Chevening joins Blog Action Day – H1O…..

Water is an essential source of life. Let’s start today to use this rare resource of the planet more sensibly.  We should treasure every drop of it when we have clean water from the tap conveniently everyday.

Flo, Hong Kong, 1998 British Hyder Chevening Scholar in Engineering

Geopolitics of water has affected Asia. India is worried how Beijing will use the Yarlung Tsangpo. It could be the "Great Bend" in Indo-China relations again if the biggest dam comes up to threaten India and Bangladesh. What was done with the Mekong need not be repeated.

Nishit Dholabhai, Chevening, India

Local wisdom says "life flows like water". It is not only a methapor, I guess, that to have a long life, we have to be cool and comfortable, avoiding unnecessary conflict. It is also an essence that without water life ends. And, when water is contained in bottle and traded in, shouldn’t our lives be contained and traded in. Free (access to) water, free lives.

Mangadar Situmorang, Indonesia, Chevening 2004
  
Maintenance of community water points in low income countries has remained a challenge despite technological improvements. The non-technical issues, particularly, on how cooperation is achieved in operation and maintenance of community management systems to enhance sustainability have not been well understood.

Admire Chinjekure, Zimbabwe

In some less developed regions, those who are unable to pay for the bottle could only resort to polluted, unsafe water from wells or rivers. And of course in some arid regions, you could hardly squeeze a drop from the cracked lands. Clean and safe-to-drink freshwater supply IS scarce. Water is closely linked to the environment, health, poverty and even peace and security. If it is a human right to live, it is a human right to have access to clean freshwater. Save water, think about your water footprints.

Yaki Wo, a Chevening Scholar from Hong Kong

I am currently conducting PhD research on the sustainability of integrated watershed rehabilitation and poverty reduction programmes.   I believe that an integrated approach to water resources management is critical to meet our global water challenges.  Let’s work together to devise the most appropriate solutions!

Brad Hiller (2007/08 Australian Chevening Scholar at the University of Cambridge)

Water is life and it is often assumed that the right to safe drinking water is a basic human right. It is however necessary to think of this – does the aquatic environment have a right to protection from man’s incessant and reckless exploitation?

Bernadette Araba Adjei, Ghana

Bottled Water – By reviewing the water quality standards that are implemented in the United Kingdom, it has been seen that water companies in the UK comply fully with the National and EC directives related to drinking water. Nevertheless, so many people, even some water inspectors themselves drink bottled water. Mr. Paul Church from Thames Water says: “the quality of water produced by Thames water is much higher than the bottled one since the latter is not subjected to stringent sampling and monitoring programmes as the water produced by Thames”.  The cost spent to produce water that meet national and EC directive is really high. However, irresponsibly, people (consumers) waste significant amount of this water in untargeted uses, such as cars washing, filling swimming pools, etc.!! Some concerned bodies argue that water bill should be raised in order to enforce consumers to consider the quantity they should consume. This can be effective, but on the other hand, people of low incomes and modest lives will, undoubtedly, be affected by such burden. In my opinion, water authorities should produce bottles of attractive shapes and sell them for very reasonable prices to encourage people buy them and fill them from taps.

Abdelkader Abdulla, Libyan Chevening scholar, MSC Programme of Water and Environmental Engineering – University of Surrey