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municipal authority efforts in the delivery of water and sanitation
services, especially to the poor sections of urban areas;
• Take into account the generally high levels of income poverty
in Africa by acknowledging that market-based approaches
are not always the best option to supplying water in urban
areas in a sustainable way;
• Understand how poor urban dwellers, including those living
in slums and peri-urban areas, get, use and manage water,
and what affects their decisions;
• Tailor water supply and sanitation services to the needs and
capabilities of consumers, with variations in type, location
and features of services;
• Pay attention to consumer values, lifestyle and budgets
in order to set appropriate tariffs and payment options for
different groups;
• Ensure that public health, the environment and the economy
are protected, while all groups in society are covered;
• Take advantage of the opportunities provided by urban waste
and wastewater through use in irrigation, generation of
electricity and environmental flows;
• Recognise that urban areas will continue to grow, and that
the demand for water and sanitation services will continue to
outstrip service delivery for the foreseeable future;
• Inform residents about how the links between forests,
protected areas and water supply could help build a
constituency for good watershed management;
• Demonstrate that it pays to protect watersheds, instead of
building expensive water purification systems;
• Raise awareness on the impact of poor water quality on
health, economy and the environment; and
• Mainstream the environment into urban water management
through approaches such as Payments for Ecosystems
Services, Integrated Water Resources Management, and
Water Demand Management.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Africa is the fastest urbanising region in the world. The
movement of human capital not only concentrates production
and drives economic growth, but also brings into question
if Africa’s urban areas are on an unsustainable course that
could be derailed. In assessing environmental stewardship
with regards to urban water supply, sanitation and ecosystems
services as potential destabilising factors in the urbanization
process in the long term in Africa, this report concludes that:
• The need for water is increasing, further widening the
disparity between demand and availability of safe drinking
water and sanitation.
• If urban planning does not mainstream environment by
acknowledging the urbanisation – water – ecosystems nexus,
urban water quality will deteriorate, destroying ecosystems
and spreading waterborne diseases to not only the
communities downstream, but also to the cities themselves.
• There are unique water supply and sanitation challenges to
the various cities in Africa, and these include:
• dependence on ecosystems services that are outside city
boundaries;
• growing reliance on groundwater supplies, the quality of
which is at times compromised by the poor management
of wastewater;
• growing participation of the private sector in
complementing government and local authority efforts in
water supply and sanitation levels; and
• little use of alternative water sources, including rainwater
harvesting.
• In light of the improving understanding of the urbanisation –
water – ecosystems nexus, water sector management reforms
that are being considered across Africa need to incorporate
elements of water demand management, integrated water
resources management and payment for ecosystem services.