Wastewater and COVID-19: Getting the Facts Right

The Global Wastewater Initiative (GW²I) is a multi-stakeholder platform that brings together UN agencies, international organizations, governments, scientists, the private sector, and non-profit organizations with the goal of information-sharing and cooperation for an effective and comprehensive response to the challenges posed by wastewater management.

The GW²I is chaired by the Turkish Water Institute (SUEN) and hosted by the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (GPA) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), an intergovernmental cooperation mechanism that aims to prevent the degradation of the marine environment from land-based activities. Initially established to address nine source categories of marine pollution (sewage, persistent organic pollutants, radioactive substances, heavy metals, oils, nutrients, sediment mobilization, litter, and physical alteration and destruction of habitat), the Programme has, since 2012, focused on marine litter, nutrient pollution, and wastewater. Together with its partners and through the Global Wastewater Initiative, the GPA seeks to enhance the understanding of wastewater as a resource and works on various issues related to sustainable wastewater management including policy guidelines, technology, knowledge generation, capacity building, and awareness-raising that contribute to the implementation of the sustainable development goal 6, target 6.3.1, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater discharged in our water bodies.

Speakers

Kate Medlicott is the Sanitation and Wastewater Team Leader within the WASH team at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. In this role, Kate is responsible for translating evidence to policy and practice through WHO guidelines and health sector collaborations where sanitation is a critical component of disease control. Kate is coordinating WHO’s activating on environmental surveillance for COVID-19. 

Keith Hayward is the coordinator for the International Water Association’s (IWA) COVID-19 Task Force. This member-led initiative of IWA’s global water and wastewater network focuses on aspects of the pandemic such as the implications for wastewater treatment, opportunities for wastewater surveillance, and lessons for utilities and service providers. Keith is a long-time communicator on water sector issues and is editor of IWA’s magazine, The Source.

Bilge Alpaslan Kocamemi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering at Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey. Her research interests lie in the area of biological wastewater treatment with a focus on nitrogen and phosphorus removal from sewage. She is the scientific advisor and principal investigator to a project group conducting a SARS-CoV-2 surveillance work in wastewater nationwide as per the instructions from the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. She is also a member of the COVID-19 Scientific Committee of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The webinar will be moderated by Birguy Lamizana and Riccardo Zennaro.

Birguy Lamizana has more than 20 years of working experience in the field of ecosystems and water management, environmental impacts assessments, community involvement, and capacity building related to integrated water resources management. Birguy is currently a Programme Management Officer in charge of wastewater management at UNEP.

Riccardo Zennaro is an Associate Programme Officer for wastewater management at UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya. He is passionate about water management and sanitation, international relations, and has experience working on environmental and water-related programs and projects in both Europe and Africa. 

• Agenda
• Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities
• UNEP factsheet on COVID-19, wastewater and sewage. 
• Contacts: birguy.lamizana@un.org; and riccardo.zennaro@un.org.