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The Water Changemaker Innovation Awards 2023 is proud to announce the top 30 finalists selected from a pool of exceptionally innovative and impactful projects dedicated to addressing water-related challenges worldwide. The finalists have been announced during a hybrid event held on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, 22 September 2023.

The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), in collaboration with the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA), implemented a climate-resilient integrated water management pilot project in the Wami/Ruvu Basin, in Tanzania, that is aimed at helping communities living within the Basin adapt to the adverse effects of climate change.

Kamuisa village in Dedza district is just a few meters from Lake Malawi, the fifth largest freshwater body in the world, and yet the community could not produce enough food to last all year round. The community could not cultivate enough during the rainy season and did not have the infrastructure to collect water from the lake. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat came in to support the community to establish a climate-resilient water, energy, and food nexus project that would utilise water from the lake for irrigation of various crops and domestic use.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) convened a workshop to share knowledge on issues involving water, energy, and food (WEF) Nexus, how they affect climate change, and their impacts on communities in Southern Africa.

On Friday, 30 June 2023, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Secretariat handed over a climate-smart agriculture pilot project to Metsimotlhabe Community Trust in Botswana. The project was officially handed over to the community by Mr. Nchidzi Mmolawa, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs, who was the Guest of Honour at the event.

On 21 June 2023, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), in collaboration with Zambia’s Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Agriculture handed over the Katapazi WEF Nexus Demonstration Project to the community. The project is located in Katapazi area of Kazungula District, Southern Province in Zambia.

The governments of Mozambique and Zimbabwe have established a tri-basin institution to manage the Buzi, Pungwe, and Save River Basins’ water resources, which have, over the years, suffered from extreme climate effects such as floods, droughts, and cyclones.

Botswana and Tanzania have recorded remarkable progress in the implementation of climate-smart pilot projects addressing Water, Energy, and Food securities through the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) Project being implemented in the two countries.

Four co-chairs of the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa; H.E Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal and Chair of the African Union, H.E Hage Geingob, President of Namibia, H.E Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands and H.E Jakaya Kikwete, Former President of the Republic of Tanzania have each received the Presidential Global Changemakers Award for demonstrating high level political commitment and leadership for climate resilient water security in Africa.