part 1 - EuroAfrica-ICT

Towards effective involvement of local government in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)in river basins of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regionPeriod: 01/01/2005 to 31/12/2007Budget from EC: EUR 1 148 852website: http://www.iclei-europe.org/index.php?id=1587Approximately 300 million people in Africa are affectedby water shortages. Poor water allocation, wasteful useof the resource, and the lack of adequate managementaction have been identified as three of the most significantfactors in the current lack of access to safe water supply.In this context, the LoGo Water project aims to explore thepotential contribution of local governments to mitigatethis situation through contributing to Integrated WaterResources Management (IWRM) at river basin level.The objectives of the project are: IWRM at international level; local governments in water management in the SADCregion; volvement of European local governments in IWRM in thelight of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the EU; governments in IWRM in the river basins of the SADCregion; local governments from effectively fulfilling such a rolein IWRM in the SADC region; actions aimed at adopting IWRM practices; international level; for the further application of IWRM and towards anincreased cooperation between EU and SouthernAfrican researchers; SADC region in order to raise awareness and encourageimplementation of IWRM in Southern Africa, directpolicies towards sustainability, and foster furtherresearch on the topic.Coordinator: Mr Wolfgang TeubnerICLEI European Secretariat GmbHConcerning the first eight objectives, a consortium of Africanand European researchers and major stakeholders in IWRMwill be established. The members of this consortium willexamine existing scientific findings and practical experiencesregarding local government involvement in IWRM and furtherbuild on this knowledge in consultation with additionalpartners, especially representatives of local governmentsin the region. The consortium partners will exchange anddiscuss their expertise and opinions via electronic means ofcommunication and during six partner meetings. As a resultof this exchange the consortium will produce overviewreports as a starting point for the later development ofstrategies, proposals for pilot projects, self-instructionmaterial, guidelines for local governments — as well as forother stakeholders — and future research. The collection ofrelevant inputs for these materials will be via two consultativeworkshops to be held with local governments and with awide range of stakeholders in IWRM.Concerning the last objective, regarding disseminationand further outreach, a website will be established andinformation material will be produced in print. In addition,a final seminar will be organised to bring together all targetgroups in the final phase of the project.The main result of the LoGo Water project will see localgovernments in the SADC region becoming more awareabout suitable policies and good management practicesin order to play their role in river basin management in ameaningful and effective way. They will also be able to usethe self-instruction material for building their knowledgeand skills on the issue. A tangible change in existing localpolicies and management structures will be initiatedthrough the implementation of the project proposalswhich will be developed during the project and carriedout afterwards, if funding can be secured. Furthermore,the promotion of the engagement of local governments insound IWRM achieved by LoGo Water will contribute to theachievement of the Millennium Development Goals, as wellas the implementation of the African Component of the EUNatural Resources