CHAPTER 5
Making IUWM Work in African Cities
There is a growing sense among water professionals, municipal leaders, academics, and within the development community that a new approach to urban water management is needed (ICLEI, 2012; IWA, 2010; SWITCH, 2011; UNESCO-IHP, 2009; World Bank, 2010). In the words of an African academic: “Meeting urban water needs in the twenty-first century will require a paradigm shift. Nineteenth-century supply-side solutions alone will not balance the ever-growing demand for water driven by rapid urbanization, shortage of surface and ground water due to climate change, and competition from agriculture” (Awiti, 2012). This book suggests that there are four ways in which new approaches to urban water management can be promoted, developed, and implemented in African cities: increase the use of integrated urban water management (IUWM) in project planning and design, drawing on experience from other regions; generate more knowledge about institutional requirements for IUWM; promote pilots to demonstrate IUWM in practice; and develop a learning alliance for IUWM in Africa.
Increase Use of IUWM in Project Planning and Design in Africa Targeted grant financing to the initial planning stages of IUWM might be needed. In Africa, Azerbaijan, and Latin America, the World Bank’s Water Partnership Program has funded the initial stages of IUWM planning for specific pilot cities. In view of the limited familiarity with IUWM, similar 113