Osward M Chanda describes the challenges and mechanisms for achieving climate resilient water and sanitation for the people of Africa.
“Climate change manifests as spatial and temporal water variability and is devastating Africa’s water bodies, impacting food security, threatening ecosystems, and impeding socio-economic development through increased droughts and floods, decreased water quality, and a diminishment in the resilience of freshwater systems,” said Osward M Chanda, director of Water Development and Sanitation at the African Development Bank, opening his keynote speech at IWA’s Water and Development Congress & Exhibition (WDCE).
Highlighting that in the past 50 years, drought-related hazards in the region have claimed the lives of more than half a million people and caused more than $70 billion in losses in Africa, Chanda expressed how fundamental sustainable water sector management and strengthened water security are to socio-economic development and improving the quality of life of Africans.
Presenting concepts on climate resilient, low emission water security and sanitation services for a water-wise future, his message to delegates in Kigali in December was that solutions are within reach, but he emphasised that robust evidence-based strategies are required for bankable proposals to be delivered, especially given the broad uncertainty that exists around future scenarios as a result of climate change.
Building development expertise
With huge investments being directed towards water and sanitation infrastructure, particularly in the Global South, at this juncture, innovation, technology, and sound water management and regulation have the potential to make a lasting impact.
Globally, climate change poses substantial new challenges for water and sanitation services. An increasing threat of floods, drought, increased temperatures, wildfires, storm surges and loss of glaciers, which risk damage to infrastructure and auxiliary services, have the potential to interrupt access to water and sanitation, and result in a deterioration of water quality and security, and increase risks to human health. To avoid a decline in water and sanitation services, it is essential resilience is built into infrastructure and the management of services.
Africa – a continent experiencing climate stress
Illustrating the extreme impact that drought has had on the region, Chanda explained that in 2021, 3.2 million people in Somalia were affected by the drought that covered approximately 90% of the country. In 2022, the ongoing drought in Madagascar resulted in 70% of people in the southern part of the country being without access to drinking water and 50% were in urgent need of WASH assistance. With the future looking increasingly precarious, he drew on predictions that by 2030, high water stress will have displaced 700 million people in Africa.
Water solutions are climate solutions
So, how can the water and sanitation sector rise to this challenge?
Chanda’s perspective is that water security and sanitation services are at the heart of climate resilience and the achievement of net zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), citing industry estimates that emissions by water services represent between 3% and 7% of GHG emissions from cities. Moreover, he explained that low carbon and climate resilient water and wastewater management can introduce adaptation and energy efficiency measures that contribute to realising national climate change objectives and respond to the development needs of vulnerable groups.
“In 2021, 3.2 million people in Somalia were affected by the drought that covered approximately 90% of the country”
“The link between climate change, WASH services provision, and health, is vital,” he said. “WASH services enhance health resilience against climate challenges, aid communities in recovery from extreme events, enhance adaptation to long term changes and promote WASH-related mitigation.” He qualified that, however, by reiterating the challenges to WASH infrastructure at risk from floods, droughts reducing water supply, and rising temperatures influencing water use.
Delivering climate resilient services
Chanda explained that water sector regulators are now starting to demand greater action on climate change. However, this requires utilities to demonstrate how they have taken climate change threats into their programming of operations.
“Strengthening utilities to enable them to access blended finance solutions, enhance energy efficiency, enhance domestic budget allocations, and increase revenue collection, will be key to the delivery of climate resilient water and sanitation services,” he said. Continuing, he added that resilience could be built through improvements in water efficiency, reduced leakage, the reuse of treated wastewater, and the development of investments that are linked to climate threats.
“Efficient water utilities are creditworthy, which enables them to access commercial loans at competitive rates and at longer tenors,” he explained. “This facilitates the implementation of water utility projects that lead to increased service coverage and quality, and affordable tariff rates.”
“The link between climate change, WASH services provision, and health, is vital”
However, not all water utilities are efficient and creditworthy, resulting in limited engagement of commercial finance in the sector because of inadequate creditworthiness, inadequate sustainable revenue streams, off-grid sanitation businesses facing challenges to generate demand for services, water service providers lacking the skills necessary to demonstrate the level of profitability of the utility, and commercial financiers having limited experience and understanding of the sector. Chanda concluded that technical assistance could effectively tackle both the confidence and shortcomings of financiers and investees. Moreover, improvements in the quality of services provided by the utilities, such as achieving water supply continuity and improved water quality standards, could generate increased demand, increase the willingness of customers to pay, and help to build a larger paying customer base.
He also called for capacity building to accelerate the development of human resources to respond to the challenges he outlined. Data will also be critical to inform the status of the sector and investments at all levels, along with increased regulation and the ‘professionalisation’ of the sector. Chanda emphasised the need for the expansion of water institutions to reflect all service delivery models and actors, and the importance of new approaches to technology to make the water supply and sanitation sector more attractive to commercial finance.
A future ripe with possibilities
Chanda explained that although the water and sanitation challenges of Africa are great, there are a range of options to leverage additional financing, which will be vital in helping to bridge the financing gap for water and sanitation service providers. Strengthening the enabling environment for investment, for example, to mobilise a broader range of sources of capital and revenues collected by service providers, through transfers, taxes, and tariffs, which can be used to cover repayable financing, such as concessional finance and commercial loans, bonds, and equity.
Chanda emphasised the necessity to make institutional infrastructure all-encompassing. Innovative climate-smart technology will also be crucial. Above all he concluded that utilities must seize the opportunities with development partners and not rely solely on government.
“The responsibility now lies with utility managers and regulators,” he said. “Professionalising regulators is critical, as their guidance is essential in policy development, water supply and sanitation planning, and more granular monitoring.” •
The speaker: Osward M Chanda is director of the Water Development and Sanitation Department at the African Development Bank and is a member of the Advisory Board for IWA’s Inclusive Urban Sanitation initiative. He is retiring from the Bank at the end of July
