The African Development Bank and the United Nations Water Convention have agreed to jointly encourage African countries to join the UN water management organization to promote integrated and sustainable management of surface and groundwater resources.
The move follows a visit by a delegation from the UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, to the African Development Bank headquarters in Abidjan.
The delegation briefed senior officials of the Bank about the activities of the body and recommended that the Bank’s clients join the Convention. They also explored opportunities to strengthen cooperation – at the continental level and in specific basins and regions across Africa – between the Convention and the Bank.
Describing water as a “crucial, strategic natural resource for all countries, ” Wambui Gichuri, Director of the Bank’s Water Development and Sanitation department added that while Africa is endowed with abundant water resources, it is also the second driest continent, with two great deserts, the Sahara and the Kalahari, located in its northern and southern regions respectively.
“Drinking water supply and sanitation, food production, energy supply, and industrial development are all completely dependent on the availability of water,” Gichuri said.
In her presentation to the Bank team, Francesca Bernardini, Secretary of the Water Convention, said that the body aims to promote the sustainable management of transboundary waters through cooperation and partnership.
“The Convention and its activities are consistent with the African Development Bank’s water sector strategy, particularly supporting the Bank’s Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) policy across all levels of water needs in its operations,” Bernardini said.
According to Bernadini, the benefits of membership of the UN Water Convention include increased sustainability of regional and cooperation projects, and reduction of investment risks typically occasioned by the long-term nature of development programs and initiatives, through legally binding commitments made by parties to the convention. Several activities carried out under the Convention also help to strengthen countries’ capacity for water management and boost the effectiveness of the Bank’s interventions in the long-term.
Since 2016, membership to the UN Water Convention has been opened up to all United Nations Member States. So far, 44 countries have ratified the Water Convention, six of which are non-European nations.
Original source: AfDB
Published on 09 May 2019
