PRESS RELEASE – for immediate release

 

 

Nairobi, Kenya. 29 September 2016—The Kenya Industrial Water Alliance, or KIWA, launched today following a commitment from twenty-three private-public-civil society partners to collectively address water-related risks to industrial growth, initially in the Nairobi Sub-catchment. The partnership provides a platform to discuss and implement activities aimed at increasing sustainable access to water with a focus on ground water management, industrial water use efficiency and improved surface water quality management.

A key sector in the Kenyan economy, industry contributes 21 percent of national gross domestic product. The country’s strategic development plan, Vision 2030, aims to develop the sector further by creating a robust, diversified, and competitive manufacturing sector expected to contribute an additional 10 percent to GDP. As industry expands to accommodate the growing economy, so too will demand on the country’s water resources.

If Kenya maintains a “business-as-usual” approach to managing its water resources, by the year 2030, there will be a 30 percent gap between water demand and practically available supply. Water supply in Nairobi today is estimated to be 20 percent below total demand. If current trends continue, this deficit is expected to be more than 60 percent by 2035. Although decreasing ground water levels, flooding, catchment area degradation, and uncontrolled waste disposal further risk jeopardizing the sustainability of the city’s expansion, initiatives like this provide hope for urban communities who in the past have suffered due to pollution associated with industrial expansion.

While helping launch the new partnership, Cabinet Secretary, Kenya Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Eugene Wamalwa stated, “Private companies in Kenya are increasingly recognizing that availability and quality of water poses a substantial risk to current and future operations and are seeking ways to mitigate that risk. We are therefore working with the private sector and civil society to collaboratively develop action oriented solutions to address industrial water management.”

Treatment and reuse of waste water from industry further provides an opportunity to reduce the amount of water abstracted, as well as replenish both ground and surface water resources. This will require not only investment, but involvement of both private sector and civil society to support the government’s management at national and county levels.

KIWA Chair and CEO of Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Phyllis Wakiaga, added, “Just as local industry has mainstreamed energy efficiency into its operations, it must similarly improve industrial water productivity by adopting more efficient water practices and technologies. Solutions to Nairobi’s unique water-related challenges can only be found through strong involvement among public, private and civil society players. This alliance creates an opportunity to properly engage in a way that did not exist before.”

With 98 percent of available freshwater stored in underground aquifers, Nairobi’s water management success will be largely based on preserving such resources. A recent assessment of boreholes in the Nairobi Metropolitan area revealed a doubling of “known” boreholes between 1995 and 2011. Of over 3,500 boreholes located in Nairobi County less than half have abstraction permits, two thirds are unmetered, and four in five users do not pay for water.

Representative for the CEO of the Water Resource Management Authority, Engineer Boniface Mwaniki, stated, “Knowledge of the status of our aquifers and improved regulation and monitoring of ground water abstraction are essential to effective and sustainable management of the city’s available water resources.”

Jointly established by the International Water Stewardship Programme and the 2030 Water Resources Group, current KIWA partners include: Act!, Athi Water Services Board, Bidco Africa, Brookside Dairy Ltd, Coca-Cola, County Government of Kiambu, DOW Chemicals & Process EA, Grundfos, International Water Stewardship Programme, Kenya Association of Manufacturers, Kenya National Cleaner Production Centre, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, Kenya Water and Sanitation Civil Society Network, Nairobi County Government, Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, National Environmental Management Authority, Nestle, Republic of Kenya Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Spinners & Spinners, 2030 Water Resources Group, Water Resource Management Authority, Wetlands International, and Wrigley EA. Partnership discussions with additional partners are currently underway. 

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About the International Water Stewardship Programme

IWaSP is an international water security programme. It combines global best practices in water stewardship with local know-how. Currently active in seven countries, the programme facilitates partnerships between the public sector, the private sector and civil society to address shared water risks. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH manages IWaSP on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Econo-mic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the UK Department for International Development (DfID). For more information visit www.iwasp.org and www.giz.de/en/ or follow us on Twitter via @_IWaSP.

About the Kenya 2030 Water Resources Group

The 2030 WRG is a global public-private-civil society partnership which facilitates open dialogue to drive actions necessary to close the gap between water demand and supply by the year 2030. Kenya’s 2030 WRG partnership aims to improve the use of water across all key economic sectors to close the gap by: improving agricultural water productivity; strengthening urban and industrial water efficiency and reuse; and creating new financing mechanisms for both water supply expansion and improved demand management. For more information, please visit www.2030wrg.org.

• Please also see our Kenya country page on the latest developments in our work.
• See our latest Kenya videos on our partnership and current work streams.

Media contact:

Kimberlee A. Brown
Regional Communications
2030 Water Resources Group
+254 703 485 425
kbrown@ifc.org

News Source: Capital FM

 

by Phyllis Wakiaga

Continued growth and investment in our country’s largest urban centres is placing an increasing strain on water and wastewater systems.

For example, water supply in Nairobi today is estimated to be 20 percent below total demand. If current trends continue, this deficit is expected to be more than 60 percent by 2035.

This supply-demand gap is driven in large part by population growth, but also by a rapidly growing demand for water for industry, which comprises more than one-fifth national gross domestic product. In addition, pollution, flooding and wider land use practices in the surrounding catchment further strain the availability of existing clean water supply.

Water is a critical input for industry. In the beverage sector, for every litre of soda produced 2.5 litres of water is needed. Meanwhile, coffee production requires 200 litres per kilogram of coffee processed As Kenya aims to develop industry further by creating a competitive manufacturing sector, clean water resources will be needed to help it flourish.

As industrial water use is expected to rise by 125 percent between 2014 and 2030 alone, a collaborative approach is imperative to finding long-term sustainable solutions.

Towards a Water-Smart Industrial Future
Companies across the world are realising that incorporating sustainable solutions into their business plans is not only socially responsible, but could also have financial benefits. By addressing environmental and social issues companies can achieve better growth and cost savings; improve their brand and reputation; strengthen stakeholder relations, and boost their bottom lines.

Motivated by the aforementioned realities, local public, private and civil society organizations are joining forces in a new partnership-the Kenya Industrial Water Alliance, also known as KIWA.

Spearheaded by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers and the Water Resources Management Authority, and supported jointly by the International Water Stewardship Programme and the Kenya 2030 Water Resources Group, KIWA provides an action-oriented platform for stakeholders to plan, design and implement activities that will increase water security in Kenya and initially in the Nairobi sub-catchment.

Initiatives like this provide hope for urban communities who in the past have suffered due to pollution associated with industrial expansion. These grievances are felt at home and across the globe, China’s largest cities, for example, have seen increases in air pollution, contaminated drinking water, water shortages, marine pollution, and deforestation.

Meanwhile, addressing supply and pollution challenges is costing the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka US $700 million per year as the country as a whole has assumed an estimated annual US $7 billion in economic losses from unimproved water and sanitation.

KIWA will help mitigate these problems, allowing government and industry to learn from both local and international best practices, while promoting a regulatory environment that encourages and incentivizes water efficiency, treatment and reuse.

Nairobi’s water management success will be largely based on preserving existing resources. Of over 3,500 “known” boreholes located in Nairobi County less than half have abstraction permits, two-thirds are unmetered, and four in five users do not pay for water. Moving forward, improved regulation and monitoring of ground water abstraction, in addition to proper management of existing data will be essential to effective and sustainable management of the city’s available water resources.

Audits, for example, have shown that Kenyan manufacturers have an opportunity to reduce water use by 20 to 30 percent on average through cost-effective interventions. KAM is already supporting the manufacturing sector to migrate into better use of water through such water and waste water resource audits. We are carrying this out at subsidized rates and we have done ten pilot audits so far in the manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, alliance members are also doing their part. Nairobi-based Textile Company, Spinners and Spinners has already invested in systems to reuse 40 percent of its wastewater, reducing the risks to their business from water shortages, ensuring the sustainability of their water resource and providing an example for others to follow.

Working together we will be able to effectively mainstream smart-water practices into our standard organizational processes because we realize that sustainable business is good business.

(The writer is the CEO of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers and the Chair of the Kenya Industrial Water Alliance. She can be reached on ceo@kam.co.ke)

2030WRG

Mexico Country Programme

The Consejo Consultivo del Agua, CONAGUA and the 2030WRG launched the Sustainable Agri-water Initiative

In partnership the Consejo Consultivo del Agua (CCA), the CONAGUA and the 2030WRG launched the Sustainable Agri-water Initiative in Mexico. The CCA is an existing multi-stakeholder platform that comprises some of the most important industries, sectorial and professional associations, universities, non-governmental associations and private citizens created to support closer collaboration between government and civil society in the pursuit of water security and sustainable water resources management.

It is important to highlight that agricultural water use in Mexico corresponds to approximately 70% of water consumption, unfortunately with very low efficiencies. Therefore, it is of great interest to finds different ways to achieve greater agri-water productivity. A first stage of the Initiative will consist on the feasibility analysis and business case development of 5 selected pilot projects, to later choose the more appropriate in order to design and
implement the actual projects through innovative financial mechanisms and with the participation of several stakeholders.

This Initiative is being carried out under the aegis of the CCA and the CONAGUA, two strategic partners of the 2030WRG in Mexico. The CCA is an already existing multi-stakeholder platform created in the year 2000 and comprises some of the most important industries, sectorial and professional associations, universities, non-governmental associations and private citizens; created under the National Water Law to support a closer collaboration between government and civil society in the pursuit of water security and sustainable water resources management. Mr Salomon Abedrop, Deputy Director of CONAGUA, and Mr. Francisco Mayorga of the CCA will be the co-Chairs of the Initiative.

Last July, the 2030WRG was invited to present its global programme and the Sustainable Agri-water Initiative in the context of the CCAs General Assembly. During this important event the 2030WRG had the opportunity to address the CCAs membership, as well as the General Director of CONAGUA and several of its Deputy Directors. As such an enabling environment has been created to prosper the Sustainable Agri-water Initiative, as well as other important initiatives in other areas of strategic interest, including water re-use and recycling in the context of a circular economy.