42 The Future of Water in African Cities
IUWM has a History of Knowledge and Good Practice In response to the urbanization challenges, water professionals, city leaders, academics, and the World Bank have developed knowledge and practice on IUWM. This work has drawn on many sources, but has been particularly inspired by the Sustainable Water Management Improves Tomorrow’s Cities Health (SWITCH) project, funded by the European Union (EU); work by the World Bank’s Latin America and Caribbean Region Water Beam, the International Water Association Cities of the Future program; and work done at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization under the auspices of the UNESCO-International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP) and the UNESCO Institute of Water Education (UNESCO-IHE). The EU-funded SWITCH project,1 which ran from 2006 to 2011, focused on the learning and the development of institutional and practical guidelines with respect to city planning, stakeholder participation, water supply, stormwater, wastewater, and decision-support tools. In each of 12 case studies across four continents, a specially created learning alliance provided a knowledge and decision-making platform for key stakeholders to collaborate on the definition and formulation of the strategic urban plan. The World Bank has developed a series of projects integrating urban water services, urban development, drainage, and source protection; they were inspired by work with clients in Latin America and the Caribbean over a number of years. Based on a number of case studies (São Paulo and Recife, Brazil; Medellin, Colombia; and Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico) the region has developed a conceptual framework for IUWM, which emphasizes the process of engagement. This framework is currently being tested in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where it has led to the establishment of a stakeholder forum including institutions and civil society organizations developing an IUWM investment strategy. The IWA Cities of the Future program focuses on water security for the world’s cities and how the design of cities—and the water management, treatment, and delivery systems that serve them—could be harmonized and reengineered to minimize the use of scarce natural resources and increase the coverage of water and sanitation in lower- and middleincome countries. As one of the IWA’s key programs, it has benefitted a number of events in support of stakeholder engagement, knowledge exchange, and knowledge development among water professionals.