• Overview
  • Organizer and Speakers
  • More Information

Freshwater, marine, and coastal ecosystems are under increasing pressure due to their exploitation for human use and because of man-made pollution. In many instances, households, industries, and the agriculture sector produce wastewater, which is often poorly treated or not treated at all. In a world affected by water scarcity, every drop counts, and the reuse of unconventional resources such as wastewater is essential.    

Against this backdrop, focusing on nature and its restorative powers to counter challenges such as water scarcity, pollution, and climate change has become necessary and smart. These solutions are “nature-based.” Constructed wetlands, for example, help us treat wastewater without recurring to conventional treatment systems. The treatment and reuse of greywater through gravity, sand, and gravels is another example of how nature could help us give wastewater another life by using it for instance in urban greening, for reforestation and afforestation purposes, and even for groundwater recharge.

In this webinar, three panelists will discuss nature-based solutions (NbS), their role and contribution to enhancing wastewater reuse and address land-based pollution. The panelists will also present and discuss examples of nature-based solutions from the field and propose recommendations for sustainable wastewater management with the help of nature.

Join the webinar on Thursday, 3 December 2020, from 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM Nairobi time (EAT). Please register using this link.

Watch the recording on the webinar. 

 

Three Logos

Organizer

The Global Wastewater Initiative (GW²I) is a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together UN agencies, international organizations, governments, scientists, the private sector, and non-profit organizations with the goal of information-sharing and cooperation for an effective and comprehensive response to the challenges posed by wastewater management.

The GW²I is chaired by Turkey and hosted by the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), an intergovernmental cooperation mechanism that aims to prevent the degradation of the marine environment from land-based activities. Initially established to address nine source categories of marine pollution (sewage, persistent organic pollutants, radioactive substances, heavy metals, oils, nutrients, sediment mobilization, litter and physical alteration and destruction of habitat), the Programme has, since 2012, focused on marine litter, nutrient pollution, and wastewater.

Together with its partners and through the Global Wastewater Initiative, the GPA seeks to enhance the understanding of wastewater as a resource and works on various issues related to sustainable wastewater management including policy guidelines, technology, knowledge generation, capacity building, and awareness-raising that contribute to the implementation of the sustainable development goal 6, target 6.3.1, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater discharged in our water bodies.

Do you want to join the Initiative? Please submit your application.

 

Speakers

ER

Emmanuelle Cohen-Shacham – Nature-based Solutions (NbS) Thematic Group Lead, IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (CEM)

Emmanuelle Cohen-Shacham is a consultant, researcher, and group lead in the fields of nature conservation, environmental sciences, and policy, working in academic institutes, governmental and non-profit organisations. Emmanuelle has contributed to developing the IUCN work on NbS since 2014 and she leads the IUCN CEM Thematic Group on NbS. She led the publication Nature-based Solutions to address global societal challenges, the 2019 paper on the IUCN core principles for NbS, and was closely involved in the development of the Global Standard for NbS. She did her Ph.D. on ecosystem services and ecosystem management in Mediterranean wetlands, at Tel Aviv University, Israel.

SR

Sarah den Haring – Founder, GreenWater

Sarah den Haring is a water and sanitation engineer based on the Kenyan coast. She founded GreenWater 15 years ago in response to the need for preserving, treating, and recycling water and has designed and built numerous wastewater treatment, water supply, and rainwater harvesting systems since then. Approximately 18 of these are functioning reed bed/constructed wetland projects. Sarah’s wide-ranging experience includes working on sites as diverse as refugee camps, housing estates, rural communities, luxury hotels, ecolodges, and flower farms. She is a passionate believer in simple, appropriate, and affordable solutions, particularly when the result is beautiful and ecologically diverse.

KR

Keith Lamizana – MBA Candidate in Logistics/International Management, University of Ottawa

Keith Lamizana is a graduate student from the University of Ottawa, currently completing an MBA in logistics and a Master's degree in International Management. He is an enthusiast of the circular economy and believes that with intelligent designs we can bring back harmony between our economies and the natural world.

The webinar will be moderated by Riccardo Zennaro, Associate Programme Officer, UNEP.

Riccardo is an Associate Programme Officer for wastewater management at UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya. He is passionate about wastewater management and sanitation and has experience working on environmental and water-related programmes and projects in Europe and Africa. He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Technology and International Affairs.