Development can be sustainable, it can be green.
Holmgren, a former Swedish ambassador with extensive experience working in South Asia, among other regions, spoke to IPS about how South Asia can best address the serious gender imbalances in water access and the issue of sustainable water technology support from developed economies to developing countries.
For the region specifically, a fundamental aspect is how its countries govern their water accessibility.
It boils down to how institutions, not just governments but communities, industries at large govern water – how water systems are organised and allocated.
IPS: What is SIWI’s stand on the issue of sustainable water technology support from developed economies to developing countries?
It is true that new technology is developing fast, but a mix of this with traditional technology and local knowledge works well.
IPS: How can South Asia best address the serious gender imbalances in water access, bring more women into water governance in its patriarchal societies?
TH: It is important that those in power need encourage gender balance not in decision-making alone but in educational institutions.
Done on a large scale, it can bring tremendous change to people, livelihoods and societies at large.
Especially in South Asia’s growing urban sprawls, we must capture the flooding rainwater, store it in green water infrastructure for reuse; because grey cannot do it alone.