Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Google, UN-Habitat join hands for access to water, sanitation by Shyam Ranganathan

Google, UN-Habitat join hands for access to water, sanitation by Shyam Ranganathan

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Sep 19, 2010   modified Modified on Sep 19, 2010

If the direr predictions are to be believed, it may soon be a case of “Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink,” as the effects of global warming and water use patterns combine to make access to good drinking water an issue, especially in developing countries.

As another of the many measures initiated to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of ensuring environmental sustainability through access to drinking water and sanitation, UN-Habitat and Google.org launched the h2.0 initiative (http://www.h20initiative.org) at the recently concluded World Water Week in Stockholm.

The initiative provides a common, real-time, online platform for data collected by groups around the world, presenting them in the form of interactive maps (using Google Earth), while providing an opportunity for community participation in data collection.

Among the initiatives supported are the use of Citizen Report Cards (CRC), pioneered by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a Bangalore-based non-governmental organisation, and data uploading through mobile devices, with spreadsheets and maps created remotely using the data, as is being done in Zanzibar by the University of Twente.

A report on the UN-Habitat website named German development organisation GTZ, Majidata, WaterAid, the University of Twente and the Hilton Foundation as among the partner organisations in the initiative.

Other organisations, including the World Health Organisation, have expressed interest in contributing to the initiative. Most components in the h2.0 platform are cloud-based and run on Google data centres and “provide the necessary scalability and processing power as more datasets become available, more partners join and integration tools are developed,” according to the h20initiative website.

“Offline synchronisation,” including integration with data collection and updating through mobile technology, “overarching search functionality” which finds patterns, holes and overlaps in data and “flexible power user access” to the platform to enable partners to update their data themselves are being looked into as future developments, the website adds.


The Hindu, 19 September, 2010, http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/19/stories/2010091962111200.htm


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close