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ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability takes part in World Water Day 2011 in Cape Town, South Africa
20 March 2011
Margaret Pageler, Executive Committee member of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Barbara Anton of ICLEI European Secretariat along with Tarryn Quayle and colleagues from ICLEI-Africa attended World Water Day 2011, taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, in South Africa, from 20 – 22 March.
World Water Day 2011 took on the theme of Water and Urbanisation. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most rapidly urbanising regions in the world, making this a timely and relevant theme.
The Conference kicked off with a session on Radical versus Incremental Change – how to SWITCH urban water systems to meet current and future challenges. The session was convened by the SWITCH consortium, UNESCO–IHE and ICLEI.
Discussions centred around the SWITCH project “Managing Water for Cities of the Future” which comes to a close in April 2011 (this is part-funded by the European Commission). The session opened with a discussion on the transitioning framework that was developed under the project. This proposes a roadmap towards addressing current and future challenges within urban water management systems that take into account rapid urbanisation, service provision for the poor, impacts of climate change and improving resilience.
One of the key tools developed during the SWITCH project was the SWITCH Learning Alliances, which provided a platform for action research, stakeholder collaboration and the scaling-up of successful solutions. The Learning Alliance aimed to drive transition, develop vision, evaluate the long-term goals and undertake monitoring and evaluation of the lessons learnt during the project.
The discussion recognised the need to encourage, engage and strengthen relationships between academic institutes and local authorities to increase innovation and build capacity around water and sanitation service delivery.
Please see www.switchurbanwater.eu for more information on the SWITCH project. In addition you can also have access to the SWITCH Transitioning Manuel, available on the website from the end of April. Please contact Barbara Anton, ICLEI European Secretariat, Freiburg, Germany: barbara.anton@iclei.org.
Margaret Pageler, ICLEI Executive Committee member and Governor of the World Water Council, chaired the panel in an afternoon session titled: Water Champion Cities – Getting Prepared for Urban Challenges, convened by the World Water Council and the co-organisers of the 6th World Water Forum.
The session aimed to build on the Istanbul Water Consensus that emerged from the 5th World Water Forum that took place in Turkey in March 2009; and develop a roadmap toward the 6th World Water Forum to be held in Marseilles in 2012. To date 650 local and regional authorities have signed the Istanbul Water Consensus, one of which is the City of Cape Town.
The session highlighted actions or initiatives undertaken by the represented water champion cities, including Paris (France), São Paulo (Brazil), Entebbe (Uganda) and Inchoen (Korea).
Alderman Clive Justus of the City of Cape Town gave an opening address on behalf of Mayor Plato about the value of water: “We need to adapt water and sanitation to the challenges we are currently facing which include climate change, rapid urbanisation and water resource scarcity,” he said. “In the last five years Cape Town has decreased consumption by 26% through various mechanisms, such as water demand management devices in commercial enterprises, informal settlements and schools.”
Mayor Stephen Kabuye of Entebbe, Uganda said his city faced the challenges of increasing population, with water supply infrastructure not increasing at a rate necessary to meet the demands of the growing population. Other challenges he outlined were the ‘non-payment culture’ and the high cost and unreliable nature of electricity.
Mayor Kabuye highlighted a number of key water targets that Entebbe aimed to meet by 2016. These included increased water supply to communities (96%), decreased water loss during supply and increased daily water allowance per capita.
Margaret Pageler said solutions were needed at the local level and Solutions for Water would be the theme for the 6th World Water Forum. “Promote stronger recognition of the role of local and regional authorities in the global political debate on water,” she said. “The ambition is to develop and trigger actual implementation of concrete solutions through the achievement of targets.”
The Official Preparatory Meeting for the 6th World Water Forum to be held in Marseilles in 2012, will take place in Lyon, France from 30 – 31 May 2011.
