The Kenya Industrial Water Alliance (KIWA) held a second knowledge exchange visit on 18^th of December 2017. The alliance brought together over 20 participants from agro-processing and manufacturing industries to learn about water efficiency practices at Redlands Roses, a flower farm based in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya.

A case study of the water efficiency practices implemented by Redlands Roses will be shared soon.

First-of-its-kind project in India, receiving global recognition, with the private sector playing a major role in procurement of high-value crops

Bengaluru, December 13, 2017: The Government of Karnataka (GoK) today signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with seven private sector companies for procuring high-value agricultural and horticultural produce, and building farmer capacity on best practices in the Ramthal project area. This engagement is a part of the Drip-to-Market Agro Corridor (DMAC), a large-scale initiative on connecting drip irrigated areas with market linkages, conceptualized by the Government of Karnataka in partnership with 2030 Water Resources Group (2030WRG). With representation from GoK’s Departments of Water Resources, Agriculture, Horticulture, Watershed Development, as well as private sector, the MOU signing workshop focused on fostering an alliance of private sector partners in this pioneering initiative.

The workshop follows from an initial wave of six MOUs signed with private sector in July 2017. Structured as four-way MoUs among private sector companies and the GoK’s Departments of Water Resources, Agriculture and Horticulture, the strong response from private sector endorses the project’s benefits in providing companies a stable environment to establish a sustainable supply chain for high-value crops, with assured water supply and efficiency in water use.

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Johannesburg, October 12 2017 – Leading water, infrastructure and financial sector stakeholders met in Johannesburg for in-depth talks on funding models to improve South Africa’s water security. The third Annual Water Stewardship summit, kicked off with calls for the financial sector to look introspectively at ways to support efforts to close the water services infrastructure funding gap amounting to around US$ 2.3 billion per annum; in support of the coming National Water and Sanitation Master Plan.

The South Africa Department of Water and Sanitation is currently in the process of drafting the country’s new National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, with expected completion in March 2018.  The summit, organized by the Strategic Water Partners Network, the National Business Initiative and the Royal Danish Embassy, provided an often-neglected opportunity for public and private financiers to become involved in the initial planning and project conceptualization stage of the new National Water and Sanitation Master Plan. By involving such financiers early in the process, it is hoped that the master plan’s investment strategy would be designed in a way which is as beneficial to the country as it is attractive to investment.

Outlining the goals of the plan, Trevor Balzer, Deputy Director General: Strategic and Emergency projects at the Department of Water Sanitation, echoed sentiments made earlier this year by his Deputy Minister, Pamela Tshwete, who, at the first dialogue on the Water and Sanitation Master Plan on 19 May this year, called upon big businesses to assist in funding sustainable development projects. Balzer said: “Today’s event has brought us together at a critical time in South Africa’s water and sanitation planning. We expect to incorporate the feedback we received today from the financial community and other stakeholders to create a plan that effectively addresses the country’s needs.”

Catherine-Candice Koffman, Head of Infrastructure and Telecommunications Project Finance within Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) one of the “big four” banks in South Africa – Nedbank, stated, “Getting involved at this stage of the planning process helps us from a corporate and investment banking perspective to better conceptualise how we can leverage our strategic, operational and sustainability goals to proceed in a way which will contribute to the future master plan. At Nedbank CIB we understand the intimate connectivity between leveraging natural resources and converting these into viable economic solutions to ensure the sustainability of our business and the socio-economic ecosystem in which we co-exist.”

One key recommendation, among a few others, for the Master Plan was that because Non-Revenue Water losses amount to about US$ 500 million annually, this was an area to consider a central government led programme that could make use of public and private investment to reduce municipal water and revenue losses. The SWPN is already testing some concepts of how this could be done.

October 4, 2017 – The Ministry of Water and Irrigation in collaboration with the 2030 Water Resource Group Tanzania Partnership held a two-day multi-sectoral forum on 4 and 5 October to discuss Tanzania’s water management issues. The forum participants included representatives from the private sector, government and civil society organizations.

Professor Kitila Mkumbo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, said in his opening remarks at the event: “People need to know that Tanzania is one of the countries said to have abundant water resources but are subject to competing demands. The use of such forums will help to get an agreed agenda to address competitions and thereby support sustainable growth. The country is endowed with relatively abundant freshwater sources, including rivers, springs, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers. However, these resources are unevenly distributed in time and space.”

The Director of Water Resources in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Mr. Hamza Sadiki said: “the average volume of renewable freshwater per capita per year has been declining, from 2,300 m cubic in 2002 to 1,952 m cubic in 2015. This figure is projected to further decline to 1,500 m cubic by 2025.” Mr Sadiki further warned that if water resources are not managed well, it will put the country within the water-stressed category, below 1,700 m cubic per capita, and business as usual will further put Tanzania in the water–scarce category.”

Phyllis Wakiaga, CEO, Kenya Association of Manufacturers

In this quarterly edition of ‘Partner in the Spotlight’ we interviewed Phyllis Wakiaga, CEO of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers  (KAM) about her vision on Kenya’s water management challenges, incentives for the private sector to collaborate with governments and a new industrial water policy. 

KAM’s goals are to promote competitive and sustainable local manufacturing. How do you see the ongoing work jointly undertaken with 2030 WRG contributing to these goals?

“Water is becoming an increasingly paradoxical subject; mainly because it is a universal basic need without which there would be no life, and yet, it is fast becoming the foremost depleted and scarce resource in the world.

Collaboration with 2030 WRG has leveraged KAM’s work in industrial water management, particularly in the Nairobi sub catchment. It is through this collaboration with 2030 WRG, that led to the formation of the Kenya Industrial Water Alliance (KIWA) that brings industry stakeholders together to build a shared understanding of a water secure future.”

How does this work support the government’s Vision 2030 campaign’s main pillars?

“Water’s essential quality to our economy is clear, especially the aspects that drive growth such as industrialization. Economies depend either directly or indirectly on industries where the main input is water. The government is focused on industrialization as one of the vehicles to deliver Vision 2030. Therefore, we must start paying attention to the role of water as the main ingredient to a thriving and growing industry.

Industries and other businesses have realized that their individual use of water cannot be viewed in isolation as increased activity or demand in one sector alters the amount of input, in terms of water, energy or raw material, needed for another sector. Hence there is bound to be a burgeoning competition for water, which reduces the availability for other users. Through the KIWA initiative implement activities have greatly assisted industry. Manufacturers are now able to increase their sustainability to access water and manage efficiency and quality.”

With a predicted 30% gap between water supply and demand by the year 2030, what is the risk for the Kenyan economy and for its manufacturing sector if we are to conduct business as usual?

“The Manufacturing sector in Kenya is currently faced by a shortage in water supply , and is increasingly recognizing that the availability and quality of water poses a risk to their operations. KAM is supporting the manufacturers by providing subsidized water and waste water audits to identify areas of improvement at firm level while at the same time reducing their waste water flows and finding potential areas of either recycling, reusing or reducing the waste water. Promoting sustainable manufacturing will reduce the risk of increased water demand per capita, which translates to high water footprints for the manufacturing sector.”

What do you think are the main bottlenecks that Kenya needs to overcome to be able to close this gap between water demand and supply as much as possible? I.e. inefficiencies in water use.

“Kenya is one of the countries termed by the UN as ‘Chronically water scarce’. This is because we fall below the global standard benchmark for water adequacy set at 1,000 cubic meters, registering less than 647 cubic meters of water supply.

Increased populations in urban spaces bring along increased business activities, erode the natural resilience for water bodies, making them vulnerable to climate change and other environmental shocks. This diminishes presently available sources of fresh water whilst exacerbating the tension between the ever-growing demand for it and the dwindling supply. We therefore need to develop an industrial water policy to look at the provision, use, distribution, disposal and the reuse of water whilst upholding and replenishing the ecosystem.”

You advocate for an industrial water policy. Can you elaborate a bit on this initiative?

“We are advocating for an effective industrial water policy that will be the framework upon which water governance is formulated to ensure sustainability and accountability in the Country. An effective industrial water policy will be the framework upon which water governance is formulated to ensure sustainability, and will focus on solving key water challenges by integrating industrial processes towards improving water accessibility, while fostering constructive relations between Industry, Government and communities.”

What are the main incentives for the private sector to get involved in collaborating with the government on sustainable water management practices?

“Kenya’s economy suffered a setback during the severe drought that we experienced at the beginning of the year. The drought, which was declared a national disaster, caused a contraction in Agricultural activities and a deceleration in supply of electricity. It is important that we partner with government to ensure continuous supply of water for industry. Some of the major incentives that private sector can involve itself in to drive continuous supply include:

• Economic instruments
• Investment in water management technologies
• Building capacity for private sector
• Develop water use benchmarks
• Promoting adoption of best practices & water efficient fixtures for demand side management”

What do you think the role and added value is for the broader 2030 WRG and the recently established Kenya Industrial water alliance (KIWA)?

“As mentioned above, The Kenya Industrial Water Alliance (KIWA) is an example of a platform that was set-up to bring industry stakeholders together to build a shared understanding of what a ‘water secure’ future entails. KIWA includes the input of diverse stakeholders who contribute not only towards finding solutions for the current issues but to deliberate on future water management challenges that would compromise our economic and social development goals. The initiative also acts as a tool to track and monitor industry use of water and to find ways to adjust their capacity to recycle waste water. These activities have increased sustainable access to water, improved both industrial water use efficiency and surface water quality management for manufacturers.”

What is the perception among industry partners of these platforms?

“As industry, we need a well-structured policy that considers all facets of human life – that is – political, social and economic. Aside from cementing and harmonizing existing water regulations, such a policy will aim to incentivize, self-regulation and re-use of water in industry.  It would be very beneficial to our country as it would present a well–articulated understanding of water governance, in order to maximize the economic and social welfare benefits that access to adequate water brings.”