water - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Women battle when trying to take climate change cases to court – South Africa and Nigeria study shows why

ACROSS domestic courts in Africa, climate cases have been decided in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, with some cases pending in Uganda. However, climate litigation is still fairly new. Climate lawsuits are an important way to access justice. This is particularly true for African women because, as research has shown, climate change affects women more than men in key areas including farming, health, water, access to electricity, migration and conflict. PEDI OBANI, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Bradford I research how the law can be applied to cases of climate change, inclusive development, water governance and sustainability. In…

Mar

2023

By BIRD STORY AGENCY

How Africa can achieve water security, sustainable sanitation

NEWS

'AFRICA'S Rising Investment Tide', a report released by the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa released on Wednesday (March 22), shows there are pathways by which Africa can close its water and sanitation gaps by 2030. The panel, consisting of seven African presidents and international leaders, seeks to develop actionable avenues to close in on the continent's water investment gaps. In the inaugural report, the panel demonstrates pathways African countries can implement to secure an additional $30 billion to drive water security and sustainable sanitation by 2030. Africa requires US$50 billion annually - the equivalent of US$40 per…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Water, water everywhere? Investors eye Africa’s water sector

NEWS

SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY INVESTORS are diving into Africa's water sector, with Metito Utilities Limited (MUL) and British International Investment (BII) being the latest to announce their entry into the market. The UK's development finance institution and the multinational utility firm have unveiled the Africa Water Infrastructure Development (AWID) venture that will develop climate-smart water projects at scale and increase water security across the continent. AWID's innovative approach to water infrastructure and provision in Africa is expected to set a sustainable commercial model, boosting long-term investment in the sector. The platform will incorporate cutting-edge green technologies and alternative energy…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Sacred rivers: Christianity in southern Africa has a deep history of water and ritual

RELIGION

WATER is a scarce commodity in much of Africa, particularly in southern Africa. This is well symbolised in the name of the Botswana national currency, pula (rain). When tragedies like flooding and drowning take place, it may seem inappropriate to speak of the scarcity and commodity of water. For example, members of the Johane Masowe church drowned in a flash flood during a baptismal ceremony at a river in South Africa recently. Author RETIEF MÜLLER, Associate Professor in Theology, VID Specialized University But part of the attraction of moving bodies of water to religious groups may be rooted in this…

Oct

2022

By The African Mirror

Water problems: No Day Zero for Johannesburg

NEWS

BIÉNNE HUISMAN, BIRD STORY AGENCY EVERY day, residents of South Africa’s economic hub, Johannesburg, wake up wondering whether there will be water in their taps. Just more than 1,000 kilometres away, in Gqeberha, a water crisis is unfolding, too. These won't be the last African cities to worry over a looming "Day Zero" when water runs out. But there are ways to avoid it happening. Cape Town has been there and done that – and knows that without careful planning and preparation, there could easily be a repeat of 2018’s “Day Zero” crisis. “Day Zero” was to mark the onset…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Tap dreams: rural arid Senegal sits on water it cannot reach

NEWS

EDWARD MCALLISTER WHEN the water well began to run low in this remote village in northern Senegal in 2010, the government drilled another one, fit with a shiny metal hand pump and a sign commemorating the investment. Today, it barely emits a trickle, residents say. Desperate in a sweltering region, the community last year raised $5,000 to try again. The new well failed to hit water and has become the butt of a bitter village joke. Kids make mocking sounds from the well mouth, their voices repeating down the empty, waterless shaft. Two studies last month touted groundwater as an…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Why full dams don’t mean water security: a look at South Africa

ENVIRONMENT

AFTER good summer rains, the dams that supply water to Johannesburg and much of South Africa’s economic heartland are full. This, then, is the time to start worrying about water supplies. MIKE MULLER, Visiting Adjunct Professor, School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand It may sound odd but it’s a lesson learnt from cities across the world over the past two decades. Whether it was Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Chennai in India, Barcelona in Spain or São Paulo in Brazil, we have seen that, too often, water crises occur because societies don’t take action until it’s already too late.…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

In a thirsty world, information gaps dog a push to tap groundwater

ENVIRONMENT

LAURIE GOERING AS growing populations and accelerating climate change worsen water scarcity around the world, pumping more from underground could help fill the gap in poorer nations - but only if supplies are better charted and they are used wisely, researchers said. "It's a resource with a huge amount of potential," said Jude Cobbing, who led a new study for charities WaterAid, Earthwatch and WWF on how groundwater is managed in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria and Ghana. Little is understood about how much groundwater is available, particularly at local level, and poor organisation between government agencies can mean it does…