GIST International Environmental Research Institute Distributes Safe Water 'Hope Water Purifiers' in Cambodia

Signed a Technical Support Agreement with Cambodia National Sustainable Development Committee for Distribution of Hope Water Purifiers

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] The International Environmental Research Institute (IERI) at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST, Jiseuteu) is set to actively promote the pro bono (free) technical support project under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, selected last December.

IERI at GIST recently announced on the 6th that it signed a technical support memorandum of understanding to distribute Hope Water Purifiers with the Secretariat General of the National Sustainable Development Committee under the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia.

The pro bono technical support project is a free technical assistance program where implementing agencies provide technical support free of charge for proposals received from developing countries.

This agreement includes various activities such as installing and distributing gravity-type membrane filtration water purification devices for villages and households in rural Cambodian villages through the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), continuously monitoring water quality and health improvements, and holding educational workshops for the operation and management of the installed purification devices.

The Climate Technology Centre and Network is an international organization established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to promote accelerated development and transfer of climate technologies based on the needs of developing countries for efficient, low-carbon, and climate-resilient energy development.

The GIST Hope Water Purifier is a water treatment device developed by the International Environmental Research Institute since 2006, starting with Cambodia, to support developing countries lacking drinking water by utilizing gravity-type membrane filtration technology. It purifies water by passing it through membranes using water pressure generated by gravity without requiring a separate energy supply.

This purifier can efficiently remove particulate contaminants and bacteria present in the water and can be used for more than 10 years with minimal maintenance, allowing local residents to manage it very easily.

In this project, in addition to local water quality experts, domestic gender experts participate to evaluate the project from a gender perspective and strengthen gender mainstreaming, and economic experts analyze the cost-effectiveness of the purification devices, expecting a synergistic effect in international development cooperation projects.

Kim Kyung-woong, director of the GIST International Environmental Research Institute, said, “The Cambodian government has a strong will to share Korea’s extensive experience through this project and to solve practical immediate challenges,” adding, “In particular, with experts from various fields participating, we expect a very exemplary international climate technology cooperation project model to be created.”

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