Water is central to the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Prof. Kevin Urama told those at World Water Week.

Urama, who is Senior Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank for Inclusive and Green Growth, told the gathering of about 3 000 water actors that, as the global community pivots to the implementation of these new goals, there is an acknowledgment that without transformative action in the management of water resources in Africa, it will be considerably difficult to achieve the SDGs and the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The Stockholm event called for a Green Water Initiative for Africa to speed up action towards the delivery of these goals in Africa.

While Africa stands out as the most vulnerable of the water-scarce world regions, there are many opportunities available to manage water for sustainable economic growth and social progress in Africa, he said.

“The technologies and innovations that improve rainwater use efficiency in agricultural production are available and can be quickly deployed to achieve a water-based green revolution, especially in Africa. These technologies, especially rainwater harvesting, micro-dams, terracing, and flood diversion approaches, are both cost efficient and environmentally sustainable.”

 

DWS to focus on SDGs

South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation is now looking to address modern-day water and sanitation challenges in its transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the SDGs.

The DWS’s plans to eradicate the country’s water and sanitation backlogs by incorporating the SDGs into the MDGs were shared with members of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation by Acting Director-General (DG) Sifiso Mkhize last week.

Some of the key challenges set to be addressed include those of pollution of fresh water resources, degradation of ecosystems, managing shared water courses and basins and also improving disaster management and climate change.

During his presentation Mkhize said that the key priority of the SDGs is the need to ensure and facilitate access to basic water services, and such has been the key priority of the department for the past two decades.

Members of the committee present agreed that although there remains a big challenge and backlog where water and sanitation are concerned, DWS has made visible improvements in the supply of water in the last 22 years.