The following are examples of projects, institutions and partnerships in place to manage water demands at the basin level.
Managing Water for African Cities
The United Nations have recognised that many African cities urgently need to develop and implement effective Water Conservation / Water Demand Management (WC/WDM) strategies to use limited water resources effectively. A collaborative project was launched by the UN Centre for Human Settlements (UN-Habitat) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) within the framework of the UN’s Special Initiative on Africa. The project, to be completed by 2015, promotes policies and programmes for integrated urban water management for several African cities and prioritises the development and implementation of Water Demand Management programmes and measures (Sandstrom and Singh 2004).
Water tanker in Lower Kunene basin, Angola.
Source: AHT GROUP AG 2009
( click to enlarge )
Southern Africa Development Community
SADC and its’ member countries have adopted Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) as the regional approach to water resource management. The Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses in SADC (Revised Protocol) is entirely based on the Integrated Water Resources Management approach, and is a good platform from which to implement Water Demand Management. The Protocol sets many goals and objectives including the facilitation of shared watercourse agreements through river basin commissions, and the harmonisation of policy and legislation across the basin. The Revised Protocol will also serve to allow for information exchange and technological advances (Sandstrom and Singh 2004).
The Global Water Partnership
"The vision of the Global Water Partnership is for a water-secure world. [Their] mission is to support the sustainable development and management of water resources at all levels."
The Global Water Partnership for southern Africa (GWP-SA) aims to promote Integrated Water Resource Management in southern Africa through the exchange of information and experiences. The GWP is a worldwide network of partners that develops and implements programmes in order to bridge gaps in knowledge (GWP-SA 2010). To learn more about the GWP visit its website (www.gwpsa.org).
