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w o r l d w a t e r w e e k d a i l y | W EDNE SD AY 2 9 AUGU S T | 2 018

Inland fisheries play a crucial role as a current and future food source, partic-ularly in low-income countries in Africa and Asia. In many places, fish from rivers and lakes account for most of the population’s protein intake, and fishing is also a major source of income for millions of people – even in landlocked countries. In such areas, there are often no viable alternatives to fishing, and so the consequences when inland fisheries are threatened by a changing climate and water infrastructure projects are potentially catastrophic.

Studies suggest that the importance of inland fisheries might even be under­

Time to focus on inland FISHERIESTEXT AND PHOTO | Andreas Karlsson

estimated, with a lack of sufficient data and with the sector typically being part of the semi­formal or even informal economy. This also means that tradi-tional regulations are not likely to have a major impact on local, small-scale fishing practices.

Trying to map the threats against inland fisheries, one quickly realizes the complexity of the issue. A range of important, but seemingly incompatible, interests, such as irrigation of agricul-tural land, hydropower, and protection of biodiversity, all compete for attention. According to several speakers during yesterday’s Water for fish: Sustainable inland fisheries session, inland fisheries tend to draw the shortest straw.

Fishermen and -women testify to the degradation of fishing conditions. In the Kafue flats area in Zambia, Chanda Mwala of World Wildlife Fund Zambia

told the audience, the residents say that the fishes they catch are smaller and smaller, and that certain species have disappeared altogether.

She added that complex social and historical dynamics also come into play, such as an influx of immigrant fishermen operating outside of national systems for managing inland fisheries.

“The main problem is that all these interests are usually dealt with indivi­dually, which is not a very helpful approach. For inland fisheries the key is to demonstrate its compatibility with other interests,” Fred Boltz from Reso-lute Development Solutions said in the panel discussion that followed.

Simon Funge­Smith from the UN Food and Agricultural Organization added:

“There really is no win­win solution here, but I do believe there is a possibility for reasonably cost effective collabora-tions and agreements.”

How much water do we need in rivers and lakes to keep the fish alive? To many people around the world, that question is ultimately about one thing: survival.

Millions of people, such as these fishermen in Lake Malawi, rely heavily on inland fisheries for their survival.

PUBLISHED BY STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL WATER INSTITUTE

WEDNESDAY: WORLD WATER WEEK DAILY

WINNERS OF STOCKHOLM JUNIOR WATER PRIZEIn a festive setting at Berns Stora Salongen in Stockholm, H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden presented the Stockholm Junior Water Prize 2018 to Caleb Liow Jia Le and Johnny Xiao Hong Yu from Singapore. They received the prize for their eco-friendly and low-cost method to synthesize reduced graphene oxide (rGO) from durian rind and sugarcane bagasse. Reduced graphene oxide is a promising material for water purification, but the conventional production method is costly and produces toxic gases. Photo: Jonas Borg

A Sediment Color Tool has improved the hit rate for tube well drillers in Bangladesh from 50 to 98 per cent, according to Mattias von Brömssen, Ramböll Sweden.

Success in addressing competition between water, food, and energy in countries throughout the Nile Basin was one of the upbeat contributions during the Creating peace through the water-energy-food and security nexus perspective seminar, convened by Adelphi, BMZ, GEF, and GIF.

Maro Andy Tola, NELSAP­CU, told participants during a round­table session about how conflict between water, food, and energy had been eased at a number of sites across the Nile Basin.

“To avoid conflict between water, food, and energy […] our projects are multi­purpose. When we design projects we consider energy genera-tion, food production, and livelihood improvements all as one package […]

When knowledge is not enough

A multi-purpose success story

deaths globally, and 15 per cent of neonatal deaths, are caused by infec-tions acquired during childbirth, or directly thereafter. These deaths can be prevented through better hygiene practices in health care facilities. But the study from Nigeria showed that only in 3 per cent of the 256 incidents recorded were proper hygiene prac-tices applied. The reasons were often

so that every user benefits from and sees the benefits from a project,” Tola said.

So we don’t design only hydropower generation. We put in a component for irrigation, and put in a component for watershed, a component for livelihood. If you ignore sediment catchment when you build a dam, it’ll last only 15 years,” he added.

connec ted to organizational and environmental barriers, rather than a lack of training.

“Knowledge on hygiene protocol is incredibly high, the challenge is that health care workers are not taking the next step and follow through with those behaviours,” said Robert Dreibelbis from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

ON TARGET FOR SAFE GROUND WATER

Knowing what is right, does not mean practicing what we have learnt. This became obvious when two case studies

from Nigeria and Tanzania were presented at Getting the Basics Right: WASH

for reproductive, maternal, newborn health.

An estimated 10 per cent of all maternal

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What did the prize mean to you? “It’s been very significant for me because it has validated my work. In our research, we discovered that by filtering water through ordinary sari cloth we could reduce cholera in the villages by 50 per cent. It was an evidenced-based approach, not a traditional kind of research. Instead of giving antibiotics or vaccines it was a simple way of reducing cholera and therefore our findings weren’t received very well. So the prize meant a lot.”

Do you network with the other laureates?“We don’t have club or do anything formal, but we do get to know each other and when we come to Stockholm it’s like a class reunion.”

What is the most urgent water issue today?“Reaching the populations that do not have safe water. We can do it if we focus on a collaborative consortium. If we can get enough of the safe water enterprises to collaborate and work together, we can close the gaps and provide safe water to all.”

The 2018 Stockholm Water Prize will be presented tonight at the Stockholm City Hall.

questions to …

“We empower ourselves by selling bricks and [water] tanks. For many women this is their first ever money. With the tanks, they

see an increase in their families’ wealth, and a decrease in their work collecting water,” Elizabeth Ntukai, from Maji Mamas (Water Women) in Kenya, said.

Previously, women would spend up to eight hours a day collecting water.

“With our [improved] water security, there’s more time for economic improve-ment,” Ntukai said.

Ntukai spoke movingly about how the group started to produce bricks – Interlock-ing Stablized Soil Blocks (ISSB) – for the construction of rainwater collection tanks and pit latrines three years ago.

Since then, Maji Mamas have supplied water tanks to schools, marketplaces, and

health centres in surrounding communi-ties, improving the living conditions of an estimated 5,000 people.

“By becoming self-employed, women gain standing in the community. If we own a piece of a business, men listen to what we have to say. Having our own money means we can make the changes we want in our homes and community,” Ntukai said.

“Our business now has four products that create revenue for us women,” she added.

The group also supports other commu-nities with micro loans to establish their own businesses.

The scheme has also generated environ­mental benefits. Offering people the option of building with ISSB reduces wood consumption, thereby diminishing the extent of deforestation.

“Not only do our tanks provide access to water, they create employment, and help the environment.”

“Together with other women, we are making the impossible possible. I want every girl in Kenya to be a woman with a dream. Together, we 28 Maji Mamas are setting the pace.”

The session was convened by Coca­Cola, Global Water Challenge, USAID and the Water and Development Alliance.

TEXT | nick Chipperfield PHOTO | THOMAS HENRIKSON

A powerful, personal account of how women’s entrepreneurship delivers safer, more equitable access to water, and promotes female empowerment, was provided during the Ripple effect: empowering women through water seminar yesterday.

Rita Colwell

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I want every girl in Kenya to be a woman with a dream. Together, we 28 Maji Mamas are setting the pace. Elizabeth Ntukai, Maji Mamas (Water Women)

Women’s enterprise drives water access, gender equality

2010 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate

stockholm waterfront daily • 26–31 AUGUST, 2018

STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL WATER INSTITUTEBox 101 87 | Visiting Address: Linnégatan 87A SE-100 55, Stockholm, SwedenTel: +46 8 121 360 00 | www.siwi.orgPublisher: Torgny Holmgren

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Tips and comments? Contact us at: waterfront@siwi.org

WORLD WATER WEEK DAILY EDITORIAL STAFF Görrel Espelund, Andreas Karlsson and Nick ChipperfieldPhotography: Thomas Henrikson and Mikael Ullén

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“We should try and green up our cities. This is some-thing we have to understand better and promote, because most people will live in cities in the future.”

“Nature-based solutions have been and will be a critical part of water manage-ment if we want to be successful in meeting our water challenges.”

“I focus on wastewater nature-based solutions and how to use nature, such as constructed wetlands, to treat wastewater so it can go back into nature.”

“We must learn to harvest the power of nature to effectively manage water. If we use wetlands to treat wastewater, we also get other benefits in so many ways.”

“One option could be for agriculture to focus on more sustainable ways that would have a positive impact on the watershed in general.”

“To better incor - po rate nature in various levels of water management, including more targeted use of the ecosystems we have, and the establishment of new ecosystems.”

Maija Bertule, UN Environment – DHI, Denmark

Ainul Firdatun Nisaa, University of Stuttgart, Indonesia

Cesar Maldonado, Young Water Solu-tions, Mexico

Christina Bosch Ladd, Keuring Dr Pepper, US

What are nature-based solutions to you?

Slimane Gani Rodriguez, Suntory Holdings, Spain

TEXT | Andreas karlsson PHOTO | THOMAS HENRIKSON

In recent years, countries have increa­singly tried to find new, effective ways to finance projects to manage ecosystems. Much emphasis has been put on creating institutions that are up for the task, but studies suggest that social aspects might be as important.

In a case study presented during the session Is there such a thing as innovative financing for ecosystems management?

yesterday, Au Shion Yee from Asian Development Bank described the eco­compensation model along the Chishui River in China, where down-stream communities pay their upstream counterparts for managing their shared water resource. The transaction is based on meeting certain targets and if these are not met, there might instead be a compensation fee payable in the other direction.

“This underlines the importance of a social approach to financing. We often talk about the technical mechanisms but with the right incentive, mutual agree-ments can help finance local projects,” he said.

Giulio Boccaletti from The Nature Conservancy agreed, saying that the focus for financing is indeed shifting from institutions to relationships.

“In doing so we must understand that to get local communities onboard to create partnerships for financing ecosystems management, we must first build trust. That can only be done through credibility and transparency.”

App

Relationships important for financing

w o r l d w a t e r w e e k v o i c e s

Martina Flörke, University of Kassel, Germany

Giulio Boccaletti

When talking about sustainable ecosystems management, there is generally an elephant in the room. A rather big elephant: how do we pay for it?