Building Urban Water Resilience: Webinar

Last week I attended a talk (via Zoom of course) hosted by the World Resources Institute. I found it refreshing to listen to city leaders and resource managers who are facing converging challenges over water resources. I have shared it with you below as I believe highly relevant to the wider intentions of this blog series and you may find it interesting!

  

Figure 1. Building Urban Water Resilience in Africa Webinar by World Resources Institute (WRI). Access Here: (World Resource Institute, 2020) 

 

Jane Weru of the Akiba Mashinani Trust suggested that with concerns about climate extremes growing, water is often the focus — either too much (floods) or too little (droughts). Ensuring that communities have access to water in the amounts they need is therefore made more challenging. In times of flooding, communities must deal with challenges over contamination by wastewater and the consequent spreading of diseases (like Cholera), whereas during drought, water prices increase drastically and access is reduced. To build resilience to climate extremes, Baraka Mwau of the East African Research Fund suggests there must be increased management of underground resources. I found this particularly interesting as drought-driven emergencies (like the Cape Town Crisis mentioned previously) could be prevented if groundwater is made readily available. At the community level, this means improving groundwater infrastructure to ensure water access during droughts. Inspired by Baraka Mwau, next week I explore what this means in rural communities in Ethipoia. See you then!