A low-cost wastewater treatment that developing countries can consider is duckweed. It is energy-efficient, cost-effective, and applicable under a wide variety of rural and urban conditions. This presentation features the duckweed-based wastewater treatment system in Mirzapur, Bangladesh, as a case study.

The City Environmental and Natural Resources Office of Pasig City in the Philippines employs different strategies as it moves towards attaining the goal of turning Pasig into a green city.

Though ADB is a bank, it understands that cleaning up rivers and sustaining their cleanliness go beyond providing money to achieve this goal. Experience shows that community mobilization and leadership commitment, backed with a vision and supported by capable and coordinated institutions, are critical success factors.

Manila's Pasig River continues to play an important social, cultural, historical, and political role. Its restoration, which began with the Pasig River Rehabilitation Program in 1989, aims to reverse the effects of years of negligence, uncontrolled development, and unabated pollution.

This presentation explains the concepts of inclusiveness, poverty reduction, and vulnerability. It clarifies myths and misconceptions on urban poverty. The presentation also explains the need to adopt different approaches for the urban poor that go beyond affordability and access.

Seattle in the United States is a model city with sustainable urban development practices. The city, an established leader in recycling and composting, has enjoyed plentiful and high-quality drinking water from protected mountain sources for over a hundred years.

As cities continue to grow at an unprecedented pace, access to water and sanitation becomes a priority. In Asia, sanitation is lagging behind water supply causing tremendous social and economic costs. Meeting the challenge requires a new approach that will increase access to reliable water and sanitation services.