SWAPHEP is committed to freshwater security and promotes public health through grassroots oriented research activities. SWAPHEP mainstreams integrated water resource management and insists that local people must be on the drivers seat in the management of water resources.
SWAPHEP MISSION
SWAPHEP’s aim is to provide services that help to ensure that every Nigerian has access to adequate clean water that meets their demands; that Nigeria's fresh water resources are managed in the most sustainable way and that the local peoples are put on the driver's seat in the control and management of their own water resources.
OUR MANDATE
SWAPHEP takes its mandate from Agenda 21 of the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit with a commitment to ensuring freshwater security and equal accessibility to water resources.
OUR AGENDA
SWAPHEP has the agenda of "Water for People" and poverty eradication at the grassroots with particular emphasis on women and children who bear the burdens of water and health crisis without neglecting the male folks.
OBJECTIVES
· To influence governments decisions, legislations and policies through lobbying and other non – violent means with a view to mainstreaming ‘integration’ ‘local participation’ and ‘equity’ in water management and other development issues.
· To provide accurate, unbiased information about the state of water resources and the lives of the local peoples depending on them for survival.
· To generate public awareness projects on water management, public health and grassroots development
· To provide not-for-profit health, educational and advocacy services to the local peoples.
· To mainstream gender equity in decision making process involving water, health and development.
· To undertake research projects, document the findings and make same available as resources materials for research purposes and good governance.
· To embark on direct intervention projects that will help to enhance fresh water quality, conserve fresh water quantity as well as enhance the socio – economic empowerment of local people.
· To collaborate and work in partnership with local and international organizations, agencies and individuals who share the organisation’s goals.
· To join in the struggle for global water security.
· To establish information resource centres / databases.
· To participate in local and international dialogues in areas of our focus.
SUCCESS RECORDS
SWAPHEP has recorded some successes in its activities, although, the successes have been quite limited due to many challenges mainly extremely insufficient funds and unwillingness on the part of government to integrate most of our recommendations and findings into their developmental plans and activities. However, we dedicate our successes to the poor, the neglected, the victims of floods and other water-related disasters, whom we have been working with in the last five years, and to all Nigerians, Africans and peoples of the rest parts of the world who lack access to safe water. Some of the successes are listed below:
Public enlightenment
a. Round table conference on “Looking Away From Large Dams and Towards Alternative Energy Sources- the Way to Life”. March 14, 2001.
b. Seminar on “Clean Practices for Women Development”. August 30-31, 2001.
c. Public lecture on “Dams and Development in Nigeria”. March 14, 2002.
d. Articles, news letters, papers and posters.
Successful anti-Ikpoba River dredging campaign
Edo State Government commenced the dredging of Ikpoba River (located in Benin City Nigeria) in January 2000 without conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and without due consultation with stakeholders and without considering the environmental and livelihood consequences of its action. SWAPHEP was the strongest voice against the action. After two years of lobbying the legislators and members of the state executive through print media, civil society mobilization and internet lobbying as well as personal interactions, the dredging project was stopped.
Successful campaign against flood disaster in Benin City
National Flood Control Project (NAFCOP)/ Nigerian Dams & Floods Campaign Programme 2002 (NIDFLOC), which have now evolved into the Water-related Disaster Reduction Campaign (WADREC), SWAPHEP has been involved in researches, awareness raising programmes and advocacy to help bring about a reduction in flood-related disasters in Nigeria.
Benin City was taken as a project site and Useh/Egor Community near Benin City was taken as a case study. Field activities started in November 1999.
Impacts
There have been major impacts of the campaign on the flood situation in Benin City. Flood victims have been assisted to be heard by government, government has began to provide structural solutions to the flood problem. We are however, campaigning for a holistic – policy, institutional and structural approaches.
On-going campaign on dams
SWAPHEP is embarking on field assessments, public enlightenment, and debate locally and internationally on dams as sources of electricity, water supply and agriculture. The core of our campaign is the environmental risks involved when dams are constructed over water sheds. Researches in Nigeria have shown that floods are major risks to which people are vulnerable in Nigeria. Hence, SWAPHEP has initiated civil society dialogue on the report of the World Commission on Dams in Nigeria
International Lobby at the WSSD, Johannesburg: SWAPHEP’s had a Poster and Video Exhibition in theWSSD areas focused by SWAPHEP was on flood disasters and sanitation.
HOW SWAPHEP AFFECTS PEOPLE
Generally SWAPHEP undertakes awareness programmes, research, policy lobbying and direct intervention programmes that have far reaching impact on small communities. Being a grassroots organisation, the rural communities are our primary constituencies. The following are some of the benefits that small communities stand to gain from our activities:
1. Improved water and sanitation access.
2. Policy, institutional and structural solutions to water supply and sanitation problems.
3. A comprehensive assessment of water management, water supply and sanitation facilities, focusing on risks, access, and policy/structural frameworks.
4. Water supply and sanitation problems, challenges and conflicts solutions widely communicated.
5. Contribution to the global water dialogue and its knowledge base.
Political benefits
· SWAPHEP is lobbying for laws to protect water sources and is also helping to make sure the policies are translated into action.
· Ensuring full participation of the grassroots in the process of water dialogue, enactment of water policies and implementation of water projects.
Economic benefits
· Improved livelihoods such as fishing and agricultural activities through protected water resources.
· Economic empowerment through support for micro enterprises development through a microfinance pilot project being developed.
Socio-cultural benefits
· Reduced water-related risks through prevention of water pollution and flood-related disasters.
· Protection of human and environmental rights of target groups
· Enhancement and protection of cultural identity through prevention of dislocation and destruction of properties and valuable cultural and religious monuments usually associated with flood disasters.
Health benefits
· Helping to ensure access of target groups/communities to clean water and sanitation which helps to prevent and control water-borne diseases.
· Helping to reduce the burden of malaria on the communities through research, enlightenment and policy advocacy programmes.
Gender mainstreaming
· Helping to ensure equal access of women and men to the ownership and control of water resources
Mainstreaming the needs and rights of women with disabilities in local, national and international dialogues.
OUR PRINCIPLES OF WATER SECURITY
The steps to ensure public water security are:
· Wise water governance through water policies that must be adequately implemented by government.
· Water supply must be allowed to be in public hands and not in the hands of the private sectors whose sole interest in managing water is making profit.
· Bottom-top approach to water management issues, i.e., making sure that water developmental projects originate and/or have the full approval and participation of the local people based on informed consent obtained through dialogue.
OUR WATER CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS
Any one willing to help in water conservation should primarily address the problem of international water agreements. In other words should advocate for more committal water agreements at the international level and also focus on helping to ensure that local and national water actions correspond to the international conventions. Happily, the UN included water rights into the basic human rights late last year. This could be a major foundation for water policy lobbying.
Another area of importance is the issue of water being a commodity and the involvement of the private sector in water supply, and financing of water projects. There is a growing concern over the continuous funding of environmentally unfriendly water projects such as large dams without a commensurate support for alternative and environmentally friendly water technologies.
CURRENT CAMPAIGNS
NGO/Civil Society Dialogue on the Final Report of the World Commission on Dams in Nigeria.
Recently, SWAPHEP obtained the support of the Global Greengrants Fund to embark on the above dialogue in southern Nigeria. This is a follow-up to our research, awareness and campaign activities on dams in the country.
The dialogue programme will involve NGO/Civil Society Organisations, CBOs, private sector, individuals, institutions and government agencies.
Purpose of Programme:
The programme aims to involve all stakeholders in the debate on dams (the final report of the WCD being the pivot of the debate) in Nigeria with a view to presenting the position of the civil society on the debate and recommending a plan of action for a multi-stakeholders national dialogue on the subject.
Expected Output:
1. Position of the civil society in Nigeria on the debate over the report of the WCD
2. A plan of action on how a successful multi-stakeholders national dialogue on the WCD report can be held
3. A follow-up plan to catalyse the process of the national dialogue and ensure the success of the process.
4. Follow-up plan includes translation of the final report of the World Commission on Dams into local Nigerian languages
Announcements about the date and venue of the dialogue will be made shortly. Please, see our website: http://swaphep.virtualactivism.org for more details on our dam campaigns.
GLOBAL ACTION FOR WATER (GAWA)
Background
The world has witnessed chains of international commitments arising from international fora such as the recently concluded World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg. The poor are always at the receiving end of the so-called negotiations that are no more than avenues for the exhibition of the wasteful life styles adopted by world leaders. The poor have also become unnecessarily popular. The rich nations of the world and their business allies help to popularize poverty increasing the burden of the poor by every step that they claim to take to reduce poverty in poorer nations.
In the 2nd World Water Forum held in The Hague, March 2000, and the WSSD in Johannesburg, government committed themselves to halving the number of people having no access to safe drinking water by 2015.The 3rd World Water Forum holding in Kyoto, Japan March 2003 focuses on actions to translate this commitment to sustainable development. However, we are not unmindful of the fact that the 3rd World Water Forum might just be one of those political maneuverings like those of the past.
The Objective
Society for Water & Public Health Protection (SWAPHEP) is calling for a Global Action for Water (GAWA) to compel governments to translate water commitments to actions. To provide safe and affordable water to the 1. 2 billion people in the world that have no access to safe drinking water.
The Action
March 22nd is UN’s World Water Day. We propose that every body around the world should hold out a bucket/cup/bowl or place them outside the house or some strategic locations. Those in offices should put an empty cup on their desks on March 22nd 2003, which is World Water Day 2003. Moreover, year 2003 is United Nation’s Water Year, which is the most appropriate year to take such an action. Representatives of the civil societies from across the world, who would be at Kyoto, will conduct the action simultaneously with other participants at local and national levels.
Significance of the Action
The significance of the action is that everyone around the world is saying that people are dying of thirst due to water scarcity and we are all calling on governments to fill our empty containers with adequate, safe and affordable water for all and that the responsibility of providing clean water to the people rests with the public sector.
Volunteering for GAWA
Volunteers and collaborating organizations and individuals are being sought to assist the Global Action for Water at local, national and international levels in the following ways:
1. Mobilizing global support through the Internet, web space and/or email list.
2. Provision of meeting venue in Kyoto/ Osaka/ Shiga.
3. Printing and circulation of handbills, leaflets and posters
4. Collection of Water Testimonies from people across the world.
5. Advertising on print and electronic media as well TV/radio talk shows and jingles focusing on the action.
6. Organizing press conference/statements
7. Holding awareness seminars, workshops etc
8. Translating campaign documents to other languages
9. Photographic and video documentations of the events
10. Inscription of the campaign slogan on cups/buckets/bowl that may be bought and distributed.
11. Others.
Please, note that we are urgently seeking the assistance of any organization etc., who already has a space in any of the meeting venues in Japan, to allow us a time to have a short session on the action. A web space is also being sought to host an Internet discussion on the ways to strengthen the action and make it work.
Who can participate in GAWA?
Everyone: Civil societies, CBOs, NGOs, labour unions, governments, development agencies, private investors, institutions and individuals. Action for water is irrespective of the specific focus areas of organizations, agencies and individuals as water cuts across all spheres of human endeavors.
Why take part in GAWA?
Water is our common heritage and all humans are one family; what affects one affects the other. This action promises to be the single largest civil society action to enforce water demands in history.
Slogan: Water is our passion; water is our survival; give us clean water now!
Let us know if you are participating and, please, let us know what you intend to do. We also welcome comments on the campaign. Financial contributions to the action are also welcome.
OTHER AREAS OF CAMPAIGN
We embark on campaign against large dams such as the Gurara dam in being constructed in Abuja, Nigeria, the proposed Kandadji Dam by the government of Niger Republic over the River Niger; campaign against the dredging of Ikpoba River in Benin City; campaign and education on the lack of standard waste disposal sites in Nigeria cities and activities on flood-related pollution of water bodies.
OUR CONTACT
#3, Omorogbe Street, Off Egbon Street,
Off Uselu-Lagos Road, P. O. BOX 10577,
Benin City, Nigeria.
Tel: 234 802 3442419
Email: swaphep@yahoo.com
Website: http://swaphep.virtualactivism.org
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