“The drinking water supply in Flanders from 1800 to the present day: the drinking water supply in Flanders by intercommunal organisations can inspire local government in the South.”

(available in English, Dutch, French and Spanish)
Local government authorities in the South are currently faced with the need to organize the drinking water supply themselves as a result of the decentralization process which in most cases has either recently been implemented or is planned to be soon. Decentralization shifts this responsibility from central government to local government. Both the municipalities and the community-based organizations involved are currently looking for models how to organize drinking water supply in a decentralized manner. Under pressure from international moneylenders the municipalities or cities of the South are often influenced to opt for outsourcing this service, or large parts of it, to the private sector.
The public organization of the drinking water supply in Flanders and Belgium can serve as an inspiration to the South. All Belgians have access to drinking water at a social acceptable price.
An important stimulus was the initiative of the national government to promote cooperation between the municipalities, which resulted in the formation of the intercommunal (intermunicipal) drinking water organisations. By putting together their forces, there came a fairly rapid growth in building infrastructure for the drinking water distribution and the management and servicing improved considerably.

Look at page Studies and reports: “The drinking water supply in Flanders from 1800 to the present day: the drinking water supply in Flanders by intercommunal organisations can inspire local government in the South.”

“Slagen in het water?” (“Succeeding in Water?”: only available in Dutch and French)

Water in an international context.

How to handle the increasing shortage of pure water? This is undoubtedly the biggest challenge of the next decades. Only global rules and international solidarity can make and keep the vital water accessible for everyone.
In its end 2006 reviewed brochure “Succeeding in Water?”, PROTOS explains the water problems in a readable manner. Through examples and own experiences illustrate the different relationships between environment, development and conflict prevention.

Contents

• Introduction. 
• Water, source of life. 
• Availability of water. 
• How pure is our water? 
• What is the cost of water?  
• Problems related to water? 
• What can we do about these water problems? 
• National and international water policies. 
• PROTOS and water. PROTOS’ policy and functioning. Experiences in  Benin and Mali.

Costs: 5,0 euro (postage charges not included).
To order at PROTOS, Flamingostraat 36, 9000 Gent Belgium, or via the form «Publicaties te koop» from the Dutch site.

“20 jaar in het water” (“20 years in water”: only available in Dutch and French)

PROTOS and its partners are more and more aware that their part does not finish with the construction of a water pipe or the formation of a management committee. Their experiences and the lessons they draw from them must give inspiration to others who are active within the sector. Above all they learned that the development of the water sector, and so of opportunities of life and development of a large part of our planet, is not only a technical problem. It also requires important changes in political and social priorities, in the way we handle natural resources and our fundamental needs ... and hence in the distribution of resources and power.

This booklet combines the experiences of PROTOS and its partners in regard to drinking water and sanitation and compare them to the evolutions within the sector. In this we are mainly concerned about drawing lessons from our own past, confronting those with experiences and visions of others, and finally putting them at the disposal of organisations and individuals who (wish to) join the sector.

Contents

• Context and basic principles: analysis of the water in the world – the importance of drinking water and sanitation – recent evolutions. 
• PROTOS: history – goals and strategy – PROTOS in the South – lessons from 20 years of experience in the field. 
• Drinking water in an integrated strategy. 
• Shared responsibility.  
• Water as engine for social development.
• Technology and technical assistance.
• The price of water.
• Experiences and lessons: case studies (Benin, Rwanda, Haiti, Ecuador and Senegal)

Costs: 12, 5 euro (postage charges not included).
To order at PROTOS, Flamingostraat 36, 9000 Gent Belgium, or via the form «Publictaties te koop» from the Dutch site.

“HaaTweeOoh jeugdwaterboek” (“HaaTweeOoh youth water book”: only available in Dutch)

What is this water guide about? About things that are wet, or still have to get wet.  About dry, drier and bone-dry. About too much water here and no water there. About our dirty water in the neighbours’ ditch. About money in water. About my water, and no one else’s. About taking a shower with your eyes shut, and about singing in bath. About water from a spring, caught in bottles. About the splashing gold of the 21st century.
Water is the most important subject in the years to come. Unfortunately not  because it is the fashion. Because it is getting bitter earnest with water not clear, or rather, without water. 1.1 billion people don’t have access to drinking water. People die because dirty water makes them ill. There’s no point in hiding our heads in the sand. Water involves us all. We all need to drink, and the water we drink is identically the same as that of an Ecuadorian, or a Rwandan. It is H2O: two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen. People die for two letters and a figure, without getting a second chance. And this on "the blue planet" Earth.

Slowly it becomes clear. Our attitude to water must change. Somewhere along the way we have lost our respect for water. We find water so obvious that we have become insensitive to it. But water is patient: it continues to caress us. It is getting about time we also caress it . This booklet invites us to do that.

Practical

HaatweeOoH is a youth water book intended for + 14-year-olds. It is a joint initiative of Jeugd en Vrede, Green Belgium, the production house Impressant and PROTOS. To keep it comprehensive, the complete water tale has been structured into an ABC. You can read the fragments,  your favourite letter, or you can flick through until something catches your attention. The web addresses and book titles in the back show the further tracks to water.

Costs : 12,5 euro (postage charges not included).
To order at PROTOS, Flamingostraat 36 9000 Gent Belgium, or via the form «Publicaties te koop» from the Dutch site.