Releasing the manual was Dr. Thammarat Koottatep of Environmental
Engineering and Management (EEM) of AIT’s School of Environment,
Resources and Development (SERD) along with senior colleagues at APUF6.
Those who attended the event included Mr. Donovan Storey, Chief of
Sustainable Urban Development Section, UN-ESCAP; Mr. Avi Sarkar,
Technical Advisor, UN-Habitat; Dr. Aida Karazhanova, UN-ESCAP; Mr.
Ramdeep Sah, Joint Secretary, Water and Environment Division, Ministry
of Urban Development, Nepal; Mr. Kulwant Singh, Chief Technical Advisor
United Nations Human Settlements Programme; Mr. Noupeuk Virabouth,
Deputy Director General, Department of Housing and Urban Planing,
Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Lao PDR; and
Mr. Kazushi HASHIMOTO, Adviser to Japan Sanitation
Consortium.
The manual is an outcome of a joint UN ESCAP and UN-Habitat project on
“Strengthening capacity of policymakers in South-East Asia to promote
policies and developing plans for improved wastewater treatment and
reuse in urban and periurban areas.” The project intended to address
the fast-growing problem of untreated wastewater through promotion of
Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS). It also includes
outcomes obtained from three national workshops in Lao PDR, Cambodia
and Vietnam and two regional workshops.
In their joint foreword, Mr. Raekwon Chung, Director, Environment and
Development Division, UN ESCAP and Mr. Alioune Badiane, Director of
Project and Program Division, UN-Habitat state that “the publication
has been developed based on experience of policy makers of South-East
Asia and consultations with relevant stakeholders at country and
regional level.” This manual provides a step-by-step guide on
development and implementation of DEWATS in developing countries of the
region.
The Policy Guidance Manual is available at this link:
http://www.unescap.org/resources/policy-guidance-manual-wastewater-management
Release of Policy Guidance Manual at the Sixth Asia Pacific Urban
Forum, Jakarta, Indonesia.