APPENDIX 2
Martin Parkes
I think that there are two dimensions to this
problem. Firstly, the Wastewater industry is dominated by multinational
companies and national governments give preferential treatment
to these companies for reasons of "national interest".
China is full of huge wastewater treatment factories
funded by outside Taxpaper resources, since various national governments
provided funding to Chinese Provisional governments. I've seen
or heard of UK, German, Austrian and Danish examples. For a while,
a significant proportion of these were switched off when the energy
costs became apparent. So the consequence in the context of wastewater
and sanitation is a pre-occupation with huge wastewater infrastructure
which occasionally cannot be managed easily—(Zibo City).
I recall in the mid 90s was looking for a joint venture partner
to help run one of their plants. The obsession with huge plants
is further compounded by the likelihood of greater profit for
banks. See discussion notes of Rocky Mountain Institute in Colorado.
The second issue concerns local representation
in the rural areas where the water supply and sanitation concerns
are most pressing. I suspect that it is often not possible to
articulate demand so—on what basis have outsiders any right
to interfere or dictate necessary solutions—with good intentions
or otherwise? Tricky problem—good luck with finding solutions.
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