The concept of Multiple Use water Services (MUS) is gaining more and more recognition globally. Multiple use water services take people’s multiple water demands as the starting point for the provision of water services.
Published on: 17/05/2013
These multiple uses, which can include domestic use, but also water for agriculture, livestock keeping and small industrial uses, bring important additional benefits to households and can have a positive impact on sustainability compared to single use services.
The Dutch water sector has played an important role in MUS. A big number of organisations and individuals with a special interest in multiple use water services share and learn from each other through their involvement in the MUS Group. Several Dutch organisations have been playing a leading role in this Group. The Dutch Government acknowledges the importance of multiple use water services as contributing to self-reliance and economic growth, especially for the poorest, as mentioned in the 2012 policy brief of the Minister of Development Cooperation to the Dutch Parliament.
In order to bring together the expertise of Dutch organisations on multiple use water services in the context of Dutch policy and practice, a seminar will take place on Wednesday 26 June 2013 at the International Water House in The Hague.
The objectives of the seminar are:
The seminar will include experiences from arid to humid environments, relating to policy development, capacity building, water infrastructure development, water resources management, sanitation and re-use of waste and wastewater. Given that much experience of partners seems to be from the East African region, it is expected that this region will have particular emphasis during the seminar.
The day will start with an opening address from the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs, focussing on the new Dutch policy framework and its focus on water security and food security in the post 2015 development framework. This will be followed by a series of more practical presentations and case studies from participants, sharing approaches, methodologies and experiences. Each contribution will be allocated about 15 minutes in order to allow for sufficient time for discussions.
In the afternoon, the discussion will be framed around two key issues
Participants who are interested in sharing approaches, methodologies and / or experiences are invited to submit a title and a short abstract (100 words) on what they would like to share and the type of contribution. The contribution could be a presentation, a film, a story, demonstration of a technology or toolkit, or something else. After receiving the proposed contributions on what you would like to share, we will propose a more detailed structure, grouping together relevant contributions and proposing related discussion questions and workshop or discussion formats.
The seminar is supported by the MUStRAIN project involving IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, RAIN, water health, Quest-consult and partners in Ethiopia. This project is focused on developing opportunities for multiple use water services linked to rainwater harvesting and household-led investment in water supplies (Self Supply). This project is supported by Partners for Water Programme. Project funds will support organisation and documentation of the seminar.
We envisage documenting concrete suggestions for further collaboration, including contributions to joint publications such as a policy brief and a 'Smart MUS solutions book' as part of the Smart Solutions Series.
The invitation is initially shared with the members of the NWP-NGO Platform, Dutch members of the MUS Group and other Dutch organisations with a special interest in MUS. Those who haven't received an invitation can express their interest for participation by sending an email to Petra Brussee through general@irc.nl, before Friday 31 May 2013. Abstracts can be submitted (100 words including title and type of contribution) before Monday 27 May 2013 so that a detailed programme can be prepared.
