Browsing by Author "Matz, Manfred"

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On the Verge of a New Water Scarcity: A Call for Good Governance and Human Ingenuity
(2007) Falkenmark, Malin; Berntell, Anders; Jägerskog, Anders; Lundqvist, Jan; Matz, Manfred; Tropp, Håkan
From p. 3: "The 2006 Human Development Report, 'Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Crisis,' (United Nations Development Programme 2006) considered water scarcity from two points of view: (1) as a crisis arising from a lack of services that provide safe water and (2) as a crisis caused by scarce water resources. It concluded that the world’s water crisis is not related to the physical availability of water, but to unbalanced power relations, poverty and related inequalities. The focus now being placed on the importance of governance makes clear the importance of issues such as unfair power structures, and weakly defined roles, rights and responsibilities. These, it is felt, exacerbate natural water scarcity. This way of thinking has been useful in that it has increased our understanding of the need to manage demand as well as to increase supply. However, while governance remains a key challenge, we also need to better understand the issue of 'water crowding' – as increasing pressure is being placed on finite, erratically available and vulnerable water resources. Recognising this is the key to proper policy formulation. Rather than addressing management/governance problems, many countries still instinctively reach for supply-side solutions such as desalination or the use of reservoirs and other large-scale infrastructure. Such an approach is often the most politically feasible option within the context of a country or region’s water problems."
Planning for Drinking Water and Sanitation in Peri-Urban Areas
(2007) Norström, Anna; Malmqvist, Per-Arne; Martinsen, Cecilia; Matz, Manfred; Lexén, Karin; Evans, Barbara; Kain, Jaan-Henrik; Lundéhn, Christina; Wittgren, H. B.; Kärrman, Erik; Kvarnström, Elisabeth
"Safe drinking water, good sanitation and hygiene are fundamental to people’s health, survival, growth and development. Yet, roughly one-sixth of the world’s population lacks access to safe water, and around two-fifths lack adequate sanitation. In terms of human suffering and financial loss the costs are enormous. In developing countries, for example, the costs of disease and productivity losses linked to inadequate clean water and sanitation are equivalent to 2% of gross domestic product. Children are particularly hard hit, as dirty water and poor sanitation account for most of the 5000 childhood deaths that occur every day from diarrhea. Water-related diseases also prevent them from attending school – costing 443 million school days every year. Lack of water and sanitation also raises serious issues of personal safety and dignity, particularly in urban areas. Girls in both rural and urban areas drop out of school when they reach puberty, for instance, because toilets are not available that offer any privacy. Women may also drop out of the urban workforce for the same reason. In urban areas issues of personal safety may mean that many people, particularly women and girls, cannot leave their houses at night to go to the toilet. As a result, they are forced to simply throw excreta into the dirty and poorly drained streets outside their homes."
The Right (?) of Access (?) to Water Supply and Sanitation (?): A Polemic about Mixing Issues
(2006) Matz, Manfred
"Twenty-five years of on-the-ground experience in water policy advisory service has taught SIWI’s Manfred Matz a lot. One lesson he has learned is that, not surprisingly, water professionals may say one thing but mean another. In this article, Mr. Matz describes how something as simple as terminology can cause confusion for those inside and outside of the water sector."