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Hydronarratives: The Confluence of Water and Environmental Justice

Abul Hassam's Filtration Solution

Break through technology can provide hope. Here at George Mason University in Virginia, engineering professor Abul Hassam, himself from Bangladesh, has just invented a life-saving water-filter for those millions at risk from arsenic poisoning. Abul Hassam: So they take that water that's pumped here. Yeah, what they do, they add water and they just put it right here. Just one hour, it will take one hour. Unknown: So it's... it's ingredients are cheap and it does not require electricity. Abul Hussam: No, no, no. Unknown: So it's perfect for use irrespective of economic circumstance. Does the United Nations know about this? Would that be an entity that you feel could take the project like this on? Abul Hassam: Yes, in this the surface funding most of the water projects, I especially think this kind of arsenic and other umm... projects in Bangladesh. Unknown: It is... it is particularly UNDP... Abul Hassam: Yes Unknown: Which actually came out recently and declared the right that it is a basic human right to have access to fresh water. Martin Sheen: Not to who sounds simple Arsenic Filter is so important for saving lives that the national engineering academy awarded a first prize of $1 million for his achievement. He plans to use the model to supply filters to those who need them in Bangladesh and India. Abul Hassam: In Bangladesh arsenic poisoning has been proved as a disease of poverty that the poor are disproportionately more affected than the rich. I want to dedicate this achievement to my late mother and my late father, who taught us that hard work with full commitment aimed at human good is the essence of life.

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A Beacon of Hope: Solutions and Aid Sent Bangladesh's Way
Solutions in the Making
Fortunately, there has been progress towards finding solutions for this issue. There have been multiple efforts at making purification devices to clean the contaminated water. For instance, Professor Abul Hassam from George Mason University invented a water filter that is affordable and does not acquire electricity. The national engineering academy awarded him one million dollars for his achievement. He plans to use the money to supply Bangladesh with water filters. Additionally, the for-profit company DrinkWell has been creating affordable filters that people in Bangladesh can use to clean their water. DrinkWell filters water by passing it through multiple tanks. They have established over thirty facilities in Bangladesh and India. Their goal is to reach five million people by 2020, with help through partnering with the government and NGOs.
Progress Towards Codifying Clean Water as a Fundamental Right
Although the government of Bangladesh does not have the funds to fully implement a solution to the arsenic crisis, there is discussion that they are obligated to. In 2002 the United Nations Committee of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued a general comment recognizing the human right to water. More specifically, the right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water. However, the international legal regime has been unable to develop a way to enforce this right to water. The Bangladesh Water Act of 2013 ensures the development, management, exploration, distribution, use, protection, and conservation of water resources. Unfortunately, Bangladesh has had trouble enforcing this Act as anyone who has committed an offense under the Act is entitled to bail. The Act also does not clearly deal with salinity issues, even though that is the biggest issue when it comes to Bangladesh’s drinking water. Overall, while some actions have been taken to ameliorate or put an end to the arsenic crisis in Bangladesh, enforcement is far from perfect, and this issue very much still exists today.