Cat.)

Children’s Water Education CouncilWebsite offering teaching material on various aspects ofwater to be used in the classroom.

www.cwec.ca (Eng.)

MORE RESOURCES:CENEAM: National Environmental Education Centrewww.mma.es/portal/secciones/formacion_educacion/ceneam01

(Spa., Cat., Bas., Gal., Fre. and Eng.)

Centro de Recursos Barcelona Sosteniblewww.bcn.es/agenda21/crbs (Spa., Cat.)

Agència Catalana d’Aigueswww.mediambient.gencat.cat/aca (Spa., Cat.)

El aula del aguawww.auladelaigua.org (Spa., Cat.)

SECONDARY EDUCATION

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PUBLICATIONS

Water, a shared responsibility. Second UNreport on the evaluation of waterresources 2006A report that offers an evaluation of the situation of wateron the planet. It introduces issues such as the govern-ability of water, access to knowledge and the specificchallenges of the management of water. It examinessixteen case studies which analyse good practices carriedout in different parts of the world on the issue of water.

http://www.unesco.org/water/wwap (Spa., Eng., Fre.)

http://www.unescocat.org (Spa., Cat.)

Blue Gold: The Battle Against CorporateTheft of the World’s WaterThe lack of fresh water on a world scale threatens thedevelopment of the 21st century in terms of ecology,economics and politics. The authors, Canadian activists,denounce the disturbing panorama of the reality:multinational companies are profiting from the weaknessof governments, whilst consuming the water reserves.

Maude Barlow, Tony Clarke. Ediciones Paidos Ibérica.Barcelona, 2004

www.paidos.com (Spa., Eng.)

The Water Manifesto: Arguments for aWorld Water ContractA critique which emphasises the undervaluing of water inthe current market, where water is considered as acommodity and not as a fundamental right.

Riccardo Petrella. Icaria and Intermón Oxfam. Barcelona, 2002

www.icariaeditorial.com (Spa.)

www.intermonoxfam.org (Spa., Cat., Eng.)

Catalunya estalvia aiguaThe study presented in this book highlights thepossibilities of saving on the domestic consumption ofwater and the savings made measured through the“Catalonia saves water” campaign, through measures thatare simple and accessible for most people.

mediambient.gencat.net (Cat.)www.ecologistesenaccio.cat (Cat.)

Meeting the MDG drinking water andsanitation targetA mid-term assessment of progress. UNICEF report which offers the estimates and trends thatare currently being discussed on the subject of waterrelated to the Millennium Development Goals.

www.unicef.org (Spa., Eng.)

The Business of Water and SustainableDevelopmentThrough the use of various case studies this book analyseswhat was a relevant subject at the SustainableDevelopment 2002 conference held in Johannesburg: therenewed commitment to improved provision of water andsanitation around the world.

Jonathan Chenoweth, Juliet Bird. Greenleaf Publishing Ltd., 2005

www.greenleaf-publishing.com (Eng.)

The World’s Water: 2006-2007Fifth version of a biannual publication. An excellentreference work on the study of fresh water resources aroundthe world. It provides a detailed analysis of political, econo-mic, scientific, social and technological aspects of water.

Peter H. Gleick, Gary H. Wolff, Heather Cooley. Pacific Institute, 2007

www.worldwater.org (Eng.)

Challenges to International Waters;Regional Assessment in a GlobalPerspectiveA report that provides an extensive overview of the mostimportant publications from Global International WatersAssessment – GIWA. It provides in-depth information onthe environmental and socioeconomic aspects of mosttransboundary basins, looking for the roots of conflictsand offering solutions.

United Nations Environment Programme, Kalmar, Sweden(2006)

www.giwa.net (Eng.)

El secuestro del agua. La mala gestión delos recursos hídricosThis book reviews the multiple dimensions of the globalwater crisis, including one issue that should not beoverlooked: the recent trend of managing water throughprivate companies.

Maggie Black. Intermón Oxfam Ediciones. Collection:Dossiers para entender el mundo (issue 31). Barcelona, 2005

www.intermon.org (Spa., Cat.)

Rivers for life: managing water for peopleand natureA book on the ecology and management of rivers. Duringthe 1970s and 1980s, biologists believed that the health ofaquatic communities depended on maintaining aminimal flow. This book gives us an extensive andmotivating look at how the ecology of a river really works.It contains numerous examples of the ecologicalreconstruction of natural flow patterns and several casestudies on new forms of management. Sandra Postel,Brian Richter. Island Press. Washington, 2003

www.islandpress.com (Eng.)

HIGH SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITIES

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WEBSITES

Ecologistes en accióA website where users can find information on differentcurrent issues concerning water: related news,information on current problems, national hydrologicalplan and water transfers, awareness raising campaigns,amongst others.

www.ecologistesenaccio.cat (Cat.)

ECOCASA ProgrammeTerra Foundation explains its domestic environmentalaudit project on this website. How green is your house?

www.ecoterra.org (Spa., Cat., Eng.)

Water Resources InstituteWRI is a group that reflects on and promotes scientificresearch on environmental issues. The website has maps,statistics and scientific articles on water.

www.wri.org (Eng.)

United Nations Environment ProgrammeThe website has a specific section on the situation of theworld’s water resources, where we can find strategies ofthe organisation, programmes, activities, actions,publications and other informative materials. Ofparticular interest is Vital Water Graphics, a compilation ofwater data and graphics.

www.unep.org (Eng.)

www.unep.org/vitalwater (Eng.)

World Business Council for SustainableDevelopmentThe website of this association for sustainabledevelopment has several online videos, case studies,publications and articles on the subject of water.

www.wbcsd.org (Eng.)

USGS Science for a Changing WorldThe US Geological Survey provides rigorous scientificinformation and contains selected online resources whichinclude lectures, statistics and maps for teaching staff andstudents.

education.usgs.gov (Eng.)

Water-WikiA website for the collective use of knowledge and onlinecollaboration between government bodies related to themanagement of water in Eastern Europe, the Caucasusand countries of the former Soviet Union.

waterwiki.net (Eng.)

Water FairVirtual exhibition organised by UNDP which makes itpossible for experts and professionals to share their bestpractices and solutions for the integral management ofwater as one of the key challenges of the 21st century.

www.waterfair.org (Eng.)

AQUASTAT-FAO (Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations)This is an FAO global information system on the subjectsof water and agriculture. The objective of Aquastat-FAO isto offer the users of this website broad and extensiveinformation on the condition of water as a resource andon its use on a global scale.

www.fao.org (Eng.)

CONFERENCES AND EXHIBITIONS

Expo Zaragoza 2008 International exhibition on water and sustainabledevelopment, with the following central themes: 1) Water,a unique resource; 2) Water for life; 3) The aquaticenvironment, and 4) Shared water. These four mainthemes are dealt with from the perspective ofinternational, national, local and individual challenges. Ofparticular interest is the citizens’ initiative pavilion, ElFaro, where 200 civil bodies which work with water willtake part.

From 14 June to 14 September 2008. Zaragoza, Spainwww.expozaragoza2008.es (10 languages)

ww.elfaro2008.org (Spa., Eng., Fre.)

WATER POLLUTION 2008Ninth International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Water Pollution.

From 9 to 11 June 2008. Alicante, Spainwww.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2008/water08/ (Eng.)

SUSTAINABLE IRRIGATION 2008Second International Conference on SustainableIrrigation Management, Technologies and Policies.

From 11 to 13 June 2008. Alicante, Spainwww.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2008/irrigation08/ (Eng.)

FRIAR 2008International Conference on Flood Recovery Innovationand Response.

2 and 3 July 2008. Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), London, UnitedKingdom

www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2008/friar08/ (Eng.)

General website on internationalconferences in water management for2008

www.conferencealerts.com/water.htm (Eng.)

Bimonthly newsletter of UNESCO’s WaterPortal Here you can find all of the most important conferencesand events on an international scale related to water.

www.unesco.org/water/news (Eng.)

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The Alianza por el Agua (Alliance for Water)is a Spanish initiative which brings togetherpublic authorities, centres for opinion andresearch, social and citizens organisationsand companies in a wide-ranging alliance tomobilise resources (financial and technical)and to channel them into the running of spe-cific projects on drinking water and sanita-tion in Central America, promoting solida-rity between water users in Spain and Cen-tral America so that they can meet one oftheir goals: for 5 more million Central Ame-ricans to have access to drinking water andbasic sanitation by 2015. This alliance works on the principle of con-tributing to extending this population’s rightto drinking water and basic sanitation, andto ensuring both the quality of the serviceand the conservation of natural resources,mobilising resources from Spanish societyto finance works and projects, raising awa-

reness of solidarity with the South, and, inthe North, promoting collaboration betwe-en multiple agents.In order to create this bridge of solidarity andpersuade 5% of the Spanish population tojoin this initiative, saving a minimum of 5%in their consumption, the alliance sends adual message to Spanish people: on onehand, the importance of adopting goodpractices in their daily use of water and, onthe other hand, symbolically linking the sa-ving achieved to carrying out cooperationprojects for drinking water and basic sani-tation in Central America. Since it was setup, it actively seeks to invite new organisa-tions and citizens to join it. To achieve thisit welcomes different types of memberswhich means that participation in the allian-ce can be at both an institutional and a per-sonal level.

�� +34 97 6298282 · www.ecodes.org

Water solidarity: building

partnershipsAVINA is a network of social en-trepreneurs founded in 1994 tocontribute to sustainable deve-lopment in Latin America bybuilding productive alliances ba-sed on trust among social andbusiness leaders and by broke-ring consensus around key agen-das for action. This network prioritises fourworking areas: equity of opportu-nities, democratic governanceand the rule of law, sustainableeconomic development, and na-tural resource conservation andmanagement. It works by consti-

tuting alliances with leaders fromcivil society and the business sec-tor in shared initiatives whichhave a high potential to bringabout transformation, strengthe-ning partners, creating spacesbetween them, communicatingtheir messages in the public do-main, promoting links of trustand shared values and commonagendas between civil societyand the business sector. The sumof these efforts are aimed to helpbuild action plans to promote

sustainable development.One of the challenges achievedduring the past year was the FirstLatin American Conference onSanitation, Latinosan 2007, withthe goal of contributing to im-proving the health, well-beingand the dignity of the inhabitantsof Latin America and its vulnera-ble groups, such as indigenouscommunities, women and chil-dren. During the conference, andas a result of a proposal byAVINA’s Coasts and Water repre-sentative, a key achievement wasthat Latin American govern-ments committed to the univer-salisation of access to safe waterand basic sanitation in the CaliDeclaration.Another initiative that should behighlighted is the advocacy of ci-vil society in the Paraguayan lawof water resources passed in Julylast year, which was the result ofa process of more than two yearsin which the Grupo ImpulsorAgua Sostenible (GIAS), formedat the request of this network andmade up of the Asociación deJuntas de Saneamiento del De-partamento Central, Junta de Sa-neamiento de Itauguá, Asocia-ción Paraguaya de Recursos Hí-dricos, Sociedad Paraguaya deAguas Subterráneas, Alter Vida/Geam, Sobrevivencia, IDEA,Fundación Moisés Bertoni andRed Foro Agua, urged the draf-ting of this law before the cham-ber of legislative powers andtook part in the process.Finally, in Chile the organisationsLíderes sin Fronteras, Defen-diendo San Pedro, CentroAquaSendas and Tribuna delBiobío have secured funding todevelop the Social Organisationsfor a New Water Culture project inthe Biobío region; these organisa-tions had already begun creatinga space where experiences can beshared on the subject of water.

in Latin Americanetworks

social entrepreneur

�� +34 600 585625 · www.avina.net

THEY CARRY THE WATER · © JULIEN HARNEIS

THE LONG ROAD AHEAD · ©© OHAD BEN-YOSEPH

THE LONG ROAD AHEAD · ©OHAD BEN-YOSEPH

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In 2002, Sant Cugat de los Vallès TownCouncil approved a municipal bylaw tosave water. The aim was to achieve the re-duction of the town’s consumption, some-thing that appears to have worked judgingby recent figures, as over the last five yearsconsumption has fallen by almost 100 li-tres per person per day.

This bylaw defines six systems for savingwater. Buildings which have garden areasof more than 1,000 m2 that need wateringwill have to set up a system of collectingand exploiting rainwater. Swimming poolswith a surface area of water of more than40 m2 will need to use recycled water. Allbuildings with more than eight living unitswill need to install a system for the reuse ofgrey water. Finally, the bylaw sets out threesystems which will have to be installed inall new buildings: inlet flow regulators,water aerators in showers and taps, anddual flush toilet cisterns. New building li-cences have a period of one year to startthe work and two more to finish it.

This entire process has been accompa-nied by subsidies, tax rebates and buildingtaxes. Up until 2007, the bylaw had beenapplied to 4,529 homes, involving 20,963users. In addition, posters have been de-signed to spread the word on the initiative,and the water issue is being looked at wi-thin the education plan that the council isproposing to schools and colleges.

This initiative has been followed by othertowns and a standard bylaw has beendrafted by the Barcelona regionalgovernment’s working party Nova Culturade l'Aigua de Xarxa de Ciutats i Pobles capa la Sostenibilitat.

100litres less

per person

Education and participation:

actionsfrom the authorities

The Agència Catalana de l’Aigua (ACA; Catalan Wa-ter Agency) is the public body attached to the Gene-ralitat’s Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge(Environment and Housing Department) with com-plete authority on the integral water cycle in the in-land river basins of Catalonia.

One of ACA’s objectives is to promote respect for wa-ter resources in rivers and their aquatic ecosystems,therefore ensuringthat everybody makesgood use of the resour-ces and takes care ofthem. In order to dothis, it runs awareness-raising campaigns indifferent areas aimedat saving water, suchas the distribution of650,000 tap aerators inthe top selling news-papers in Catalonia,the creation of a net-work of ironmongersand plumbers com-mitted to this project,who have accreditedmechanisms for sa-ving water, and a seriesof travelling exhibi-tions.

In addition, ACA hasdeveloped a set of en-tertaining and infor-mative tools for allages with the aim ofhaving fun and provi-ding useful guidelineson different aspects ofwater, such as a work-book, the water game,practical advice on sa-ving water and specificpublications.

Finally, of particularinterest is the partici-pative managementprogramme for Cata-lonia’s river basins.These projects, whichstarted in September2006, have served toprovide the public, au-thorities and generalusers with debate, enquiries and formulation of pro-posals in relation to the problems of water resourcesand the planning and management of the water cyclein their local area.

�� +34 93 5672800 · www.mediambient.gencat.net/aca

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF SWIMMING POOLS IN SANT CUGATAERIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF SWIMMING POOLS IN SANT CUGAT

ANOTHER W

AY O

F CARRYIN

G W

ATER · SALL

Y LA N

IECE

�� +34 93 5657000 · www.santcugat.org

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Forums – to debate the strategies that shouldbe adopted in the international sphere, alwaysbased on monitoring the activities undertakenduring the previous period and the contents ofthe United Nations reports.Although the official declarations of the WorldWater Forums leave a lot to be desired in termsof the recognition of the human right to water,these meetings have favoured social mobilisa-tion and the creation of an unprecedented net-work of organisations which is organised withthe aim of using the declaration of the humanright to water as a way to achieve the universa-lisation of access to water resources.Up to now, the only official international state-ment that has been reached on this matter isthe interpretation of article 11.1 of the Interna-tional Covenant on Economic, Social and Cul-tural Rights, created by the Committee on Eco-nomic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) andbased on the link between water and many ofthe rights recognised in the Covenant. According to this interpretation by CESCR, “wa-ter is a limited natural resource and a publicgood fundamental for life and health. The hu-man right to water is indispensable for leadinga life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite forthe realization of other human rights” and “thehuman right to water entitles everyone to suf-ficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessibleand affordable water for personal and domes-tic uses. An adequate supply of safe water is ne-cessary to prevent death from dehydration, toreduce the risk of water-related disease and to

Some 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and2.4 billion do not have sanitation systems. Taking this as a startingpoint, development NGOs (non-governmental organisations) play animportant role in educating civil society, ranging from collaborationwith universities and research centres to the promotion of trainingactivities and campaigns which promote the recognition of the right towater.

The recognition of the right to water has de-veloped slowly since the Seventies to thepresent day and, even though we do not

have an official declaration of the human right todrinking water, international opinion is now verydifferent to that manifested in the first interna-tional conferences on the issue.During the Nineties, the relationship betweenaccess to drinking water and exercising humanrights started to be highlighted on a global sca-le. Some examples of international instrumentswhich refer to this matter are the Declarationon the right to development of the United Na-tions General Assembly (1986), the declarationfrom the World Summit for Children (1990) orthe declaration from the International DrinkingWater Supply and Sanitation Decade for the Ni-neties (1990). As a consequence of the aforementioned, the20th century closed with a willingness to provi-de a boost to the international water issue; it istherefore considered indispensable that an in-tegral focus be adopted, which includes partici-pative management and takes into account thegender problems associated with water scarcity. Some of the key achievements which have ma-terialised as a result are the launch of UN-Wa-ter’s World Water Assessment Programme(WWAP) to obtain reliable data on the globalsituation of the resource, the inclusion of a wa-ter-related target in the Millennium Develop-ment Goals and the creation of the World Wa-ter Council, which established a series of regu-lar meetings on the subject – the World Water

Aida Vilacollaborator of Engineering

Without Borders (EWB)

Francesc Magrinyàprofessor of the TechnicalUniversity of Catalonia and

member of EWB

Quique Gornésspokesperson of

Sensibilización andIncidencia (Raising

Awareness and Advocacy)

Sonia Pérezcoordinator of Educación

para el Desarrollo(Development Education),

Catalan Association of EWB

The right to water and the role of development NGOs

Water for people, water for life

Water for people,water for life


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provide for consumption, cooking, personaland domestic hygienic requirements”. The declaration of the human right to water inthe terms expressed would imply that states arerequired to take responsibility for the availabi-lity and quality of the resource, and its physicaland economical supply and accessibility wi-thout discrimination. Respect for this rightwould be legally enforceable, both in the inter-nal and international sphere.Up to the present, political and economic pres-sures, mainly derived from the interests of themain multinationals in the sector, have preven-ted this goal from being met. Nevertheless, cer-tain constitutional state reforms such as that ofUruguay, which featured the inclusion ofthe human right to water and the requirementthat the resource is publically managed in allits phases with social participation and control,offer a glimmer of hope.

The role of development NGOs inrecognising the right to water

The interesting thing about the developmentNGOs in relation to the recognition of the rightto water is the opportunity to combine diffe-rent activities: on one hand, it is essential thatprojects and programmes carried out in poorcountries go beyond pure intervention wherethe dynamics of the project itself are all con-suming. The projects and programmes shouldpermit the analysis of actions, which may helptransform reality. These include social aspects,raising awareness, supporting the associativenetwork, involving different actors, etc.The interesting thing about the developmentNGOs in relation to the recognition of the rightto water is the opportunity to combine diffe-rent activities: on one hand, it is essential thatprojects and programmes carried out in poorcountries go beyond pure intervention where

HUNGER, IN

DIA· U

DIT KULSHRESTHA


Water for people, water for life

Water for people,water for life


the dynamics of the project itself are all-consuming. The projects and programmesshould permit the analysis of actions, whichmay help transform reality. These include so-cial aspects, raising awareness, supporting theassociative network, involving different actors,etc.Furthermore, it is important that educationalactivities for development (raising awareness,training, research and political advocacy) arebased on real experiences of intervention inpoor countries so that we can highlight theneed to turn access to water into a human right. It is appropriate that different actors work to-gether to create synergies: universities, deve-lopment NGOs (Engineering Without Borders,Arquitectos sin Fronteras, World Geologistsand Universitarios del Mundo for example), lo-cal southern development NGOs, southernuniversities, cooperation centres at universi-ties, associated research groups and coopera-tion agencies. One example of this type of intervention iswhat has been done by the Catalan Associa-tion of Engineering Without Borders (EWB),with various intervention projects in the South.In rural areas we could highlight the exampleof the La Libertad region in San Salvador. Thegeneration of knowledge has focused on thedrafting of a master plan that has allowed moreinformation to be gained on water resourcesand their preservation for rural communitiesagainst the interests of new developers or in-dustrial settlements of contract manufacturers.At the same time, EWB has given support in theform of training activities to a local develop-ment NGO, Asociación Comunitaria Unida porel Agua y la Agricultura (ACUA; Community As-sociation United by Water and Agriculture),which currently has its own instruments avai-lable for intervention in different water supplyprojects.In urban areas, as is the case of Yaoundé (Ca-meroon), the collaboration between EWB, theNational Superior Technical School of Yaoun-dé, the Technical University of Catalonia(through the support of the Cooperation andDevelopment Centre), and the Research Groupon Development Cooperation and Human De-velopment (GRECDH - Urban Services) hasmeant that the programme for the improve-ment of access to water and sanitation hasbeen nurtured by different ways of thinkingand knowledge, generated by final degree the-ses, dissertations and doctoral theses. This hashelped profile the type of intervention and hasdemonstrated the relationship between healthconditions and forms of access to water. It istherefore fundamental that the developmentNGOs are supported by universities and rese-arch centres with the goal of identifying andresponding to technical needs.

As well as the collaboration between develop-ment NGOs and the university, within the for-mal education sector we could highlight Inter-món Oxfam’s educational programme, "Waterand Development", for primary and secondaryschools. The main aim of this programme is toanalyse water consumption, introduce theconcepts of drinking water and water scarcity,and encourage students to save this resource.

Intermón Oxfam’s materials, especially desig-ned to be applied in the classroom by teachers,also have interesting links to reference docu-ments, such as the United Nations report onthe development of the world’s water resour-ces, or campaigns promoted by other bodies,such as the Red Vida (Inter-American Networkfor the Defense and the Right to Water ).

Other development NGOs, for example Edual-ter, have developed resources on the subject ofwater aimed at primary and secondary schoolteachers (see the Teaching Resources section ofthis magazine), and in the sphere of informaleducation, EWB has set up online training ac-tivities in which the relationship between wa-ter and human development is discussed.Within the different dimensions of educationfor development, such as political advocacyand social mobilisation, we should mentionthe "Water for all: a right and not a product"

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MONSOON, INDIA · UDIT KULSHRESTHA

campaign, undertaken by EWB. The main goalof this campaign is to coordinate the differentactors involved in developmental cooperationas regards specific policies concerning drin-king water and sanitation in southern coun-tries, as well as raising awareness within Spa-nish civil society on the human right to water,stressing the pressures of neoliberal policies,which encourage the commercialisation of this

resource. It is essential that spaces be provided so thatdevelopment NGOs, public institutions andother bodies can pool common experiencesand concerns aimed at improving cooperationpolicies in this sector, including training, tech-nology and community and democratic parti-cipation in water management. From thispoint of view, the development NGOs have abearing politically, and can generate and cre-ate opinion. They are able to carry out studieswith prior knowledge of the cause due to theirexperience and proximity to underprivilegedcollectives and grassroots organisations, anddue to their links with other actors involved ininternational cooperation and developmenteducation.

References(1) First United Nations world water develop-ment report, Water for people, water for life,

and second United Nations world water de-velopment report, Water, a shared responsi-bility. (www.unesco.org).

(2) Article 11.1 of the international covenant oneconomic, social and cultural rights: “TheStates Parties to the present Covenant recog-nize the right of everyone to an adequatestandard of living for himself and his family,including adequate food, clothing and hou-

sing, and to the continuous improvement ofliving conditions. The States Parties will takeappropriate steps to ensure the realizationof this right, recognizing to this effect the es-sential importance of international co-ope-ration based on free consent”.

(3) Can be cited as an example of the right tothe highest standard of health (article 12 ofthe international covenant on economic,social and cultural rights), the right to hou-sing and food (article 11 of the internatio-nal covenant on economic, social and cul-tural rights), as well as other rights establis-hed in the universal declaration of humanrights, such as the right to life and humandignity.

(4) General observation number 15.(5) www.intermonoxfam.org(6) www.laredvida.org(7) www.edualter.org(8) http://agua.isf.es

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In 1997 the “Zaragoza, water-saving city” initiative was setup. This initiative aims to inform people of the need for res-ponsible consumption of a resource which is becoming in-creasingly scarce. Eleven years on, the project has receivedrecognition across Spain and internationally, and now withthe International Exhibition “Water and Sustainable Deve-lopment” to be held in Zaragoza the initiative is receivingeven more impulse. So the challenge was set of gathering100,000 commitments from at least 25,000 people focus-sing on saving water and using it efficiently. The people in-volved make a public declaration that they are committedto these water-saving actions.

This initiative, managed by the Fundación Ecología y De-sarrollo (Ecology and Development Foundation), with theparticipation of the partners EXPOZARAGOZA 2008, Zara-goza City Council, ACUAEBRO, Ibercaja and the Aragón Re-gional Government, is working in partnership with morethan two hundred organisations on this initiative – compa-nies, social organisations, professional colleges, the com-munication media, institutions and public bodies.

The ultimate aim is to highlight the profound sensitivity thatthe citizens of Zaragoza have for this elemental, life-givingresource. This sensitivity has helped make Zaragoza into theWorld Capital of Water.

100 thousand promises

WATER DOESN´T BITE · © SMAKU

The Festa de l’Aigua (Water Festival)is a cultural event which combinesraising public awareness withartistic and educational activitieswhich place value on a sustainablerelationship with the environment.At the same time, the festival is anannual meeting point forparticipation and aims to makepeople aware of a new water culture. This year, the tenth edition of theFesta de l’Aigua was held in thePasseig de Lluís Companys inBarcelona under the banner “Wateris life. Every drop counts”. Manyorganisations related to the world ofwater participated in this event, witha day full of activities designed for allage groups. Workshops, shows andexhibitions all helped make peoplethink about how to optimise theiruse of water and how the water cycleworks. This event brings togetherorganisations involved in water

management in order to runeducational activities and encourage

people to think about theenvironment.

FESTA DE L’AIGUA, AGÈNCIA CATALANA DE L’AIGUA

��+34 93 5672800 · www.festadelaigua.cat

�� +34 97 6298282 · www.ecodes.org

for water

Ten years celebrating water

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TVijay ParanjpyeDirector of GomukhEnvironmental Trustfor SustainableDevelopmentT

he nature of water consumptionhas also changed. A large propor-tion of the water demand up untilthe 1980s was mostly for agricultu-

re/domestic use. This was used withoutmuch treatment. In the 1990s as a conse-quence of mechanization and artificial

supply for agriculture, water usage increa-sed. Water was being used in industry as well,because it was made easily available.

By the end of the 20th century, the high levelsof consumption and discharge had startedleading to a double crisis. Though the per

Over the last century or so, India’s population has quadrupled. Over the last century or so, India’s population has quadrupled. The average availability of usable water has correspondingly The average availability of usable water has correspondingly decreased from about 6,000 cubic metres per capita per day decreased from about 6,000 cubic metres per capita per day to 1,500 to 1,800 cubic metres per capita per day. to 1,500 to 1,800 cubic metres per capita per day.

Water youshouldn’t drink...

Water resourcecrisis,sustainabilityand education in India

Water resource crisis, sustainability and education in India

Water youshouldn’t drink...Over the last century or so, India’s population has quadrupled. The average availability of usable water has correspondingly decreased from about 6,000 cubic metres per capita per day to 1,500 to 1,800 cubic metres per capita per day.

Over the last century or so, India’s population has quadrupled. The average availability of usable water has correspondingly decreased from about 6,000 cubic metres per capita per day to 1,500 to 1,800 cubic metres per capita per day.

Water youshouldn’t drink...

Water resourceWater resourcecrisis,crisis,sustainabilitysustainabilityand education in Indiaand education in India



COUNCIL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA

Over the last century or so, India’s population has quadrupled. The average availability of usable water has correspondingly decreased from about 6,000 cubic metres per capita per day to 1,500 to 1,800 cubic metres per capita per day.

Water youWater youshouldn’t drink...shouldn’t drink...

Water resourcecrisis,sustainabilityand education in India



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capita consumptive use remained more orless the same, the non-consumptive use,especially water used for agriculture, hasincreased due to changes in croppingpatterns. Industrial discharge into waterbodies has also increased.

Untreated wastewater causes collateralcontamination — when wastewater isdischarged untreated into freshwater sources,it pollutes a much greater quantity offreshwater. Not only is available waterpolluted, the livelihoods dependent on thewater also suffer a great loss.

Challenge for sustainability

The challenge for sustainability in the watersector relates to improving equity, adequacyand quality. Education has an important rolein this. Management and intelligent resourceuse requires negotiations and new socialcontracts, all of which need knowledge andawareness among different stakeholders to beeffective. Indeed, the role of education is tohelp various stakeholders understand whynew management methods are needed, andthen to arrive at the details of managementand behaviour.

What’s a good way to learn about rivers andwater management?

WATER PILGRIMAGE, JAL DINDI · VISHWASANKRITI EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES

Rishi Markandeya devised the jalparikrama to sensitize pilgrims to-wards the great mysteries of theuniverse, to perceive the evolutionof all living creatures includingman, to be aware of and have res-pect for the incredible power andbeauty of nature. The journey tra-ditionally takes three years, threemonths and three days to comple-te. During this time the pilgrimsobserve chastity and carry no pro-visions but eat off the land. Hereare descriptions of learning jour-neys by two latter day pilgrims.

Narmada ParikramaI have made the journey along theriver banks of the Narmada fromits source to its final exit at the seathree times. In a sense I would liketo think upon these journeys as a"parikrama", the sacred ritual thathas been followed from time im-memorial by millions of people. The parikrama, while in no waycan be compared with a genuinepilgrimage, was in a sense equallyarduous and no less significant.My task was to evaluate the eco-nomic viability of the multi-pur-pose projects that are going todam this great river. The parikra-ma of course helped me form anetwork of people to share infor-mation and ideas. I was heldspell-bound by the vast range ofinsights that the valley offeredabout its waters, its people, itsfertile lands, its past and its futu-re. These insights were inescapa-ble, because more than any otherriver in the world, the Narmada is

a great teacher.

Jal DindiThe Jal Dindi is a unique water pil-grimage initiated in the year 2002.The main proponents of the JalDindi started out as kayaking en-thusiasts in the rivers of Pune. The

raw sewage, garbage, water hya-cinth in the rivers quickly promp-ted them to take some serious ac-tion. At first, they made a lot of ef-forts to remove truck loads ofhyacinth. Soon they realized thatas long as untreated sewage is en-tering the river, the removal ofhyacinth will be a never-endingtask. The next step was to attempteco-remediation of nallas carryingraw sewage into the rivers. Thishas been tried out with varyingdegrees of success in three loca-tions in Pune. In parallel, they felt the need fora larger group with a sharedconcern about the rivers. Theriver is never far from their mind.

In 2002, Dr Vishwas Yevale, one ofthe core group members, wasperforming the last rites of hisfather-in-law at Tuljapur, wherethe Bhima and the Indrayanimeet. He thought that peoplecould come to this place, which isa place to get moksha, as a pilgrim-

age on the river itself. The idea forthe Jal Dindi was born here. TheJal Dindi starts at Pune, and ittakes 12 days of kayaking to reachTuljapur. This pilgrimage revealsthe beauty and the problems ofthe river courses. The transform-ative power of the pilgrimage hasmade the Jal Dindi into a people'smovement over the years.Vishwasanskriti Educational In-itiatives has documented this in-itiative in the film Jal Dindi. Thefilm, directed by Abhijit Tilak de-picts the story of the Jal Dindi,from how it all started to its evo-lution as a people's movement.Duration: 2 hours and 8 minutes.

Dr. Vishwas Yevale

From the point of view of availability, if by2050, the population has stabilized, it ispossible to manage demand by payingattention to efficient use and recycling. Usingavailable and appropriate technology we canget a substantial reduction in collateralcontamination.

There is a definite need for water use relatedto education in the agriculture sector, sinceagriculture demands high usage of water. Asthe Global Water Partnership advocates,agricultural techniques and crop varietiesshould yield ‘more crop per drop’. And there isneed to minimize chemical use per hectarefor eliminating direct and collateralcontamination. As regards industry, thequality of discharge is more the concern thanthe quantity of usage. If industry cleans upwhatever water is used before discharge, thenit may be allowed to use as much water as itneeds.

The third category of stakeholders is thepolicy makers/decision makers. Localgovernments and other regulatory agencieshave a major role in keeping natural watersystems free from development anddischarge. By protecting these natural watersystems, clean water can be made available toboth people and ecosystems.

Governance and water management

A ‘negotiated river basin management’approach is a useful anchor for educationaleffort in the water sector. This means that allactors within a river basin should haveinformation on the nature of use of water,including aspects of equity, quality, efficiencyand sustainability of resource use. Once thisknowledge is available, discussions andnegotiations can happen on how to changefor the better.

In Maharashtra, several different civil societygroups have over several years beenaddressing water-related issues. Theseinclude technologists and implementers ofgroundwater and watershed managementprogrammes such as AFARM andACWADAM; those that have brought inconcerns of equity such as the left-basedmovements; and those that have broughtenvironmental and natural eco-systemicconsiderations into the debate, such as theEcological Society and Gomukh. The stategovernment agencies have played a criticalrole in being responsive to these influencesand demands from civil society andprofessional agencies.

Over the last three decades, watermanagement thinking has transformed froma centralized piped water supply orientedapproach to a decentralized, locallygoverned, augmentation of local sourcesapproach. As it happens, the World Bank toohas pushed for decentralization and costrecovery.

The existence of on-ground movements,especially among farmers, and technicalinputs from civil society has ensured thatequity and ‘resource literacy’ accompaniedthe move towards decentralization. Therecently set up Maharashtra Water ResourcesRegulatory Authority is expected to follow theriver basin management approach. It willbring the various gram panchayats,municipalities and other regulators andactors onto a single platform for discussionand negotiation, and would have to operatewithin the logic of the natural river basinsystem.

“The city does not think of water as a naturalsystem. Water is thought of something comingfrom dams and pipes. Rainwater harvestingand groundwater are not part of mainstreamwater management planning in a city. It’s aproblem only when the city has acute shortageor is flooded with water. We have to conceive ofan approach that helps build up a knowledgebase about water as a natural system amongurban citizens.”

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COUNCIL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA

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Environmental journalists often citeexamples of what are known as“good practices”, but environmentalindicators continue to be negative.What do we have to do to reverse this trend?

It is obvious that we need a decisive attitudefrom the authorities to change policies. Butwe also have to explain to people that we allhave to tighten our belts to achieve resultsthat may not be immediate, but in the end willgenerate more benefits than losses. Nor is itabout giving things up, rather about changingpriorities. The problem is, in part, that peoplehave lost the ability to think in the medium orlong term; only immediate results count andnature works to a different rhythm. There isan imbalance between nature’s rhythms andour own. We need to be clear that if weintervene in an ecosystem we have to give ittime to recover, but if we pressure it withconstant intervention it will certainly neverrecuperate.

And what direction do you think thisdecisive attitude from the authoritiesshould take?The core of the problem is about economics:we have to put a value on natural resources. Iam not a specialist in this field, but when youspeak to someone who is you realise that it isnot at all easy to come up with this value. Youhave to convert into euros things that are notstrictly convertible: enjoyment, futureperspectives, landscape, happiness... All ofthese elements have to be assigned acommonly recognised value. The problem isthat they can be incompatible with othervalues. Just take any car advert: on one handit puts value on the natural environment andtempts you to visit places with stunning

scenery, and on the other hand, it promotesan inappropriate methodology. You can haveone thing or the other, but it is difficult tohave both.

In this sense, there are people whodiscuss proposals for a 'new waterculture' or the 'new energy culture’ whoare now talking about a 'new resourcesculture’.

It is obvious that this new relationship withresources is essential. Perhaps we don’t haveto look at it as making major sacrifices butinstead as a matter of efficiency, andefficiency is a contemporary issue - we shouldconvince people of this. We have become lazy,not just in this area, but in many other areas,such as education in general. We leave itsolely up to schools to teach childrenresponsibilities, which, as a matter of fact areeverybody’s. I believe there is a lack ofresponsibility; we have lost it and need to getit back.

Have the goals of environmentaleducation and raising awareness ofrivers and the natural environment been met?

There is still a lot of work to be done in thisarea, obviously. The initial goal of ProyectoRíos (the River Project) was to bring peoplecloser to the rivers and this has been met, butof course we still have to reach many morepeople. We also have to take into account thatthis project works from the bottom up,without huge advertising budgets, andinstead relies on word of mouth. Starting fromthis premise, the project can be considered tohave been a notable success. We couldcompare it to other initiatives, for exampleProyecto Nutria (the Otter Project), which was

“There is an imbalancebetween nature’s rhythmsand our own.”

Maria Rieradevall

Interview by JJooaann CCaanneellaa,journalist fromssoosstteenniibbllee..ccaatt

Maria Rieradevall is an expert inenvironmental education, water and riverconservation. She shares her views onchanging attitudes and restoring riversthrough citizen participation.

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I N T E R V I E W

widely covered by the ClubSúper3 (a children’s TVprogramme), without which, itmay not have had such a greatimpact. In general, we can becontent with the responsereceived.

How would you take stock of the achievementsof Proyecto Ríos, now that it has reached itstenth anniversary?

We can now say that we haveconsolidated our position as apoint of reference for every-body who wants to workclosely with rivers and whowants to collaborate in protect-ing the environment, above allthe aquatic environment,which is what we specialise in.I believe we have achieved theinitial objective, as ProyectoRíos is now a solvent and well-founded programme. Anotherimportant milestone is that wehave managed to reach somevery different social groups.The diverse backgrounds ofour audience is very positive,as the project is not justunderstood as being purelyeducational and aimed atchildren, but instead from thestart it we have also targetedadults, as they are the oneswho have the capacity tointervene, really change thingsand of course vote!

And has this capacity foradvocacy brought aboutreal changes in the rivers?We are currently at a veryimportant point as theparticipatory processesplanned in the WaterFramework Directive are beingdeveloped. We have madeprogress in this area as thedirective was not in place whenwe started to work on ProyectoRíos, but now it is starting to beapplied we have people – or atleast a percentage – who arebetter prepared for the task.Experiences such as oursshould be taken up as a newway of managing land andresources, not just water.

What are the mainchallenges whenattempting to encouragepeople to participate?

It is relatively simple to achieveoccasional participation if weask people to make an effort ata specific time. What is muchmore difficult is achievingmore constant participation,or in other words, makingpeople loyal. Good feedback istherefore necessary, keepingpeople informed of progressand making them feelrewarded. I think that thisreflection is valid for any typeof participative project.

What are the techniquesand tools that seem to youto be most successful

when trying to encouragepeople to work with you?

Looking back, I think thatagreements with localauthorities have been verypositive, and they have puttheir organisational andpromotional capacity at theservice of the project. Here wecould give the example oflinks forged with the BesòsConsortium, which hashelped us a great deal whenaiming to consolidate a groupfor each municipality.

This type of collaboration isimportant and we have hadsome very good experiencesof joint activities between theauthorities, local people andtechnical experts.

“There is an imbalancebetween nature’s rhythmsand our own.”

BREATHE· ©

PABLO

PRO

RCE Cebu, FilipinasThe Philippine region of Cebu is

very interested in watermanagementandmost of RCE Cebu’s projects focuson this resource. Activities include themanagement of water resourcesthrough rainwater collection in homesand other projects aimed at themanagement of hydrographic basins.RCE Cebu has also organised thecleaning and sanitation of a river in theregion and organisationalmeetings inorder to work on the proposal for acommunity-based project on forestmanagement, which focuses inparticular on the Livelihoods,Water andSanitation Programme, and EcotourismDevelopment.Cherry Piquero-Ballescas

[email protected]

RCE PenangWaterWatch Penang (WWP) is a

non-profit organisation set up inNovember 1997 with various objectives:to raise public awareness on theproblems related to water resources,encourage research into these issues,provide a response to enquiries onrecycling and exploiting water, offeradvice on saving water and organiseenvironmental education activities inschools.WWP aims to broadenchildren’sminds on the fight against thepollution of the region’s rivers, whilstteaching teachers the best way toeducate their students.Chan NgaiWeng

[email protected]

© 2006 SASI Group (University of Sheffield) and Mark Newman (University of Michigan) www.worldmapper.org

waterC

solutions to reduce them.One of the projects consists ofthe construction (by the studentsunder the supervision of theuniversity team) of compostinglatrines in public schools in theCuritibametropolitan area.Fernando Arns

[email protected] ·www.pucpr.br

RCE Greater Sudbury,Canada

TheDearness EnvironmentalSociety has created differentactivities to reduce the use of waterand energy within classrooms. Theseactivities include new educational unitsand learning dynamics aimed atstudents onways to reduce waste andon how to encourage others to do thesame.TomTamblyn

[email protected] · www.dearness.ca

C

RCERhine-Meuse,Holland

Alongwithschools, teacher

training institutions,councils, companiesand universities, RCE

Rhine-Meuse is designingand putting into practice the

Flights for Knowledge project. Thisis basedonopen educationalmethods

that allow learning at any timeand inanyplace,withanyperson

and using any device. The project isbased on subject areas, which includewater, and is begun at a young age.The

children and teachers are in contactwith expert professionals in the areas

beingstudied.Theseexpertscouldbefromcompanies,councilsandorganisationsthat

work in environmental management.Jos Eussen [email protected],

www.rcerhine-meuse.org

D

RCE Jalisco, MexicoTheUniversity of Guadalajara and

the United Nations University havedeveloped an interactive online casestudy, an award-winning tool fordistance learning to encourage localparticipation in themanagement ofhydrographic basins. This electroniccase study presents a detailed accountof the struggle faced by different groupsinvolved in the sustainabledevelopment ofMexico’s Ayuquila riverbasin over a period ofmore than thirtyyears. The study allows students to findout about the geography and history ofthis important river basin and showsthe complex issues faced by local effortsto balance economic development andenvironmental protection.Eduardo Santana-Castello

[email protected],www.ayuquila.com

RCE Curitiba, BrasilThe Pontifical Catholic University

of Paraná has beenworking on aninitiative of participativemanagementfor a sustainable river basin since 2005.Projects are carried out ininterdisciplinary teams so that the localpopulation (of all ages) knows wherewater problems exist and can design

B

A

A

The size of the territories on this map corresponds to the distribution of the world’s water resources.

The map shows some examples of educational activities organised by RCEs based on water.

Educating with

The United NationsUniversity promotes thecreation and development of“Regional Centres for Expertisein Education for SustainableDevelopment” (RCEs) to promotethe integration of sustainabilityin formal and informaleducation.There are currently54 RCEs across the world andhere we mention some of theeducational activities that theyare undertaking in the area ofwater.

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E

RCE Cebu, FilipinasThe Philippine region of Cebu is

very interested in watermanagementandmost of RCE Cebu’s projects focuson this resource. Activities include themanagement of water resourcesthrough rainwater collection in homesand other projects aimed at themanagement of hydrographic basins.RCE Cebu has also organised thecleaning and sanitation of a river in theregion and organisationalmeetings inorder to work on the proposal for acommunity-based project on forestmanagement, which focuses inparticular on the Livelihoods,Water andSanitation Programme, and EcotourismDevelopment.Cherry Piquero-Ballescas

[email protected]

FRCE PenangWaterWatch Penang (WWP) is a

non-profit organisation set up inNovember 1997 with various objectives:to raise public awareness on theproblems related to water resources,encourage research into these issues,provide a response to enquiries onrecycling and exploiting water, offeradvice on saving water and organiseenvironmental education activities inschools.WWP aims to broadenchildren’sminds on the fight against thepollution of the region’s rivers, whilstteaching teachers the best way toeducate their students.Chan NgaiWeng

[email protected]

E

D

© 2006 SASI Group (University of Sheffield) and Mark Newman (University of Michigan) www.worldmapper.org

water

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W E R E C O M M E N D

�FILMS

��BOOKS

Water WarsAuthor:Vandana Shiva

Editorial Icaria, 2004.English, Spanish.

Vandana Shiva uses her exceptionalknowledge of science and society toanalyse the historical erosion of therights to access to water and to rai-

se the alarm on its privatisation, which threatens cul-tures and ways of life across the planet. The book re-veals how many of the most significant conflicts inthe world today, often masked as ethnic or religiouswars, are in fact disputes over scarce and essentialnatural resources.

El reto ético de la nuevacultura del aguaFunciones, valores y derechos en juego.

Author: Pedro Arrojo Agudo

Editorial Paidós, 2006. Spanish.

This book looks into the new ethi-cal approaches that are proposed

by the citizens movement for a New Water Culture,which managed to mobilise over a million Spanishcitizens against the former government’s nationalhydrological plan and which has recently conver-ged with active Latin American movements andprestigious sectors of the scientific community inthe First Meeting for a New Water Culture in LatinAmerica.

The Message fromWater Author:Masaru Emoto

Editorial La Liebre de Marzo,2003. Spanish, English.

Somewhere between science, art and spirituality, TheMessage from Waterpresents us with the results of re-search on the analysis of water from different originswith the aim of observing the HADO (subtle energiesrelated to the conscience). The book shows magnifi-cent images of crystallized water, induced, accordingto the author, by environmental factors such as mu-sic or the conscience.

Cuentos del mundo del aguaAuthor: IRC International Waterand Sanitation Center

Intermon Oxfam, 2006.Spanish, Catalan.

There is a finite amount of water inour world and every drop is an interminable cycleof renewal. If water could speak, it would tell us theexceptional stories of Misheck Kirimi, from Kenya,who travelled many miles in the search of clean wa-ter; Rosalie Castro, who lived through floods in thePhilippines; Ashish Singh, from India, who was fas-cinated by the world of fish... Discover its stories;the story of water is the story of mankind.

ContracorrienteDirectors:Mario Pons and AbelMoreno

Production: A Salto de Mata

60 min. 2006. Spanish.

What do the following have incommon: a fisherman from theEbro Delta, a peasant from Murcia,

a journalist from Madrid, the Environment minis-ter, a farmer from La Mancha, a young inmate ofIruña prison, the head of legal services at Iberdro-la and an old woman from the Aragonese Pyrene-es? Contracorriente sheds light on the dark back-ground of the water conflict in Spain. Will the com-mercialisation of water be the cause of wars in the21st century?

Sounds of Sand Director and Producer:Marion Hänsel

96 min. 2006. Spanish, Catalan,English and French (original lan-guage: Catalan).

A story of exodus, searching, fata-lism and hope. On the one hand,

there’s the desert eating away at the land. The en-dless dry season, the lack of water. On the other the-re’s the threat of war. The village well has run dry.The livestock is dying. Trusting their instinct, mostof the villagers leave and head south. Rahne (Issa-ka Sawadogo), the only literate one, decides to headeast with his wife and three children.

A Dream of WaterProduction: Bausan Films for UNESCO (WWAP)and Expo Zaragoza 2008

60 min. Available from June 2008. Spanish, Cata-lan, English and French (original language:French).

A documentary that looks at the importance of wa-ter in the world. It presents a journey around theplanet that shows the fears and solutions that dif-ferent cultures have in relation to water. Throughthe testimony of different boys and girls from allover the world, the water situation in differentcountries is described within the context of diffe-rent cultures.

Water, a right and not a commodityDirector: Luna Haroa

Production: Enginyeria Sense Fronteres

20 min. 2007. Spanish, Catalan, English andFrench (original language: Catalan).

A documentary that compiles interviews with dif-ferent individuals involved in the subject of water.It reflects on the human right to water, universalaccess and public management with social control,as well as the dangers of the commercialisation ofwater to the challenge of eradicating poverty.

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C A L E N D A R

2008CALENDAR

NOVEMBER

6 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR PREVENTING THE EXPLOITATIONOF THE ENVIRONMENT IN WAR AND ARMED CONFLICT

DECEMBER

10 HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

DECADES

2005-2015 INTERNATIONAL DECADE FOR ACTION “WATER FOR LIFE”

The primary goal of the “Water for Life” decade is to promote efforts tofulfil international commitments made on water and water-relatedissues by 2015. These commitments include the MillenniumDevelopment Goals to reduce by half the proportion of people withoutaccess to safe drinking water and to stop unsustainable exploitation ofwater resources.

www.un.org/waterforlifedecadePrevious years dedicated to different aspects related to water:

2000 WATER FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (UNESCO)

2001 WATER FOR HEALTH (WHO)

2002 WATER FOR DEVELOPMENT (UN)

2003 WATER FOR THE FUTURE (UNEP)

2004 WATER AND DISASTERS (UN)

2005 WATER FOR LIFE (UN)

2006 WATER AND CULTURE (UNESCO)

2007 COPING WITH WATER SCARCITY (FAO)

Here we highlight some international days related to water and sustainability.

JANUARY

The International Year of Sanitationbegins

The UN General Assembly declared 2008 the International Yearof Sanitation. People from all over the world are invited to thiscelebration in which the importance of the global challenge ofsanitation is brought to the fore.

esa.un.org/iys

FEBRUARY

2 WORLD WETLANDS DAY

MARCH

22 WORLD WATER DAYThe objective of the United Nations’ World Water Day is topreserve the quality and quantity of water, and to ensure thatall human beings are supplied with it. This year an emphasiswas placed on issues related to sanitation. The celebration ofWorld Water Day promotes knowledge of this valuable resourceand encourages the reasonable use of water resources with theaim of contributing to protecting and conserving them.

www.unwater.org/worldwaterday23 WORLD METEOROLOGICAL DAY

APRIL

7 WORLD HEALTH DAY22 EARTH DAY

MAY

3 WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY22 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

JUNE

5 WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY17 WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT

The United Nations declared this day to raise awareness of theneed to cooperate in the fight against these phenomena.

AUGUST

31 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY DAY

SEPTEMBER

Last week of the month WORLD MARITIME DAY

OCTOBER

2 INTER-AMERICAN WATER DAY10 INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR NATURAL DISASTER REDUCTION

WATER BOTTLED • UDIT KULSHRESTHAWATER BOTTLED • UDIT KULSHRESTHA

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E C O L O G I C A L F O O T P R I N Te

After publishing the second is-sue of Education and Sustaina-bilitywe carried out a survey tofind out your opinion on thecontents, structure and formatof the magazine. Around athousand people and/or orga-nisations received the surveyby email, of which 361 respon-ded, or in other words, morethan 30%. The data and opi-nions obtained have been extre-mely useful for the EditorialCommittee when designing this

third issue dedicated to water.

“Good content andformat. The graphic de-sign is very well done.Very accessible for a non-specialist reader.”

Who reads Education andSustainability?The magazine is distributed toorganisations offering formaland informal education; out ofthose who responded to thesurvey, 49% work in the formal

sector and a high percentage inthe civil sector and public au-thorities. Thirty-four percentwish to read about initiativeson a national and internationalscale and there is interest in se-eing initiatives in primary andsecondary education as well asat university level.

“I liked it because thiskind of initiative is neces-sary. And I loved the con-tents of the magazine.”

Readers also said that theywould like to see more teachingresources, practical applica-tions, classroom experimentsand articles which reflect diffe-rent stances, and less news pu-blicising projects, personal opi-nions and environmental admi-nistration. We have attemptedto respond to these suggestionsin this issue.

“Perhaps the format is toojournalistic, it seems tome that it would be goodto go into more depth onspecific issues and try notto be so newsy.”

What do people like the most?We have expanded the sectionson “Teaching Resources” and“Ecological Footprint”, as theyare the sections that are consi-dered most important by thosesurveyed. Regarding the articleson “Reflection”, in response toseveral comments given in thesurvey, we have asked authorsto go into more detail and toshow the different points of viewon the subject under discussion.

“The question is: shouldwe just think about thecontents of our teaching?Isn’t it more important tothink about which kind ofteaching approach touse?”

If you wish to make any comments or suggestions that you would like us to bear in mind,please contact us at the following address: [email protected]

What do you think aboutEducation and Sustainability?

OtherInformal educationSecondary educationPrimary education

NGO and associationsUniversity

StudentsCompanies

3%

10%

12%

13%

16%17%

24%

3%3%

Public authorities

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E C O L O G I C A L F O O T P R I N Te

Ecological rucksackThis indicator includesthe amount of materialsinvolved in the printingprocess and paper con-sumption, and reflects thehidden flows of resourcesand waste generated inthe production of the ma-gazine. We can see thegrowing evolution of themagazine’s ecologicalrucksack due to the incor-poration of new aspects inthe calculation methodapplied (transportationand production of rawmaterials).

Sources:El Tinter, SAL; Ecological Footprint Network – Canada;IDESCAT; Petjada ecològica de l’EUPM; University of MassachusettsAmherst, USA; The Paper Research Industry Association; Dalum

Papir A/S Denmark, Ljubiljana digital media lab, Croatia; KHTInstitutionen för Energiteknik, Sweden; ECODESIGN Company, engineering and management consultancy GmbH.

The ecological footprint is an environmental indicatorthat is defined as the area of ecologically productiveland (fields, meadows, forests or aquatic ecosystems)needed to generate the resources used and to assimila-te the waste and emissions pro-duced by a certain product, ser-vice and/or population. Theecological footprint is expres-sed in hectares or any otherindicator of surface. We havedivided the footprint of thismagazine into different sec-tions: obtaining the paper, theproduction of complementaryproducts and energy and water consumption; design,printing and binding and, finally, distribution (see the

diagram below). The following have been included:obtaining the raw material (cellulose) and its recycling,the production of paper, the production of ink, printingpresses, wetting liquids and cloths, the impact genera-

ted by printing and the transporta-tion of raw materials, waste andthe final product. The manage-ment of the waste correspondingto the editing and design of themagazine has not been included,and neither have the resourcesneeded to obtain the raw materialsfrom the complementary pro-ducts. The final result is 22.6 m2

per copy and a total of 90,473 m2 for the total 4,000copies of this issue.

Ecological footprint

Transporta-tion of paper0.98 m2

Printingservice

0.18 m2

Transporta-tion of waste0.08 m2

Waste management

Distribution0.59 m2

Transportationof complementary

materials0.08 m2

Productionpresses, ink,

plastic, wettingliquids anddeveloping15.83 m2

Obtainingcomplementary

raw materials

Obtainingraw papermaterial0.87 m2

Paper production3.99 m2

- Ecological Footprint +

=

Total calculation

Issue Copies Pages Footprint(m2)

Waste(kg)

Water (litres)

Electricity(kWh)

Emissions(kg CO2)

Raw mate-rials(kg)

1 2000 48 not available 93.36 3,792.74 1,684.72 756.08 not available

2 3000 56 79,586.00 146.00 5,916.00 2,628.00 1,186.00 635.23

3 4000 54 90,472.54 214.49 8,836.46 3,924.92 1,742.46 1,246.02

ECOLOGICAL RUCKSACK

Calculation for each copy

Issue Copies Pages Footprint(m2)

Waste(kg)

Water(litres)

Electricity(kWh)

Emissions(kg CO2)

Raw mate-rials(kg)

1 2000 48 not available 0.050 1.890 0.840 0.380 not available

2 3000 56 26.53 0.049 1.972 0.876 0.395 0.212

3 4000 54 22.62 0.054 2.209 0.981 0.436 0.312

ECOLOGICAL RUCKSACK

1.89litres

Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3

2.21litres

1.97litres

Evolution ofwaterconsumptionper copy

ONE COPY OF THE MAGAZINE CONSUMES 2.21 LITRES OF WATER

EduSost.cat

es 3 water

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