What river basin do you live in? That might be an easy question if you are near a major river like the Congo or Zambezi, but many people don’t know the answer, including in Southern Africa. The whole geography of the region’s 14 major river basins is mostly only familiar to hydrologists and other water…
Category: Blog
Working on water infrastructure through COVID-19: an update from the end of 2020
COVID-19 struck in an important year for many of CRIDF’s projects, which were under way in countries throughout the Southern African Development Community (SADC). As the year draws to a close, the mission of bringing resilient water infrastructure to all has continued, thanks to the perseverance and adaptability of our partners in each country. Never…
African water regulators meeting the challenges of COVID 19: A webinar on what worked best
On 19 November 2020, CRIDF and ROCKBlue co-hosted an event with the Eastern and Southern Africa Water and Sanitation (ESAWAS) Regulators Association and the African Forum for Utility Regulation (AFUR) to look back at water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) efforts during the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the title Effectiveness of WASH-based…
Upping the flow: Phase 1 water supply upgrades in Tanzania’s Makonde Plateau close to completion
With the restrictions on movement and massive disruption of supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, maintenance and development of infrastructure has been stalled in many parts of the world. This has had consequences for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, which prioritise access to clean water and sanitation. In the Makonde Plateau of…
CRIDF hosts webinar on the GESI Toolkit to support the USAID Resilient Waters Program
In the context of water, gender is not just a women’s issue. As women are the primary users and managers of water, particularly in rural areas, it is essential that projects aimed at improving access to water, and related infrastructure, services and value chains, take into account their needs. Recently, CRIDF hosted an online workshop…
OKACOM holds community consultations on the future of the Okavango Delta
The world’s largest inland delta, the Cubango-Okavango river basin is recognised as a site of global ecological importance. But a growing population, poor infrastructural development and climate change are threatening the ecological integrity of this near-pristine Ramsar wetland and World Heritage Site. The Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM) provides technical advice to the…
Tapping the potential of Southern Africa’s aquifers
Southern Africa has been slow to utilise its ample groundwater resources. Despite offering a more reliable alternative to increasingly erratic rainfall and over-exploited rivers and lakes, for example, groundwater accounts for only one per cent of the water used in the region’s irrigation systems. This represents a lost opportunity. A sustainable groundwater strategy that closely…