“We recognize that the water and sanitation crisis is one of the most alarming issues that is affecting people worldwide and believe in doing something on a larger scale. Live Worldly is proud to support Jake and Challenge21 because the campaign is about taking action to raise awareness and money for this global issue,” said Kael Robinson, Live Worldly founder and Challenge21 partner. “Jake has uniquely combined his passion for climbing with his deep-rooted desire to address this worldwide cause and has set his goals very high. We’re proud to team up with Challenge21 and lend a hand in the fight for clean water. We encourage others to do the same by educating themselves about the global water crisis, sharing that knowledge and offering financial support.”

Challenge21 co-founder and renowned climber, Jake Norton, is aiming to be the first climber to complete the Triple Seven Summits – the three highest peaks on each continent – to help combat the world’s most pressing development needs: water and sanitation. His goal is to raise $2.1 million for the Denver-based non-profit Water for People and engage and impassion 2.1 million people in the global water and sanitation crisis. Having already climbed six of the Challenge21 peaks — Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Everest, Cerro Aconcagua, Mount McKinley, Mount Stanley and Vinson Massif — Jake is preparing for his next endeavor this February: El Pico de Orizaba in Mexico, the third highest peak in North America.

“Climbing the world’s great mountains has a huge amount of embedded drama and visibility… but, at the end of the day, usually the only people really benefitting from a given climb are the climbers themselves. As both a professional climber and a husband and father, I knew I wanted to keep climbing, but also ensure it meant something, and had an impact far beyond myself. In short, I wanted to make sure I have a really good reason for spending months of my life away from my family, in faraway places, putting myself at risk… Challenge21 is the direct result of this desire,” said Jake Norton, mountaineer and Challenge21 co-founder. “Each climb includes a fundraising target, and an opportunity for people to donate funds directly to Water For People via Challenge21. Partners like Live Worldly are enabling people to get involved through their purchases. The protection cords and other products from Live Worldly are not only a powerful symbol of the climbs of Challenge21, but also directly support our work and our goals with Water For People.”

Jake and his team will acclimate first on La Malinche, climbing some 4,100 feet to the summit, before heading off to Orizaba to climb another 4,400 feet, for a total of roughly 8,500 feet of climbing over four days. By raising money and awareness, every step along the way brings us one step closer to addressing the world’s problem of clean water and adequate sanitation. Over the month of February Live Worldly will be giving away featured products – Love in India Bracelet, Live Tibetan Protection Cord, Live Tibetan Prayer Bead Necklace, Live Tibetan Silk Khata, and the grand prize is an assortment of Live Tibetan products in a brand new Live Venezuelan leather bag (a $300 value).

Live Worldly is urging people to donate money to help the team reach their campaign goal of $8,500. Each dollar donated is good for one entry throughout the giveaways ($10 = 10 entries) and represents one foot of the climb to clean water. In addition, Live Worldly is selling featured products — Love in India Bracelet, Live Tibetan Protection Cord, Live Tibetan Prayer Bead Necklace and Live Tibetan Silk Khata — and donating a portion of the proceeds to Water for People via Challenge21.

“Unsafe water and sheer lack of sanitation in the developing world kills one child under the age of five every 30 seconds. As a mother of two children under the age of five, I imagine myself as one the mothers of the children who make up this staggering statistic and I feel more compelled than ever to break this extreme cycle of poverty that vastly differs from what we experience in the western world,” said Wende Valentine, major gifts officer of Water For People and Challenge21 co-founder. “Due to lack of infrastructure and poor programming over decades, basic human needs are simply not being met. Everyone can be a part of this massive global effort by becoming aware of these geographic disparities and by contributing towards lasting solutions through Water For People. Together we have a chance to make a measurable difference that can ultimately transform entire communities around the world and allow us to truly “live worldly”!

-Climate Change and Natural Disasters,

-Water Security,

-Energy and Food Security,

-Financial and Economic Security,

-and Trans-national Crime.

The issue of water security seems to be becoming the main topic of focus leading up to the conference. Arvind Gupta, director general of defence ministry-funded think tank Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, noted, “that with the increasing importance of trans-boundary rivers, hydro-diplomacy can be seen as a new framework for regional cooperation, with opportunities for dialogue, consultation and data-sharing both between and within states. On the other hand, control of water can also lead to hydro-hegemony and dominance.”

Using water as a point of cooperation, rather than domination and contention, will be a critical challenge in the 21st century as communities around the world face increasing water scarcity and stress. India is already facing difficulties providing reliable access to clean water to its ever growing population. To help address this problem in one of the world’s most populous countries, Water For People–India will implement programming in 148 communities and 138 schools in six districts in West Bengal. Water For People–India will also expand its work beyond West Bengal and into the new state of Bihar, where, in collaboration with the local government, it will select a district in which to target its efforts and create a strategy for reaching full water and sanitation coverage.

Water For People CEO Ned Breslin meets with partners and stakeholders in India.

“Simplifying” water’s role in international violent conflict down to a “yes-or-no situation is limiting,” said Kent Hughes Butts, professor of Political Military Strategy and director of National Security Issues Group at the U.S. Army War College.

“When we put labels on it (water stress) we may take a silo view and keep certain solutions off the table,” added Sandra Ruckstuhl, senior specialist for sustainable development at Group W Inc., who also spoke at the 12th National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment: Environment & Security.

However, Butts added, “violent conflict (as a result of water stress) should not be ruled out completely.”

One reason for that is because “stress of water is affecting more and more people in every region” both in terms of lack of access to freshwater and overabundance of water, such as flooding, said Jaehyang So, manager of the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program.

“We haven’t seen conflict (water wars) yet, but we are all working hard to keep it from happening,” So said.

Paul Faeth of CNA Corp., a DC-based research and analysis organization, pointed out that water can also be a “cause of peace for nations.”

Areas where nations have been able to successfully share a water basin and establish treaties and organizations that manage the water have actually eased tensions, he said. Ruckstuhl agreed with Faeth, citing water as an “opportunity to bring people together to find solutions to long-term issues” and an “environmental peace builder.”

However, “conflict over water at the local level is something that has been happening for awhile,” she added.

One reason is water’s cross-sectoral uses, which increase competition, said So. When there is a finite amount of water available for a community, all users must come together to determine how it will be divided in an equitable manner, she said.
Read the rest of this story and other stories on the WASH sector here.

-          People drink about 2-4 liters of water per day, but it takes 2,000 to 5,000 liters to produce one person’s daily food. (Source: FAO)

-          By the year 2050, the world’s water will have to support agricultural systems to feed and create livelihoods for an additional 2.7 billion people. (Source: FAO)

-          Due to climate change, Himalayan snow and ice, which provide vast amounts of water for agriculture in Asia, are expected to decline in volume by 20% by 2030. (Source: FAO)

-          Poor drainage and irrigation practices have led to waterlogging and salinization of approximately 10% of the world’s irrigated lands. (Source: WWAP)

These statistics highlight the importance about understanding your water footprint! Start reducing yours today!

As we count down to our DC World Water Day Happy Hour event, we invite you to tackle our Challenge #2!

The average US citizen consumes almost four times the amount of protein compared to the global average. In general, meat-based diets have a larger water footprint compared to a vegetarian diet (FAO, 2009). Shifting to a vegetarian diet can reduce an individual’s water footprint by as much as 58%!

Challenge #2:  In order to consume less water intensive foods, Water for People DC challenges you to go vegetarian for 1 week!  Those who rise to the challenge during the month of January are eligible for a free raffle ticket at our World Water Day Happy Hour.  Simply join our Facebook group, Water For People DC, and post a short description on our wall of the actions you took to rise to the challenge! Pictures are fun too! Please send any questions/comments to stacy.a.boyles@gmail.com.

It’s all about making sure that clean water is brought to a community in a sustainable manner. Check out “Water Services that Last,” an IRC-led initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Water Services that Last maps out the critical components that agencies need to build into their water projects to ensure long-term service delivery.

The site includes tools, case studies, news, and videos to help agencies working to bring water to communities do so sustainably. Here are some particular highlights to check out:

- Their country specific information on bringing water to communities in Uganda

- Their case-study of Water For People monitoring to ensure accountability

- And their case-study of Honduras’ monitoring system that links monitoring to improved action

“Our water resources specialists have predicted that most of the basin countries will be facing chronicle water stress by the year 2025. These statistics strengthen further the need for us to continue on the path of cooperation to plan at a basin-wide scale on how best we can develop and share the benefits from the invaluable resources of the Nile, for not only our generation but also for generations to come after us. …. Uganda, being both an upstream and downstream country and with about 98% of its water resources lying wholly in the Nile River Basin, attaches a lot of importance to trans-boundary cooperative management of shared water resources.” Hon. Maria Mutagamba, Minister of water and Environment of the Republic of Uganda. (Read additional statements from the Nile River Basin Ministers stressing the need for cooperation.)

The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) was formed on Feb. 22, 1999 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, by the Ministers responsible for Water Affairs for each of the nine member states (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda – Eritrea has an observer status). NBI shares a goal of “achieving sustainable socio-economic development through the equitable utilization of and benefit from the common Nile Basin water resources.”

On Oct. 28th, 2011, the NBI members signed the Kigali Declaration at the close of their 3rd Nile Basin Development Forum. The discussion and subsequent document focuses on mitigating the effects of climate change by respecting wetlands and biodiversity in the management of land and water resources. The Kigali Declaration further calls for increasing integrated planning and decision making and including civil society and NGO organizations in national and regional efforts to address climate change and eradicate poverty.

The need to minimize inefficiencies in the system is huge as by 2030 (less than 20 years), the world will require 40% more freshwater and 50% more food and energy.

The Three Recommendations:

1) Increased planning and policy interactions – particularly between water, energy, and food sectors.

2) Find new ways to boost resource efficiency (ie: improvements to use less water in agricultural production) while simultaneously decreasing waste.

3) Find new ways to effectively manage demand and to educate consumers to change wasteful behaviors to conserve these resources.

Cramwinckel’s research highlights the importance of the theme for World Water Day: water and food security. These resources are intrinsically linked. While we need to increase food production for increasing populations, we must be careful to do so using new techniques and innovations which decrease our water use and wastage, preserving our finite natural resources.

100 gram Vegetables = 19.5 L, 1 Tomato = 8 L, 1 Potato = 25 L, 150 gram meat = 2025 L TOTAL = 2077.5 L embedded WATER

This call to action was praised by civil society leaders (ANEW, FAN, NGO WaterAid, WSSCC, & End Water Poverty) attending the conference as a possible turning point in Africa’s sanitation crisis.

Water and sanitation infrastructure have long been a problem for development in Africa; however, it was not often made a focus by governments. Long-standing opinion believed that access to water and sanitation facilities would correlate with increasing GDP. A recent report by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) proves this view incorrect. Through case studies in 32 African nations, Senior Financial Specialist Dominick de Waal found that low-income, stable countries often outperformed fragile, low-income, resource rich countries in developing water and sanitation improvements. The key was political stability and will. In light of these finding, we may have good reason to be optimistic that governments are pledging to address these issues!

(Read “Pathways to Progress” report by World Bank WSP.)

But is that really all? When you thought of the water you use, what did you include? Showers? Drinking water? Washing machines? Toilets?

Did you include the amount of water required to grow the food you eat?

Agriculture consumes a large percentage of water resources. Just to throw out one statistic, Thomas Donlan estimated in 2008 that in California 80% of the water used in the state goes towards farming. (“To Save Water, Sell It”, Barron’ss, 2008.) Yet, we often do not include the water used to produce our food in estimates of how much water we consume.These imbedded water costs are often overlooked.

The United Nations has chosen the theme of “Water for Food Security” to bring attention to this imbedded water. By becoming aware of the amount of water it takes to produce food choices, and by adopting a diet that is less water hungry, each of us can reduce our ‘water footprint’ and help conserve needed fresh water around the world.

Check out the UN’s World Water Day 2012 Facebook page for more information and stay tuned for their official website launch. Water for People DC will be hosting a WWD event, details to come soon. We look forward to celebrating responsible water consumption with you!

‎2 cup tee = 60 L, 1 glass orange juice = 170 L, 1 glass apple juice = 190 L, 1 banana = 120 L, 3 slice bread = 80 L, 1 tomato = 8 L, 1 egg = 135 L, 1 portion cheese = 250 L TOTAL = 1013 L

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