Cooperation with Iran and sharing information in water and electricity sectors is a “win-win collaboration,” Yuzki Oukazaki, says a deputy manager of the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME).
He made the statement on Tuesday in Tehran while addressing a convention on "Japan's Experience in Water and Wastewater Engineering," Paven, the Energy Ministry's news portal, reported.
"Our main objective in Iran is to hold technical training courses with the aim of promoting entrepreneurial capabilities and improving employment so that the trainees can set up their own business in the future," he said, adding that "this is a win-win situation for both sides".
The JCCME official reiterated that his organization’s first priority is training Iranian technicians in water and wastewater systems, desalination, greywater, recycling, water treatment, energy preservation and hydroelectric energy.
He added that during the training programs JCCME will pave the way for investments and introducing water and power initiatives.
The transfer of knowledge and knowhow is currently the main issue, he concurred.
"Four hundred Iranians have already been trained in Japan in greywater recycling techniques."
Greywater or sullage is defined as wastewater generated from wash hand basins, kitchen sinks, showers and baths, which can be recycled on-site for use in WC flushing, landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands. It differs from the discharge of WCs which is designated sewage or blackwater to indicate it contains human waste.
"JCCME is an independent private enterprise and its major purpose is to help strengthen economic ties between the Middle East and Japan," the senior official said.
Founded in 1973, JCCME is active in 22 countries from Western Asia to North Africa. The greater part of the budget to finance the activities undertaken by JCCME is provided by the Ministry of Economy.
The center promotes investments from Japan to the Middle East and North African (MENA) region by providing information on the investment environment, and facilitating corporate missions to research local conditions critical to business, feasibility studies, and the establishment of joint ventures.
Water-Saving Gadgets
Referring to the low water consumption in the world’s third largest economy, he said domestic water-saving gadgets (ranging from shower heads to taps, flush reducers to bathwater diverters) that are used in Iran are similar to those in Japan technology-wise. But the problem in Iran, he noted, is that a limited number of households use such water-saving gadgets while in Japan almost all houses are equipped with such accessories.
"Technology is a means, not a solution to all problems," Oukazaki stressed, noting that the Japanese people from childhood are taught to consume water prudently. Moreover, the training continues in school with the help of teachers and by the time they are adults the culture has been institutionalized.
Spending time to train kids to consume energy judiciously can be a more effective approach than having access to advanced knowledge and knowhow, he said.
Echoing the views of environmentalists and conservationists in Iran, Oukazaki said the price at which water is sold in Iran is way below than its production cost -- a wrong policy that has to change.
For example, the average single-person household in Tokyo in the fiscal year 2016 paid $30 a month for water use.
Water is heavily subsidized in Iran and while urban consumers pay 43% of its real price, only 23% of the production cost is paid by the rural people. Production of one cubic meter of water for urban use costs a little less than 10,000 rials (10 cents) and supplying the same to rural areas costs higher.
According to the director of planning and economic affairs at the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company, Masoud Khashaee, per capita consumption of water in Iran is higher than the global average.
“Water in Iran is much cheaper compared to many countries, such that the cost of water is a miniscule 0.4% of household expenses,” he said.
According to Energy Ministry data, every Iranian uses an average of 300 liters of water every day and per capita water consumption in Tehran exceeds 400 liters. The global average is 200 liters.
