In all of this, it is the poor in rural and peri-urban areas that suffer the most. More than one billion people are without access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people lack basic sanitation. Each year, some 1.7 million people (4,740 every day) die because of deficient water and sanitation. If these current figures are shocking, the outlook is no better. By 2025, it is estimated that more than half of the people on our planet will be living with water scarcity. The 21 case studies contained in this volume offer examples of hands-on experience in addressing these issues and others in 18 countries of the South. Together, they offer vital lessons to people interested in their replication or adaptation. However, they by no means represent the entire range of similar initiatives now being undertaken throughout the global South; this would go beyond the scope of our particular knowledge-sharing objective. This volume therefore aims not only to inspire countries and communities to draw upon these innovations for their own needs but also to stimulate the international community to support the sharing of such development knowledge on a South- South and a triangular basis.

1. Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our gratitude to the many
individuals and institutions that contributed to the
planning and execution of this project.
The project, including a workshop held at Trieste, Italy, from 24-26
August 2004 and the publication of this volume, was funded by the Special
Unit for South-South Cooperation (SSC) of the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO), the Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO)
and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS). TWAS and
TWNSO organized the workshop at their headquarters in Trieste and were
responsible for collecting and editing the case studies, while the Special Unit
for SSC was responsible for publishing the volume.
In all, 20 case studies were presented at the workshop. An additional
case study is included in this volume although the author was unable to
travel to Trieste at that time. The workshop was also attended by two guest
speakers, Mohammed El-Ashry, ex-Chairman of the Global Environment
Facility (GEF), and Richard Meganck, rector and Professor of
Environmental Resources at the Institute for Water Education of the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO-IHE), the Netherlands. The two guest speakers presented both
an overview of the problems associated with safe drinking water and sani-
tation in the South and a range of thought-provoking solutions. We thank
the guest speakers and all the delegates involved for sharing their work.
9

2. 10 V O LU M E 11: S A F E D R I N K I N G W AT E R
In addition, the project would not have been possible without the efforts of the
Advisory Board: Dorairajan Balasubramanian, Director of Research, LV Prasad Eye
Institute, Hyderabad, India; Mohamed El-Ashry, ex-Chairman, GEF; Luis Marín,
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, and Chairman, Water Network,
Mexican Academy of Sciences; Mohan Munasinghe, Chairman, Munasinghe Institute
for Development, Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Abdin Mohamed Ali Salih, UNESCO
Office Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. Representatives of the funding organizations,
Francisco Simplicio (UNDP Special Unit for SSC) and Mohamed Mahmoud Tawfik
(WMO) also took part in the Advisory Board deliberations.
Daniel Schaffer and Peter McGrath from the TWAS Public Information Office and
Francisco Simplicio, Knowledge Management Specialist from the UNDP Special Unit
for SSC, have worked closely together to coordinate and bring the project to fruition.
Helen Martin and Sheila Khawaja of the TWNSO secretariat provided the admin-
istrative assistance that enabled the project to stay on track despite the complications
caused by its global reach and wide-ranging activities.
Lourdes Hermosura-Chang of the UNDP Special Unit for SSC provided logistical
support for the publication and Barbara Brewka, an independent professional commis-
sioned by the Special Unit, carried out reviews during the publishing phase.
The 21 case studies presented in this volume were initially prepared by the scientists
involved and, once again, we extend our thanks to them. Peter McGrath (TWAS) then
adapted the texts to the case study format reproduced here. With his input, we hope that
these case studies will be accessible to a wider, non-technical audience.
The talent and commitment of each member of this diverse group helped to move
the project forward efficiently and effectively. We express our thanks to them all.