Think Pieces reviewed and written by Lakshmi and Seetha Ram

Just one visit to any major city in India will show, without needingstatistical proof that basic municipal services in Indian cities generally lag behind world standards in both quantity and quality. In fact, Asia’s widest quantity gaps compared with industrialised countries are in water and sanitation while the narrowest gap is in telecommunications (See Table 1). The time is now ripe for Asian countries, particularly cities in India, during the financial crisis, to target the investment in basic public infrastructure– most importantly drinking water, sanitation and wastewater treatment. We make three points in support of the above arguments: • Since 1990, the annual growth of the proportion of population with access to an improved water source in Asia has been a dismal 0.90 per cent.1 At this rate, Asia will take another half a century to reach the 24- hour safe drinking water supply of industrialised countries. However, Asia has credible success stories in Japan, South ...

By Henrylito D. Tacio Buckets flew fast from supermarket shelves across Kuala Lumpur as nearly one million people stock up on water just before important repairs of a major water treatment plant would start in August 2001. Their reaction stemmed from memories of a miserable six months of severe water rationing in 1998. In Beijing, the announcement of shutting down its water system following a chemical plant explosion in November 2005 sparked panic-buying of bottled water, milk and soft drinks that left supermarket shelves empty. Due to a prolonged dry spell that lowered water levels in several dams, including the Angat Dam which supplies 97 percent of water needs of the estimated 12 million residents of metropolis in July 2007, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales asked churchgoers and schools to pray for rain. These water problems are just dress rehearsals for what will happen in the coming years. “If the present unsatisfactory trends continue, in one or two decades, ...

Tommy Koh & Seetharam Kallidaikurichi, Straits Times 26 Jun 09; THE global financial crisis and the resulting economic recession have had a significant impact on the world in the past 12 months. Nevertheless, there is one silver lining in the dark clouds. Almost every affected country has enacted stimulus packages to slow the recession and to stimulate domestic consumption. Some governments, such as China, have devoted a significant share of their stimulus packages to improve water infrastructure. It was gratifying to hear from the president of the Asian Development Bank, Mr Haruhiko Kuroda, and the vice-president of the World Bank, Mr James Adams, that their institutions have increased their funding for water and sanitation projects at a time when private credit is hard to raise. We appeal to governments to think beyond the current economic crisis and continue to create conducive conditions for the private sector to participate in the provision of water and sanitation serv...

July 10, 2009 Busting 6 myths about water governance By Seetharam Kallidaikurichi & Eduardo Araral A RECENT conference held at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy mulled over how the performance of the water sector might be boosted. On the theme that water governance matters, six myths were delved into and lessons learnt. First, water governance is not about forming another consumer association or enacting one more law. Instead, it is all about leadership that can bring change in the behaviour of people responsible for managing and operating water resources. Second, private sector involvement is not a panacea for urban water problems. One must adopt 'best sourcing' principles and be able to manage the critical components of one's water infrastructure. Singapore's Public Utilities Board has done this remarkably well. Third, waste water reclamation is not an option only for a few water-stressed cities in the Middle East or Singapore. It has to becom...

Singapore's water management expertise is highly valued in Beijing, but how long will China keep paying for it? 2009-12-01   As a tiny island nation, Singapore is surrounded by water, but until recently there was barely a drop to drink. With no rivers or lakes and a scant supply of groundwater, the country was forced to import 80% of its freshwater from Malaysia, a country that it broke away from - not without unpleasantness - in 1965. But Singapore has managed to make both a virtue and a substantial profit out of necessity. "Historically, Singapore simply wanted to protect herself from the vulnerability of not having sufficient fresh water. However, it has gone way beyond that point," said Dr K.E. Seetharam, founding director of the Water Policy Institute at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and board director at the Asia Infrastructure Project Development Company (AIPD). Today, Singapore has cut its dependence ...