Belgium at Expo Zaragoza 2008

Belgium is a paradoxical country in many aspects, just to mention one: despite being the so called capital of the European integration it is quite close to disintegrating as a country due to the continuous disputes between the Flemish and the Walloons.

The country is also divided in terms of water resources, with the North dependent from the South. Wallonia satisfies 55% of the national needs in drinking water when it counts only 37% of the population. Flanders and Brussels are not self-sufficient. The positive side is that Belgium people have mastered dialogue and consensus building, learning to live with multiple decision making centers...

In addition to the exhibit project of the Belgium pavilion , I can positively advise not to miss this pavilion for a number of other reasons, including to taste a good Belgium beer...I would give a try to Duvel, for example...to provide the right environment for such endeavor, the Belgium commissioner´s office will install and manage a Belgium café that will be also used as a platform for Belgium artists performing there.

Talking about art, not to miss the expo from Jan Fabre at the Belgium pavilion. See above the man writing on water, an installation made up of seven bronze bathtubs where there is a sculpture-portrait of the artist seated in the second one, in the process of writing on the water with his finger...

"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" in Zaragoza

Bob Dylan's has recorded a new version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" to promote next year's Expo Zaragoza 2008.
Amaral will play the Spanish version of the song.

I leave you with the less than 5 minutes advertisement where Bob Dylan sings his beautiful song and, at the very end, explains he wants to help to make sure that there is clean water for the around 1000 million people missing it.



That’s great support for the international Zaragoza exhibition but also a great responsibility to make sure the Expo really helps to improve the current situation.

Japanese sustainable civilization shows wisdom at Expo Zaragoza

“In the land of Asian Monsoon climate and ragged terrain, with geographical limitations surrounded by sea on all four sides, Japanese people have developed skills, culture and lifestyles that live in harmony and symbiosis with nature, rather than confronting it….”.
The above explains why “Harmony with Water, Wisdom and Skills” is the theme for the Japanese pavilion at Expo Zaragoza 2008.

I think is a cool theme. Honestly, I think we all have a lot to learn from Japan, especially taking into account they previous Experience in Expo 2005 in Aichi under the them of ”Nature’s wisdom”.

In addition to help us to understand the Japanese philosophy from the EDO period , to enter the Japanese pavilion will also be an opportunity to see first hand cutting-edge technologies that help to solve global-scale tasks. Enjoy!

Water for Life: Zaragoza put on the map (of United Nations)

Under the United Nations Charter all humans are guaranteed the right to life (and as water is necessary for life…) however in practice this is an empty right for….1.200 million people. This is nothing new. But something is moving in Zaragoza. A brand new United Nations office to support the International Decade for Action “Water for Life” 2005-2015 just opened there on the 5th of October 2007.







But why in Zaragoza? The main reasons put forward by Spain in support of Zaragoza’s candidacy were:- The commitment of the Spanish government to environmentally-friendly water policies, both within Spain and internationally. - The strong links between Aragón and Zaragoza and the issue of water, for historical, institutional, economic and social reasons. - The constant promotion by Aragón’s regional government of the proper use of water, with innovative policies achieving impressive results. - The reliable record of Aragonese social groups in this area. - The enormous possibilities offered by Expo 2008 to ensure that the Decade of Water’s objectives are properly promoted at international level

The office will be managed by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (http://www.un.org/esa/desa/ ) and if I understood well has 2 main goals:
-to facilitate the coordinated implementation of UN-Water’s work on water and sanitation, especially in the areas of communication and advocacy to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities to solve global water and sanitation issues.
-to promote greater interaction between governments, UN agencies and non-UN partners to deliver a coordinated response; mobilizing resources, partners and other stakeholders; promoting and encouraging partnerships at all levels; and ensuring coherence between the implementation of the water and sanitation agenda and other development goals.
Carlos Fernandez-Jauregui born in Bolivia (see on the above photo at beautiful Casa Solans: the interim premises of the UN office till it is moved to the Expo Zaragoza 2008 premises) will be coordinating the UN office in Zaragoza. All my best whishes to him!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Water, $ and clothes)

Yes, this is like a Western...altough it might not be evident as first sight...Reading about washing machines new water & energy efficient models, you start thinking whether the shirts with the tomato sauce will have a second life just putting them inside your new energy efficient and cheap washing machine or that wont be enough. Basically would mean that decreasing energy and decreasing water put into the process of washing, will (at a certain point) decrease quality of the cleaning of your clothes...(got to Mr. Tabarrok blog, an economics university professor, to know more on this point). I think it is a very interesting point, cleary linked with behavioural economics, if such a thing exists...

For me, it is clear athat the (economical) gap between consuming less (electricity & water) and paying more for the best in class appliances should be strongly bridged with financial incentives to consumers and manufacturers. Let's hope the Expo Zaragoza 2008 and the activities sponsored by the Zaragoza city council linked to Water & sustainable development are able to tackle this issues of behavioural economics (for the Expo Forums) and simply economics ie. nice financial incentives for consumers (for the Zaragoza city council).

Estimation of water saving potential in Europe doubles

A report published by the Commission states that water use in the European Union could be reduced by about 40%. This figure is nearly twice as much as previously estimated

However, in a business as usual scenario it is estimated that water consumption by the public, industry and agriculture would increase by 16% by 2030.

Hopefully the Expo will help us, all of us, to achieve this water saving reduction or near.
The executive summary and the report are available for those interested.

Pd. If you want to check a place to have some bath in Zaragoza next summer during the Expo, According to the European Union, you can go (and make some tourism) to Salvatierra de Esca or Santa Eulalia de Gallego. Unfortunately the river Ebro is not yet on this database, but for sure, you will be able to swim near the Expo Zaragoza 2008 premises.

Eagles view of Expo Zaragoza city treasures

Well, 2 posts ago, i provided you with the essence of Zaragoza from an historic point of view. Now, i want to show to you...Enjoy!




Pd. in particular, the first 2 minutes of the video are great ;)