What are the problems in other countries on water pollution including the ways they deal with these problems?
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:1 | Stop polluting
There is a common belief that huge infrastructure will solve the problem, but mega-projects are causing huge problems because they deal with all sorts of polluted water. When household water, industry water and rainwater are mixed, treatment becomes more complex and more expensive. The best way to stop pollution is not to clean the polluted water, but to stop polluting.
2 | Protect government sovereignty
El Salvador has had a moratorium on metal mining in place since 2008. This is a powerful example of a small country standing up to industry. Unfortunately, El Salvador is now facing a lawsuit by Canadian-Australian mining giant Oceana Gold for acting in the interest of its own population. If this company actually got its way and were able to build its massive gold mine, it would jeopardise the Lempa River watershed, which is the source of drinking water for more than two-thirds of the population of El Salvador, and is also shared by Honduras and Guatemala. Meera Karunananthan, international water campaigner, Blue Planet Project
3 | Teach children about pollution
We believe in the role of children as change agents and have been supporting ministries of education in each country we work in on a curriculum for health, hygiene and environmental resources. It is a slow process but if students aren’t learning the importance of protecting natural resources from parents and grandparents, they must learn it in schools with their brothers and sisters.
4 | Inform the public
It’s all about information; the power is in knowing about laws and regulations so people can demand they are enforced. The government takes a lot of time to inform the community about water quality conditions, so we take the responsibility to inform and empower people with accurate information about health, the environment, as well as the laws and civil rights we have. We have also installed a lab so that we can take a weekly sample of our coastline’s water to monitor its quality and publish the results on our own app, because the results given by the government are taken monthly, published too late and are not accessible to the public. Margarita Diaz López, director, Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental AC
5 | Enhance the role of civil society
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Giving civil society a voice is crucial. This can be done through citizens’ surveys and citizen report cards, improved grievance mechanisms, awareness campaigns, handling customers complaints as part of regulatory systems, and participation in watershed/river basin organisations.
6 | Respect community rights
Central governments with the power to grant concessions must respect the rights of communities to say no to environmentally destructive projects, and the rights of indigenous communities to prior and informed consent before permits and concessions are granted.
7 | Treat wastewater at home
Here in Tijuana, we have three treatment plants, but the energy to move the sewage to the treatment plant is more expensive, and the clean water is not reused. The solution is that each households and businesses should treat and reuse their water on site, instead of counting on the government, because it is cheaper and more efficient. Margarita Diaz López
8 | Promote healthy watersheds
Native ecosystems can contribute to reducing the level of contaminants and sediments by their own filtering capacity. We must emphasise the importance of the water services provided by nature, as well as to recognise the fundamental role local communities and smallholders have when they conserve and restore native ecosystems. This will be more and more critical to guarantee water quality and quantity in perpetuity. Fernando Veiga, Latin America freshwater manager, the Nature Conservancy
9 | Democratise water management
Local communities need mechanisms to help them decide how to manage their water. Leaving decisions to democratically-elected governments and development agencies that condition loans is a huge risk, whereas communities are likely to be more concerned about the long-term effects of decisions. Of course, democracy takes more time, but since water is life, this is a matter of life and death. Claudia Campero
The human right to water: Salvadoran NGOs and a global campaign