ABSTRACT
The uptake of innovative technical solutions and water services delivery models to address climate change uncertainties has been hampered by the fragmented nature of policies and the absence of an environment that recognises and then addresses the inherent complexity of the diverse stakeholder base involved in the provision and consumption of water services. Understanding the wider context and end user acceptability of innovations has the potential to improve the uptake and subsequent impact of solutions to the pressure facing the provision of water services, particularly when set against the backdrop of climate change. This special issue focuses on the wider aspects which may contribute towards the delivery of sustainable water management and covers a range of topics including: user attitudes and perceptions to water demand management measures; approaches to understanding and influencing water end users, water-energy linkages and the interactions between community and water service delivery modes. We hope readers will find the collection of presented papers informative, with them in turn contributing towards the development of new areas of research that lead to the development of relevant and impactful solutions. We would like to thank all contributing authors for their hard work and patience in the production of this special issue.
ABSTRACT
A changing and more variable climate coupled with urbanization, population growth and shifting living standards has led towards increased frequency of extreme events (droughts and floods). Using water wisely in the built environment has the potential to enhance the resilience of urban water infrastructure to the extreme events. This special issue consists of eight papers mainly focused on aspects of water management in the built environment (i.e. residential buildings). Topics covered, include: domestic water consumption trends, hot and cold water delivery systems, effectiveness of water efficiency measures in buildings, the role of rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, and the impact of front gardens on attenuating flows and water quality. Sustainable water management in the built environment is the subject of renewed attention in many parts of the world, with public policy and the work of planners rapidly evolving and focusing on the implementation of decentralized and locally based solutions. We hope readers will find the collection of presented papers informative, with them in turn contributing towards the development of new areas of research that lead to the development of relevant and impactful solutions. We would like to thank all contributing authors for their hard work and patience in the production of this special issue.
ABSTRACT
The World Bank Loan Project for schistosomiasis in China commenced field activities in 1992. In this paper, we describe disease control strategies for levels of different endemicity, and estimate unit costs and total expenditure of screening, treatment (cattle and humans) and snail control for 8 provinces where Schistosoma japonicum infection is endemic. Overall, we estimate that more than 21 million US dollars were spent on field activities during the first three years of the project. Mollusciciding (43% of the total expenditure) and screening (28% of the total) are estimated to have the most expensive field activities. However, despite the expense of screening, a simple model predicts that selective chemotherapy could have been cheaper than mass chemotherapy in areas where infection prevalence was higher than 15%, which was the threshold for mass chemotherapy intervention. It is concluded that considerable cost savings could be made in the future by narrowing the scope of snail control activities, redefining the threshold infection prevalence for mass chemotherapy, defining smaller administrative units, and developing rapid assessment tools.