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Southern Africa

7th SADC Dialogue - “Watering Development in SADC: The central role of water in driving industrialisation”

The 7th SADC Multi Stakeholder Water Dialogue, a biennial activity which provides a platform for regional stakeholders to discuss and share experiences on different aspects of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) will this year be held from the 29th to the 30th of September in Windhoek, Namibia. Running under the theme “Watering Development in SADC: The central role of water in driving industrialization” this year's Water Dialogue will focus on unpacking the role that water will play in driving industrialisation in the region. [Read more on previous dialogues]

Following the call for the region to drive industrialisation as a way of promoting the socio-economic development of the region made during the SADC Heads of States Summit held in 2014 in Victoria Falls, a roadmap and strategy for industrialisation has since been developed and launched in June 2015. Therefore, the 7th Water Dialogue is set to come up with strategies on how to ensure that water resources management contribute in an efficient and sustainable way to the development and the industrialisation of the SADC region. The Dialogue is cross sectoral in nature bearing in mind that water is everyone's business and it will bring together the resource keepers / managers, and sectors driving industrial development in the region.

 

The main objectives of the dialogue are to:

  • Understand industrial development trends and the interaction with water resources management;
  • Understand how nexus approaches can lead to sustainable industrialisation;
  • Strategise and propose a clear way forward to ensure water resources in the region are developed, managed and used in a sustainable way to support the industrialisation agenda; and
  • Provide a platform to present and discuss RSAP IV, which is supporting the implementation of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the industrialisation roadmap and strategy.

 

Outcomes of the dialogue:

Participants of the dialogue will be expected to breakdown the concept of industrialisation and understand its direct applicability and impacts on water resources primarily and other sectors intertwined with the water sector. The following are the expected outcomes from the dialogue:

  • Clear understanding of the role of water in driving industrialisation in the region;
  • Gaps and areas to build on with regards to sustainable water resources management identified to drive industrialisation; and
  • Understanding the needs of key drivers of industrial development and how these interact with water
    The Water Dialogue is being implemented by Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWP SA), on behalf of SADC, and supported by GIZ, Governments of Australia (AUSaid) ,the United Kingdom (UKaid), DANIDA and USAID Southern Africa RESILIM.

For more information, contact:

 

Ms Barbara Lopi

Communications and Awareness Expert
Water Sector SADC Secretariat Infrastructure and Services Directorate Plot 54385 CBD Square

Email: blopi@sadc.int 

 

Mrs. Patricia Lumba

Network Operations and Communications Officer

Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWP SA) Secretariat

333 Grosvenor Street, Hatfield Gardens, Block A

Pretoria, South Africa

Email: p.lumba@cgiar.org

Page last edited: 9/21/2015