- Innovative Approaches, Practices and Technologies for Affordable Water Supply and Sanitation Services
- Water Governance for Sustainable, Equitable and Affordable Water Services
- Water, Land, Energy and Agriculture Nexus
- Changing Hydro-Climate Regimes and Planning Tools for Climate Resilient Development Pathways
- Water, Ecosystems and the Environment
The sub-themes of the symposium have been aligned to the themes of the SADC Water Research Agenda under the Regional Strategic Action Plan on Integrated Water Resources Development and Management Phase V, whose main objective is “Promoting evidence-based implementation of SADC water programmes and projects through multi- and inter-disciplinary research and synthesis of existing and new information, which will lead to a realisation of SADC developmental goals”.
Organisers
The symposium is organised by WaterNet, AU/NEPAD Southern African Network of Water Centres of Excellence (AU/NEPAD SANWATCE), and GWPSA together with:
- International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS),
- Water Research Commission,
- ReNOKA
- National University of Lesotho
- Government of Lesotho
This year’s event is part of the WaterNet/WARFSA/GWPSA Symposia, that have been held annually in the Eastern and Southern African regions since the year 2000 to promote interaction among policymakers, academics, practitioners from water and related sectors, and cooperating partners. Together, these stakeholders identify regional issues, gaps and priorities that require further research and support. Great emphasis of the annual event is placed on integration of knowledge, particularly involving scholars from the natural and social sciences
GWPSA’s participation at the symposium
GWPSA will be showcasing its projects through an exhibition and various sessions both onsite and online throughout the event.
GWP Southern Africa delegation:
- Dr Loreen Katiyo, Transboundary Water Governance and Environment Specialist
- Dr Eddie Riddell, Regional Coordinator, UNDP-GEF Limpopo Project
- Dr Pinimidzai Sithole, Programme Officer-Water & Climate
- Mr Elisha Madamombe, Regional Project Coordinator, GEF-BUPUSA Project
- Mr Alfred Misi, IWRM Technical Advisor- GEF BUPUSA Project
- Mr Jose Alvaro Malanco, IWRM Technical Advisor- GEF-BUPUSA Project
- Ms Leticia Ngorima, Regional Communication Specialist
- Dr Koetlisi Koetlisi
GWP's programme:
October 30
Showcasing CIWA’s Male Champion’s for Women’s Empowerment: An Initiative to Engage Men as Champions of Gender Equality within the Transboundary Water Context
Date: October 30, 2024,
Time: 10:45-12:45 (GMT +2)
Location: Molepe Room and online
Convenors: World Bank
Session Summary
The Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA) is a World Bank Trust Fund that facilitates transboundary cooperation on the management of shared water bodies within sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). As part of its commitment to advancing gender equality within the transboundary water context, CIWA has provided support to address challenges women face at the institutional and program level to facilitate equitable and inclusive participation in transboundary water management processes. CIWA recognizes that it is operating in a challenging environment when it comes to promoting gender equality. This is because it is a sector where men dominate as leaders and decision-makers.
In recognition of the key role men play as stakeholders, influencers, and decision-makers in water institutions and local organizations, CIWA launched the Male Champions for Women's Empowerment (MCWE) to work directly with men to identify ways to apply their influence to overcome gender inequalities and to effect positive change on women's empowerment within the transboundary water context at multiple levels and across multiple domains. By working as a collective platform, the MCWE seeks to facilitate actions Male Champions can take to overcome gender inequalities at the continental, regional, national and local level within the transboundary water sphere in SSA. Concretely, the MCWE will be working with Male Champions through a diversity of actions to advance gender equality within decision-making teams and processes and more broadly within the institutional and program context of transboundary water management. Since its launch in June 2023, CIWA has held monthly virtual meetings, developed an action plan, launched a web site and conducted outreach to recruit new Male Champions.
The session is being organized to introduce the objectives, approach and merits of CIWA's Male Champions for Women's Empowerment initiative, to facilitate the identification of challenges and barriers women face in taking leadership and decision-making roles within transboundary water related processes and institutions and to examine possible roles that Male Champions can play to address these identified challenges and barriers.
Objectives of the session
Working together with participants using a participatory approach, the session will:
- Showcase the objectives and approach of the MCWE.
- Identify specific challenges to advancing gender equality and women's empowerment within the transboundary water context in SSA.
- Work with meeting participants to identify appropriate actions that Male Champions can take individually and collectively to address gender inequalities.
- Recruit new Male Champions to become part of MCWE.
Speakers
- Assefa Gudina, Regional Social and Environment Officer at for the Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO),
- Anders Jagerskog, Program Manager, CIWA
- Assefa Gudina.
- Dereje Gebremichael
- Dr Pinimidzai Sithole, Programme Officer-Water and Climate, GWPSA
Register for your participation at the session here
31 October 2024
Partnerships for translating science to policy: How science is informing the discourse around legal frameworks and strategic planning in the Buzi, Pungwe, Save, Cuvelai, Kunene, and Limpopo River Basins
Date: Thursday 31 October 2024
Venue: Molepe and Online
Time: 10:30-12:45 (GMT+2)
Convenors
Buzi, Pungwe, and Save Watercourses Commission (BUPUSACOM), Cuvelai Watercourse Commission (CUVECOM), Permanent Joint Technical Commission (PJTC) Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) supported by UNDP-GEF, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Southern African Development Community Groundwater Management Institute (SADC-GMI), and SADC WaterNet
Session Summary
The session seeks to value the potential of the ecosystem services approach for improved decision-making with an emphasis on integrative catchment planning. This will be done through partnerships for translating science to policy by informing the discourse around legal frameworks and strategic planning in the Buzi, Pungwe, Save, Cuvelai, Kunene, and Limpopo River Basins.
The session will showcase the support GWPSA is providing, together with its implementing partners IUCN and UNDP, to River basin organisation (RBOs) in the region through three projects being executed with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). These are: the Integrated Transboundary River Basin Management for the Sustainable Development of the Limpopo River Basin (UNDP-GEF Limpopo) Project, the Management of Competing Water Uses and Associated Ecosystems in Pungwe, Buzi, and Save Basins (IUCN - GEF BUPUSA) Project and the Enhanced Water Security and Community Resilience in the Adjacent Cuvelai and Kunene Transboundary River Basins (UNDP - GEF CuvKun) Project.
The session will feature keynote addresses from BUPUSACOM and LIMCOM, who are the focal beneficiaries and custodians of two of the GEF- Funded projects. GWPSA will also present on the various initiatives being carried out as part of the GEF project portfolio. The projects’ support to research and capacity building in the BUPUSA Basin will be showcased through academic research in the tri-basin by Master’s students from local universities. Finally, the session will engage GWPSA partners in the in the execution of the GEF projects to share insights on their work in the basins, i.e., SADC GMI, WaterNet, University of Zimbabwe and Eduardo Mondhlane University. IUCN will introduce and summarise the session, in addition to facilitating the panel discussion.
Speakers
- Mr. Andrew Takawira Senior Technical Advisor GWPSA
- Mr Sergio Sitoe Executive Secretary LIMCOM
- Mr Tariro Saruchera Regional Programme Manager Integrated Water Resources Management IUCN
- Mr Silvanus Uunona, Regional Coordinator, UNDP-GEF CuvKun Project
- Mr. Sergio Sitoe – Executive Secretary, LIMCOM
- Dr. Loreen Katiyo Transboundary Water Governance & Environment Specialist GWPSA
- Mr Elisha Madamombe Regional Project Coordinator, GWPSA Interim Executive Secretary BUPUSACOM
- Prof. Krasposy Kujinga WaterNet
- Dr. Kevin Pietersen, Business Development Consultant SADC-GMI
- MSc Student (Name TBA)
- Ms. Shuvai Zvakasikwa, IUCN
Panellists
- Prof. Jean Marie Onema Executive Secretary WaterNet
- Eng. James Sauramba Executive Secretary SADC GMI
- Dr Webster Gumindoga, Lecturer University of Zimbabwe
- Dr Clemêncio M. Carlos Nhantumbo, Lecturer, Eduardo Mondhlane University
Find the agenda here
Register your participation in the session here
Enhancing Transboundary Water Resource Management: The IWMI-LIMCOM Research and Data Collaboration in the Limpopo River Basin
Date: 31 October
Time: 13:45-15:45
Convenors: International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
In the rapidly advancing digital age, Digital Twins (DTs) are transforming sectors by enabling smarter decision-making and operational efficiency, including in water management. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Limpopo Watercourse Commission (LIMCOM) are at the forefront of this shift, creating a prototype DT for the Limpopo River Basin. This project not only integrates real-time data from diverse sources, including smart sensors and citizen contributions, but also directly involves local communities in data collection and validation, enhancing accuracy and stakeholder empowerment. Additionally, generative AI is bridging the gap between science and decision-making, accelerating the delivery of actionable insights.
This session will highlight the journey of developing the Digital Twin, from concept to prototype, bringing together conventional water resources data with a digital environment using AI for interpretation. Based on a collaborative co-design process with LIMCOM, the session will discuss how citizen science, supported by partnerships with YOMA-UNICEF and local organizations, amplifies local voices to track the SDGs. The LIMCOM-UNDP-GEF initiatives will also be explored, showing how scientific evidence aligns with priority needs for sustainable water management.
The session will conclude with a panel discussion on the impact of research and data collaboration in the Limpopo River Basin, emphasizing the power of AI, shared knowledge, and partnerships to address critical water challenges.
Speakers
- Henry Roman, Country Representative, IWMI - Southern Africa
- Angie Garcia Andarcia, Digital Twin Project Lead, IWMI
- Mark Graham, Director, Ground Truth Consulting
- Dr. Eddie Riddel, Regional Coordinator, GEF7-IW Limpopo Basin
- Mr. Sergio Sitoe – Executive Secretary, LIMCOM
Panelists
- Mr. Sergio Sitoe – Executive Secretary, LIMCOM
- Dr. Eddie Riddel – Regional Coordinator, UNDP-GEF Limpopo project
- Dr. Mark Graham – Director, Ground Truth Consulting
- Dr. Michael Scheibenreif – Impact Lead, UNICEF-YOMA (Youth Market)
- Dr. Bonani Madikizela – Research Manager, Water Research Commission (WRC)
Register for your participation at the session here
1 November 2024
Excursion
1 November 2024
Site: Metolong Dam
The symposium will feature an excursion to Metolong Dam. The Metolong Dam was constructed in 2015 to supply water to the capital city, Maseru and the surrounding urban areas in the lowlands of Lesotho. Due to climate change impacts and as well as exacerbated soil erosion, leading to siltation into the Metolong Dam, the dam system now faces a risk of reduced life span. This therefore poses a serious concern to the livelihoods of Basotho who are benefiting from the supply of water by the dam.
Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) supported Lesotho’s Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) by facilitating a Regional Policy Harmonization Assessment, which led to several key recommendations. These include the need to develop regulations for key Acts related to ICM, creating a national water allocation strategy aligned with ICM, and establishing an online water use permit register.
Additionally, the Regional Policy Harmonisation Assessment recommended that national water quality standards should be harmonized with basin-wide standards, and comprehensive dam safety rules should be introduced. The report also highlighted the need for greater awareness of the links between international instruments and national ICM planning and the development of an integrated planning framework overseen by an inter-sectoral coordination platform. These recommendations were followed in a number of ReNOKA program activities thereafter, which included the prioritizing of the Metolong sub-catchment for ICM intereventions.
Register your participation for the symposium here
Learn more about the Conference.