Water at the Juncture of Sustainability and Development | Campaign for Sustainability

Lessons from Cape Town, Beira and Lima

Water is important element for socioeconomic growth, healthy habitats, and human survival itself, and it is at the heart of sustainable development. It is essential to the development and protection of a wide range of human benefits and services, reducing global disease burdens and improving population health, welfare, and productivity.

Agriculture is by far the most water-intensive sector, accounting for 70% of all water withdrawals, this figure varies greatly between countries. Rainfed agriculture is the most common agricultural production method in the world, but its current productivity is only about half of what it could be with optimal agricultural management. Water demand is shared by industry and electricity, accounting for 20% of total demand. In comparison to less-developed countries, where agriculture dominates, more developed countries have a much higher proportion of freshwater withdrawals for industry. Industry faces a variety of challenges in balancing the demands of sustainability with the traditional view of global mass production.

The ongoing global ecological crisis, which is becoming an obstacle to further human growth, is perhaps the most significant threat to sustainable development to have emerged in recent decades. Global environmental destruction has reached a tipping point, with major habitats on the verge of collapsing. In this, water comes at the juncture of sustainability and development. Through this blog, we look at three countries and their efforts in water management that we can draw learnings from.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Cape Town has earned international recognition for its water conservation activities. Despite a population growth of 30% over the same time, the city has managed to reduce water usage by 30% in the last 15 years. The city's water management policy takes a two-pronged approach: persuading residents to use less water and deploying cutting-edge technology to save water.

The city has reduced water waste by adjusting water pressure, replacing old pipes, improving leak detection, performing comprehensive maintenance, and improving water meter management. In 2011, Cape Town replaced 20,574 faulty water meters and taught water conservation to 100 school caretakers in 60 schools. It also convinced 95 parks and golf courses to use treated effluent instead of potable water to irrigate, saving millions of gallons per year. The project also allowed the city to postpone plans for a new dam.

BEIRA, MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique’s second-largest city, Beira, is a port town on the Pungue River, at the spot where the river meets the Indian Ocean. With help from the Dutch, including the NGO Alterra, the city has created Beira 2035, a master plan to tackle the urgent problem of urban storm water which has repeatedly caused flooding and soil erosion, and posed a threat to infrastructure and human health in the city. 

Beira 2035 also uses the opportunity to prepare for urban expansion, which is a smart step. Since the city is at capacity and its rapidly increasing population needs more housing, the city is raising funds for flood protection by attracting 300 investors interested in improving the port area. 

The funds will be used to dredge the harbour, build low-cost housing, grow local industry, enhance transportation and drainage, and expand water service provision.

LIMA, PERU

Lima is a desert city that receives very little rain. Every year, just over 1cm of rain falls on the Peruvian capital, which is a negligible amount given the city's population of 8 million people. Worse, Limeos depend on glacial meltwater from the Peruvian Andes, where glaciers are declining year after year, with some forecasts predicting that they will vanish entirely in the next 40 years.

Lima's government wisely agreed in 2007 that in order to deal with extreme water shortages, the city's residents needed to be aware of the situation. The Ministry of Housing, Construction, and Sanitation, in collaboration with the World Bank's water and sanitation programme, aims to foster water conservation, cultivate willingness to pay proper water tariffs, and raise environmental awareness among the population.

After a survey of the age group revealed that awareness of the issue was very low, the campaign targeted 12 to 30-year-olds. On World Water Day in 2014, the 50 best water stories were released in a book called ‘Mitos y leyendas del agua en el Peru’, which translates to "Myths and legends of water in Peru." A full-time school officer has been hired to assist schools across Lima in providing high-quality water education.

KEY LEARNINGS AND TAKEAWAYS

Many water projects and strategies exist around the world to solve these issues, but they often come from a single, restricted perspective and are geographically limited. Scientists are interested in learning more about the meaning and effect of global change, while businesses are implementing new methods and goods. Policymakers at all levels try to mitigate and respond to environmental changes. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) raise awareness and help protect and support people and the environment that have been affected. Regardless of these efforts, it is undeniable that long-term growth necessitates rapid technical, social, and institutional innovation. 

The growing demand for dramatic reductions in human consumption's environmental burdens and footprints (e.g., water contamination and unnecessary withdrawals) indicates that adaptation within current technologies is insufficient. Instead, a paradigm shift and a system that tightly connects problem solvers with solution implementers, knowledge generators, and knowledge implementers is needed. An alternative to the otherwise slow flow of evidence-based information from water science to policy formulation and implementation may be a solution-oriented integrated approach. It can aid in the development of a path from specific behavior to solutions through information co-production and critical examination. 

From examples of Cape Town, Beira and Lima, it is evident that actions rooted in awareness, community participation and multi-stakeholder cooperation show results. However long, these efforts towards sustainable development save many years’ worth water for the generations to come.

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