Every day the most important news on water and sanitation from around the world, compiled by the Blue Community Network, defending water as a common, public good and a human right.
Today: Canada, Fiji, India, Iraq, NatureRights, Nigeria, Privatisation, Sanitation, SouthAfrica, Switzerland, UK, Water&Climate, Water&Gender, WaterBusiness, WaterCrisis, WaterRights
India: Stepping back into a stepwell through Claudio Cambon’s lens
India: Stepping back into a stepwell through Claudio Cambon’s lensAn evocative photography exhibition titled ‘Stepping Back Into a Stepwell’ was held some time ago at the Centre Atrium of the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The visitors explored the intricate beauty and cultural significance of India’s ancient stepwells through the lens of American photographer and visual artist Claudio Cambon. This exhibition was supported by the National Foundation of India as a parallel event to the Harvard University conference on climate change and its implications for India’s development vision, Viksit Bharat 2047.
Open Secrets report: How big consulting firms are cashing in on the climate (incl. water) crisis
Open Secrets report: How big consulting firms are cashing in on the climate (incl. water) crisisMultinational firms are benefiting from “just transition” funding while serving the world’s largest fossil fuel companies.
A new investigative report released on Thursday by non-profit social justice organisation Open Secrets lays out how multinational consultancy firms are cashing in on the climate crisis.
Titled The Climate Consultants: How management consultants cash in on the climate crisis, the investigation, led by Zen Mathe, Michael Marchant, Ra’eesa Prather and Ariella Scher, describes how technocrats in the private sector, paid from the public purse, are influencing government climate change policy, while continuing to consult for the very fossil fuel companies exacerbating the crisis.
Read GroundUp / Tags: WaterBusiness – Water&Climate
Zimbabwe: The Water Privatisation Battle
Zimbabwe: The Water Privatisation BattleComrade Khumbulani Maphosa, Director Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights Zimbabwe.
Listen here / Tags: Privatisation – Zimbabwe
Iraq: Water crisis forces some farmers to abandon their land
Some farmers in Iraq’s southern province of Najaf are abandoning their land and livelihoods as a severe water crisis gripping parts of the country has prompted authorities to ban summer farming and rice cultivation.
See the video by Reuters / Tags: Iraq – WaterCrisis
UK: Rates increase of £100 could ‘solve NI’s water crisis’
UK: Rates increase of £100 could ‘solve NI’s water crisis’A £100 increase in the average household rates bill could largely solve Northern Ireland’s water infrastructure crisis, a new report has suggested.
The study was commissioned by the bodies representing the construction industry, housing associations and the NI Chamber of Commerce.
The increased rates payments would be accompanied by borrowing by NI Water.
Persistent underfunding of NI Water has led to a shortfall in wastewater infrastructure, which in turn, is limiting house building and contributing to water pollution.
Glacier melt accelerating at record pace, UNBC-led study finds
Glacier melt accelerating at record pace, UNBC-led study findsGlaciers in Western Canada and Switzerland have been melting at record-setting rates over the past four years, marking the most rapid ice loss ever recorded in those regions, a new study led by a University of Northern British Columbia researcher has found.
The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, found that glacier melt between 2021 and 2024 doubled compared to the previous decade. The findings show that glaciers in western Canada and the contiguous United States lost about 22.2 gigatonnes of ice per year during that period. Swiss glaciers lost 1.5 gigatonnes annually.
Read Prince George Citizen News / Tags: Canada – Switzerland
Some rivers have rights, but author Robert Macfarlane argues they’re also alive
Some rivers have rights, but author Robert Macfarlane argues they’re also aliveThis week on Mongabay’s podcast, celebrated author and repeat Nobel Prize in Literature candidate Robert Macfarlane discusses his fascinating new book, Is a River Alive?, which both asks and provides answers to this compelling question, in his signature flowing prose.
Its absorbing narrative takes the reader to the frontlines of some of Earth’s most embattled waterways, from northern Ecuador to southern India and northeastern Quebec, where he explores what makes a river more than just a body of water, but rather a living organism upon which many humans and myriad species are irrevocably dependent — a fact that is often forgotten.
Read and listen on Mongabay / Tags: NatureRights – WaterRights
Switzerland: ‘Future dry spells could last four or five years, or even longer.’
Switzerland: ‘Future dry spells could last four or five years, or even longer.’From climate change to agribusiness and contaminated groundwater, our country is heading for a fundamental water shortage. Expert Klaus Lanz explains what needs to be done.
On the day of our conversation, the weather is kind to us. Thick fog envelops the village of Evilard in the Bernese Jura. ‘Down there,’ says Lanz, standing with me at the window of his flat, ‘lies the Seeland region – normally you can even see a corner of Lake Biel.’ But today, all we can see are the water droplets right in front of us. On my way home, I am caught in a violent thunderstorm that leaves me soaking wet within seconds.
Read Tages-Anzeiger (German, Paywall) / Tags: Switzerland – WaterCrisis
South Africa: Deal with water mafia’s human rights commission urges State
South Africa: Deal with water mafia’s human rights commission urges StateA POLICY brief released by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has lifted the lid on the modus operandi of water tanker mafias, which involves the direct vandalisation of water pumps or water valves, with the objective of a self-created water supply crisis.
Alternatively, they provide organised crime networks with information about planned infrastructure repairs, enabling the mafias to sabotage them within days of repair.
It is also alleged that these so-called water mafias are at times in cahoots with municipal officials.
It has been reported that the nature and extent of crime that targets water infrastructure vary from severe vandalism, corruption, and procurement irregularities to violent attacks on municipal officials.
Read Cape Times / Tags: SouthAfrica
Nigeria: Poor sanitation responsible for communicable diseases, says minister
Nigeria: Poor sanitation responsible for communicable diseases, says ministerThe Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, has stated that a more comprehensive approach is needed to prevent the spread of diseases, citing that poor environmental sanitation is responsible for a significant percentage of communicable diseases in the country.
Lawal asserted this at the briefing to commemorate the 2025 National Environmental Sanitation Day in Abuja, explaining that vector-borne diseases, such as malaria, Lassa, and dengue fevers, are exacerbated by poor environmental sanitation, which provides breeding grounds for rats and mosquitoes.
Read The Guardian.ng / Tags: Nigeria – Sanitation –
Fiji: Fix the water crisis, Government urged
FIJI is facing a water crisis and the Government must commit to fixing water issues experienced around the country.
In a statement by the Non-Governmental Organisation Coalition on Human Rights (NGOCHR), group chair Shamima Ali called for urgent action to address the crisis.
“For women, the water crisis is personal,” she said.
“They are responsible for finding a resource their families need to survive – for drinking, cooking, sanitation, and hygiene.
“They may stand in line and wait for water, they may walk long distances to collect water, or they may pay a lot of money to secure water.”
Read Fiji Times / Tags: Fiji – WaterCrisis – Water&Gender
