Global Environmental Health: Research Gaps and Barriers for Providing Sustainable Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services: Workshop Summary

Excerpt

Current United Nations estimates suggest that there are about 300 potential conflicts over water around the world, arising from disagreements over river borders and the drawing of water from shared lakes and aquifers (Oatridge, 1998). Avoiding these conflicts means using limited resources smarter and looking at new ways to manage and protect water. This is a daunting task, and the solutions will not come from a single sector of the water community but will require different expertise from engineers, health research and offices, economists, ecologists, and policy makers.

This two-day workshop held on October 17–18, 2007, in Washington, DC, follows up on previous workshops in 2003 and discusses how to provide people with access to drinking water in the context of sanitation and hygiene. The legislation of the 1970s started to show the value of water by providing protection. This workshop brings together people from various sectors of water services and from various countries to consider how to do this in a sustainable way.