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World Economic Forum Launches "Africa Water Project Exchange" A Unique Matchmaking Service To Create Partnerships On Water Projects Across The Continent
World Economic Forum Launches "Africa Water Project Exchange" A Unique Matchmaking Service To Create Partnerships On Water Projects Across The Continent
Published 06-02-04
Submitted by World Economic Forum
At the launch of the Africa Water Project Exchange, President Chissano and Gugu Moloi, CEO of Umgeni Water, together with other prominent actors, will start a "play pump", a merry-go-round that allows children to pump water for their school while they play. The maintenance of the play pump is assured by business advertisements on four sides of an elevated water tank. This is one of the innovative projects to benefit from the Africa Water Project Exchange. The World Economic Forum also announced a number of partnerships that were set up through the Project Exchange.
In Maputo, the World Economic Forum will announce the first group of particularly promising water project partnerships in the Exchange. These will include projects in Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Swaziland. The Africa Water Project Exchange is already facilitating the following projects:
- Strengthening the Joint Water Commission between Swaziland and Mozambique with private and public involvement
- Sustainable management model for the Songwe river catchment area, including introduction of payment for ecosystem services (Tanzania/Malawi) with business and community involvement
- Large-scale water optimization programme for 16 bottling plants with direct benefits and involvement of local communities (Nigeria)
- Development of an ecotourism hub in south-east Africa to preserve the environment and benefit local communities
- Water recycling project in industrial development zones and sustainable industrial water use (South Africa)
- Provision of water and sanitation services in rural areas through partnership between water providers' local authorities and NGOs (African country to be determined)
- Each day throughout the Africa Economic Summit, one of the projects selected from the most innovative proposals received will be highlighted at the meeting.
For Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman and founder of the World Economic Forum, water management is a crucial and neglected issue: "Terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, global warming and possible water shortages are the three major global challenges today, but of the three, water is receiving the least public attention. This why we initiated the Water Initiative."
The Initiative is co-chaired by two private sector companies, Alcan Inc., the global leader in aluminium, packaging and aluminium recycling, and RWE/Thames Water, the world's third largest water company. Umgeni Water, a South African water utility, spearheads the Africa Water Project Exchange.
Travis Engen, CEO of Alcan Inc., says, "At Alcan, we now know that whether we are managing a watershed or a harbour, we have an inescapable duty to the larger community. Today no nation, no company, no individual has the right to create wealth at any cost."
"Working in a broad partnership with each partner doing what they do best will reduce risk, which is the biggest obstacle to work where the needs are greatest and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals," says Bill Alexander, CEO of RWE/Thames Water. "Philanthropy won't be enough. To achieve real scale we need a new business model."
The Africa Water Project Exchange is the first regional component of the Water Project Exchange, the main component of the Water Initiative of the World Economic Forum. Using the Forum's unique convening power, the Water Project Exchange will assist actors from all sectors in identifying partners with whom they might cooperate in carrying out projects in water and watershed management, creating a win-win situation for all concerned. This type of partnership was recognized by the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 as a way to move towards a sustainable way of life on earth.
Healthy watershed ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, pasture and floodplains ensure the availability and quality of water. Degradation of these ecosystems will mean increased water costs and possibly business disruption. Water supply and sanitation companies may have to invest in expensive filtration plants, while food and manufacturing companies, such as water bottling companies, may have to relocate. For tourism, the lack of well-maintained ecosystems and shortages of water supply often spell economic duress.
Investing in water and watershed protection and thus ensuring that ecosystems can continue to provide the services beneficial to businesses therefore makes good business sense. All over the world, businesses are investing in water demand management.
But investment alone is not enough. Efforts to protect water and watersheds must be anchored within the local population, and benefit local communities and the environment, if they are to be truly successful. Partnerships between businesses and other sectors will help achieve such mutual supportiveness. This is what the Water Project Exchange aims to achieve. The World Economic Forum's Water Initiative is itself an innovative partnership: its key partners include Alcan Inc., RWE/Thames Water, Umgeni Water, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the World Bank and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), the World Bank, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
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The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world. The Forum provides a collaborative framework for the world's leaders to address global issues, engaging particularly its corporate members in global citizenship. Incorporated as a foundation, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. The Forum has NGO consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. (http://www.weforum.org).
