By Gary Thomas
The Reed Elsevier Environmental Challenge has shortlisted the received entries for awarding the final prizes. Five projects that will provide safe water and sanitation through sustainable access have been chosen.
The first place carries a prize of $50,000 and the second place carries a prize of $25,000. The winner will be announced at the annual World Water Week event to be held in Stockholm in August this year.
The submitted projects were evaluated by a review team and a panel of judges in the field of water and sanitation resources. Among the submissions they had to identify the most innovative, sustainable and replicable solutions that will engage local communities. The projects are about solutions such as sand dams for collecting rainwater, biosand filters with iron-reinforcement, water transported using green energy, hygienic sanitation stations, and sanitation technology.
Reed Elsevier publications that are relevant for the projects will be provided to the candidates, which will allow them to improve their proposal.
The UN General Assembly has established “Water for Life Decade” to support the Millennium Development Goal which aims to increase access to safe drinking water and prevent exploitation of water resources in an unsustainable manner. According to the WHO, 33% of the world’s population does not have access to sufficient water. The Reed Elsevier Environmental Challenge contributes to the “Water for Life Decade” initiative.
Source: http://www.elsevier.com