According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, ecosystem services are defined as the benefits people obtain from ecosystems, split into four categories of provisioning, supporting, regulating and cultural services. Because they are so beneficial in a variety of ways, the international community has begun to monitor and monetize these services, in addition to advocating for environmental [...]
Rural villages around the world lack reliable access to water and technology. Like a broken record, a common mistake made my aid groups that go into such communities is the failure to properly teach local groups how to properly care for, use, and integrate complex, expensive equipment. It breaks and becomes a physical reminder of [...]
SciDev.Net reports the success of a mobile phone application that can be used by low-cost feature phones to monitor local water quality via SMS. The Water Quality Reporter (WQR) can be used to check microbiological contamination, and carry out residual chlorine and hydrogen sulphide tests. The application was developed using open source programming and iCOMMS [...]
Integration of environmental data is critical for water. WISDOM, a Vietnamese-German project, is an inspirational model of how watershed management leads to sustainable use and preservation of water resources. WISDOM combines information from hydrology, sociology, information technology, and earth observation for its implementation of an Information System for the Mekong Delta. The Mekong Delta struggles [...]
WaterWiki.net, a UNDP, UN-Water initiative recently relaunched and added more features such as a LinkedIn discussion forum. WaterWiki is a useful resource and popular forum for practitioners and agencies. It features over 800 articles, case studies and reports. Some of the best features: articles with embedded videos on specific projects over a hundred national case studies [...]
Telecom operator Orange Kenya has asked the government for a KES 10 billion ($120 million) bailout, news reports revealed on Wednesday. The move comes as the company continues to incur massive debts following its 2007 buyout by France Telecom. Orange made a record loss of KES 18.2 billion in 2011 and needs to raise KES 5.8 billion [...]
Amobilefuture released a free app called Pollution that features realtime air quality on an interactive geolocative regularly updated map for more than 1,380 cities worldwide. The app takes advantage of 100,000 base stations worldwide, allowing anyone to track measured exposures to electromagnetic, air and water pollution. It also monitors pollution and emissions to soil. It provides [...]
mw4d launches new site mw4d, a research initiative that uses mobile technology for water management in Africa launched a new website in January. mw4d is based within the Oxford Water Futures Program at the University of Oxford. The site highlights projects and resources for innovative mobile applications that “help achieve water security and reduce poverty” [...]
The World Bank and several technology partners held the first global WaterHackathon, inviting computer programmers, designers and other ICT specialists to develop solutions to water and sanitation (WASH) development challenges. The hackathon took place simultaneously in ten locations, including Washington DC, Nairobi, Bangalore, and Lima. The World Bank reports that “nearly 1000 people registered worldwide [...]
