MEXICO CITY (IPS) - Although there is enough water for everyone on earth, 1.1 billion people have no access to safe drinking water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation - problems that are attributed by the second United Nations World Water Development Report to mismanagement, corruption, bureaucratic inertia and lack of investment.

MEXICO CITY (IPS) - The fourth World Water Forum will be the first to have its own global film festival, with 80 films from 48 countries, as well as five photo exhibits.

   "We will be present at the (Mar. 16-22) Forum to entertain and to provoke other kinds of reactions," Colombian photographer Vivian Bibliowicz, who will exhibit a collection of 20 photos revolving around the theme of water, told IPS.

MEXICO CITY (IPS) - Mutual distrust and even suspicions of a "conspiracy" separate the organisers of the Fourth World Water Forum, taking place in the Mexican capital, and the activists holding their own simultaneous alternative gathering.

   "It's true, there is a lack of connection and communication between the two forums," said José Ángel Gurría, secretary-general-elect of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), who is participating in the Mar. 16-22 World Water Forum.

MEXICO CITY (IPS) - An average of 4,500 children under the age of five die every day worldwide from lack of access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation. To talk about this appalling situation, 100 children and teenagers from 30 countries have come to Mexico to share their experiences and take part in the search for solutions.

MEXICO CITY (Tierramérica) - Water rights groups say transnational corporations are increasingly sinking their teeth into Latin America's water services, but studies by the United Nations and other experts point to the contrary: these companies are backing off, and may not come back any time soon.

   Demands by governments and social movements, as in Argentina and Bolivia; the impossibility of charging for water services in some countries; and the implementation of legislation that prevents their participation in the water sector, as in Uruguay, have discouraged the transnationals.

MEXICO CITY (IPS) - "Access to water is a basic right": while this is the message voiced by the organisers of the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico City, civil society activists take a dim view of this international event, as they believe it will promote the privatisation of water resources.

   The official forum and a parallel civil society gathering combined will draw a total of 15,000 participants to the Mexican capital from Mar. 16 to 22. While both sides present similar figures on the availability and scarcity of water around the planet and declare that it is a public resource that must be universally available, they do not agree on the mechanisms for achieving this goal. 

Myth 1: By the time you get thirsty you’re already dehydrated. Not true: you’ll feel thirsty before your body reaches a state that falls into the category of dehydration.

Myth 2: If your urine is dark, you’re dehydrated. In most instances this doesn’t signal dehydration, though it does reflect a lower (but probably normal) urinary volume.

Myth 3: Lots of water keeps your kidneys’ filtering rate up. In fact, the rate at which the kidneys filter is only reduced in very severe dehydration — such as when you’ve already lost 5% of your body weight.

Myth 4: You can’t drink too much water. Actually, you can.

Distributed by the IPS COLUMNIST SERVICE ahead of the Fourth World Water Forum, which begins March 16 in Mexico, and World Water Day on March 22.

   In this article, Boff writes that as the world is in the grips of a market economy that transforms everything into a commodity, we are witnessing a global race to privatise water. Water could be the grounds for war or for solidarity and cooperation among peoples.

Central Asian countries are worried that record snow this winter will bring devastating floods once the weather turns warmer.

Central Asian countries are worried that record snow this winter will bring devastating floods once the weather turns warmer.

 

 

   Kyrgyzstan had record snow in winter – the highest in 30 years – and experts are worried that increased water levels in the rivers that could cause extensive flooding in lower-riparian countries, especially in southern Kazakhstan.

   The rivers in Kyrgyzstan are expected to have up to 1,500 cubic metres per second or almost double the spring flows in previous years and also much higher than the “safe” level.

   Last year Vladimir Shkolnik, minister of power and mineral resources of Kazakhstan had asked Kyrgyzstan to reduce water released from the Naryn River reservoirs from 700 to 600 cubic metres per second as a measure to prevent flooding in southern Kazakhstan.

An irrigation drive under the District Poverty Initiatives project (DPIP) made possible massive changes, such as the building of this stop dam.

JAKARTA (AWW) - Ten-year-old Milvan will no longer have to  wake up early in the morning just to boil water for drinking, two weeks into  a 'new' water treatment solution launched by the Indonesian government.

   "I will just use Air Rahmat," Milvan said, referring to a water  additive introduced to Indonesians to get safe and cheap drinking water.

Despite being a world class tourism destination, the island of Boracay is facing a serious water crisis.

Despite being a world class tourism destination, the island of Boracay is facing a serious water crisis.

 

 

   This small island of Caticlan Municipality in Aklan is presently witnessing a tourism boom which has led to the mushrooming of infrastructure projects. New hotels are being built regularly, such as a large hotel chain to cater to the growing number of visitors.

Hydroponics simply means growing plants without soil. Food for the plants, called hydroponics nutrient, fertilizer for soil-less gardening, or plant food, etc. (may be organic), are dissolved in water and fed directly to the roots automatically. Plants form smaller roots and grow in inert grow media (e.g. gravel, sand, water or even air).

In soil, vegetables grow a large root system to search for food and water. In hydroponics, food and water are fed directly to the roots. This enables the plants to spend more energy growing the part above the surface, thus growing two times faster. With small roots, the plants may be grown very close together conserving space. In general, hydroponic gardens require only about 20 percent of the overall space required for soil gardens for the same vegetable production.

Patients get drinking water from this wash-basin in the nurses' room.

Patients get drinking water from this wash-basin in the nurses' room.

 

 

   Salima and her daughter are the lucky ones since relatives can bring them drinking water from their house which is nearby. Many others are not as lucky, particularly those coming from other parts of the district. The unlucky ones have two options: Either drink the water coming out of the hospital’s tap or buy drinking water from the market. Since many among them do not have enough money to go for the second option, they take recourse to the wash-basin in an adjacent nurses’ room, which serves as the only source of water supply in the ward. Predictably, complaints abound.

Brothers Pravin (left) and Manoj Gautam from Roots and Shoots Nepal with Dr Jane Goodall during Dr Goodall's recent Nepal visit.

Brothers Pravin (left) and Manoj Gautam from Roots and Shoots Nepal with Dr Jane Goodall during Dr Goodall's recent Nepal visit.

 

 

   Around a thousand families here depend for their livelihood  either directly or indirectly on fishing.

   Traditionally, fishermen in Dang used nets to catch fish. Then  came fishing bombs that became very popular among the fishermen. But  as Nepal's Maoist insurgency gained ground, fishing bombs gradually  disappeared from the market since being in possession of them was risky.