Thirst-Aid has developed one of the most comprehensive and holistic approaches to point of use water treatment in the industry.

Thirst-Aid views the need to purify water in developing countries as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. Thirst-Aid employs the need for water improvement as an entry point by which to introduce new skills, develop small businesses and stimulate local economies whiles simultaneously introducing appropriate safe-water technologies and public health education to the population as a whole.

While many organizations focus on one technology or another to purify water, Thirst-Aid advocates for the bundling of technologies and realizes that education, training, and social marketing to promote behavior change comprise 90% of the issue in the adoption of safe-water practices.

To address this concern, Thirst-Aid precedes the introduction of all safe water technologies with the Thirst-Ed program. Developed in cooperation with UNICEF, Thirst-Ed integrates the need to educate and inspire the drive for improved water with the beneficiaries desire to be a stakeholder. By offering an education and social marketing program that not only raises awareness of waterborne illnesses and improved hygiene but also provides participants with the means to purchase their ceramic water filters, the Thirst-Ed program guarantees an increase in behavior change and sustained product use.

Thirst-Ed allows participants to apply the time they spend attending safe water classes to-wards the purchase price of a ceramic water filter unit, thus turning education into currency and helping to make filters affordable to the poor.

The Yezin Agricultural University (YAU) is the only university level of higher education in Agriculture in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Primary function of YAU are teaching and training, conducting research and providing extension service to public. Specific objectives of the university are to produce highly qualified professionals needed for the development of the agriculture sector of the country who are well equipped in leadership, management, planning and analysis and interpretation skills and to provide adequate technical training on modern methods of agriculture for the farming communities including non-degree training programs.

A nonprofit international development organization founded in 1971, Pact works on the ground in nearly 40 countries to improve the lives of those who are challenged by poverty and marginalization. We strive for a world where all people are heard, capable and vibrant.

The University of Forestry is in Yezin near near Nay Pyi Taw, the only university specialized in forestry in Myanmar. It is administered by the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry and is united with the Forest Research Institute (FRI), a government R&D agency. 

In Myanmar, UNDP provides support to the national political and socio-economic reforms that underpin the country’s transition. UNDP’s support is channeled through a program that seeks to strengthen institutions of democratic and local governance, support the environment and disaster risk management, and support government efforts for poverty reduction over a five-year period (2013-2015, extended to 2017).

The new country program includes a major focus on responsive, transparent, democratic governance in three priority areas. The first supports institutional strengthening of local governments and civil society, while providing livelihood support and poverty reduction in border and ceasefire areas. The second comprises assistance through policy advice on climate change, disaster risk reduction, energy access, and environment. The third aim is to contribute to reform strategies and help scale up capacity in the national parliament, justice sector, and civil administration.

The Myanmar Water CoP stimulates peer-to-peer knowledge exchange and learning between local and international water experts and empowers local ownership. It becomes a Body of Knowledge and - as a collective - will act as a Facilitator and Connector to help water experts to be part of the process.

The CoP provides a connection between existing groups and provides a key place for water issues related matters to be considered, discussed and resolved.

Key functions of the CoP are:

• Sharing information on specific water management issue through expert meetings and seminars
• Providing commentary and critique on key water programs in Myanmar such as flooding and river transport
• Influence decision makers and identify critical gaps and opportunities
• Elevate the issue of specific water challenges into a broader planning context

As the Myanmar Water CoP is driven by local ownership, it focuses on the water challenges as presented by the local experts. This offers a unique and valuable insight into the issues that really matter to people locally, who owns them, what approaches are considered, how these are prioritised, etc. International experts participate at the invitation of the local hosts.

Despite of having long coastline, Myanmar is lack with deep sea ports and there are a lot of challenges in the country’s port development. Besides, the main operating ports such as Thilawa and Yangon have problems. One of the constraints is a very limited draft which is a maximum of 9 meters. The second constraint is the presence of two bars in the waters around Yangon. The inner bar is very close to Yangon city center which limits the effectiveness of Yangon port while the outer bar at the mouth of the Andaman Sea restricts vessel movements to both ports. Therefore, deep sea ports should be developed based on the careful assessments on available opportunities and constraints the country facing now. As key functions of the Myanmar Water Community of Practice (CoP) are to influence decision makers and identify critical gaps and opportunities and elevate the issue of specific water challenges into a broader planning context, it is an ideal to use Community of Practice as a key collective for port development issues to be considered, discussed and resolved.

Sweco plans and designs the communities and cities of the future. We do this by offering qualified services in the fields of consulting engineering, environmental technology and architecture. Sweco is established in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Poland and Turkey. Sweco carries out tens of thousands of projects in some 70 countries worldwide to ensure clean water, efficient infrastructure and sustainable energy solutions.

In Myanmar, Sweco is involved in carrying out a joint preliminary Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) together with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC) for Bagan River Beautification project.

Satelligence cares about data, because we care about the planet. Forests disappear, population growth increases demand on food production and climate change challenges everything.

The Satelligence team has extensive experience in remote sensing, natural resource management, GIS, computer vision and machine learning. Moreover, with staff working around the globe, we know what’s going on in the field. Satelligence specializes in providing highly detailed, semi-automated satellite-based insights and actionable results over large areas. Satelligence has world class expertise on scalable processing of radar and optical satellite images to assess patterns and trends in forests, agriculture and water. We deliver smart forest & commodity analytics to verify, predict and decide.

Want to know more?

If you are interested in our services contact us (Jet Greevink, country manager Myanmar, [email protected])

The Young Expert Programmes consist of YEP Water and YEP Agrofood. The main goal of both programmes is to offer young Dutch and local professionals the opportunity to take their first steps in an international environment. They are employed through Dutch organisations in a number of eligible countries. The programmes aim to rejuvenate the Water & Agrofood sectors and ensure the continued availability of expertise for these sectors.

The Young Expert Programmes are open to Dutch Young Experts and Local Young Experts from any of the eligible countries. There is a difference in the selection process for both. Local Young Experts apply by approaching Dutch organisations, who conduct their own selection process, and Dutch Young Experts apply when new vacancies are posted online.

UNICEF has been working in Myanmar continuously since April 1950. Despite difficult political and economic circumstances, UNICEF helped to successfully initiate programmes to protect children against small pox, leprosy and yaws. Over time, UNICEF expanded its programs to support the development of rural health services, basic education for children, and community water supply and sanitation systems. UNICEF also advocated for Myanmar's accession to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which the government ratified in the 1990s.

For more than 60 years, UNICEF has been working to positively change the lives of Myanmar’s children. Through its strong working relationship with the Government of Myanmar over the decades and significant engagement with other stakeholders, UNICEF is positioning itself to continue and strengthen its efforts to improve children’s lives.

The ongoing political and economic reform process including decentralization provides a good opportunity for UNICEF to continue working with Government and other partners and achieve major gains for all children. The current country programme (2011-2017) was extended in 2015 along with that of other UN agencies in agreement with the Government of Myanmar. It aims at delivering key results at various - policy, systems, and community - levels, tapping into the new opportunities provided by various reforms to accelerate results for children, especially the most marginalized.

In this context, UNICEF support focuses on strengthening systems in education, health and nutrition, WASH and child protection and making them accessible to the most disadvantaged, including through opportunities generated by decentralization and the need to promote social cohesion. It supports capacity building at Union, State and Townships levels to develop and implement plans and budgets for children. UNICEF also supports the Government of Myanmar’s response to the needs of children affected by conflict and natural hazards, and invest in preparedness, disaster risk reduction and resilience building strategies with focus on children in needs. The current momentum of engagement in various sector reforms will continue, and support continues to be provided towards the development of policies and legislation that will enable wider and accelerated realisation of children’s rights.

UNICEF systematically implements a comprehensive advocacy strategy to influence a range of decision makers and other relevant audiences. UNICEF has identified 5 office-wide advocacy priorities for the period 2014-2017: increasing public finance for children; protecting and promoting the rights of all children in Rakhine State; children affected by armed conflict; the first 1000 days of a child’s life; and children with disabilities.

UNICEF works on the ground for programme implementation directly through the government departments and through a number of international and local non-governmental organizations and faith based organizations, and from its 10 field offices and outposts positioned throughout the country. 
 
UNICEF’s mandate is anchored in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its work is concerned with the fulfilment of the rights of every child, everywhere, and at all times- regardless of ethnicity, race, citizenship status of their parents, socio-economic status or ability.

Greenovator is a social entreprise launched on the 1st of May 2011 in Yangon, Myanmar. It was founded by three core members that all graduated from the same alma mater at Yezin Agricultural University. All three of them share a passion and commitment in promoting sustainable agricultural production, the use of natural resources and environment conservation.

Our values describe what Greenovator really means and our values themselves are the brand of Ours.
(1) Accountability: Our actions and words make us.
(2) Creativity: We will always try to see what the others do not.
(3) Quality: Our quality is our life, success and everything. We will always keep our services and products in the highest quality.

Yangon Heritage Trust is an independent centre of excellence working to promote and integrate Yangon's unique urban heritage into a 21st century vision of Yangon as one of Asia's most liveable cities.

Yangon Heritage Trust advocates for heritage protection, develops clear and sustainable policy options, engages with government, business and civil society, communicates its ideas to the widest possible audience, undertakes specific conservation projects, and facilitates research and training.

AWS is a global membership-based collaboration. We unite organizations behind our mission: To lead a global network that promotes responsible use of freshwater that is socially and economically beneficial and environmentally sustainable.

We achieve this through a global water stewardship system, centered on the International Water Stewardship Standard (the AWS Standard), that drives, recognizes and rewards good water stewardship performance.

Our vision is that Water users and managers are responsible water stewards, who protect and enhance freshwater resources for people and nature.

The AWS Standard provides a globally-applicable framework for major water users to understand their water use and impacts, and to work collaboratively and transparently for sustainable water management within a catchment context.

AVPN is a unique funders’ network based in Singapore committed to building a vibrant and high impact philanthropy and social investment community across Asia. We are an advocate, capacity builder, and platform that cuts across sectors to improve the effectiveness of members across the Asia Pacific region.

CDR International is a fully independent coastal, river and port engineering and consultancy firm having its roots in the Netherlands. CDR stands for Coasts, Deltas and Rivers, the environment and field of our expertise in broadest sense. CDR is focusing on project development, management, design and engineering services in particular in the marine and maritime sector worldwide.

Our services cover the range of project idea development, (bankable) feasibility studies, detailed mathematical modelling and design studies to supervision during the construction phase. Together with our specialist partners we also provide for hydraulic and morphological numerical modelling studies, topographic, hydrographic and geotechnical surveys and investigation campaigns, physical model testing of marine structures and third party value engineering and design review.

In Myanmar, CDR is currently providing design support and Value Engineering for Yangon Offshore Fixed Pilot Station (YOFPS) project. CDR is also involved in AIRBM (Ayeyarwady Integrated River Basin Management) project, responsible for planning of overall project objectives and design of river training works, dredging and associated mathematical modelling studies for the Mandalay corridor.

Mandalay Technology is a company based in Yangon, providing geospatial technological solutions and services including Surveying, GIS/ Mapping, Remote Sensing, geotechnical investigation, hydrological and marine survey, and now extended to science, technology and engineering education solutions, oil and gas solutions and services and building and engineering services. Their mission is to contribute to the sustainable development of Myanmar with the innovative solutions and services. In 2002, they received ASEAN ICT Award, Gold Award (CSR Category) for their geospatial technology training programs for environmental management, disaster management and disaster preparedness.

The European Commission has proposed the following main sectors for development cooperation with Myanmar/Burma for 2014–2020: Rural Development, Education, Governance and Support to Peace Building. The EU and its Member States are engaged in a process of preparing joint programming of support to Myanmar/Burma for 2014-2020, aligned to the government’s own development planning with their Framework for Economic and Social Reforms (FESR).

WSA was formed at the height of Australia’s Millennium Drought when water risk and responsible water management became a key focus for businesses and the community. Organisations and individuals familiar with programs such as the Forest Stewardship Council were looking for a mechanism to recognise superior water stewardship and provide a multi-stakeholder endorsed framework for assessing water performance. WSA was launched by the (then) Chair and CEO of the National Water Commission (NWC), Ken Matthews.

In 2009, WSA published the world’s first water stewardship standard with support from the MDBA. Then understanding the need for a globally-consistent approach to water stewardship WSA, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy and The Pacific Institute, led the development of the global umbrella for water stewardship, the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), which WSA continues to Chair. The first and current version of the AWS International Water Stewardship Standard (AWS Standard) was launched in April 2014.

WSA has established a solid governance framework with a strong Board. As a regional partner, WSA plays a key role in the governance of AWS at an international level. As we continue to build water stewardship in our region, the contribution of members is vital as it provides the support for a strong multi-stakeholder governance mechanism that will protect and enhance the integrity and credibility of our system.