Presented by IWMI's Timothy WIlliams, Director - Africa, at the High-Level Dialogue of African Ministers and Legislators on Mobilising Science Technology and Innovation (STI) for Africa’s Sustainable Development Post 2015 held in Accra - Ghana, July 7, 2015.

1. Water and associated
ecosystems in the post-
2015 discourse: The
imperatives for Africa
T. Olalekan Williams
Director, Africa
International Water Management Institute
(IWMI)
7th July 2015, Accra
High-Level Dialogue on Mobilizing STI for
Africa’s SD Post 2015

2. Presentation Outline
• Introduction to Water SDG
• Four imperatives for Africa to achieve water SDG and
targets
• Potential contribution of science, technology and
innovation to the SDG process
• IWMI’s research in support of water SDG and targets.

3. GOAL 6 Ensure
availability and
sustainable
management of
water and
sanitation
for all.

4. GOAL 6 ENSURE AVAILABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION FOR ALL
6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and
affordable drinking water for all.
6.2 By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation
and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special
attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable
situations.
6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating
dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and
materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and
increasing recycling and safe reuse by [x] per cent globally.
6.4 By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all
sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of
freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the
number of people suffering from water scarcity.

5. GOAL 6 ENSURE AVAILABILITY AND SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION FOR ALL
6.5 By 2030, implement integrated water resources
management at all levels, including through transboundary
cooperation as appropriate.
6.6 By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems,
including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and
lakes.
6.a By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-
building support to developing countries in water- and
sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water
harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater
treatment, recycling and reuse technologies.
6.b Support and strengthen the participation of local
communities in improving water and sanitation
management.

6. 2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement
resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production,
that help maintain ecosystems, strengthen capacity…to progressively
improve land and soil quality.
11.5 By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of
people affected and decrease by [x] per cent the economic losses relative to
gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related
disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable
situations.
13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related
hazards and natural disasters in all countries.
15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of
terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in
particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations
under international agreements.
Links to other SDGs

7. SDGs emphasize integration
E
Ecosystems

8. Context is crucial
Four imperatives
must be met in
order to achieve
water SDG in
Africa.

9. First imperative
1. Increase investment in water infrastructure and
technologies to augment water supply.
Investments are needed to:
- to improve water harvesting from rain and
flood water.
- develop and sustainably manage groundwater
resources.
- develop a variety of built and natural storage
infrastructure at farm, community and basin levels.

10. Opportunity for further development of GW in SSA where
less than 5% of water used for irrigation comes from GW.

11. Second imperative
2. Improve governance
systems to guarantee
water and land rights
for women, youths and
other poor farmers.
Include women and
youths in water
management decisions.
Photo: Practical Action/Martha Munyoro Katsi

12. Third and Fourth imperatives
3. Include smallholder farmers in viable value chains
and improve their access to adequate financial and
extension services and markets.
4. Increase water use efficiency across all sectors.

13. How can STI contribute to the SDG process?
1. Using new data and tools to develop metrics for
setting feasible and pragmatic targets and
monitoring progress towards the achievement of
those targets.

14. Water Metrics:
New data and tools
Low-cost opportunities:
• data collected through
remote and near
sensing.
• Dissemination of data
through mobile
technologies.
Challenge: Ownership and
full integration within the
national water monitoring
& reporting mechanisms.

15. Nigeria: Flood Mapping and Mobile Apps,
http://dialogues.cgiar.org/blog/nigerian-flood-story/
AWM Nigeria (http://frdsan.iwmi.org/)
Targeting 1000s of
farmers to gain access
to the right
information at the
right time on flood
risks and opportunities
from flood recession
agriculture.
Flood risk assessment to reduce vulnerability and improve
flood recession agriculture in Nigeria

16. How can STI contribute to the SDG process?
2. Developing scalable solutions suited to different
contexts and that can be used to harness
underutilized water resources (e.g. groundwater
for irrigation), while maintaining healthy
ecosystems.

17. Suitability domains example: WLT
OR+
and
=
Identifying and Up-scaling feasible solutions
One scenario for
Individual motor pumps

18. Integration
Resource recovery and reuse from waste for food and
energy production
SDG targets on wastewater
management, recycling &
reuse: other nexus benefits →
reduced use of chemical
fertilizers, opportunity to
combine organic and inorganic
fertilizers.
Photo: IWMI

19. IWMI RESEARCH IN SUPPORT OF WATER SDG
• Discussing with UN-DESA support to African countries in setting
realistic national SDG targets and developing a framework for
implementation and monitoring of progress.
• IWMI scientists are involved in UN-led working groups to develop
indicators for SDG targets: 6.3 – Water quality & Wastewater reuse;
6.4 – Water-use efficiency; 6.6 – Water withdrawals and
ecosystems.
• Opportunity to use research tools and products to support
implementation of the SDGs (e.g. Water Accounting developed in
partnership with IWMI, FAO and UNESCO-IHE).
• Capacity building for the implementation and monitoring of SDG
targets.

20. Capacity building to
use new data and
tools.
Photo: Petterik Wiggers / IWMI

21. You can download IWMI’s publication:
On Target for People and Planet: Setting
and Achieving Water-related Sustainable
Development Goals
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Books/PDF/setting_and_
achieving_water-related_sustainable_development_goals.pdf

22. Take-home messages
• Partnerships: Achieving water-related SDGs will require a
broad partnership within the water sector and beyond,
including the science community.
• Opportunities for Growth: The emphasis should be on
facilitating a sustainable and equitable growth path.
• Balancing the Scales: investments in water resources and
agriculture need to support, rather than undermine, small-
scale producers.
• Integration: thinking across sectors and out of ‘sectoral
boxes’ will produce practical and effective solutions.

23. Thank you for your attention.