The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported as of 2020 to be the second largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $69 billion in assets. On his 43rd birthday, Bill Gates gave the foundation $1 billion. The primary stated goals of the foundation are to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty across the world, and to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology in the U.S. Key individuals of the foundation include Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, Warren Buffett, chief executive officer Mark Suzman, and Michael Larson.
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems aim to protect human health by providing a clean environment that will stop the transmission of disease, especially through the fecal–oral route. For example, diarrhea, a main cause of malnutrition and stunted growth in children, can be reduced through adequate sanitation. There are many other diseases which are easily transmitted in communities that have low levels of sanitation, such as ascariasis, cholera, hepatitis, polio, schistosomiasis, and trachoma, to name just a few.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade as well as disarmament and arms control. The research is based on open sources and is directed to decision-makers, researchers, media and the interested public.
Ecological sanitation, commonly abbreviated as ecosan, is an approach to sanitation provision which aims to safely reuse excreta in agriculture. It is an approach, rather than a technology or a device which is characterized by a desire to "close the loop", mainly for the nutrients and organic matter between sanitation and agriculture in a safe manner. One of the aims is to minimise the use of non-renewable resources. When properly designed and operated, ecosan systems provide a hygienically safe system to convert human excreta into nutrients to be returned to the soil, and water to be returned to the land. Ecosan is also called resource-oriented sanitation.
The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) is an independent policy research institute whose stated mission is to "build a fairer, more sustainable world, using evidence, action and influence in partnership with others." Its director is Dr Tom Mitchell.
The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is an international research organization focusing on the issue of sustainable development. SEI has its headquarters in Stockholm with a network structure of permanent and associated staff worldwide and with centres the US, York (UK), Oxford (UK), Tallinn (Estonia), and Bangkok (Thailand).
The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) is a loose network of organizations who are "working along the same lines towards achieving sustainable sanitation". It began its work in 2007, one year before the United Nations International Year of Sanitation in 2008. The intention of creating SuSanA was to have a joint label for the planned activities for 2008 and to align the various organizations for further initiatives.
Sustainable sanitation is a sanitation system designed to meet certain criteria and to work well over the long-term. Sustainable sanitation systems consider the entire "sanitation value chain", from the experience of the user, excreta and wastewater collection methods, transportation or conveyance of waste, treatment, and reuse or disposal. The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) includes five features in its definition of "sustainable sanitation": Systems need to be economically and socially acceptable, technically and institutionally appropriate and protect the environment and natural resources.
The International Water Association (IWA) is a nonprofit organization and knowledge hub for the water sector, connecting water professionals and companies to find solutions to the world's water challenges. IWA has a global secretariat in London, UK, and a regional office in Chennai, India.
The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research is a German government-funded research institute addressing crucial scientific questions in the fields of global change, climate impacts, and sustainable development. Ranked among the top environmental think tanks worldwide, it is one of the leading research institutions and part of a global network of scientific and academic institutions working on questions of global environmental change. It is a member of the Leibniz Association, whose institutions perform research on subjects of high relevance to society.
The Ecological Sanitation Research Programme (EcoSanRes) is a research and capacity development program that aims to develop and promote sustainable sanitation in the developing world through capacity development and knowledge management as a contribution to equity, health, poverty alleviation, and improved environmental quality.
Johan Rockström is a Swedish scientist, internationally recognized for his work on global sustainability issues. He is joint director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in Germany, together with economist Ottmar Edenhofer. He is also Professor in Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam and Professor in Water Systems and Global Sustainability, Stockholm University.
The Sustainable Mekong Research Network (SUMERNET) is a network of organizations committed to the sustainable development of the Greater Mekong Region. Launched in 2005, SUMERNET supports policy-relevant research and outreach activities to inform and engage policy-makers, planners and stakeholders. Within this context, it pursues an evolving agenda in response to questions and policy issues that arise in the region. Current research themes are climate-compatible development, regional economic integration, and ecosystem services and local development. The network works on a range of issues including natural ecosystems governance, floods and natural disasters, climate change and adaptation, and transboundary resource flows.
African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) is an intergovernmental non-profit organization, founded in 1988 by Calestous Juma in Nairobi, Kenya, promoting policy-oriented research on science and technology in development that is sustainable in terms of the economy, society, and the environment. It was the first African non-profit organization to combine policy research, science and technology.
Melissa Leach, is a British geographer and social anthropologist. She studies sustainability and development concerns in policy-making and has a focus on the politics of science and technology of Africa. As of 2017 she was the Director of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) located on the University of Sussex campus.
The Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), is a research centre on resilience and sustainability science at Stockholm University. It is a joint initiative between Stockholm University and the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Malin Fredrika Sofia Sundberg-Falkenmark, born 21 November 1925) is a Swedish hydrologist. Falkenmark is best known for her long-standing work and expertise on the sustainable use of water resources to meet human and ecosystem needs. Her work is characterized by an integration of both natural- and social-science approaches. She is particularly known for developing what is now known as the Falkenmark Water Stress Indicator, an indicator used to measure and describe the water available for human use. She is the daughter of Halvar Sundberg.
The Swedish International Agricultural Network Initiative (SIANI) is a network-based communications platform which works to bring food security and agricultural development. It operates in line with 2030 Agenda, under the vision of “Ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture”. SIANI's mission is to facilitate inclusive and engaging dialogues around Sustainable Development Goal #2, with participation from academia, the private sector, public authorities and civil society.
Beatrice Crona is an ecologist, a professor at Stockholm University, and the Executive Director of the Program on Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 2023 she became a Science Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
The African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) (French: Conseil des Ministres Africains Chargés de L'eau), is considered by the African Union as the support mechanism for its Specialised Technical Committee (STC) to drive achievement in the water and sanitation sectors. It is a regional development network of 55 African countries that advances socioeconomic development and the abolition of poverty through effective cooperation, management of water supply services, and provision of the continent's water resources to its members.
