Bangladesh Project Completion Workshop
Dhaka, Bangladesh

The Project Completion Workshop for the CIDA-Government of Bangladesh funded Bangladesh Environmental Technology Verification - Support to Arsenic Mitigation Project delivered by OCETA was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, November 22 - 23, 2009 and was attended by 80 individuals, including delegates from India, Nepal and Cambodia who presented their experience with Arsenic Removal Technologies (ARTs) in their countries. The major findings presented at the workshop included:

1. Verification of ARTs by an independent 3^rd party is necessary and requires time, resources and considerable effort. Deployment conditions must be clearly established.
2. Connectivity between the various stakeholders involved, such as the technology vendors, verification agencies, national bodies and most importantly the end users of the ARTs, is essential. A Verification Unit for ARTs and other technologies has been established at the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR).
3. A regulatory framework including compliance audits, waste management practices and continuing support to end users must be developed. Governments will have to work closely with Non-Government Organizations to ensure proper deployment and continuing successful operation of ARTs.
4. Resources for operation and maintenance of ARTS must be available and regularly applied exactly as is necessary for each drinking water supply option. ARTs, like other options, will fail if not properly maintained.
5. A public awareness campaign should be established to ensure correct understanding and operation of the ARTs to avoid risk to public health. High school teachers should be trained to instruct students in awareness of ARTs, how to use simple arsenic test kits and public health issues.
6. ARTs are often depicted as transitional technologies and their importance downplayed. It is expected that the transition to more permanent solutions will take many years, and therefore the ARTs will have a role for a considerable amount of time.
7. Deployed ARTs are often subsidized or donated to users. Subsidies are a barrier to a free market in ARTs, as marketing is focused on donor agencies rather than end users. The focus on donors is likely preventing the cost reduction that is necessary for wide deployment of ARTs.

Verification certificates were presented to six vendors whose technologies had successfully been verified for use and sale in Bangladesh by OCETA's BETV-SAM project and BCSIR. These technologies include Sono 45-25, Read-F, and Shawdesh, which are local Bangladesh products, and MAGC/ALCAN, Nelima (HARU) and SIDKO AdsorpAs®, which were developed in other countries.

For more information contact:

John Wanczycki, Vice President,
International Development, OCETA
e-mail: jwanczycki (at) oceta.on.ca
tel: 902-475-3610