EU quotes research results from LoGo Water project on World Water Day 2007

On the occasion of World Water Day 2007 the EU is highlighting on its African WWD page results from the collaborative research LoGo Water project, in which IRC is active. It is supporting local governments in the Southern Africa region to actively engage in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

Highlights

The project looks in particular at the river Limpopo that used to be a strong-flowing perennial river flowing across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana, but is now affected by drought whereby its flows frequently cease.

Local governments are left with no entry point and national governments with the overall control. Although national governments acknowledge the role of local governments in implementing government policy at the local level, they often do not take them on board in operations, nor define a role for them in water institutions. Also vice versa, local government initiatives rarely take into account the contribution of IWRM institutions in their operations.

Reforms to foster decentralisation have caused uncertainty and conflict over areas of jurisdiction (spatial and functional). Enforcement often remains paralysed. The entire transition of responsibilities from higher to lower levels of government has not been effectively managed.

Local governments tend to fully concentrate on service delivery in water supply and sanitation. They are often not sufficiently aware of the linkages to water resources management, and no incentives exist to trigger their interest.

Preliminary conclusions

Preliminary conclusions for a way forward in SADC region:

• Major capacity building efforts are needed to create awareness especially at the local level on the benefits and opportunities of a more holistic approach offered by IWRM rather than the one restricted to water and sanitation infrastructures.
• Information on the water sector reforms still has to be spread widely, but especially also at local level.
• Participation in IWRM has to be come more inclusive, taking into account the importance of local actors.
• Institutional reforms have to be aligned at catchment level, i.e. across national boundaries.
• IWRM needs to be operationalised to become effective on the ground.