Water Security in Sub-Saharan African Cities: City Blueprint Assessment of Abuja, Bangui, Harare, Libreville, Windhoek and Yaoundé

Abstract

Water Security in African capital cities is extremely challenged by rapid growth and urbanisation, amplified by effects of climate change. In this chapter we describe the baseline assessment of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and governance capacity of six African capitals: Abuja, Bangui, Harare, Libreville, Windhoek, and Yaoundé. The assessment was done by local young professionals, as part of the internship and/or consultancy at UNESCO field units in these capitals, using the City Blueprint Approach (CBA). The young professionals were trained to collect data, interview important stakeholders and interpret the results. The CBA assesses external trends and pressures, performance of IWRM, and the governance capacity in a city. Furthermore, the project led to the development of an unofficial network of young professionals that empowered them through peer-to-peer learning of best practices in the different cities. After the assessment, the young professionals presented the outcome at workshops with city stakeholders to identify and prioritise the most pressing challenges in the cities. Common issues found in the six cities were: 1) challenging water supply and lack of wastewater treatment, 2) lack of adequate solid waste handling, 3) high burden of disease and flood risk, 4) economic pressure and political instability, 5) lack of data and monitoring constrains the capacity of these cities to address water-related challenges