Dear friends and colleagues,

During this year, we have accepted fewer assignments, in anticipation of closing our consulting company at the end of the year. Now we are almost at the end of 2001, and it is time to say good bye. After nearly thirteen years, Kalbermatten Associates, Incorporated, will cease to exist at the end of the day on December 31, 2001.

It has been an exciting, challenging and stimulating thirteen years (and a lot of fun!), and for this our thanks go out to everyone that we have been lucky enough to work with. We may not have agreed completely on specifics, but despite rare disagreements (almost always amicable), we are happy to think that we were usually united in a common objective. We believe that together we have managed to accomplish a lot, and many people that we have sought to help are today much better off as a result of our joint efforts.

Those who know us well will not be surprised that we are still dissatisfied with the slow progress in improving environmental sanitation in developing countries. To us it seems so self-evident that this should be a high priority for governments and donors, and yet politicians remain obstinately myopic, reluctant to listen to our advice and to devote adequate resources and attention to the subject! Retiring when the job has still to be completed is difficult.

Nevertheless, when we look back to 1976, when we launched the "appropriate technology” drive at the World Bank, it is comforting to recall how much has changed. In those days the Bank paid little attention to women’s role in development, did not understand that water supply and sanitation had a social dimension, was horrified when we recruited weird staff members such as social anthropologists and communications specialists (females, at that!), and had difficulty recognizing any sanitation solution other than conventional sewerage and "modern” treatment. In the 25 years that have elapsed since then, we can at least take comfort in the fact that "business as usual” - at least as it was practiced in the mid-‘70s - is no longer regarded as acceptable.

Hopefully, the younger members of what once was called the "water mafia" will be able to achieve the targets we have failed to meet. To the extent we can contribute, we will continue to do so. Although retired and planning to spend more time with family, especially grandchildren, we are not yet too decrepit or exhausted to undertake occasional assignments when opportunities arise where our experience could be of help.

Please accept our best wishes for the holiday season, a prosperous 2002, and success in the continuing efforts towards water and sanitation for all.

John and Richard

Source: John Kalbermatten, via email, Dec. 18, 2001

IEES is planning to develop three eLearning course modules on Ecological Engineering in 2002 and 2003. The current project idea is the following:

• Should teach hands-on knowledge about Ecological Engineering methods and technologies
• Target group: practitioners, engineers and administrators in the developing world, as well as consultants in the developed countries.
• Time request: 4-6 weeks for each module to be completed
• Available via the internet (e.g. using email, chatrooms and/or discussion boards)

Our aim is to develop a stimulating course setting where participants can learn and share their problems and questions with colleagues from all over the world, while working through the course material. We are planning to combine information on the principles and technologies of Ecological Engineering with support for the implementation of socially, financially and ecologically sustainable projects.

In the current concept phase, we need input from the Ecological Engineering community on the two following questions:

• What kind of topics would you like to see covered by eLearning modules on Ecological Engineering?
• What are your personal needs that these modules should fulfil in order to be useful for your work?

If you want to contribute your ideas at this early stage, please fill out our response form. We will keep informed our responders about the progress of this initiative.

Thank you for your cooperation. In the name of the project team

Andreas Schoenborn-Schaller
EcoEng-online co-editor

The First International Conference on Ecological Sanitation was held in Nanning, China, as scheduled from 5 to 9 November 2001. There were 300 participants from 30 countries. A report from the conference is under preparation and will be available on http://www.wkab.se/ sometime in December.

As a follow-up of the conference the organizers are conducting an Internet Dialogue on ecological sanitation from 15 November to 20 December 2001. The Dialogue will enable you to continue the discussions initiated in Nanning and will also provide an opportunity for those of you who could not come to Nanning to join in the discussions.

To join and read messages go to http://segate.sunet.se/archives/et-w11.html or address an email to listserv@segate.sunet.se and use the subscription command: SUB ET-W11 yourfirstname yourlastname, country

Source: http://www.wkab.se/

as. Can't afford to fly to Kiwi-land? Join the electronic extension of the EcoEng conference that will take place in Christchurch, Nov. 25-29. At http://www.ias.unu.edu/proceedings/icibs/iees-nz/ you find access to almost all papers of the conference plus a number of discussion groups. A list of FAQ's helps you to navigate through the rather complex structure. Get tuned and join in!

During the International Conference on Freshwater in Bonn, the gtz-ecosan-project will organise the side event "Ecological Sanitation - Closed-Loop Approaches in Wastewater Management and Sanitation" on Wednesday, December 5, 2001 from 12.30 to 14.30 p.m. Interested parties are invited cordially to attend. Only those participants who have officially been registered and accredited by the conference secretariat will be allowed to attend the side-events because of the very official diplomatic caracter of the Conference on Freshwater.

The programme offers the oportunity to to hear and discuss diverse interesting presentations of international lecturers about their latest work in the sector.

Snacks will be served during the event.

PROGRAMME:

• Christine Werner, GTZ supra-regional R&D-project ecosan, Germany:
  "ecosan - activities and pilot demonstration projects of german
  international development cooperation
• Ingvar Andersson, Senior Water Policy Advisor, UNDP, New York, Bengt Johansson, Head of Division, Sida, Stockholm:
  "Outcome of the ecological sanitation conference, Nanning, China and future
  priorities in the development of ecosan"
• Maimuna Nalubega, Makarere Universiy, Uganda:
  "ecosanet - concept of a world-wide network on ecological sanitation"
• Roland Schertenleib, EAWAG/SANDEC, Switzerland:
  "Sector policy environmental sanitation of WSSCC: Bellagio-Principles and Household Centered Environmentral Sanitation Approach"
• Jan-Olof Drangert, Linköping University, Sweden:
  "Highlights of current ecosan research in Sweden"

For further information concerning the conference, see http://www.water-2001.de

Source: GTZ-Ecosan Newsletter

The NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply & Sanitation (NGO Forum) has recently developed and hosted a website on its on-going "Action Research on Rain Water Harvesting in Bangladesh": http://www.ngof-rwhs-arp.org

The Forum requests the concerned specialists, resource persons and individuals, and also the organisations/agencies/bodies/forums engaged actively in the promotion of rain water harvesting to help make it an important and highly beneficial resource for all.

Source: S.M.A. Rashid, Executive Director, NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply & Sanitation, Dhaka, Bangla Desh, via Email

UNDP's Bureau for Development Policy is launching the second phase of the Public-Private Partnerships for the Urban Environment facility (PPPUE). At the core of the newly designed programme is a new grant facility which awards pioneering PPP projects and policies with Innovative Partnership Grants. UNDP now invites project proposals for this ground breaking initiative.

The Innovative Partnership Grant (IPG) offers an opportunity to National and Local Governments, CBOs, Municipal Associations, Chambers of Commerce, NGOs etc. to propose innovative projects related to public-private partnership development at the local level. Proposals can target one or more of the following areas

• Establishing adequate policy, legal and institutional frameworks for public-private partnerships at the local level
• Building local capacity for public-private partnerships
• Designing and implementing innovative partnership arrangements

All UNDP Programme Countries are eligible for the PPPUE/IPG support. All proposals will be evaluated by an independent selection committee and the best and most innovative PPP projects will be awarded an Innovative Partnership Grant. For further details please download the application pack from the PPPUE website at www.undp.org/pppue or send an e-mail to pppue@undp.org to receive the pack by e-mail. Applications are excepted in English, French and Spanish. Application forms in French and Spanish will be available at the end of October 2001 from the website or e-mail address.

The first deadline for proposals is November 30, 2001. All projects must be submitted through the local UNDP Country Office. First disbursements for selected proposals are expected in February 2002. For further questions please contact the PPPUE Management Unit in Pretoria at pppue@undp.org.

Please feel free to forward this message to your colleagues and networks!

UNDP looks forward to receiving outstanding proposals for the PPPUE Innovative Partnership Grant in support of
UNDP's goal to foster partnerships with the private sector for poverty reduction.

Source: jenny.rigby@UNDP.ORG

Ecological Analysis of US University Building Indicates Huge Potential Savings

A Penn State Green Destiny Council research team has just completed an ecological analysis of Mueller Laboratory (a campus biology building) and will release their findings formally to the University on October 11th, at 12:10pm (local time) on the Patio of Old Main.

The most surprising result of the report is that changes which foster environmental stewardship will save significant amounts of money - over US$45,000 per year in electricity savings alone.

The analysis reveals that by increasing efficiency, using "smart" technologies, and increasing environmental awareness Mueller, among other things, could:

• cut coal consumption by 755 tons and in the process cut CO₂ emissions by nearly 2,000 tons per year.
• cut water use by over 100,000 gallons a year.
• cut paper consumption by 67%.
• dramatically reduce waste associated with the disposal of transparencies, diskettes, computers, carpeting, furniture, and printer cartridges.
• significantly reduce VOCs, and caustic and toxic chemicals associated with carpeting, paints, cleaning agents and pest control.

All these things could be done while in no way compromising the research, teaching, and administrative functions of Mueller occupants.

If it is assumed that Mueller's resource consumption and waste generation for basic materials (e.g., of paper, computing devices, electricity) are typical of other PSU buildings, the savings would be several million dollars a year.

The full text of the Mueller report can be found at http://www.bio.psu.edu/greendestiny/publications/gdc-mueller_report.pdf

Source: Joshua Pearce, via Email

The meeting will take plave on November 1 & 2, 2001 in Catamaran Resort Hotel, San Diego, California. It is organized by the Californian Alliance for Distributed Energy Resources, a "voluntary alliance", as they call themselves. Please find the brochure (MS Word) at http://www.ias.unu.edu/proceedings/icibs/ibs/info/usa/DGE-notice04.doc. Additional conference info can be found at: http://www.cader.org/Conference.html

Source: Michel Theroux

as. International Ecological Engineering Society (IEES) Conference on Ecological Engineering for Landscape Services and Products (25-29 Nov. 2001), Lincoln Univ., Christchurch, New Zealand http://events.lincoln.ac.nz/iees/default.htm

If you have come to know of the Conference for the first time, please check its homepage as you may be interested to be in Christchurch.

To those of you who are unable to attend the Conf. in New Zealand, IBSnet will extend the Conference over Internet to enable you to interact by email with the authors/participants as well as other participants. Abstracts of about 70 papers will be available on the web in November 2001. For more information, see http://www.ias.unu.edu/proceedings/icibs/iees-nz

To receive more information on the electronic extension by email, please join the electronic mailing list ET-W6 , just email listserv@segate.sunet.se and use the following subscription command: SUB ET-W6 yourfirstname yourlastname, country or join via http://segate.sunet.se/archives/et-w6.html

regards

Jacky Foo

Coordinator-IBSnet (Integrated Bio-Systems Network)
International Organization of Biotechnology and Bioengineering
http://www.ias.unu.edu/proceedings/icibs/ibs/ibsnet

For more information see http://www.ecological-engineering.com/new.html#jobs

Source: D.del Porto, Sustainable Strategies

as. According to the Ecosan - Newsletter, No 1, June 2001, the "Ecosan" project has been started on May 1, 2001 by the German GTZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit).

For more information (including the proceedings of the Ecosan Symposium of last fall) see http://www.gtz.de/ecosan .

If you want to subscribe to the Ecosan Newsletter, please contact owner-ecosan@mailserv.gtz.de The newsletter is available in English, French and Spanish.

Date: 11 - 29 June 2001
Title: Improvement of nutritive quality of crop by-products using bioprocess technique and their uses for animals
Presented by: Dr. Bachtar Bakrie (Indonesia)

Abstract:
The nutritive quality of crop by-products may be improved through bioprocess technique known as a solid state fermentation using Aspergillus niger. The use of this technique on some crop by-products as well as their uses as animal feeds are reviewed in this paper. It has been reported by some scientists that this bioprocess has caused an increase in the crude protein contents of cassava roots (from 3% to 18-42%), cassava leaves (from 19% to 26%), cassava fibre (from 1.5% to 18.5%), sago fibre (from 3% to 16.5%) and cocoa shells (from 16.5% to 21.9%). The improvement in the nutritive quality of these by products is followed by a significant increase in their inclusion in animal diets compared to those of unfermented ones. This technique has been used on feeding trials using animals both in experimental station and in the field. More work is needed to be done in order to simplified the technique so that it can be applied easily for smallholder farmers.

Background Materials will be available on the IBSnet Web site and to be announced later via ET-W2@segate.sunet.se

E-Seminar Room: http://segate.sunet.se/archives/et-w2.html or ET-W2@segate.sunet.se

Contact for more information: Jacky Foo <foo@swipnet.se>

Mailing List: There are 3 ways to join the LISTSERV mailing list for the e-seminar

• (a) send an email to listserv@segate.sunet.se and use the registration command:
  SUB ET-W2 yourfirstname yourlastname, country
  e.g. SUB ET-W2 Bachtar Bakrie, Indonesia
• (b) go to http://segate.sunet.se/archives/et-w2.html and join by following instructions given
• (c) seek personal assistance from foo@swipnet.se

Participation Fee:
There is a participation fee which enable you to participate in all other IBSnet "special" activities of 2001. Participation fee for 2001 is calculated as 1 per cent (%) of your average month's salary. For example, if your monthly salary is 2,000,000 Indonesian Rp, then your participation fee is 20,000 Rp. for 2001. More information is provided when you join the mailing list and at http://www.ias.unu.edu/proceedings/icibs/ibs/ibsnet/bb-sem.html

Source: Jackie Foo

as. The update by Helen Shrewsbury (co-organizer of the next IEES conference in New Zealand, November 2001), can be downloaded here (290kB).

as. The Institute of Agricultural Engineering at the Agricultural University of Norway is now announcing its annual summer course "Ecological Engineering for Wastewater Treatment. The announcement can be downloaded here (175kB).

World Water Day on 22 March 2001 is a global advocacy and awareness-raising activity. It is dedicated this year to focus attention on water and health issues. The prime objective is to impact opinion on how to improve the current condition of water and health around the world.

A number of events will be organised around the globe on 22 March. Examples include: a 24-hour internet discussion about water between students aged 14 years and above, official WWD ceremonies in Morocco, school competitions, open days and articles in the press in the South Pacific. National celebrations are planned in Bhutan and Turkey. Italy, United States of America, New Zealand will have WWD festivals and public events.

For details see: http://www.worldwaterday.org/events.html . Let us know what you are planning by sending in the information to jong@irc.nl or through the Event section on the website http://www.worldwaterday.org/feedback.

Source: Darren Saywell