Urban megaprojects and water justice in Southeast Asia: Between global economies and community transitions

Available online 1 April 2021Within the Southeast Asian context, urban megaprojects are often delivered in aquatic or semi-aquatic contexts, transforming local hydrological systems used for sanitation, agriculture, sustenance, resource use and cultural purposes by the local populations. This paper addresses a key knowledge gap on the impacts of urban mega-projects on water security and water-related human rights in Southeast Asia through a literature review, field observations and digital earth observation. Three case studies in Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar were used to develop a picture of urban megaproject impacts on urban water landscapes and the human rights of local communities. The paper adapts recent human rights frameworks developed specifically for megaproject life cycles and applies them to the selected urban megaproject case studies. The seven stages in the megaproject life cycle are linked with specific accountability measures for duty bearers. Current challenges and opportunities for the global urban development community are developed in relation to water justice and megaprojects. Further the question of a just urban transition is developed to mediate between megaproject proponents and local communities in the Global South.Scott Hawken, Behnaz Avazpour, Mike S. Harris, Atousa Marzban, Paul George Munr

The Impacts of Urban Megaprojects on Water and Sanitation Related Human Rights in Southeast Asia: Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation

The provision of secure water supplies to human populations is a challenging task for societies globally, particularly in the context of growing urbanisation. Water scarcity has been identified as a key driver for future global conflicts and water conservation is a major focus for current research. This is because the majority of conventional urban water management systems are proving inadequate. Global trends such as urbanization and climate change have numerous direct and indirect impacts on urban water-related human rights as they affect water sources humans rely on for drinking, sanitation and a range of other activities which influence human health and prosperity. Groundwater recharge, water runoff, ecosystem health, and urban climate are all affected by the urban hydrological cycle which is distinctively different from rural and more natural hydrological cycles. For example water drainage is a major urban problem because hard urban surfaces prevent infiltration to the soil thereby increasing the risk of flooding and limiting the filtering and cleansing of water supplies. There is a need for more effective solutions for managing urban water. While new approaches such as water sensitive urban design and sponge city technologies are available, they are often not well adapted to protecting community values and rights. Megaprojects are key modes of development in Southeast Asia, especially over the past few decades. However, the effects of these projects on societies’ access to water are not well understood. Nevertheless, the basic impacts of these large-scale projects can be discerned through a range of methods including scholarly and grey literature review, field studies, and earth observation. This report addresses the lack of knowledge on urban megaproject impacts on water and sanitation-related human rights in Southeast Asia. Megaprojects are perceived to deliver wealth and new technology to urban regions in the context of rapid urbanization. This is important as in the Southeast Asia region where 20 percent of the total population live in poverty. However, the reality of these projects is often quite different from their aims as their large-scale development approach can destabilize local populations rather than address their needs. A concise literature review and five select case studies were used to develop a picture of urban megaproject impacts on the urban water landscapes and the resultant impacts on human rights. The selected concise case studies are:• Phu My Hung, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam• Amarapura Urban Development, Shankalay Kyun Island, Mandalay, Myanmar• Bumi Serpong Damai City, Jakarta, Indonesia• Entertainment City (PAGCOR), Manila, Philippines• Boeng Kok Lake Development, Phenom Penh, CambodiaA review of the literature on mixed-use megaprojects reveals a range of complex urban challenges from inception to delivery. While there are compelling reasons for continuing to implement these projects, there are currently few successful projects in terms of economy, environment, and social uplift. To ensure that such projects are successful in terms of water-based human rights in future, a systematic review of such projects is necessary. This report is an initial step in this direction

Evaluation of microbial contamination of ready-to-eat foods (pizza, frankfurters, sausages) in the city of Ilam

Background: Today in the world, disease resulting from food is considered one of the most important problems in public health. This study aimed to determine the bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods, i.e. fast food, in Ilam city. Methods: In this cross-sectional, analytical study, 270 samples of ready-to-eat food, including pizza, frankfurters, and sausages, were randomly collected and tested for contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella arizonae, and Enterococcus faecalis. After examination, the collected data was analyzed using SPSS 20 software and logistic regression. Results: From a total of 270 samples of ready-to-eat food, 27.77 was contaminated with E. coli, 21.48 with S. aureus, 13.33 with S. sonnei, 14.44 with S. arizonae, and 5.9 with E. faecalis. The results showed higher rates of E. coli and S. aureus contamination in pizza, frankfurters, and sausages. Also, a higher percentage of frankfurters were contaminated with microbial species than pizza or sausages. There were significant differences in microbial contamination rates (P < 0.05) among the three groups of food. In addition, factors such as indicators (health, sanitation, and lack of hygiene), age, gender, and education level of the operating staff had no effect on the results. Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be concluded that bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods is significantly high in the city of Ilam; therefore, it is suggested that the examination of food in various stages of production and distribution can help reduce bacterial contamination, and training for the operators of shopping centers' ready-to-eat food shops and controlling pathogens are essential

Effects of Electromagnetic Wave from Mobile Phones on Human Sperm Motility and Viability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Nowadays humans are constantly exposed to electromagnetic wave (EMW), especially mobile phone. Recently concerns about the potential risks of EMW it's increasing. A possible risk of the EMW is adverse effect on human semen quality. In this study, it was tried to do meta-analysis on the results obtaining the evaluation of sperm quality (motility and viability) after in vitro exposure to EMW of mobile phone. We carried out a Systematic Review in databases of ISI, Pubmed, Scopus, Ovid, Embase and VIP till December 2015. Then was performed meta-analysis of data extracted by comprehensive meta-analysis 2.2 software. Finally, 10 studies 8: sperm motility (17 subgroups), 6: sperm viability (6 subgroups) were reviewed and meta-analysis was done. The percentage ranges of sperm motility in the unexposed and exposed samples were 17.70 +/- 10.9% to 87.20 +/- 7.32% and 18.40 +/- 11.90% to 87.5 +/- 8.57%, respectively. The mean differences for sperm motility and heterogeneity were REM:-4.57; CI(-7.11 to 2.03) and I-2=69.38%; rho(heterogeneity) <0.001, respectively. The percentage range of sperm viability in the unexposed and exposed samples were 50.78 +/- 5.98% to 90.9 +/- 3.7% and 48.43 +/- 13.99 to 90.4 +/- 4.1% respectively and for sperm viability, the mean differences for sperm motility and heterogeneity were REM-1.19; CI (-2.04 to -0.34) and I-2 = 96.9%; rho(heterogeneity) <0.001, respectively. Exposure to EMW of mobile phone decreased significantly sperm motility and sperm viability decreased but not-significantly. Results of this study supported the negative effects of EMW of mobile phone on the sperm motilit

Association between tea consumption with risk of type 2 diabetes; Systematic review and meta-analysis of 14 cohort studies update to June 2016

The prevalence of the metabolic disease of diabetes type 2 is increasing day by day. A part of this increasing trend is related to environmental factors such as dietary habits. In various studies, contradictory results regarding the effects of tea consumption on the risk of diabetes type 2 have been observed. Therefore, by a systematic review of databases SID, Irandoc, Scopus, Pubmed and ISI Web of Science and meta-analysis of data, in this article we tried to investigate the relationship between the tea consumption and diabetes type 2. In general, from between 12 articles 14 cohort studies meta-analyzed in the range of 2004 to 2015. All participants and their mean age were respectively 94 248 participants (36,653 patients and 589,783 control) and 57.3 year. The studies of >1 cup per day and ≥4 cup per day are of low heterogeneity and 1-3 cup per day is of high heterogeneity. The mean of risk ratio was as follows: >1 cup: FEM = 0.99; 95 CI (0.95- 1.03), 1-3 cup per day: REM = 0.98, 95 CI (0.94-1.02), ≥4 cup per day: FEM = 0.94; 95 CI (0.86-1.02). In general, FEM= 0.98, 95 CI (0.95-1.01). Consumption of ≥4 cup per day in relation to per day >1 cup and 1-3 cup per day decreases the risk of diabetes non-significantly 6. The results of this study supported the reduction of risk of diabetes type 2 due to consumption of tea. © 2016, International Journal of Pharmacy and Technology. All rights reserved

What makes a successful Sponge City project? Expert perceptions of critical factors in integrated urban water management in the Asia-Pacific

Available online 1 September 2021Sponge City (SC) projects aim to replicate natural water cycles within urban settings, providing sustainable solutions to urban water management. However, there is a lack of understanding on the relative importance and performance of the significant factors that contribute to the success of SC projects. To address this, we conducted a survey of urban water experts from the two distinctive cultures of Australia and China, to generate insights on ‘what makes a successful Sponge City project?’. We also explored the relationships between success factors using importance performance analysis and structural equation modelling. Our findings demonstrate that whilst professionals think that the water management objectives have been dealt with in a satisfactory way, they also find that economic, socio-cultural and governance are addressed in an insufficient or fragmented way. Our research highlights both similarities and differences in the importance and performance of SC factors in two countries. In China greater attention to economic factors is required, while in Australia policy and governance factors require greater focus. Both China and Australia would benefit from further research on undervalued socio-cultural factors. Most importantly we find that SC projects require greater integration of substantive and procedural factors to address urban water challenges.Scott Hawken, S.M.E. Sepasgozar, Veljko Prodanovic, Jia Jing, Ashley Bakelmun, B. Avazpour, Shengquan Che, Kefeng Zhan