The first phase of the programme started in 1999 and ended in December 2002. Cities that participated in this first phase include Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Accra (Ghana), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Dakar (Senegal), Johannesburg (South Africa) Lusaka (Zambia) and Nairobi (Kenya).
One of the most notable successes of the first phase was the wide acceptance of water demand management as the cheapest form of augmenting supply at both utility and national policy-making levels. The implementation of a catchment management strategy also provided a unique platform to bring together diverse stakeholders from the urban water and environment sectors and community groups into action-planning, monitoring and implementation of local environment management of water resources.
During the first phase, a comprehensive strategy for public awareness which focused not only on achieving short term results through public awareness campaigns, but also longer term approaches through water education targeting school children and youth was developed.
Phase I of the programme provided excellent value for relatively modest investments. During a press conference at the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Senator Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation, noted that the programme had proved to be the most cost-effective among all projects supported by the Foundation to date, with a total portfolio of about US$400 million. With modest donor support, it leveraged funds within countries, demonstrated the potential to change the attitudes of senior decision-makers and strengthened managerial capacity in the participating cities.
The programme focused on three inter-linked priorities:
- Introducing effective urban water management strategies in African cities
- Protecting freshwater resources from the impact of urbanisation
- Enhancing regional capacity for urban water management through information sharing, public awareness campaigns, training and education.
Achievements of Phase 1
Implementation of Water Demand Management principles and practices
This was achieved both at the policy level and among water utilises. In many utilities, this required a detailed sensitisation process. At national policy level, the willingness to invest in water demand management measures led the incorporation of water demand principles and practices the regulatory frameworks of countries. In Zambia, for instance, national regulators used the Lusaka water demand management strategy as a model for developing a national water demand management strategy while in Ghana the water restructuring secretariat introduced water demand management in the regulatory framework and in the national water policy.
In Johannesburg the programme generated sufficient savings in water demand to justify the cancellation of a project to build an additional reservoir. In Addis Ababa, despite a growing population and drought, demand management resulted in a $1.6 million saving to the government per year.
Application of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) principles at local level
The introduction of catchment management strategy at local level was successful with specific catchment management strategies developed for the River Densu River Basin in the Accra-Tema region, the Klip River basin in Johannesburg and the Nairobi River basin in Kenya. The strategy relied on active community involvement and participation in catchment management. The implementation of a catchment management strategy also provided a unique platform to bring together diverse stakeholders from the urban, water and environment sectors and community groups into action-planning, monitoring and implementation of local environment management of water resources. Community groups also provided effective lobby forums for negotiations with local authorities on diverse issues such as local environmental management, protecting their livelihoods, promoting investment etc.
Promotion of new investments for water in African cities
From the beginning, the programme leveraged its limited resources to attract new investments in the water sector in African cities. Partnership with the World Bank catalysed new investment in water demand management in Dakar, Senegal. Similar investments have been stimulated in Ghana in partnership with Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and in Ethiopia from a consortium of international donors.
Raising public awareness on urban water issues
Raising awareness is a key element in managing water in cities. The programme initially directed its efforts to promoting a customer responsive culture within the utilities and establishing capacity to organise public awareness campaigns. The initial sensitisation, though it took a significant amount of time yielded excellent results. In many utilities, new public relations units were established and the human resources capacity developed. In Ethiopia, for instance, the Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority conducted a very successful, city-wide, public awareness campaign.
Introduction of Water Education in African Cities
The water education initiative in African cities brought together for the first time, professionals from education, urban and water and environment sectors to create a positive and lasting change in attitude and behaviour towards water at all levels of society. The broad aim of water education is to facilitate changes in behaviour and personal attitudes among water consumers and to promote better understanding of the environment in a water context.
Resource materials for water education and a pedagogic guide for teachers were developed in close consultation with the participating countries. UN-HABITAT, in collaboration with respective ministries of education in each of the participating countries also conducted Training of Trainers (TOT) workshops for high-ranking educationists, including directors of education, curriculum development specialists, inspectors of schools, subject specialists, and non-formal education (NFE) practitioners. The trainees in turn trained primary and secondary-level teachers and community groups in their respective countries
Training and capacity-building of utility managers
UN-HABITAT worked to sensitise city and utility managers on the need for institutionalising skill development in integrated water resources management in the urban context. Following intensive consultations with city managers and external experts, a comprehensive training and capacity building proposal was developed.
Developing a global consensus on urban water issues
The programme’s hard-won experience with urban water management issues and its continuing advocacy efforts successfully raised urban water issues on the international agenda. The programme’s experience was widely disseminated at the Stockholm Water Symposium (August 2001), the Bonn International Conference on Freshwater (December 2001) and in Johannesburg during the World Summit for Sustainable Development in August 2002.
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