Objectives
The subcluster,
also named UN Water/Africa, was initiated in 1992 as the
Interagency Group for Water in Africa (IGWA) which was formed
as African regional counterpart at the initiative of ECA
of in response to a request by the UNACC Subcommittee on
Water Resources, to coordinate and harmonize water activities
in Africa by various UN and other subregional IGOs. The
other objective of IGWA was to promote joint collaborative
activities in water sector in Africa by these agencies.
The UNECA was the Secretariat of IGWA s and continues to
serve as the Secretariat of UN-Water/Africa. Members of
UN-Water/Africa meet routinely to review progress, to exchange
information and to plan follow-up-activities.
Composition
The UN-Water/Africa
(formerly IGWA) comprises many UN agencies, including the
Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations Environmental
Program, World Meteorological Organization, United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,The United
Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Development Programme,
United Nations Human Settlements Programme, Water and Sustainable
Development Programme in Africa, The New Partnership for
Africa's Development, African Development Bank Group. It
also has as members the major River Basin Organizations
in Africa including Lake Chad Basin Organization, Niger
Basin Organization and others.
Activities
Prior to 1999,
the major activity was the Annual Session of IGWA which
served the sole purpose of information exchange. In 2000
a comprehensive review led to the formulation of other major
inter-sessional activities to be carriede out by all members
or sub-groups of members. Under the leadership of the Secretariat,
the IGWA joined the then Organization of African Unity and
the African Development Bank in developing the African Water
Vision 2025 as Africa’s contribution to the 2nd World
Water Forum at the Hague, Netherlands in 2000.
The Netherlands
Government provided a grant to exclusively support the Institutional
Strengthening of the Inter-Agency Group on Water in Africa
(IGWA) at the request of the Regional Advisory Service of
the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA),
which provides the Secretariat of the Group. The Programme
document was approved in February by the Netherlands Government
and signed on 4th April 2002. The first tranche of the funds
were received in June and Project Implementation started
in earnest in August 2002.
The long-term
goal of the proposed Program is to contribute to the satisfactory
fulfillment of the role of Africa’s water resources
in poverty reduction and sustainable socio-economic development.
This is in recognition of the fact that water development
in Africa is not an end in itself but an essential instrument
for poverty reduction and economic growth. To achieve this,
a secondary long-term goal is to create awareness and highlight
the need for raising the level of priority among African
decision makers of the crosscutting role of water in poverty
reduction and socio-economic development.
These long-term
goals are translated into the following broad short to medium
term objectives in this Programme:
- To create
awareness of the African Water Vision 2025 and the adoption
of the concept of Integrated Water Resources Management
(IWRM) in the formulation and implementation of Water
Resources Development Plans for Poverty Alleviation in
Africa.
- . To develop
a bi-annual authoritative report on the status of water
resources in Africa that will serve as an instrument for
decision-makers in monitoring and evaluating progress
made in the Implementation of the African Water Vision
2025.
- To develop
the institutional and human capacities for the implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of IWRM
in Africa.
The Programme
consists of six inter-related components. They are intended
to supplement and strengthen the ongoing activities of the
member Institutions of UN Water/Africa ( formerly IGWA).
These activities are designed to reinforce the Regular Program
of Work of the ECA ( Secretariat) in UN Water/Africa
The components are as follows:
- Study on
Water Sharing as an Instrument of Regional Cooperation
in Africa.
- Development
and Maintenance of an African Regional Information System
on Shared/ Transboundary Water Resources.
- African
Water Development Report.
- IWRM Implementation
Workshops
- ECA’s
Assistance to the Ghana Conference on Water 2002 later
changed to support for the Water Dome at the WSSD in South
Africa.
- Human and
Institutional Capacity Strengthening of the IGWA Secretariat.
These activities
are designed to reinforce the Regular Program of Work of
the ECA and it’s Partners in IGWA. In this regard,
resources in this program will complement existing regular
and extra budgetary resources for the Water Sector within
the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Outcomes
and challenges to date.
Overall, one
component of the programme, Support for the Accra Conference
(later changed to Water Dome Support) has been fully executed
and inception activities related to the three major components
(African Water Development Report, AWDR, African Water Information
Clearing House, AWICH, and IWRM Implementation Workshops)
are underway. The Study on Water Sharing as an Instrument
of Regional Cooperation is to be initiated in the third
quarter of 2004.
At the Water
Dome (a major side event of WSSD), the African Water Village
was coordinated and supplementary financial support provided
for African participants through the local organizing secretariat
provided by the Africa office of the international Water
Management Institute (IWMI).
The following
activities related to the three major components of the
Programme have been carried out to date:
1. African
Water Development Report: National Report Writers have been
selected for all North, West and Central African Countries
in close collaboration with the Sub-regional Offices of
ECA. Consultative meetings have been held with these National
Writers to brief them on the structure, format and Indicators
to be utilized in writing the National Reports based on
those of the World Water Assessment programme (WWAP). Brochures
are being developed to announce the Report at the Africa
Day sessions at the 3rd World Water Forum. An Interim version
of the AWDR was prepared for the Pan African Implementation
and Partnership Conference on Water (PANAFCON www.uneca.org/panafcon
)
2. African
Water Information Clearing House: partnerships have been
mobilized and a website has been set up (www.uneca.org/awich).
Consultations are ongoing with respect to setting up the
Sub-regional and national nodes and a system of meta-databases
are being considered for adoption. A series of Sub-Regional
Workshops to build capacity and develop networks of users
and contributing partners institutions was started in Central
Africa in June 2004.
3. IWRM Implementation
Workshops: Prior to the beginning of the programme one Workshop
had been held for West Africa and since the programme’s
Inception two Sub-regional Workshops have been held for
North Africa (Cairo) and Central Africa (Yaounde). These
Workshops targeted Policymakers, Planners, and related professionals
in these sub-regions and involved Information sharing and
dissemination, discussions, and identifying priorities in
Implementing IWRM in the regions
In terms of impact the most significant successes of the
UN Water/Africa are:
1. The successful
organization the Pan-African Implementation and Partnership
Conference on Water in December 2003 at Addis Ababa to round
off the International Year for Fresh Water (IYFW) 2003.
This was done under the aegis of the African Ministerial
Council on Water (AMCOW) and in broad partnership with all
stakeholders of the African Water Sector including Civil
Society, Scientists and Researchers, the Commercial Private
Sector and The Development Partners. Over 1100 participants
attended this Conference and many new initiatives and clear
commitments were launched both by the Ministers and their
Development Partners. ( www.uneca.org/panafcon ).
2. Provision of Technical Support to the African Union in
the preparation of the Extra-Ordinary Summit on Water and
Agriculture held in February 2004 at Sirte, Libya where
most of the outcomes of PANAFCON were endorsed for implementation
by the African Heads of States.
Way
forward
Looking ahead
in the short and medium term, the cluster envisages:
- Finalizing
of the First edition of the African Water Development
Report.
- Operationalizing
the African Water Information Clearing House (www.uneca.org/awich)
at the Sub-Regional and National levels.
- Drafting
of protocols and Consultative workshops for the Study
on Water Sharing as an Instrument of Regional Cooperation.
This incidentally will contribute to an explicit request
by the Heads of State at the AU Summit on Water and Agriculture
at Sirte for the development of an African Regional Cooperative
Framework for Shared Water Resources Management.
- Completion
of the Sub-Regional Workshops on IWRM for the remaining
sub-regions.
- Complete
an ancillary Study on the Status of MDGs related to water
in Africa.
Links
www.uneca.org/awich
Official site of African Water Information Clearing House
www.afdb.org
Official site of African Development Bank ( Financing water
in Africa)
www.unesco.org/water
World Water Assessment Programme site
www.uneca.org/panafcon
Pan African Implementation and Partnership Conference Sited
www.unep.org
UNEP Official website ( Water and Environment)
www.fao.org
FAO official website ( Water and Food , AQUASTAT ).
www.wmo.org
WMO official website ( Water and Climate )
www.undp.org
UNDP official website ( Governing Water Wisely)
www.gwp.org
Global Water Partnership website
www.waterdome.net
Water Dome site at WSSD
Actions
Taken
The sub-cluster on water and sanitation
organized a Pan-African Implementation and Partnership Conference
on Water in Addis Ababa, from 8 to 13 December 2003. Among
the issues discussed were: the role of Africa’s water
resources in economic, social and environmental development
and the concept of the Integrated Water Resources Management;
and financing water sector development in Africa, possibly
from savings realized under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries
initiative; national budgetary allocations (5 per cent),
private sector; traditional communal resources and bilateral
and multilateral partners. Major achievements of the Conference
are embodied in the overall commitment by the African Ministers’
Council on Water to launch the following initiatives: African-European
Union Strategic Partnership on Water Affairs and Sanitation;
African Water Facility, to be hosted by the African Development
Bank but under the policy direction of the African Ministers’
Council on Water; the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation
Initiative of the African Development Bank; and the Water
for African Cities programme (phase II), as well as support
for the implementation of the Group of Eight Action Plan
on Water for Africa. The African Water Journal is to be
launched by ECA to disseminate information and knowledge
and facilitate documentation and sharing of African experiences.
The following actions are envisaged in advancing the work
of the water subcluster: establish in 2004 national task
forces on water to prepare and implement plans for achieving
the targets of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015;
negotiate the implementation of the “portfolio of
projects” with the development cooperation partners,
the Bretton Woods institutions and “UN Water”/Africa,
which brings together all United Nations agencies working
in Africa.
Documents
Infrastructure Development