NEWSBITS

Andreas Schönborn,

Two New Books on Treatment Wetlands in Cold Climate Areas

Guest editors of both books are Prof. Ülo Mander, Estonia, and Prof. Petter Jenssen, Norway. The first book contains papers on vertical and horizontal subsurface flow systems. The second is devoted to free surface water systems together with few seminatural wetland ecosystem studies.

For more information see: http://www.witpress.com/acatalog/subject_ecology.html

[Source: Ülo Mander, Estonia, Email]

New IWA-publication - Decentralized Sanitation and Reuse

Download the table of contents at http://www.iwapublishing.com/pdf/desar%20contents.pdf

[Source: Ecosan Newsletter 2/2001]

Anyone who is interested to review this book is invited to contact the editor ().

New UNDP / SIDA Publication on Ecological Sanitation

Esrey, Steven A.; Andersson, Ingvar; Hillers, Astrid; Sawyer, Ron: Closing the Loop - Ecological Sanitation for Food Security, SIDA publications on Water Resources No. 18, 1st edition 2001, ISBN No. 91-586-8935-4

This new publication on ecological sanitation has come out just recently. It captures experiences from Mexico, other parts of Latin America and Southern Africa.

Individuals and institutions in the South can obtain copies free of charge by contacting Ingvar Andersson at: Ingvar.andersson@undp.org or rsawyer@laneta.apc.org (copies of the Spanish-language edition)

[Source: Ecosan Newsletter 2/2001]

Anyone who is interested to review this book is invited to contact the editor ().

Forest Development in the Swiss Alps and in the South

Some parallels are stunning: About 150 years ago mudslides and floodings were a constant threat to settlements, people's lives and economic development in the Swiss Alps, due to widespread deforestation. In the following, a legislation was installed which was one of the first in the world to promote a sustainable use of the forests. Today, the Swiss forests are in a much better state than 150 years ago. Although parallels like this have their limits, the comparison is nevertheless very interesting.

The CD ROM is available in German, French and English, for both PC and Macintosh computers. It can be ordered free of charge at:

Direktion für Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit
Abt. Umwelt, Wald und Energie
CH-3003 Bern
Switzerland

[Source: wwf magazin, Switzerland, 5/2000, in German]

WATERSAVE - Water Reclamation System Design Tool

The program was developed as an aid to designers of innovative household water systems, which might include wastewater recycling, water conservation, use of rain water as a complete supplementary source, and on-site wastewater disposal.

The program can represent water and wastewater flows in a residential system, calculate concentrations of a given parameter throughout the system, and determine the distribution of heat and water temperatures in the system. It can also assist in determining the capacity and efficiency of a rain water cistern system as an alternative water source.

The program does not design system components; it depends on user-provided information to define the configuration of the system, water use, raw and treated water quality and treatment efficiencies, and energy inputs and energy recovery options.

Sponsored by CMHC this work was carried out by Don Waller of Daltech, Nova Scotia, Canada.

WATERSAVE can be downloaded from http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/imquaf/himu/wacon/wacon_067.cfm . In order to use the WaterSave download, you must have WinZip installed on your computer.

[Source/Text taken from: http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/imquaf/himu/wacon/wacon_067.cfm]

Anyone who is interested to test and review this software is invited to contact the editor ().

Ecosan Newsletter / Ecosan Proceedings

• Deutsch: http://www.gtz.de/ecosan/docs/NL2_Dt.pdf
• Espanol: http://www.gtz.de/ecosan/docs/NL2_Esp.pdf
• Français: http://www.gtz.de/ecosan/docs/NL2_Fr.pdf
• English: http://www.gtz.de/ecosan/docs/NL2_Eng.pdf

The proceedings of the Ecosan Conference in Bonn, October 2000, can now be downloaded as PDF file at http://www.gtz.de/ecosan/docs/ecosan~1.pdf.

[Source: Ecosan Newsletter 2/2001]

Statement by the Participants of the 10th International Conference on Rainwater Catchment Systems, Mannheim, Germany, 10-14 September, 2001

The ability to collect rainwater empowers women and men in many countries of the world to secure the livelihood of their families. It is proving a vital aspect of the fight against poverty and contributes substantially to improved management of water at micro, community and city level. Proper husbandry of rainwater is a key aspect of integrated water resources management as it enhances groundwater recharge, balances water resources demands, and favours ecological sustainability.

Since 1982 the International Rainwater Catchments Systems Association (IRCSA) has globally promoted awareness and information exchange on rainwater. In its 10th Conference, held at Mannheim, Germany, from September 10-14, 2001, the IRCSA has noted with appreciation the increasing capacity and documentation for rainwater harvesting around the world.

Over 400 participants representing 68 countries and many different organisations, gathered to review and exchange experiences and information on enhancing collection and effective use of rainwater for drinking, agriculture, industry, fresh water and ecology. IRCSA acknowledges with gratitude the contributions of the many local and international sponsors who facilitated the holding of the Conference.

The participants have taken note of the important progress that has been made in the last few years, both in developing countries and developed countries, in all aspects of rainwater harvesting.

The 10th IRCSA Conference offered substantive information about planning, design, management and maintenance of systems, for rural and urban applications. It addressed aspects of water quality, information and awareness raising, agricultural use and environmental applications.

The case studies and papers of the Conference clearly demonstrate the potential of rainwater harvesting, to provide safe water and create economic opportunities for households and communities through increased water security, to safeguard fresh water resources in water-stressed urban areas, to reverse the trend of degradation of water resources and to contribute to ecologically sound management of rainfall and run-off.

We are encouraged by these findings and conclude that the mix of indigenous and new knowledge on rainwater now allows its increased use in a more effective way to secure access to fresh water for all people.

We urge the International Conference on Freshwater, scheduled for December 3-7, 2001, in Bonn to review the potential of rainwater harvesting as a critical part of our common freshwater resource and advance its proper utilisation through appropriate strategies and policies.

We trust the Bonn Freshwater Conference will forward our common rainwater experience to the 2002 World Summit in Johannesburg as an example of progress in Agenda 21and as a contribution to poverty alleviation, sustainable development and environmental management.

We recall the vibrant debate on rainwater during the 2000 World Water Forum in The Hague and acknowledge gratefully the keen interest shown by the Kyoto World Water Forum 2003 to foster the application of rainwater harvesting as a prime people solution for water security and livelihood.

Lastly, we look forward to receiving the stimulating directions and inputs of these important global people, water and environment conferences to our next IRCSA Conference, scheduled for September 2003 in Mexico.

[Source: Email by Ines Rieder, IRCSA, received Sep. 24, 2001]

Joint Project "Bewachsene Bodenfilter"

The EcoEng-Newsletter will try to pick up and summarize the recent development in a future issue. For more information see also http://www.bodenfilter.de [in German]

New Masters Degree in Ecological Engineering (Ingenieurökologie)

Contact:
Prof. Jörg Pfadenhauer
Lehrstuhl für Vegetationsökologie
Tel. (08161) 71- 3498, Fax -4143, E-mail: pfadenha@weihenstephan.de

Info: http://www.wzw.tum.de/studium/StdfakLuL/text_ingoek_master_09-02-2001.html [in German]

Administration has moved to Estonia

Andreas Schönborn

FARMS - Software for Monitoring Farm Performance

FARMS is based on the database management program FoxPro and was developed by Aavishkar Software Consultancies in Madras, working in close collaboration with AME. The package allows quick data entry, cross- checks and has the potential to rapidly analyse the various aspects of farm management including the results of financial performance, agricultural production, labour requirements, nutrient, energy and groundwater balances and also to provide sustainability indicators at plot, crop, crop group, enterprise and farm level.

AGRICULTURE MAN ECOLOGY
PO Box 7836
J.P Nagar
Bangalore 560 078
India.
Phone: +91-80-6642835 / 642303
Fax: +91-80-6653471.
E-Mail: amebang@giasbg01.vsnl.net.in

Running the FARMS programme requires the following equipment:

IBM compatible PC with 80386 processor; 4 Mb RAM, VGA monitor; 240 Mb hard disk drive; 1.44 Mb floppy disk drive; 2 serial ports, 1 parallel port; 101-key keyboard; 132-column dot matrix printer; DOS version 6.0 or later. The FARMS program can be obtained from AME or Aavishkar Software Consultancies and costs US$ 180.00.

[Source: Centre for Research and Information on Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture, http://www.oneworld.org/ileia/farms.htm]

American Ecological Engineering Society Founded

Dear colleagues:

I am very happy to announce to the IEES Board and membership and our own Ecological Engineering Editorial Board the establishment of an American Ecological Engineering Society (AEES) effective 2001. Having just started, AEES only has 137 members currently, very few of whom are also members of IEES.

This organization, first discussed at a meeting in May 1999, is the result of a collaboration of many engineers and scientists in North America who wanted to:

1. establish accreditation of ecological engineering and ecology in American universities and engineering accrediting organizations, and
2. get the journal Ecological Engineering in as many hands as possible throughout the world. The journal was not as well known in North America as it is in Europe, and this will help to alleviate that problem.

Most AEES members will receive the journal Ecological Engineering as is already the case with IEES. Other organizations such as IWA are also considering adopting Ecological Engineering for their members.

Perhaps in a couple years, AEES and IEES might want to consider co-sponsoring a meeting on the North American continent.

Best wishes from Columbus,

Bill Mitsch

AEES e-mail: ecoeng@osu.edu
Information on the web: http://swamp.ag.ohio-state.edu/ecoeng/AEES_a.html

[Source: Bill Mitsch, January 20, 2001]

UNEP.net - The United Nations Environment Network

The UNEP web portal covers topics such as Climate, Biodiversity, Arctic or Water. It offers a huge database on environmental information, such as e.g. environmental profiles of various countries.

Certainly a valuable source for anyone who wants to get an overview about global environmental topics. However, be careful, don't get lost!

[Source: oekomedia.org newsletter May 2001]