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Editorial
01.04.2010
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Editorial: rainwater harvesting
01.04.2014
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Interview with Catarina de Albuquerque, Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation
01.10.2014
On 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation. Richard Carter asks Special Rapporteur Catarina de Albuquerque about the difference the human right makes, how it will help unserved people, meaningful participation, the role of subsidies, balancing different rights, and the sustainability of services. -
Editorial: No shame in bodily functions
01.07.2016
There are some things that individuals, families, societies, nations, and even the world as a whole will not acknowledge, talk about, or countenance. These are the forbidden topics or taboos. According to the dictionary, taboos are matters which are ‘… banned or restricted by social custom’. Why do taboos exist? Because they are too difficult or perhaps too disgusting to discuss – we fear them, we don’t have easy answers for them, and we wish they would go away. We may or may not be able to prevent them happening, but at least we can avoid discussing them. They are real and significant, and we may think we can do nothing about them, so we bury our heads in our hands or in the proverbial sand, and refuse to acknowledge them. -
Obituary: Ton Schouten, a respected colleague and friend
01.07.2016
Many if not most readers of this journal will already know of the sad and sudden death of Ton Schouten on 22nd May 2016. Others have made known Ton’s passing to those working in the WASH world, and it is not necessary to repeat here what has been said elsewhere. Ton’s colleagues at IRC in the Netherlands have published an obituary on the organisation’s website, at http://www.ircwash.org/news/memoriam-ton-schouten-1955-2016. Ton was Chair of the Rural Water Supply Network, and RWSN has also made known Ton’s death at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/hygienepromotionforum/efuUbOy6SVg. The Water Integrity Network posted this notification: http://www.waterintegritynetwork.net/2016/05/30/memoriam-ton-schouten-1955-2016/. No doubt others too have reinforced this chorus of shock and loss in their own words. -
Editorial: Doing WASH well – a set of principles for implementing agencies and their evaluators
01.07.2019
Many of the readers of this journal work in national and local governments and non-governmental organizations. With financial and in-kind support from communities, from national budget allocations, and from funds provided by external donor agencies, they aim to improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services at household and community level, and across entire local government administrative areas. -
Editorial: Healthy planet, healthy people
01.10.2020
Mostly this journal places the spotlight on water, waste, and sanitation issues as they affect local households, communities, and individual nations. Naturally this local focus is set within the framework of international goals such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the human rights to water and sanitation. But rarely do we step back and consider the impact, relevance, and imperatives posed by wider global issues.