Water crises are one of the major global risks for the coming decade, ranked third to have the strongest impact on economies and societies alike (Global Risks Report, 2020). But what does this mean for businesses in Zambia?
Across much of the country, factories, mines, farms, and industries are noticing how water stress is hitting their bottom lines and jeopardizing their business models. Lusaka is particularly under threat as groundwater becomes more polluted and depleted, and plans are drawn up for the use of water from the Kafue River.
Responding to this, the Lusaka Water Security Initiative (LuWSI) hosted a CEO breakfast on Wednesday, November 24th. This event, supported by NatuReS Zambia and WWF Zambia, brought together industry representatives, the Mayor of Lusaka, Her Worship Ms Chilando Chitangala, and the Guest of Honour, Zambia’s Minister of Water, Development and Sanitation, Hon. Mike Mposha MP. They discussed how Lusaka’s water challenges can be addressed to the benefit of the city’s economy and its citizens. The Minister emphasized the importance of water security and the need to ensure the protection of the country’s natural resources.
Zambia’s Minister of Water, Development and Sanitation, Hon. Mike Mposha MP Copyright: LuWSI
In the spirit of partnerships as promoted by LuWSI, WWF Zambia and GIZ Zambia’s Water and Energy Cluster signed a relationship agreement as part of the event. The agreement aims to strengthen the cooperation between WWF and GIZ on the protection of Zambia’s natural resources and the implementation of green principles, such as supporting LuWSI to protect and enhance water security in Zambia’s capital. It also offers new prospects for a distinctive relationship between the two parties on the following;
● Water security: Develop a long term strategy for Lusaka’s water security.
● Private sector engagement: Identify and concretise areas of joint action through a clearly defined strategic plan.
● Project portfolio development: Facilitate the development of bankable projects, nature-based solutions, and city resilience initiatives.
Signing of the relationship agreement between WWF and GIZ Copyright: LuWSI
The signing of the relationship agreement comes at a time when there is an urgency for increased action towards natural resources management and stewardship, as Zambia’s natural assets are threatened by degradation and extinction. This brings a heightened need for collaborations such as these for collective and impactful action.
Ecohydrology as an innovative, low-cost approach to soil erosion control has been embarked on in the Lake Hawassa sub-catchment by the Protecting Lake Hawassa partnership (PLH). This approach, due to its multiple benefits, became a preferred option among farmers over conventional soil erosion control methods.
The Ethiopian Minister for Water and Energy, His Excellency Dr. Eng. Habtamu Itefa, visited one of the PLH project sites in Shalla Woreda on 15 November 2021. He was joined in the official visit by State Minister Dr. Abrham Adugna and the former Minister for Water, Irrigation, and Energy, Mr. Motuma Mekassa, as well as other higher officials. The visit was initiated by a mutual interest of the Ministry and Rift Valley Lakes Basin Office (RVLBO), aiming at showcasing successful projects in the basin. During the visit, the Minister pointed out that the project is very eco-friendly and successful in managing the increasing challenges of landscape degradation.
H.E. Dr. Eng. Habtamu mentioned that the technology has the potential to be scaled at national level after additional piloting in other parts of the rift valley basin. The government officials also acknowledged the suitability of the technology for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in providing multiple ecosystem services and sediment reduction. The technical manual “Ecohydrology-Based Landscape Restoration” developed with a collaborative effort of Hawassa University and PLH was highly appreciated by visitors. The Minister stated that this manual shall be nationally harmonized and officially adopted by the Ministry of Water and Energy, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture, for wider circulation and implementation.
25 November 2021 – The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives and livelihoods of millions in South Africa and around the world. The economic effects of the pandemic cannot be overstated. While South Africa’s economic growth is expected to rebound to 4% in 2021, this is on the back of a 7% contraction in 2020. This challenge presents an opportunity to build back better towards a green and sustainable future for all. The South African water sector offers huge potential for enabling economic recovery, combined with a quick turnaround, to ensure a greener economy post COVID-19.
How this recovery can be achieved was the focus of the 7th Annual Water Stewardship Conference, which took place in two morning sessions on 23 and 24 November 2021. The event brought together representatives from government, industry, civil society and development partners to explore how investments in South Africa’s water sector can be leveraged to generate sustained economic growth, employment and long-term wellbeing.
Jointly hosted by the National Business Initiative (NBI), the Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN), the Royal Danish Embassy and supported by GIZ’s Natural Resources Stewardship Programme (NatuReS) and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the event builds on the momentum of last year’s consultations, which focused on Good Governance for Green Recovery: Stewardship in a Post-COVID Water Sector.
This year’s topic of “Water Stewardship in Action: A Journey to Economic Recovery”, unpacked what needs to be done to create robust governance for sustainable economic recovery and the national levers for anchoring water stewardship action to ensure initiatives and water investments support a post-COVID 19 green recovery.
The first day of the event sought to inspire further action and collaboration on the journey to economic recovery. The focus was on the economic regulation of water, ongoing structural reforms for enhanced management of the water sector and the economics of ecosystems. The second day highlighted the global discourse on stewardship and the numerous water stewardship initiatives taking place from local to national scale across the country. It also profiled the distinct work occurring at each level.
Representation of topics from Day 1
Why is a Green Economic Recovery Important?
The South African water sector struggles with financial challenges and capacity restrictions, constraining its ability to bridge the service delivery gap, a situation exacerbated by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges are further aggravated by a lack of accountability linked to the governance, management, and oversight of the sector itself.
The National Water and Sanitation Master Plan indicates that only 65 percent of South Africans have access to safe and reliable water services, while 14.1 million people lack access to decent sanitation. Yet, the Master Plan also contains the solutions to address these issues, stating: “A turn-around towards financial sustainability is not optional.” The Master Plans also calls for enhanced revenue streams combined with cost reduction and explores different funding models and innovative technologies. Importantly, it also gives the private sector an opportunity to invest in water and wastewater projects.
With water as a key enabler of economic growth, there is an opportunity to leverage green and sustainable investments in the sector to support South Africa’s efforts to build back better. Further, partnerships between government, the private sector, academia as well as national and international financing institutions and facilities provides the institutional and financial strength to get it done.
Honourable Dikeledi Magadzi, Deputy Minister of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), who spoke at the virtual event says: “COVID-19 has not only deeply affected the physical health of our country. It has exposed the big challenges we as a nation are still facing. Inequality, economic vulnerability, the lack of access to services and the lack of accountability. I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to the water sector to embrace the power of partnerships between private, public and civil society to collaboratively work together to close the water gap through taking a water stewardship approach.”
Representation of topics discussed on Day 2
What does A Journey to Economic Recovery look like?
The COVID-19 pandemic has required collaborative action between Government, businesses and communities to identify critical blockages and ensure sustainable economic recovery that advances the green economy. A key aspect of the green economy is that it achieves water security. Opportunities for sustainable investing in South Africa’s infrastructure are abundant, including in the water, agriculture and energy sectors. Leveraging green finance may be the best way to tap into more resources from domestic and foreign institutional investors now that sustainable investment is a growing necessity.
Robust governance is a crucial enabler if green economic recovery is to be achieved in the South Africa’s water sector. Well governed institutions improve performance and bring about much-needed stability and recovery. In the public sector, the need for greater transparency in decision making, improved financial management and technical capacity at both national and municipal levels is needed. In the private sector, the focus on corporate accountability needs to remain high on the sustainability agenda with more stringent criteria required for corporate leadership on water security.
Through the promotion of community led good governance practice, communities can be equipped and informed on how to both engage with government and private sector stakeholders, as well as hold them to account for specific actions linked to water conservation and demand management. Examples of such action include participatory budgeting processes, greater transparency, deepening understanding of procurement systems and participation in project planning and design. This would ensure strategic links between economic development and natural resource protection and encourage greater ownership of initiatives.
Wetlands in Uganda form a unique ecosystem that supports diverse animal and plant life, and contain, store, and purify large quantities of water flows in the catchments of Lake Victoria basin. However, the basin is experiencing rapid population growth, and destructive anthropogenic activities. Examples are unplanned urban settlements and inappropriate agricultural practices, which are the biggest drivers for the deteriorating water quality and degradation of precious wetland ecosystems in the area. One water-intensive and dependant sector present in the area is the floriculture sector – 13 out of 15 commercial flower farms in the country are located in Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA) around the Lake Victoria basin.
Protecting water and wetland ecosystems
The flower industry in Uganda provides employment opportunities, foreign exchange, and domestic revenue to the Ugandan economy. According to the Uganda Flower Exporters Association, the industry’s investments in GKMA are estimated at USD 100 Million, providing about 10,000 jobs to people, of which 80 per cent are women. With the increasing expansion of the industry coupled with rapid population increase around GKMA, the pressure on water and wetland resources has increased. To safeguard the investments of the commercial flower farms, the jobs they provide to the people, and to maintain the ecological functions of the water and wetland ecosystems, there is a need to strengthen collaboration and coordination by the commercial flower farms, the government institutions and non-state actors for sustainable use and management of water and wetland resources in GKMA.
Attendees of the Commercial Flower Farm Integrated Catchment Management Partnership meeting at the Water Resources Institute, Entebbe. Copyright: GIZ/Alisa Knoll
The Commercial Flower Farms Integrated Catchment Management Partnership
The Commercial Flower Farms Integrated Catchment Management Partnership aims at strengthening collaboration between the public, private sector, and non-state actors in the flower industry for sustainable use of natural resources in GKMA. The partners are the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), NatureUganda (a conservation organisation) and the Uganda Flower Exporters Association (UFEA) that coordinates and mobilises the 13 commercial flower farms in Greater Kampala. Together, the partners aim at:
improving the commercial flower farms’ compliance to national water and environmental regulations alongside international standards
strengthening occupational safety, health and environmental management practices by the flower farms and surrounding communities to foster better working conditions and safeguard jobs
reducing waste generated from both farms and communities around the wetland systems in the area
promoting wise use of water and wetland resources around commercial flower farms
Dr. Jerome Lugumira (Partnership Focal Person from NEMA) giving a presentation to participants. Copyright: GIZ/Alisa Knoll
Compliance support to the Commercial Flower Farms
On November 16th, 2021, key partners and focal points appointed by the commercial flower farms for this partnership, gathered for a meeting at the Water Resources Institute of the Ministry of Water and Environment. The objective of the meeting was to understand the water and environmental regulatory requirements (including procedures and processes) to be undertaken in acquiring the different water abstraction permits and certificates to operate by the Commercial flower farms
The meeting was also an opportunity for the commercial flower farms focal persons to provide feedback to the government agencies on the current challenges they face in the process of complying with national regulations. The focal persons then visited the Ministry of Water and Environment’s National Water Quality laboratory, a state-of-the-art laboratory for water analysis to learn about the services offered and how they can make use of the laboratory in their compliance activities.
Mr. Katumba Godfrey (Principal Water Analyst at the National Water Quality Laboratory) during a site-visit at the Ministry of Water and Environment’s Water Quality Laboratory to commercial flower farm focal persons. Copyright: NatureUganda/ Jimmy Muheebwa
Ensuring compliance to water and environmental regulations
The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is mandated to regulate, monitor, supervise and coordinate all activities related to the environment, including the activities of the commercial flower farms. Dr. Jerome Lugumira, the partnership focal person from NEMA, presented the relevant provisions of the National Environment Act 2019, subordinate regulations, standards and guidelines that the flower farms have to comply with. He pledged NEMA’s continued compliance support to the flower farms in order to improve compliance to environment regulations for sustainable use of natural resources in GKMA
Similarly, water regulation through the permit system is one of the core functions of the Directorate of Water Resources Management (DWRM). Ms. Sylvia Nanyunja, the partnership focal person from DWRM gave a presentation on the processes to obtain and renew water permits for surface, ground water and wastewater discharge permits. She highlighted the terms, costs and the procedure to obtain and renew the different permits as provided in the National Water policy and the Water Action Plan.
Referring to the Uganda Wetlands Atlas, covering greater Kampala, Mr. Achilles Byaruhanga (Executive Director of NatureUganda) highlighted NatureUganda’s continued collaboration with the Wetlands Management Department of the Ministry of Water and Environment (Partnership Chair) in promoting wise use of wetlands, their restoration and biodiversity monitoring.
Mr. Achilles Byaruhanga (Executive Director, NatureUganda) referring to the Uganda Wetlands Atlas to highlight NatureUganda’s continued collaboration with the Wetlands Management Department of the Ministry of Water and Environment (Partnership Chair) in promoting wise use of wetlands, their restoration and biodiversity monitoring. Copyright: GIZ/Alisa Knoll
Key take-aways from the meeting
Regular compliance support needs to be provided to the commercial flower farms to improve environmental and social performance of the commercial flower farms.
There is a need to improve information flow between the regulatory bodies and the commercial flower farms
Knowledge sharing on best practices among commercial flower farms should be initiated.
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