proceedings on research and capacity development on water … · 2019-03-29 · un-water decade...

Editors: Reza Ardakanian, Jens Liebe UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC)

Proceedings on

Research and Capacity Development on Water Resources Management by the United Nations University: >> Focus on Africa

Special session at the 12th WaterNet Symposium Maputo, Mozambique, October 2011

Water-related activities in Africa of UNU entities: UNU-EHS | UNU-INWEH | UNU-INRA | UNU-FTP | UNU-FLORES | UNW-DPC

Special session coordinated by UNW-DPC

Special session presenting the water-related activities in Africa of the following entities of the United Nations University (UNU):

UNU-EHS | UNU-INWEH | UNU-INRA | UNU-FTP | UNU-FLORES | UNW-DPC

Coordinated by: UNW-DPC

Proceedings on

Research and Capacity Development on Water Resources Management by the United Nations University: >> Focus on Africa

Special session at the 12th WaterNet Symposium Maputo, Mozambique, October 2011

2 | UNW-DPC Proceedings No. 9

FOREWORD, KONRAD OSTERWALDER, RECTOR OF THE UNITED NATIONS

UNIvERSITy (UNU) 4

1 | IntroductIon: 6

THE UNITED NATIONS UNIvERSITy AT THE WATERNET SymPOSIUm

2 | chapter 1: 16

UNITED NATIONS UNIvERSITy INSTITUTE FOR ENvIRONmENT AND HUmAN

SECURITy AND UNITED NATIONS UNIvERSITy vICE RECTORATE IN EUROPE:

PRIORITy AFRICA

Jakob Rhyner, UNU Vice Rector in Europe and Director of the Institute for Envi-

ronment (UNU-ViE) and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Bonn, Germany

3 | chapter 2: 26

WHERE IS THE CAPACITy TO mEET THE EAST AFRICAN WATER CRISIS?

UNLOCKINg THE POTENTIAL OF COmmUNITIES AND INSTITUTIONS

Zafar Adeel and Corinne Schuster-Wallace, United Nations University Institute

for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Hamilton, Canada

4 | chapter 3: 36

HARNESSINg WATER RESOURCES IN AFRICA: THE CASE OF THREATENED

LAKE ECOSySTEmS

Elias T. Ayuk and Timothy A. Koomson, United Nations University Institute for

Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), Accra, Ghana

Table of CoNTeNTs

Research and capacity development on water resources management by the UNU | 3

5 | chapter 4: 48

STRENgTHENINg PROFESSIONAL CAPACITy OF KEy FISHERIES ORgANIzA-

TIONS IN SUb-SAHARAN AFRICA: THE ROLE OF UNITED NATIONS UNIvER-

SITy FISHERIES TRAININg PROgRAmmE

Thor Asgeirsson and Tumi Tomasson, UNU-Fisheries Training Programme, Ma-

rine Research Institute, Reykjavik, Iceland

6 | chapter 5 66

THE NEW UNITED NATIONS UNIvERSITy INSTITUTE FOR INTEgRATED mAN-

AgEmENT OF mATERIAL FLUxES AND OF RESOURCES IN DRESDEN, gERmA-

Ny, AND mAPUTO, mOzAmbIqUE: CORE AREAS OF FOCUS AND TWINNINg

CONCEPT

Reza Ardakanian, UNU focal point on the establishment of UNU-FLORES, Unit-

ed Nations University, Bonn, Germany; S. Hülsmann, United Nations University,

Bonn, Germany; and P. Krebs, Institute for Urban Water Management, Dresden

University of Technology, Germany

7 | chapter 6 76

CAPACITy DEvELOPmENT IN THE WATER SECTOR IN AFRICA – A REgION FOR

PRIORITy ACTION FOR THE UN-WATER DECADE PROgRAmmE ON CAPACITy

DEvELOPmENT

Jens Liebe, Reza Ardakanian, UN-Water Decade Programme on

Capacity Development (UNW-DPC), Bonn, Germany


foReWoRD

UNU

HeaD

qUaR

TeRs

iN To

kio,

Japa

N


The United Nations University, as the academic arm of the

UN system, implements research and educational pro-

grammes in the area of sustainable development, with the

particular goal of assisting developing countries.

It is clear that throughout developing countries, water is an important issue for devel-

opment and a top priority across political agendas: this is embodied, for example, in the

presence of water in so many of the mDgs. The importance of water is also reflected in the

focus that so many UNU entities place on the issue, as the Water Symposium session in

maputo, mozambique demonstrated.

In addition to our major areas of focus, UNU also has a significant role as a capacity builder

for developing countries and countries in transition, as well as a goal to intensify North–

South research and teaching interaction, embodied in a “twin institutes” structure, where-

in each UNU institute should have two (or, in rare cases, more) locations: one in a devel-

oped country and one in a developing country.

Indeed, UNU’s major focus on capacity building is one of the reasons we were chosen

among other UN-Water members to host the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity

Development (UNW-DPC). Another focus of UNU throughout all its activities is the UNU

Priority Africa Initiative. Here, too, UNU and UN-Water dovetail nicely.

We are therefore very pleased that our hosted institution and programme of UN-Water,

UNW-DPC, took the initiative to bring together the important issues of water in Africa

within the work of different UNU entities. The importance was such that the Directors of

Research and Training Centers/Programs from around the world attended the session to

participate and present their work.

prof. Konrad osterwalder

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations

Rector, United Nations University

foReWoRD

1 | BackGround

The UniTed naTions UniversiTy aT The WaTerneT symposiUmThe United Nations University (UNU) – the academic arm of the United Nations system

– implements research and educational programmes in the area of sustainable develop-

ment, with the particular aim of assisting developing countries. Established by the UN

General Assembly in 1973 as “an international community of scholars, engaged in re-

search, postgraduate training and dissemination of knowledge in furtherance of the pur-

poses and principles of the Charter of the United Nations”, UNU operates through a world-

wide nexus of institutes and programmes that are coordinated by UNU Centre in Tokyo.

UNU also has many points of overlap with UN-Water, the inter-agency mechanism estab-

lished by the United Nations Systems’ High-level Committee on Programmes in 2003 to

strengthen coordination and coherence among UN entities dealing with issues related to

water and sanitation. UNU not only assumed the rotating chairmanship of UN-Water from

2010 to 2012, but also shares with UN-Water its common focus on Africa as a region for

priority action (more information on UNU’s Priority Africa Initiative can be found below).

UNU also hosts the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC),

which is a joint programme of UN-Water with the mandate to strengthen the capacity

development activities of UN-Water members and partners, and to support them in their

efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) related to water.

UNU aspires to be a world-class international research, teaching and capacity building

institution that provides global leadership on aspects of peace, development and sustain-

ability. UNU serves as a think tank for the United Nations system and provides a bridge

between the UN and the international academic and policy-making communities. With

a systems-oriented approach that is necessary for achieving sustainable solutions to the

world’s challenges, UNU’s activities are clustered into five interlinking thematic areas:

Peace, Security and Human Rights, Human and Socio-economic Development and Good

Governance, Global Health, Population and Sustainable Livelihoods, Global Change and

Sustainable Development and Science, Technology, Innovation and Society.

In its role as a capacity builder for developing countries and countries in transition, and

in order to intensify North–South research and teaching interaction, the University has


launched an initiative to convert the UNU system into a “twin institutes” structure, wherein

each UNU institute will have two (or, in rare cases, more) locations: one in a developed

country and one in a developing country.

Twinning highlights in Africa include: UNU-FLORES – Germany and Mozambique, UNU-

EHS – Germany and Namibia and UNU-MERIT – the Netherlands and Senegal. Another ini-

tiative that addresses the developing needs of Africa in a cross-cutting manner throughout

the work of UNU is the UNU Priority Africa Initiative. It brings together ideas, expertise, ca-

pacities and resources under a collaborative umbrella that supports African development.

It further streamlines UNU´s approach to Africa. This is achieved through an information

hub that identifies target audiences and takes stock of the rich activities being conducted

by UNU in Africa. Furthermore, working collaboratively, UNU organizations, donors and

partners create an environment of knowledge sharing. More information can be found at

http://www.vie.unu.edu/article/read/priority-africa.

This publication addresses the concerted efforts to bring together the activities of UNU on

water in Africa as showcased at the 12th WaterNet Symposium in October 2011. WaterNet

is a regional network of university departments and research and training institutes in

Southern and East Africa that specialise in water. The network aims to build regional insti-

tutional and human capacity in integrated water resources management (IWRM) through

training, education, research and outreach by harnessing the complementary strengths

of member institutions in the region and elsewhere. At the occasion of the symposium,

UNW-DPC brought together six UNU institutes and programmes, at the director level, to

showcase and discuss with scientists and decision makers their examples of water-related

research and capacity development.

These UNU Institutes and Programmes are:

• United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security

(UNU-EHS)

• United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-

INWEH)

• United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA)

• United Nations University Fisheries Training Programme (UNU-FTP)

• United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material

Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES)

• UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC)


UniTed naTions UniversiTy insTiTUTe for environmenT and hUman secUriTy and UniTed naTions UniversiTy vice recToraTe in eUrope: prioriTy africa

Professor Jakob rhyner

United Nations University Vice Rector in Europe (UNU-ViE) and Direc-

tor of the Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS),

Bonn, Germany

Where is The capaciTy To meeT The easT african WaTer crisis

dr. Zafar adeel

Director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environ-

ment and Health (UNU-INWEH), Hamilton, Canada

harnessing WaTer resoUrces in africa: The case of ThreaTened Lakes

dr. Elias ayuk

Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resourc-

es in Africa (UNU-INRA), Accra, Ghana

Topics and presenTers:


sTrengThening professionaL capaciTy of key fisheries organizaTions in sUb-saharan africa: The roLe of UnU-fTp

Mr. Thor asgeirrson

Deputy Programme Director of the United Nations University Fisher-

ies Training Programme (UNU-FTP), Reykjavik, Iceland

The neW UnU insTiTUTe for inTegraTed managemenT of maTeriaL fLUx-es and of resoUrces (UnU-fLores) in dresden, germany, and mapUTo, mozambiqUe: core areas of focUs and TWinning concepT

dr. reza ardakanian

UNU Focal Point on establishment of the United Nations University

Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Re-

sources (UNU-FLORES) Dresden, Germany, and Maputo, Mozambique;

Director of UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development

capaciTy deveLopmenT in The WaTer secTor in africa – a region for prioriTy acTion for The UnW-dpc

dr. Jens Liebe

Programme Officer at the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity

Development (UNW-DPC), Bonn, Germany, hosted by the United Na-

tions University


profiLes of UniTed naTions UniversiTy insTiTUTes and programmes aT The 12Th WaTerneT symposiUm

UniTed naTions UniversiTy insTi-TUTe for environmenT and hUman secUriTy

The United Nations University Institute for

Environment and Human Security (UNU-

EHS) in Bonn, Germany, addresses the risk

and vulnerability aspects of human security

and the consequences of complex environmental hazards for sustainable development.

Particular research areas are environmentally induced migration and social vulnerability,

climate change adaptation including insurance-related approaches, ecosystem services

and environmental deterioration processes such as water and land degradation, as well as

frameworks, models and tools to assess vulnerability and risks linked to natural hazards.

The research of UNU-EHS aims at improving the in-depth understanding of the cause ef-

fect relationships to find ways to reduce risks and vulnerabilities. The Institute supports

policymakers and decision makers with evidence-based research and information.

united nations university

Institute for Environment and Human Security (unu-EHS)

UN Campus

Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10

53113 Bonn

Germany

Phone: +49-228-815-0202

www.ehs.unu.edu


UniTed naTions UniversiTy insTiTUTe for WaTer, environmenT and heaLTh The UNU Institute for Water, Environment & Health (UNU-INWEH) is a member of the

United Nations University family of organisations. It is the United Nations Think Tank on

Water, created by the UNU Governing Council in 1996 to strengthen water-management

capacity, particularly of developing countries, and to provide on-the-ground project sup-

port. Its core funding is provided by the Government of Canada and it is hosted at the

McMaster University.

UNU-INWEH’s core mission is to contribute through capacity development and direct-

ed research, to efforts to resolve pressing global water problems that are of concern to

the United Nations, its member states and their peoples. UNU-INWEH does this using a

three-pronged strategy: science–policy bridging, knowledge enhancement and capacity

building. UNU-INWEH is committed to a model of science that supports transdisciplinary

approaches, multi-stakeholder involvement and evidence-based decision-making. We

are equally committed to building capacity around research efforts in order to ensure

sustainability.


Institute for Water, Environment and Health (unu-InWEH

175 Longwood Rd S.

Suite 204

Hamilton

Ontario L8P 0A1

Canada

www.inweh.unu.edu


UniTed naTions UniversiTy insTiTUTe for naTUraL resoUrces in africa The United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) aims

to empower African universities and research institutions through capacity strength-

ening. The goal is to enable those institutions to conduct high-quality research and

produce a cadre of well-trained, well-equipped and highly motivated individuals. The

knowledge created and the increased capacity should be useful in developing, adapting

and disseminating technologies that promote efficient and sustainable use of the con-

tinent’s natural resources. UNU-INRA was created in 1986 and is the only UNU institute

and programme based in Africa. It is located at the University of Ghana, Legon Campus.

In its new strategic plan 2011–2014, UNU-INRA will undertake research, training and ca-

pacity development in three programme areas that include harnessing land and water

resources for efficient and sustainable use, promoting conservation and developing a

green economy and governing and managing the extractive industries.


Institute for natural resources in africa (unu-Inra)

International Programmes Building

Annie Jiage Road

University of Ghana, Legon Campus

Accra

Ghana

Phone: +233 302 500 596

Fax: +233 302 500 792

www.inra.unu.edu


UniTed naTions UniversiTy fisheries Training programme The United Nations University Fisheries Training Programme (UNU-FTP) is one of three

UNU programmes based in Iceland offering postgraduate and in-service training on the

sustainable use of natural resources. UNU-FTP trains fisheries professionals in the develop-

ing countries that are moving their fisheries towards sustainable use of the resources, in

terms of capture fisheries, aquaculture production and processing. It is hosted by the Ma-

rine Research Institute and draws knowledge and links experts from research institutes,

universities and the industry. The core activity is the six-month training programme in Ice-

land, where UNU fellows select one of six lines of specialization and finish with an applied

research project. The specialist areas are Fisheries Policy and Planning, Fish Stock Assess-

ment, Quality Management of Fish Handling and Processing, Sustainable Aquaculture,

Management of Fisheries Companies and Marketing and Fishing Technology. To react to

the immediate needs in the partner countries and also to continue supporting former

fellows, UNU-FTP provides financial and technical support to develop short courses and

conferences in its partner countries. In addition, UNU-FTP offers, on competitive bases,

scholarships for MSc and PhD studies to former UNU fellows who have been accepted into

Icelandic universities. UNU-FTP actively explores the needs of its partners and seeks coop-

eration with international and regional organizations, such as the FAO, NACA and CRFM.

unu-Fisheries Training Programme

Marine research Institute (unu-FTP)

P.O. Box 1390

Skúlagata 4

121 Reykjavik, Iceland

E-mail: [email protected]

www.unuftp.is


UniTed naTions UniversiTy insTiTUTe for inTegraTed managemenT of maTeriaL fLUxes and of resoUrces The primary purpose of the United Nations University Institute for Integrated Manage-

ment of Material Fluxes and of Resources (UNU-FLORES), which is presently established

in Dresden, Germany and Maputo, Mozambique, will be to contribute to the resolution of

crucial challenges in the area of sustainable use and integrated management of the envi-

ronmental resources water, soil and waste that are of concern to the United Nations and

its Member States, particularly developing and transitional countries. UNU-FLORES will

be collaborating closely with Dresden University of Technology in research and teaching.

It is foreseen that the Institute will consist of the units water management, soil and land-

use management, waste management and contaminated sites treatment, systems and

flux analysis, and global change (climate, demography, socio-economy). A twin campus

of the institute is envisaged to be established in Maputo, Mozambique.

Until its full establishment, UNU-FLORES may be contacted via:

united nations university Institute for Integrated Management of

Material Fluxes and of resources unu (unu-FLorES)

Focal Point on the Establishment of UNU-FLORES

UNU-ViE, UN-Campus

Hermann-Ehlers Str. 10

53113 Bonn

Germany


www.unu-flores-mozambique.blogspot.com/

UnU-fLores

Fax: +49-228-815-0299

UniTed naTions WaTer decade programme on capaciTy deveLopmenT, hosTed by The UniTed naTions UniversiTyThe UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) in Bonn,

Germany, hosted by UNU, strengthens the coherence and effectiveness of the capac-

ity development activities of more than two dozen UN organizations and programmes

working together within the inter-agency mechanism known as UN-Water. UN-Water is

dedicated to achieving the water-related Millennium Development Goals. UNW-DPC ac-

tively collaborates with UN-Water members and partners on individual, institutional and

organizational capacity development in a range of thematic areas related to water, and

works to support UN-Water in observing, collating and evaluating existing knowledge

through assessments, mappings and analyses, as well as in producing, disseminating and

managing new knowledge through training, workshops and publications.

un-Water decade Programme on capacity development (unW-dPc)

UN Campus

Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10

D-53113 Bonn, Germany

Phone: + 49 (0) 228 815-0652

Fax: + 49 (0) 228 815-0655


www.unwater.unu.edu


© U

N-Ph

oto


2 | Chapter 1

UNited NatioNs UNiversity iNstitUte for eNviroNmeNt aNd HUmaN secUrity aNd UNited NatioNs UNiversity vice rectorate iN eUroPe: Priority africa Jakob rHyNer1

This PaPeR gives aN iNTRoDUCTioN To The UNiTeD NaTioNs UNiveRsiTy

(UNU) iNiTiaTive PRioRiTy afRiCa, WhiCh aims aT a CoheReNT DeveloP-

meNT of iTs NUmeRoUs ReseaRCh aND CaPaCiTy-bUilDiNg aCTiviTies oN

The afRiCaN CoNTiNeNT. The TWiNNiNg CoNCePT as a CeNTRal PillaR

is DesCRibeD. The effoRTs aRe illUsTRaTeD by a seleCTioN of CURReNT

PRojeCTs, iNClUDiNg ReseaRCh aND CaPaCiTy bUilDiNg. a RePReseNTa-

Tive oveRvieW of CURReNT PRojeCTs is giveN.

1 UNU vice Rectorate in europe (vie) and UNU institute for environment and human security (UNU-ehs), bonn,

germany


Introduction

The United Nations University (UNU) is the academic and research arm of the UN. it bridg-

es the academic world and the UN system. its goal is to develop sustainable solutions

for current and future problems of humankind in all aspects of life. Through a problem-

oriented and interdisciplinary approach it aims at teaching, applied research and educa-

tion on a global scale. UNU was founded in 1973, as an autonomous organ of the United

Nations general assembly. The University comprises headquarters in Tokyo, japan, and

more than a dozen institutes and Programmes worldwide.

in bonn, germany, the UNU is represented by the vice Rectorate in europe (UNU-vie),

which is part of the Rector´s office, and the institute for environment and human security

(UNU-ehs). The vice Rectorate hosts the secretariat of the international human Dimen-

sions Programme on global environmental Change (UNU-ihDP), the UN-Water Decade

Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC) and the United Nations University in-

stitute for sustainability and Peace, operating Unit sCyCle (UNU-isP sCyCle).

UNU-eh addresses the risk and vulnerability aspects of human security and the con-

sequences of complex environmental hazards for sustainable development. Particular

research areas are environmentally induced migration and social vulnerability, climate

change adaptation, including insurance-related approaches, ecosystem services and

environmental deterioration processes, such as water and land degradation, as well as

frameworks, models and tools to assess vulnerability and risks linked to natural hazards.

The research of UNU-ehs aims to improve the in-depth understanding of cause–effect

relationships to find ways to reduce risks and vulnerabilities. The institute supports poli-

cymakers and decision makers with evidence-based research and information.

United Nations University Initiative Priority AfricaThe initiative Priority africa aims to provide a cohesive approach for the UNU’s numer-

ous research-based activities in africa. The decision to start the Priority africa initiative

resulted from the recommendations and decisions made by the UNU Council over the

previous years. as stated in UNU strategic Plan 2009–2012, “the Roadmap for UNU’s focus

on africa aims to make UNU activities in and on africa of greater relevance to the afri-

can continent and its people, the UN organizations and UNU end-users; it aims to make


UNU-generated knowledge on peace, development and sustainability better acknowl-

edged, recognized and used.” The Roadmap strives to strengthen the impact of UNU’s

work by determining strategic and thematic priorities and leveraging activities, resources

and competences already invested across the different UNU institutes and programmes

working in and on africa. one essential dimension of this work is to enhance the connec-

tion and collaboration efforts.

a central pillar of the initiative Priority africa is the so-called twinning concept of UNU,

which forms a strategic step towards strengthening UNU’s presence in africa and other

developing regions and regions in transition by institutionalizing the cooperation be-

tween institutes in the developing and the developed world. The ‘Twin institutes’ context

prescribes that each UNU institute will have two (or, in exceptional cases, up to four) sep-

arate locations: one in a developed country and the other in a developing country. each

location (‘twinning partner’) will have its own researchers, teachers and students, but the

locations will implement a shared research and teaching agenda and devote more than

half their time to joint projects. since the reputation and scientific quality of the twinning

partner in the developing country ultimately will be equal to that of the twinning partner

in the developed country, it is anticipated that this will help to prevent a ‘brain drain’. The

basic funding of the developed country’s twinning partner will be covered by the host

country. The developing host country, however, will be expected to fund at least 30 per

cent of the cost of its twinning partner, with the remaining financial resources coming

from joint research and teaching projects supported by funding agencies or other do-

nors.

one of the first examples for the development of a Twin institute is the institute for inte-

grated management of material fluxes and of Resources (UNU-floRes), whose partner

institutes will be hosted by the Technical University of Dresden in germany and the edo-

ardo mondlane University in maputo, mozambique. The second scoping workshop for

UNU-floRes took place in maputo just before the 12th WaterNet Conference.


Selected Projects of the United Nations University Vice Rectorate in Europe and United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human SecurityThe UNU has numerous research and capacity-building activities in africa. a compre-

hensive overview was published in November 2011 on the homepage of the UNU vice

Rectorate in europe (www.vie.unu.edu). This section contains a selection of projects op-

erated by the vice Rectorate in europe and the institute for environment and human

security (further research and capacity-building projects of the UNU are introduced in

some of the other papers in this volume). it is emphasized that, in general, UNU is part of

a large network involved in the projects.

West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (West Africa)The project West african science service Center on Climate Change and adapted land

Use (WasCal) is a large-scale research-focused programme designed to help tackle the

dual challenge of climate change and land degradation, and thereby enhance the resil-

ience of human and environmental systems to climate change and increased variability.

it does so by strengthening the research infrastructure and capacity in West africa related

to climate change and land use and by pooling the expertise of ten West african coun-

tries and germany.

funded by the german federal ministry of education and Research (bmbf), WasCal is

coordinated by the Center for Development Research (Zef, bonn University), and is im-

plemented in a collaborative effort by UNU-ehs (leading the work package on Risk analy-

sis) and the UNU institute for Natural Resources in africa (UNU-iNRa) in accra, ghana, as

well as with numerous West african and german partners.

WasCal is organized around three principle components:

• competence centre,

• core research program, and

• graduate research program.


The Competence Center, a newly established institute in West africa, carries out research

and provides science-based advice to policymakers and stakeholders on climate-change

impacts, mitigation and adaptation measures. The Core Research Program complements

the scientific activities of the Competence Center, and is implemented by a network of

german and West african research institutes. The graduate Research Program, involving

the creation of seven graduate schools in West africa, will contribute to the education of

the next generation of african scientists and policy makers in the field of climate change

and land management. UNU-ehs is the german-based partner involved in the msc pro-

gramme on Climate Change and human security, which is put in place by the University

of Togo.

Climate Change Hydro-Conflict and Human Security (Niger)

The project Climate Change hydro-Conflict and human security (CliCo) is a three-year

(2010-2012) project funded by the european Commission under the framework fP-7,

which mobilizes 14 research teams from europe, North africa, the sahel and the middle

east. CliCo will fill a gap in knowledge over the social dimensions of climate change

by looking at whether hydro-climatic hazards intensify social tensions and conflicts in

the mediterranean, middle east and sahel, or if they provide a catalyst for cooperation

and peace. it is examining why some countries and communities are more vulnerable

to droughts, floods and related conflict, and what types of policies and institutions are

necessary to ensure adaptation, security and peace in the face of global and regional

hydro-climate change.

UNU-ehs is conducting one in-depth field case study in Niger. Niger is characterized by

a long-standing conflict between farmers and herders over water-resource use and ac-

cess. The objective of this study is to analyse how, in the light of climate change, changes

in ecosystem services, social vulnerability and governance factors have contributed to

human insecurity among herders and farmers in Niger. it also seeks to examine how con-

flicting adaptation mechanisms are enhancing conflict or cooperation relative to the in-

stitutional, environmental and social dynamics.

semi-structured interviews of 90 sedentary and nomadic households, as well as focus-

group discussions and a survey of judicial records of conflicts, have been conducted.


The preliminary results from the first phase of field research show a lowering of water

table, loss of seasonal lakes and useful pastoral space. There are shifts in governance from

customary to modern (decentralization) related to changes in access to land and water.

hausa, fulani and Tuareg populations have adapted to these changes by adopting both

farming and herding into their livelihoods (agro-pastoralism), while there is also some

permanent or temporary migration. observations so far suggest increases in conflict.

Paradoxically, conflict between pastoralists and agro-pastoralists persists most especially

where there are divergent adaptation mechanisms, weak or corrupt institutions and di-

minishing ecosystem services.

Disaster Risk Management (Congo, Brazzaville)

This project was started in 2008 by UNU-vie upon the initiative of the ambassador of the

Republic of Congo in the federal Republic of germany to seek advice and support in the

area of disaster risk management and prevention. since then the project has seen four

major steps in its implementation phase. firstly, in November 2008 two Congo brazzaville

experts followed a custom-made three-week training on Risk management at UNU-ehs.

secondly, a delegation of three interdisciplinary experts from Congo brazzaville was dis-

patched to the Disaster management and Training Center (DimTeC) at the University of

the free state (Ufs) in bloemfontein, south africa in june 2009. They attended, among

others, a training course on “Disaster Risk Reduction and vulnerability” and visited various

disaster management institutions and centres to establish useful links to foster science

exchange and to gain from first-hand experience with regard to prevention of natural di-

sasters and risks. Thirdly, a delegation of UNU-vie/Ufs-DimTeC undertook a fact-finding

mission in august 2009 during which they met with senior government officials and vari-

ous politicians, such as the mayor of the City of brazzaville, the minister and his cabinet

the management office of humanitarian action and solidarity, the vice-Rector of the na-

tional University marien Ngouabi, the United Nations Development Programme Congo,

the special advisor to the President on environment & Tourism and the management

team of the National agency for Civil aviation (aNaC). fourthly, a local workshop was

arranged with representatives of different ministries and government bodies to build a

common basis for a disaster risk management national framework. furthermore, in terms

of capacity development, in january 2011 two Congolese government officials success-

fully enrolled in the two-year master programme on disaster risk management, partially


sponsored by UNU-vie, which is also responsible for implementing the french part of this

programme and acts as mentor and adviser for the students. another regional workshop

is planned in brazzaville to raise public awareness within the region.

E-learning (Cameroun)

• UNU-vie supports the development of institutional capacities of higher educa-

tion institutions in africa to enhance the quality of and access to higher educa-

tion through e-learning and open education. The two crucial components are:

• offering capacity building and awareness-raising opportunities to key univer-

sity leaders and

• supporting the development of an e-learning strategy as a systemic innova-

tion process at the institutional level.

• UNU-vie contributed to develop and acquire funds from the german academic

exchange service for a pilot project led by the University of yaoundé i. This

two-year project (2011–2012) aims to achieve three main objectives:

• provide more learning materials to more students,

• provide programmes to different target groups than campus students only

and

• start a reform process of education by providing the means to change from

transfer-oriented concepts to study- and learning-oriented concepts of educa-

tion through the provision of e-learning material.

The project, in which UNU-vie is a supporting partner, foresees the organization of four

e-schools in Cameroon over two years in which participants will develop e-competences

to make use of e-learning in a way that improves higher education learning scenarios.

Partners from the University of Cape Town, south africa, the Kenyatta University, Kenya,

and the University of Duisburg-essen, germany, have been included in the project to

make use of the connections that UNU-vie has established over the past years and to sup-

port knowledge exchange and cooperation between african universities. in particular, it

will draw on the work of the initiative supported by UNU-vie and led by the University of

Cape Town (funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New york) to scope and run an online

network of e-learning professionals across africa as an innovative way to develop the

capacities of university practitioners in the growing market of online education.


Conclusions

This paper gives a representative selection of different types of projects aiming at a syn-

ergy between research, dissemination and capacity building on the african continent. a

main goal of the UNU initiative Priority africa is to coordinate these activities in different

regions of the continent and to exploit their synergies. The gradual build-up of twin insti-

tutes should help to institutionalize the research cooperation between North and south,

and thereby contribute to the sustainability of the research activities. The dual nature

of the twin institutes, including the build-up of attractive research environments on the

african continent, should help to counteract any brain drain, which currently poses a

significant problem for the development of science on the african continent.


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3 | Chapter 2

Where is the CaPaCity to Meet the east afriCaN Water Crisis? UNloCkiNg the PoteNtial of CoMMUNities aNd iNstitUtioNsZafar adeel1 aNd CoriNNe sChUster-WallaCe1

The easT afRiCaN RegioN has a mUlTiTUDe of ChalleNges RelaTeD To

maNagiNg iTs WaTeR ResoURCes, maiNTaiNiNg aDeqUaTe WaTeR qUaliTy

foR vaRioUs Uses aND The PRovisioNiNg of safe DRiNkiNg WaTeR foR

hUmaN CoNsUmPTioN. ColleCTively, This WaTeR CRisis hamPeRs effoRTs

To meeT globally aCCePTeD DeveloPmeNT goals aND has seRioUs CoN-

seqUeNCes foR hUmaN Well-beiNg.

over the years, a number of capacity development initiatives have led to suboptimal re-

sults. This is, in large part, because of the lack of attention to the four essential pillars

of capacity building: human, technological, institutional and service provisioning – all

four pillars must be present for a sustainable, long-term solution. additionally, engage-

ment with communities has often been added on as an after-thought, resulting in mostly

absent local ownership. in response to these challenges, the United Nations University

institute for Water, environment and health (UNU-iNWeh) has focused its attention on

1 United Nations University, institute for Water, environment and health (UNU-iNWeh), hamilton, Canada


engagement with and development of institutions at various levels. These “institutions”

range from community groups at the village level to national and regional research and

training facilities to intergovernmental agencies. of particular note is our work with the

riparian commissions around lake victoria and lake Tanganyika, which has provided a

platform to exchange best practices with their counterpart commissions around the lau-

rentian great lakes. furthermore, the east african water professionals have been served

through a distance education, UNU diploma programme on integrated Water Resources

management, delivered in cooperation with the University of Nairobi. in the past few

years, UNU-iNWeh has also focused closely on engagement with small rural communi-

ties around lake victoria; these include mbarika village (Tanzania), Usoma village (kenya),

kyindi (Uganda), il Ngwesi (kenya) and kanya kongo village (kenya). These initiatives to

develop capacity at the community level have been supported by a number of african

partner institutions, like the kenya medical Research institute (kemRi) and the Uganda

Christian University, as well as international organizations, like the Rotary international.

Using such a multi-stakeholder, community-based and institutionally driven capacity de-

velopment has yielded a number of success stories that are presented in this paper.

Introduction

in the year 2000, the world leaders set lofty targets for improving human well-being,

reducing poverty and protecting the environment. a decade later, we find that progress

is very slow in africa, and many african countries – particularly those in the sub-sahara –

still lag far behind in meeting many of these goals (UNeCa, 2008). a key driver is the lack

of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, for which most countries in sub-saharan

africa are off-target (JmP 2010). This lack of access to facilities that are considered a basic

human right are profound and far-reaching; in fact, other development goals cannot be

effectively met without addressing these fundamental challenges (Cheng et al., 2011).

This paper focuses on east africa, where the implications of lack of access to safe water

and adequate sanitation for health and well-being, especially for children and women,

are quite severe. many of the health facilities that serve mothers and their newborn chil-

dren do not have access to water (defined as 365 days of service within 500 m of a health

facility). as an example, of the health facilities dealing with maternal and newborn health

in Uganda, 31% lack water (ministry of health (Uganda) and macro international inc.,


2008). a stark result of this is high infant mortality rates; the median infant mortality rate

for seven east african countries is 79 (deaths per 1,000 live births in burundi, ethiopia,

kenya, malawi, somalia, Tanzania and Uganda); this is about 20 times higher than the

average infant mortality rates in developed countries. The economic impacts of this wa-

ter and sanitation crisis are also severe. in the report sick Water (Corcoran et al., 2010), it

is estimated that lack of access to drinking water and sanitation costs africa 5% of gDP

annually (UNeP, Clearing the Waters).

as shown in figure 1, east africa is also severely impacted because of high levels of water

stress; the water-stress index used here provides a composite of usage by urban, indus-

trial and agricultural sectors against available, renewable freshwater resources. Projected

increases in population and deteriorating water quality caused by pollution will further

exacerbate the situation in the coming decades.

figure 1: Mean annual relative water stress index (source: United Nations)


Capacity Challenges in East Africa

The single greatest challenge to effectively meeting the millennium Development goals

in east africa is the lack of capacity – human, institutional, technological and service pro-

visioning. The most critical of these challenges is to build institutions that can under-

stand and respond to local challenges. There has been some success in the east african

region in the form of intergovernmental commissions that operate at the lake-basin level

(UNU-iNWeh, 2011); examples of which are the lake victoria basin Commission (lvbC),

the lake victoria fisheries organization (lvfo) and the lake Tanganyika authority (lTa).

These commissions offer a regional perspective and provide an institutional platform on

which broader issues can be discussed and common solutions formulated. greater repli-

cation of these efforts is needed to ensure coverage of the full range of challenges, as well

as the creation of sustainability.

The investments that are made in building human resources do not typically lead to sus-

tainable outcomes, because in the absence of appropriate institutions that could offer

gainful employment, trained professionals often find better job opportunities elsewhere.

This “brain drain” is the clearest indication that institutional and human development

must go hand-in-hand. These capacity-development efforts can also facilitate identifica-

tion of locally acceptable and effective technological solutions and their eventual de-

ployment. many good examples found in North africa – e.g., in morocco – of commu-

nities working closely with public and private sectors to provide basic services can be

tested for implementation in east africa.

Through our work undertaken in Uganda and kenya, we have also discovered that there

is a very limited community awareness and knowledge about water issues and how they

relate to human health. This situation is particularly grave in rural and remote settings

where education and literacy levels are low and community-support systems provided

by governments are quite marginal.


Governance Structures in East Africa – Role of the Lake Commissionsmany of the natural resources in east africa, particularly water, cut across national bound-

aries and require management at the regional scale. in the last 15 years, the governments

in the region responded to water-quality, water-quantity and fisheries challenges by ne-

gotiating and enacting national and regional laws to mitigate problems. Two treaties in

the lake victoria watershed have provided the basis for such regional commissions: the

2000 Treaty for the establishment of the east african Community (eaC), and the 2004 Pro-

tocol for the sustainable Development of lake victoria basin (lvb). These treaties and the

resulting lvbC offer an institutional mechanism for regional responses based on existing

national water and environment legislations (UNU-iNWeh 2011). The most significant de-

velopment is that this regional cooperation is assisting and facilitating governments to

harmonize their laws and regulations, with the aim of creating a level ground for invest-

ment and operations.

in addition to the commission and the underlying treaties, the Council of ministers of

the eaC region oversees responses and periodically issues specific directives to indicate

political priorities. examples of this include the development of investment and action

programmes to address declining water levels and the directive to prepare a new water-

release policy. similarly, a comprehensive strategy for control of water hyacinths has also

evolved through regional deliberations. The riparian countries – kenya, Tanzania and

Uganda – also established lvfo as a legal instrument for cooperating on management of

the fisheries resources and the health of lake victoria.

an analysis of east african lake management was undertaken by UNU-iNWeh on a com-

parative basis with the North american (i.e., laurentian) great lakes (UNU-iNWeh 2011).

This initiative helped identify a number of improvements needed in the decision-making

processes. most notably, we found that the decision-making must involve a wider group

of stakeholders, in which community engagement should be a critical element. Wider

awareness-raising and institutionalized opportunities for community engagement can

lead to a greater influence of the general public on the formulation of policies and de-

cisions. as a follow-up UNU-iNWeh is also providing knowledge-management tools to

the lvbC that will allow local analysis of problems and also offer tools for disseminating

information to various audiences – particularly policymakers.


Capacity Building at the Institutional Level

in addition to the assistance provided to the lake victoria and lake Tanganyika com-

missions, UNU-iNWeh also invested in developing a regional training hub for east africa

in collaboration with the University of Nairobi. The objective is twofold: to offer broad

training to professionals from very diverse backgrounds, and to develop a local knowl-

edgebase that can be utilized for problem analysis and solution development. success

of this venture is driven by buy-in from regional institutions, governments at various lev-

els and universities. Considerable success has been achieved, when taking into account

the diversity of fellows that have benefited from this regional hub. We believe that such

regional hubs can help east africa leapfrog into regionally integrated knowledge and

governance frameworks – a key element of the newly emerging green economy.

a particular example of our institutional partnerships in the region is our collaboration

with the Ugandan Christian University, which is designed to provide research opportuni-

ties not only for students, but also for faculty. in the case of latter, they can upgrade their

professional designations and maintain up-to-date knowledge, not only of their disci-

pline, but of tools and techniques that can be applied inside and outside the classroom.

in turn, this supports our work through expansion of the evidence base for bridging re-

search and policy and scaling proven solutions upward and outward. other institutional

partners, such as kemRi and lvbC, provide institutional support for our work in the region

and facilitate dissemination.

Capacity Building at the Community Level

Understanding the relationship between drinking water and good health is vital, but the

awareness of this connectivity is limited in the east african region. This relationship incor-

porates sanitation, hygiene and environmental integrity, as waterborne diseases can only

be mitigated by ameliorating all exposure routes. sustainable interventions at the local

level can only be achieved through education, empowerment and ownership to effect

behaviour change. engagement of local people is essential to finding sustainable solu-

tions and increasing the probability of sustainable change (schuster‐Wallace et al. 2008).

UNU-iNWeh is working to engage rural, remote and marginalized communities in the

lake victoria basin to understand local knowledge, attitudes and practices around water


and sanitation. a key emphasis is on the roles of women and girls in society, their share in

water provisioning in rural communities and the opportunity costs for them associated

with this activity. We also understand that lack of access to water and sanitation impacts

access to education and time spent caring for the sick; our efforts to ameliorate the situ-

ation thus have multiple benefits for the community.

small investments in the lake victoria basin, in partnership with the lvbC, have resulted

in significant improvements in health as well as a reduced burden on water collectors. in

West kagan, kenya, investment in a solar-powered pump and taps, rather than a manual

foot pump, have meant that grandmothers can obtain water for their grandchildren. Wa-

ter security has improved in mbarika, Tanzania, through expansion of the intake plant

further out into lake victoria. falling lake levels no longer impact water availability on a

daily basis. economic benefits have been realised in kiyindi, Uganda, through improve-

ments in drinking-water quantity and quality. some of the water is used to clean fish at

the landing site, which provides a hygienic edge to exporters.

sustainability is the elusive cornerstone of success in dealing with the east african water

crisis. Why can two communities be provided with a well and, two years later, one of

these communities has water in the well, but no one able to use it? We argue that this

is tied more strongly to community-based capacity development than to technological

interventions. it is manifested through a combination of social cohesion, education and

access to information and external support. at the local level, this translates into empow-

ered decision-making. once the water–health linkages have been understood, commu-

nity leaders and members are able to incorporate and prioritize interventions within their

unique context. This, in turn, underpins willingness to pay, a desire to maintain facilities

and an aspiration to expand community improvements.

Some Conclusions

Capacity needs in east africa are quite a few, but the primary focus needs to be on build-

ing institutions for research as well as the cohesion of communities. This has been a pri-

mary focus of activities undertaken by UNU-iNWeh in the region. as part of this drive, we

are working together with local partners towards establishing a regional hub that offers

transdisciplinary dialogue and action. engagement for capacity building and research


needs to be fostered across sectors and institutions, as well as with communities; for ex-

ample, departments of health and environment have much to gain through synergies

and economies of scale.

overall, the goal of our work is to offer systematic, integrated solutions that sustain on

their own without outside assistance. a key element of such integrated solutions is com-

munity engagement. To engage communities, they need to understand the linkages

and have access to reliable, appropriate information so that they can be meaningfully

involved in the dialogue. local representation at the table is essential, but power dif-

ferentials need to be addressed to give them a voice. This in turn, requires significant

investment – not so much in money (we have demonstrated how small investments can

lead to big changes) – but in terms of time and experience.


References

Cheng, J.J.; schuster-Wallace, C.; Watt, s.; Newbold, k.b.; mente, a. (2011): summary analysis – quantifying Water

supply, sanitation and the millennium Development goals. United Nations University institute for Water, environ-

ment and health (UNU-iNWeh), hamilton, Canada.

Corcoran, e.; Nellemann, C.; baker e. et al (eds) (2010): sick Water? The central role of wastewater management in

sustainable development. a Rapid Response assessment. United Nations environment Programme, UN-habiTaT,

gRiD-arendal.

JmP (2010): Progress on sanitation and Drinking-water: 2010 Update. Who/UNiCef Joint monitoring Programme

for Water supply and sanitation, World health organization, geneva, switzerland.

ministry of health (Uganda) and macro international inc. (2008): Uganda service Provision assessment survey

2007. available from: www.measuredhs.com (accessed may 2011).

schuster-Wallace, C.; grover, v.i.; adeel, Z.; Confalonieri, U.; elliott, s. (2008): safe Water as the key to global health.

United Nations University institute for Water, environment and health, hamilton, Canada.

UNeCa (2008): assessing Progress towards the Targets of the millennium Development goals in africa. 1st Joint

aUC Camef and eCa Conference of ministers of finance, Planning and economic Development, United Nations

economic Commission for africa, addis ababa, ethiopia.

United Nations Population Division (2010): World Population Prospects, the 2010 Revision. United Nations, New

york, United states of america.

UNU-iNWeh (2011): Transboundary lake basin management: laurentian and african great lakes. United Nations

University institute for Water, environment and health, hamilton, Canada.


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4 | Chapter 3

HArnessing WAter resources in AfricA: tHe cAse of tHreAtened LAke ecosysteMs eLiAs t. Ayuk1 And tiMotHy A. kooMson1

This PaPeR PReseNTs a PRoPosal To geNeRaTe NeW sCieNTifiC kNoWl-

eDge oN iNTegRaTeD WaTeR ResoURCe maNagemeNT. The emPhasis is oN

NegleCTeD aND ThReaTeNeD lake eCosysTems iN ThRee CoUNTRies: Cam-

eRooN, CoTe D'ivoiRe aND ghaNa.

The project addresses some key issues on one of the priority themes of the United Na-

tions University institute for Natural Resources in africa on “harnessing land and water

resources for efficient and sustainable use”. it describes collaborative research on water

management aimed at creating knowledge management systems for policy develop-

ment. another objective of the work is to provide research-based evidence that can

1 United Nations University institute for Natural Resources in africa (UNU-iNRa), accra, ghana


improve our understanding of the atmospheric, biophysical and hydrological processes

that affect the supply of water resources, household sanitation and waste management.

These processes include the effects of climate change and anthropogenic factors.

Introduction

lake ecosystems are critical for the survival of the surrounding household communities

who depend on them for drinking water, household sanitary activities, agricultural activi-

ties (mainly irrigation and fishing), socio-economic activities like preparation and sale of

traditional food and beverages. The lakes also play a critical role as the natural habitat for

the survival of other organisms apart from human beings. These lakes also provide the

unique ecosystem for certain endemic species. for example, lake Barombi mbo is the

only lake ecosystem for some endemic species of cichlid in africa.

increased population growth, overuse of fertilizers for agriculture, urbanization and tour-

ism in the face of global climate change will worsen the already intense stress on lake

ecosystems and make them more vulnerable to eutrophication and consequent extinc-

tion. Communities around lake ecosystems are feeling the pressure from decline in ag-

ricultural yield, decline in size and quantity of fish stock, diseases from polluted water,

as well as outbreak of sickness like cholera as a result of unregulated disposal of human

waste in lake ecosystems. some of the household communities of these lake ecosystems,

as in the lake Bosomtwe area, have realized that until drastic action is taken to reverse

the trend and rate of ecosystem degradation and pollution, very soon the lake may not

be there. The extinction of these lake ecosystems will have serious implication for human

survival and biodiversity. To balance the human need for water resources from these lake

ecosystems with the ecological requirements of biological species for their natural habi-

tat, appropriate policies should be predicated on information from rigorous scientific and

policy research.

it is important for research to look at how the current climatic, hydrological and biophysi-

cal processes that cause decline in quantity and quality of water resources would be ex-

acerbated by climate change. it is also essential to look at how anthropogenic causes like

deforestation and soil erosion are contributing to decreasing seasonal and inter-annual

rainfall, siltation and excessive soil water evaporation and how socio-economic and

household livelihood activities are contributing to pollution and affecting the quantity


and quality of water resources of lake ecosystems. it is also critical to examine how in-

formation from scientific research could be used to improve indigenous knowledge for

agro-technology capable of improving soil water and nutrient use efficiency and eco-

technology for water harvesting and for improving the efficiency of water resource utili-

zation, sanitation and waste management.

Project Objectives

The main objective of this project is to generate new scientific knowledge on integrated

water resource management. The specific objectives are (1) to undertake collaborative

research and create knowledge management systems (kms) for policy development and

implementation of the integrated water resources management (iWRm) of lake ecosys-

tems in West and Central africa; and (2) to provide research-based evidence aimed at im-

proving our understanding of the atmospheric, biophysical and hydrological processes,

including the effects of climate change and anthropogenic factors that affect the sup-

ply of water, household sanitation and waste management. The project will thus provide

research-based information on the demographic and socio-economic factors driving the

demand, allocation and utilization of water resources. The information will serve as the

major input for the decision support system to facilitate a more coordinated and inte-

grated approach to water resources management (including sanitation and waste man-

agement) of lake ecosystems in africa.

Methodology

The focus of this project is on lake Barombi mbo in Cameroon, lake Buyo in Cote d’ivoire

and lake Bosomtwe in ghana (also for comparative study). These are some of the ne-

glected and threatened lake ecosystems in West and Central africa. They are under in-

tense pressure through overfishing, excessive extraction of water for agriculture and

other livelihood activities, deforestation, soil erosion, siltation and pollution.


Among the Planned Activities are to:

Undertake stakeholder consultation and develop database of

stakeholder knowledge needs and capacity analysis

it is important to acknowledge that there have been several studies in the past and at

present on lake ecosystems in africa. however, since most of these studies are not de-

mand-driven, they might be of little relevance to policy. The scope and focus of most of

these studies are also limited and may not provide the required information for a more

holistic and coordinated approach to water resources management of lake ecosystems.

To reduce the “waste” of scarce resources for research in africa, the utility of research

activities should be improved by aligning them to the knowledge needs of the target

end-users. it is also essential to know the capacity of the sectors (including personnel) to

understand, adopt and apply the knowledge to their focal activities. This underscores the

importance of the knowledge needs and capacity assessment to identify critical knowl-

edge gaps and deficits and generate and deliver the required research-based informa-

tion to address the knowledge gaps in terms of policy.

Develop a database of past and current relevant research to be

integrated with the stakeholder database for the KMS

most publications from research studies in africa are usually not disseminated to the

right end-users of the information and sometimes remain on library shelves “gathering

dust”. africa cannot afford to fund research that will just end up in scientific journals and

library shelves. it is in recognition of these challenges that United Nations University in-

stitute for Natural Resources in africa (UNU-iNRa) is currently compiling relevant studies

on lake ecosystems in africa, to update and contextualize with current information and

package them in easy-to-understand policy briefs and other knowledge-delivery forms

to the right end-users. information from the knowledge needs and capacity analysis will

help identify appropriate end-users for particular research-based information within the

knowledge management framework.


Undertake collaborative and interdisciplinary research

as noted above, the strong interlinkages between the issues of water resources man-

agement may require an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to research. The

research will involve scientists and professionals with backgrounds from hydrology, agro-

climatology, soil science, agronomy, sociology, economics, remote sensing and geo-

graphical information systems (gis), environmental policy, sanitation and waste man-

agement. UNU-iNRa will bring together scientists and professionals (including relevant

african scientists and PhD students in Diaspora) through visiting scholarships and PhD

dissertation fellowships to collaborate for interdisciplinary research. eligibility for the vis-

iting scholarship will be a PhD in a relevant discipline for the research component (for

example, gis). This project will provide opportunities for four visiting scholars every year

(the visiting scholar with a background in computer science will be a three-year rolling

one to help with the Decision support systems (Dss) and the kms).

There will also be 8 PhD fellows every year. The eligibility will be PhD students at the

dissertation stage of their academic programme. at least three visiting scholars and

eight PhD fellows will come from each of the project countries and will focus on research

issue(s) that deal with the particularly lake ecosystem in that project country. applica-

tions from scientists and PhD students of african descent in Diaspora, especially women,

will be encouraged. visiting scholarship and dissertation fellowship will be awarded for

a period of 24 months.

The collaborative and participatory research will also involve local stakeholders to fa-

cilitate the incorporation of indigenous knowledge and perspectives from local actors,

including women in the development and implementation of appropriate policy and

institutional frameworks for the iWRm of the lake ecosystems. This will strengthen the

sense of local ownership and sustain the commitment of local stakeholders, critical for

inter-agency and stakeholder coordination. The research issues (problem statement) will

be developed in consultation with key stakeholders. UNU-iNRa will select from the appli-

cation research proposals those with the focus and methodology to address the research

issues. To facilitate this linkage, UNU-iNRa will organize pre-dissertation seminars in the

project countries to introduce research issues and opportunities and training on general

research framework and techniques before each application period.


Develop and operationalize DSS with user-friendly interfaces for

IWRM (including sanitation and waste management)

Dss can be a very cost-effective option to support a policy and institutional framework

for iWRm of lake ecosystems in africa without having to undertake repetitive experi-

ments or research every time decisions have to be made. as noted above, it is basically

a computer-based information system that will integrate several indicator values from

weather, soil, vegetation and so on. it will encompass a wide range of scientific simula-

tion tools that will allow end-users to ask “what if” questions and simulate results that

could be generated instantly with computer software. one of the reasons for the collab-

orative and participatory research is to involve potential end-users in the project to im-

prove their understanding and capacity to use the Dss as a management tool. UNU-iNRa

will operationalize Dss for each of the lake ecosystems and transfer the operational and

maintenance responsibilities to the Community lake ecosystems Committees (CleCs).

There will be capacity development and training to ensure easy application and mainte-

nance by the CleCs.

figure 1: framework for collaborative research and knowledge management for iWRm of lake ecosystems in

africa.


as illustrated in figure 1, one of the major stakeholder groups are the rural community

households who depend on the lake ecosystems for their livelihood and socio-economic

activities. There is also the stakeholder group made up of local branches of national min-

istries, departments and agencies in charge of policy and institutional reforms specific to

their focal activities. The other stakeholder group is made up of non-governmental orga-

nizations (Ngos) and other civil society organizations who are involved in advocacy and

development projects in the community. This stakeholder group sometimes serves as the

conduit of operation for another stakeholder group composed of international organiza-

tions and bilateral agencies that focus on development programmes and projects. The

other stakeholder group is the private sector made up of subsidiaries of big companies

as well as local artisanal and small-scale industries. The challenge is to find the common

objective(s) that will harmonize their interests and mobilize these stakeholder groups

to work together in a coordinated effort to realize the common objective. That common

objective could be embodied in the simplified concept of sustainability – sustaining the

capacity of the lake ecosystem to provide the diverse natural resources needed by both

the current and future members of these diverse stakeholder groups. To put it literally, “if

the lake dries up, the meal is gone” for everybody. so how do you get the groups to work

together to sustain the “meal” of the lake? experiences from several projects indicate that

scientific research with participatory and interdisciplinary approaches could improve the

success of mobilizing the efforts of diverse groups to carry out activities that could help

sustain the “meal” provided by a particular ecosystem.

The research will therefore have three major interrelated components. The water re-

source supply component will involve elements like hydro meteorological modelling

and observation, and surface, soil and groundwater modelling and monitoring to deter-

mine, for example, the availability and distribution of water resources. it will also involve

analysis of satellite images and gis. The demand-side component will apply tools like

urban simulation systems to determine, for example, the effects of different land-devel-

opment scenarios (all the targeted lakes for this project are under intense pressure from

urbanization; for instance, lake Bosomtwe from the rapid growth of kumasi, and lake

Barombi mbo from the town of kumba). it will also apply water-resource demand simu-

lation tools (for example, agriculture, household consumption, sanitation and so on) as

well as household and livelihood decision-making models. This component will also use

techniques like rural economy survey and analysis, gender and stakeholder analysis and

participatory action research. The efficiency component, which will rely heavily on inputs


from the two other components, will involve the application of tools for crop, soil nutri-

ent use efficiency models, water harvesting and reuse models, sewage disposal decision

models and so on. it will also apply policy response and institutional analysis models.

The stakeholder consultation is intended to bring these stakeholder groups together for

dialogue and also to help assess their interests, positions and alliances, which will be

critical for the appropriate framework for stakeholder coordination for iWRm of lake eco-

systems in the particular community. The stakeholder consultation will also help provide

supplemental information to the stakeholder knowledge needs and capacity analysis

that would be needed for the kms and also for the capacity development component of

the overall programme.

information from the stakeholder consultation, needs and capacity analysis, as well

as from the collaborative research, will help UNU-iNRa provide critical science-based

knowledge to inform the projects and programmes of other stakeholder and partners.

This will also help maximize the synergy with partner programmes.

Expected Outputs

Visiting Scholars and PhD Fellows. The project will offer the opportunity for 10 visiting

scholars and 24 PhD fellows to undertake interdisciplinary research. There will be at least

three visiting scholars and eight PhD fellows from each project country. The project will

provide the opportunity for the visiting scholars and PhD fellows to use modern and ad-

vanced research facilities at UNU-iNRa (workstation, computer room, library, software,

conference rooms and others). it will also provide visibility and recognition for the scholars

and fellows to link up and network with colleagues with similar disciplinary backgrounds,

particularly in other UNU institutes and programmes to exchange scientific knowledge.

Research publications. articles on specific areas of study and also for comparative study

would be published in international journals and UNU-iNRa will also publish a book on the

study through the United Nations University Press. apart from providing research-based

information for policy, these publications will also provide an opportunity for the scholars

and fellows to contribute to scientific knowledge in the international arena of scientific

research, where scientists from african universities are unfortunately underrepresented.


Technical and policy documents. Research-based information published in scientific jour-

nals sometimes does not reach the appropriate end-users. even where access to such in-

formation is improved, there is the problem with the capacity of most policy and decision

makers in africa to understand and apply the knowledge, partly because of the scientific

and overly technical nature of the publication that may, however, be acceptable in sci-

entific circles but have little utility for policymakers. UNU-iNRa will therefore synthesize

and distil scientific information into easy-to-understand policy briefs for policymakers and

decision makers. it will also make manuals and simplified practical booklets available to

extension workers and water-monitoring volunteer organizations.

Knowledge management system. as noted above, UNU-iNRa will develop and implement

a kms that will facilitate the integration and exchange of knowledge for iWRm of lake

ecosystems in africa. Rather than just limiting the usefulness of past research to literature

reviews alone, UNU-iNRa will compile and systemize information from past and current re-

search for knowledge delivery. This activity will be an integral part of all UNU-iNRa projects

and would be complemented with research information from other parts of africa that are

outside the UNU-iNRa geographical focus of research for a comprehensive database for

iWRm of lake ecosystems in africa.

Decision support system. Dss is basically a computer-based information system that will

integrate several indicators from weather, soil, vegetation and so on. it will encompass a

wide range of scientific simulation tools that will allow end-users to ask “what if” questions

and simulate results that could be generated instantly with computer software. UNU-iNRa

will build on the Dss developed for the gloWa volta project with user-friendly interfaces

and incorporate sanitation and waste-management components for iWRm of lake ecosys-

tems in africa. one of the reasons for the collaborative and participatory research is to

involve potential end-users in the project to improve their understanding and capacity to

use the Dss as a management tool.

Network and Consultative Group for IWRM of lake ecosystems in Africa. Through this proj-

ect, UNU-iNRa will create a network within the framework of the College of Research asso-

ciates (CRa) to compare and exchange information for iWRm of lake ecosystems in africa. in

addition to the 10 visiting scholars and 24 PhD fellows, it will profile and select other CRa

members with extensive expertise in iWRm and lake ecosystems as a consultative group to

support african governments and decision makers for iWRm of lake ecosystems in africa.


Expected Outcomes are:

improved delivery of research-based information and improved understanding of the

processes affecting supply of water resources of lake ecosystems. The publications, kms,

policy briefs and the Dss will facilitate these expected results for supply-side policies.

improved delivery of research-based information and improved understanding of the

demographic and socio-economic factors putting pressure on demand for water and

impacting the quality and quantity of water resources of lake ecosystem in africa. The

publications, kms, policy briefs and the Dss will facilitate these expected results for de-

mand-side policies.

improved access to research-based information for adopting and adapting technologies

(including eco-technology and agro-technology) that improves the efficiency of water

resources utilization (including recycling, reuse, and restoration) and related sanitation

and waste management programs. The publications, kms, policy briefs and the Dss will

facilitate these expected results for water efficiency policies.

The overall outcome of the program will be improved policy development; improved

policy implementation and synergies between development projects from the policy

support of the Dss and information from the policy briefs; and improved stakeholder

and institutional coordination from the stakeholder consultation (as part of the kms

stated above), collaborative and participatory research informing the development and

implementation of the Dss. The network and consultative group will also improve ex-

change of ideas across countries for broader adoption and implementation of policies,

technologies and institutional framework which will subsequently improve iWRm of lake

ecosystems in africa.


Conclusion

a key priority thematic area for UNU-iNRa work during the next four years is on harness-

ing land and water resources. The research activity described above will be very instru-

mental in furthering scientific knowledge and in developing capacity for water resources

management on the continent. Conducting a stakeholders’ assessment, developing a da-

tabase of previous and on-going research, undertaking collaborative and interdisciplin-

ary research, and developing a kms will ensure that the main objectives of this program

will be achieved.


© La

rs Lo

ugm

ann


5 | Chapter 4

Strengthening ProfeSSionaL CaPaCity of Key fiSherieS organizationS in Sub-Saharan afriCa: the roLe of united nationS univerSity fiSherieS training Programme thor aSgeirSSon1 and tumi tomaSSon1

FisheRies have alWays beeN imPoRtaNt iN the soCial, NUtRitioNal aND

eCoNomiC WelFaRe oF aFRiCaN soCieties. iN ReCeNt yeaRs theRe has

beeN a maRkeD gRoWth iN the PRoDUCtioN aND tRaDe oF Fish, gRoW-

iNg FasteR thaN that oF aNy tRaDe CommoDity oF tRaDitioNal agRi-

CUltURal PRoDUCts iN the DeveloPiNg CoUNtRies. aFRiCa is NoW ex-

PoRtiNg Fish to eURoPe FoR oveR 4 billioN Us$ aNNUally aND FoR 1.5

billioN Us$ to the Us. mUCh oF this Fish Comes FRom iNlaND FisheRies,

esPeCially FRom the gReat lakes iN easteRN aFRiCa (lake viCtoRia, lake

taNgaNyika aND lake malaWi).

1 UNU-Fisheries training Programme (UNU-FtP), marine Research institute, Reykjavik, iceland


there are concerns that many of the important fish stocks may now be over or fully ex-

ploited. as with many countries in the world, african countries are now looking towards

aquaculture to increase the supply of fish. Despite the fact that, for the past 40 years,

much effort has been put into aquaculture, the growth in the sector in africa has been

slow. Challenges in african fisheries are many and much support is still needed. the UNU-

Fisheries training Programme has for the past 13 years provided training for fisheries pro-

fessionals in the developing countries. this training complements training and education

that exists in its partner countries. the programme works with key fisheries institutes in

over 40 partner countries, and since has 1998 graduated 223 United Nations University

(UNU) fellows, of whom 95 (43%) come from 16 sub-saharan countries. the core activ-

ity of the United Nations University Fisheries training Programme (UNU-FtP) is the six

months in-service postgraduate training in iceland with six lines of specialization. in the

programme the fellows are trained to review critically their own fisheries and to present

their findings both orally and in writing using the latest information technology. Partici-

pants also work on relevant problems from home and finish individual research projects

that have direct relevance to key issues in their home fisheries and to their own work.

UNU-FtP also provides technical and financial support in developing short courses (3–15

days) and on workshops and conferences on fisheries-related issues in partner countries.

a total of ten short courses and one conference have been held in our sub-saharan part-

ner countries with about 350 participants. Capacity building in fisheries is a long-term

and multidisciplinary task that must be done in close cooperation with the counterparts

in the partner countries.

Introduction

Fisheries play an important part in the lives of peoples and the economy of nations, not

least in developing countries. by fisheries we mean capture fisheries and aquaculture,

where they are major providers of animal protein in the diets of peoples and provide a

large share of export earnings in many countries. however, unsustainable practices threat-

en the resources and ecosystems and world capture fisheries have not grown during the

past two decades. aquaculture has grown rapidly, but here, too, there are concerns of sus-

tainability as the rate of growth has decreased. the aquaculture potential in most african

countries, however, remains unrealized.


Fish is now the single most important trade commodity in the developing countries, with

an export value larger than the combined value of coffee, rubber and cocoa. the value of

annual exports of fish from africa into europe now exceeds four billion Us$, leaving african

countries with a net export value of over two billion Us$. For this reason the pressure on

the resources is growing and improved management is required. With dwindling catches

from many of the important fish stocks and the growing need for fish, most of the african

countries are now increasing fish production through aquaculture and improvement of

fish handling to reduce post-harvest losses. From 2000 to 2008, sub-saharan countries

increased their aquaculture production four-fold from about 55,000 tons to about 240,000

tons, while other parts of the world have doubled their production (with no increase in

europe). although the most noticeable increase is in Nigeria and Uganda, many more

countries appear to be ready to take-off.

inland fisheries in africa are of great importance and probably of greater importance than

official statistics indicate. it is difficult to estimate the actual production from rivers and

lakes because a large part of the fisheries is consists of artisanal fishers and data collection

is difficult. there is, however, a general feeling that stocks are being heavily exploited, as

increased efforts are not resulting in increased catches and the bulk of the catch is com-

posed of smaller and less valuable fish, a particular concern to the riparian countries to

lake victoria, where the development of the Nile perch fishery has been largely export

driven and reduced catches have a major economic impact. With this in mind one may

ask what needs to be done to reverse the trend of dwindling stocks, increase fish produc-

tion and promote the sustainable use of fish stocks. We believe the answer lies in capacity

development.

the status of major commercial stocks and the growing importance of trade in fisheries for

developing nations led the UNU to establish a Fisheries training Programme in iceland in

1998 in cooperation with local research institutions and universities. Fisheries is one of the

main pillars of the icelandic economy and iceland is among the largest exporters of fish

in the world. over the years a comprehensive management system has been developed

and implemented, and icelandic fish and fish products have a strong position on the in-

ternational market. this, coupled with the small society and good contacts with different

actors in the sectors, makes the United Nations University Fisheries training Programme

(UNU-FtP) uniquely placed to provide high-level practical training in the field of fisheries,

with a strong international focus. the programme was modelled on the UNU geother-


mal Programme, which is the longest running UNU programme, established in iceland in

1978. in 2010, the UNU land Restoration training Programme was established in iceland.

all three programmes focus on the use and management of water as a resource. this pa-

per describes the structure of the UNU-FtP and how the programme strives to meet the

needs of its partner countries on their journey to strengthen their biological, economic

and social aspects of their fisheries management. special consideration is given to the

sub-saharan countries, which are a special focus of the UNU-FtP, in line with UNU policy.

United Nations University Fisheries Training Programme iceland has taken its fisheries from being subsistence activities to become highly indus-

trialized over a relatively short period of time. this could not have been achieved without

the strong and progressive cooperation between the government, industry and aca-

demia, which actually forms the basis of the operation of the UNU-FtP. this shift in the

icelandic fisheries was in part driven by improved technology, but also by an increased

awareness of the importance of education in the industry, resulting in the current knowl-

edge-based industry with dynamic flow of information between major stakeholders. to-

day, the UNU-FtP is housed at the marine Research institute, which is responsible for

daily operations of the programme in cooperation with the matis food research institute,

University of iceland, and the University of akureyri. the programme is fully funded by

the ministry for Foreign affairs and receives about 5% of the icelandic development co-

operation budget. the programme has a core staff of three, but relies to a great extent

on the cooperating institutions for expertise in different fields of fisheries, lecturers and

supervisors.

the training is based on three main aspects:

• Fisheries is not an isolated activity, but is rather a collection of activities that

affect each other though a flow of information. it incorporates a value chain

from catch to consumer and is multidisciplinary in nature.

• Fisheries professionals must understand the importance of all activities in the

chain and they need to be able to collect, analyse, interpret and evaluate the

information from the fisheries. Professionals have to be able to work with re-


searchers in other fields and they must also be responsible for their own skills

and knowledge, to their profession, their community and society

• stakeholders (e.g., scientists, fishermen, processors, government) must be able

to communicate and discuss the current status of the fisheries.

Activities of the United Nations University Fisheries Training Programmethe main objectives of the UNU-FtP relate primarily to one of the key roles of the UNU,

which is to contribute to capacity building, particularly in developing countries, and have

from the outset been two:

• to assist interested states in achieving their developmental goals in fisheries

through training and education in key areas and developing capacity of key

institutions.

• to strengthen the professional capacity of those who undertake training under

the programme so that they will be better equipped to meet the demands and

challenges in their jobs in their home countries.

to achieve these objectives the UNU-FtP runs three main activities which are a six months

training programme, support to short-course development and conferences in partner

countries and a scholarship programme for former UNU-FtP fellows. all of the UNU-FtP

activities are meant to complement existing training opportunities in its partner coun-

tries and consider the needs and strategic direction of the countries. UNU-FtP strives

to create an international atmosphere in which fellows can critically review their fisher-

ies and put them in an international context, and explore the issues that will strength-

en their professional capacity. an organigram of the UNU-FtP is presented in Figure 1.


The Six Months Training Programme

the six months training programme is the core activity of the UNU-FtP and has from the

beginning been run as a postgraduate, in-service programme. it targets practising fish-

eries professionals who have an active role in implementing the fisheries strategic plan

in their countries. the programme starts with a 5–6 weeks’ introductory course with the

aim of explaining different aspects of fisheries so fellows can put their own fisheries into

perspective and gain an appreciation of their development potential (Figure 2).

after completing the introductory course the fellows split up into their lines of specializa-

tion. During the selection process of the fellows their area of specialization is determined

based on their professional duties, tasks and experience. the specialist courses, which are

six weeks, provide the fellows with an in-depth coverage of the field and fellows use their

experience to identify issues of special importance to their home fisheries that they need

to study further during the project period. in the specialist course the fellows receive

around 110 lecture hours and work on practical assignments, which eventually lead to

their writing the project proposal.

figure 1: organization of the unu-ftP with the output of the programme in the lowest line of

boxes (short course, the six months programme and the scholarship programme).


through the project proposal the fellows demonstrate their knowledge on the subject

chosen and their organizational skills, and that they can formulate clear objectives and

delimit the scope of the work. the six areas of specialization are:

• Fisheries policy and planning, which focuses on different management

strategiesandtheireconomicimplications

• Marineandinlandwatersresourcesassessmentandmonitoring(fishstock

assessment),whichdealswithdifferentapproachesinassessingstatusand

harvestingpotentialoffishstocks.Specialconsiderationisgiventosurvey

design,datacollectionandstatisticalmodelling.

• Qualitymanagementoffishhandlingandprocessingobservesshelflifeof

fishandhowitcanbeprolongedthroughspecialhandling.Thecoursere-

viewsvariousprocessingmethodsandassociatedtechnology, inaddition

tosanitationandsafetystandardsrequiredforinternationalmarkets.

• Fishingtechnologylooksatfishinggearandboatdesigns.Specialconsider-

ationisgiventogeardevelopmentandgearresearch.

• Sustainableaquaculture is theprogramme’snewest lineofspecialization.

Itdealswithprinciples inaquaculture thatcanbeapplied ineveryaqua-

cultureprojectandhowtominimizeenvironmentaleffectsofaquaculture.

Specialconsiderationisgiventofish-farmdesign,broodstockmanagement,

feedformulation,research,useofwaterandbestmanagementpractises.

figure 2: the organization of the six months fisheries training programme


• Managementoffishingcompaniesandmarketingfocusesonthebusiness

aspectsoffisheries.Differentoperationalmodelsareanalysedintermsof

profitability.

in the latter half of the programme fellows work on their individual supervised research

projects, based on their proposal, where they take on a topical issue from their work at

home and try to find a practical solution, at the same time as they improve their analyti-

cal skills. these projects are of varying nature, ranging from economic analyses of a par-

ticular policy to designing fishing gear for specific fisheries. throughout the six months

fellows are challenged at both personal and professional levels and are asked to define

problems, collect information, analyse and interpret data, and evaluate the results. Not

least, fellows are challenged by improving their action competency through strengthen-

ing their writing, presentation and information technology skills. the fellows work along-

side their supervisors and many of them do parts of their project work in the industry,

either on board fishing vessels or in fish-processing plants.

Fellows are selected through personal on-site interviews and they have to have the full

support of their institutes/employers. today 223 fellows from over 40 countries have

successfully completed the six month postgraduate training, of whom 43% have come

from 16 sub-saharan countries. in many of the countries who seek cooperation with the

UNU-FtP, fisheries export is important, and these countries need to meet the ever more

stringent quality and safety standards imposed by the high-end markets in the eU, Usa

and Japan. this is reflected in a high demand for training in quality management and that

line of specialization is offered every year with the highest number of graduates coming

from that line.

Short Courses and Conferences Development Programmethe UNU-FtP offers technical and financial support to develop short courses in partner

countries and also supports workshops and conferences on fisheries either through tech-

nical and financial support or by supporting the participation of fellows in conferences

and workshops organized by others (table 1).


tabLe 1: unu-ftP’S ConferenCe PartiCiPation and aSSiStanCe

ConferenCe titLe Country year

third World fisheries Congress China 2002

Workshop on fisheries and aquaculture in Southern africa: development and manage-ment

Namibia 2006

international Seafood trade: Challenges and opportunities

iceland 2007

Sustainable fisheries: Celebrating unu-ftP’s 10 year anniversary

iceland 2008

aquatic food Product Science and technology—the Link between researchers and Producers

vietnam 2010

through this activity, particularly the short courses, the UNU-FtP disseminates knowl-

edge and experience that has been developed in the six months programme. at the

same time the experience icelandic experts gain when taking part in the development

and delivery of short courses also strengthens the six month programme in iceland. the

short courses not only reach a larger and more varied group then the six month pro-

gramme, but they also provide follow-up support to former fellows and connect fisheries

experts from various parts of the world. Counterparts are usually fisheries experts from

universities, training institutes and fisheries departments that bring local flavour to the

course (table 2).


Short-CourSe titLe

Length (dayS) Country year of-

fered Partner inStitute

interna-tionaL CooPera-tion

fish Processing and Quality management

10 vietnam 2003, 2004, and 2005

Nha trang University, Can to University

DaNiDa

Safety and Qual-ity management in fishery harbours in Sri Lanka

3 sri lanka 2006 NaRa iCeiDa

fisheries Statistics and Stock assessment 1 and 2

10 × 2 Fiji and samoa/PiC s

2006 and 2008

University of the south Pacific,

Common-wealth secretariat secretar-iat of the south Pacific

maintenance and op-eration of a database on artisanal fisheries

5 tanzania 2006 tanzania Depart-ment of Fisheries

vessel Stability4 sri lanka 2007 National institute of

Fisheries and Nauti-cal engineering

Fao

Project Cycle man-agement in Sri Lanka fisheries

3 sri lanka three times in 2007

NaRa iCeiDa

Profitability assess-ment in fisheries and aquaculture enterprises

10 Cuba 2007 ministry of industrial Fisheries

Fao


10 mozam-bique

2008 mozambique minis-try of Fisheries, Po-litecnica University

iCeiDa


10 Namibia 2008 University of Na-mibia

iCeiDa

tabLe 2: Short CourSeS deveLoPed With unu-ftP aSSiStanCe and offered in deveLoPing CountrieS


Short-CourSe titLe

Length (dayS) Country year of-

fered Partner inStitute

interna-tionaL CooPera-tion

fisheries Policy and Planning in the Pa-cific island Countries

10 samoa/PiCs

2008 University of south Pacific

Fao and Common-wealth secretariat

fish inspection and Quality Control: basic/advanced

6/8 kenya 2008 moi University and Department of Fisheries

Fao

Sustainable aqua-culture for extension officers

5 Uganda 2009, 2010 and 2011

makerere University and Department of Fisheries

iCeiDa

fisheries data Collec-tion and analysis

6 tanzania and kenya (once in each coun-try)

2009 Departments of fisheries in kenya and tanzania

Fao

Leadership in fisher-ies

5 belize 2010 University of belize CRFm

application of busi-ness management Principles in Small Scale aquaculture

9 vietnam 2010 2011

Nha trang University NaCa

fisheries Statistics and Stock assessment in the Caribbean, part 1 and part 2

10 barbadosst. vincent

2010 2011

University of West indies

CRFm

management of Small aquaculture enterprises

10 mozam-bique

2011 iNaQUa, eduardo mondlane University

fish handling and Quality management for deck officers and Processors

3 Namibia 2011 NamFi and Univer-sity of Namibia

Quality management and fish Processing for fish inspectors

15 Uganda 2011 Fisheries training instituteDepartment of Fisheries

CRFm, Caribbean Regional Fisheries mechanism; DaNiDa, ; Fao, Food and agriculture organization; iCeiDa, ; iNaQUa, National institute for aquaculture Development; NamFi, ; NaRa, National aquatic Resources Research and Development agency


the courses evolve around pressing issues and local case studies are used in the course.

During the developmental phase local experts are identified for the delivery of the course

material and when the course is fully developed, after the first trial run and consequent

revision, it is hoped that the partner can incorporate it into its curriculum or organization.

the target group for these courses are sometimes people who do not qualify for the six

months training. often the short courses are developed in cooperation with international

organizations such as Food and agriculture organization (Fao), NaCa and the Common-

wealth secretariat.

Scholarship Programme

the UNU-FtP has offered 3–4 scholarships per year to former UNU-FtP fellows for post-

graduate degree studies in iceland. the scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis

to those who are accepted into any of the icelandic universities that offer graduate stud-

ies in fisheries and related subjects. only those whose studies at the UNU-FtP will count

for a minimum 24 eCts towards the postgraduate degree are eligible for a scholarship.

the proposed thesis/dissertation must be of relevance to the fisheries in the recipient’s

country, and fellows need to have an affiliation with an institute in his/her country that

provides support to the studies. to date, the UNU-FtP has awarded scholarships to 17

former fellows. of these, half were given for msc studies and half for PhDs, seven have

been awarded to women and ten have been awarded to men. by the end of 2011, 12 will

have completed their degrees.

United Nations University Fisheries Training Programme Support to Sub-Saharan FisheriesFrom the beginning UNU-FtP has put emphasis on supporting fisheries in sub-saharan

countries. of the 223 participants who have so far completed the six month training, 95

(43%) are from sub-saharan africa. about a third of these are women (table 3), but the

UNU-FtP aims to invite an equal number of men and women to the programme. all lines

of specialization are represented, but most fellows have specialized in quality manage-

ment of fish handling and processing (Qm) and Fisheries Policy and Planning (Figure 3),


reflecting the relative importance of these two areas in the countries. there is a growing

interest in sustainable aquaculture (saq), as aquaculture is picking up in most of the af-

rican countries.

tabLe 3: the number of men and Women from Sub-Saharan CountrieS Who have graduated from the unu-ftP

Sub-Saharan CountrieS men Women totaL

the gambia 5 1 6

Cape verde 3 4 7

Sierra Leone 2 1 3

Liberia 2 0 2

ghana 0 3 3

Cameroon 1 0 1

angola 0 1 1

namibia 5 3 8

South africa 2 2 4

mozambique 7 4 11

tanzania 4 5 9

Kenya 9 2 11

uganda 14 4 18

malawi 6 0 6

mauritius 4 0 4

madagascar 1 0 1

total 65 30 95

Not many have completed the management of Fisheries Companies and marketing line

of specialization, a total of seven, which is interesting since business is increasing with

fisheries products and the number of small companies in fisheries is growing, with an

increase in aquaculture farms. most fellows come from the public sector.


figure 3: number of fellows from sub-Saharan countries for each line of specialization.

a total of ten short courses have been developed and held since 2006, some of them sev-

eral times, in sub-saharan countries. all these courses were initiated by our partners and

developed in cooperation with local experts. two short courses were developed and run

in tanzania. the first one was on maintenance and operation of fisheries databases for

experts at the statistic unit in the ministry of Fisheries in tanzania. that course helped in

receiving and managing data from the districts for fisheries-management proposes. the

second course was on data collection at landing sites and was developed in cooperation

with the Fao. two courses were developed in kenya, one on data collection similar to the

tanzanian course, and another on fish inspection and quality control for fisheries inspec-

tors for eU fish-inspection certification. in mozambique two courses were held to pro-

mote aquaculture development, one on profitability and one on management of small

aquaculture enterprises. both of these courses were developed and held in cooperation

with ministry institutions and local universities. the management course was part of an

msc programme at the eduardo mondlane University. two courses were developed in

Uganda, one on aquaculture for fisheries extension officers and the other one on qual-

ity management for fish inspectors. the aquaculture course has been run three times in

cooperation with makerere University. Finally, two courses were developed in Namibia

in cooperation with University of Namibia on profitability assessment in small fisheries

companies and on fish handling and quality management for deck officers and fish pro-

Ft sa Qm mFCm FPP saq/es

lines of specialization

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0


cessors in cooperation with UNam and National institute for aquaculture Development.

it is estimated that about 300 fisheries professionals have attended these short course

in addition to the counterparts that have taken part in developing the courses through

workshops in iceland and in the partner countries.

the involvement of UNU-FtP in workshops and conferences is not as extensive as with

the short courses. UNU-FtP has been involved in three conferences that relate to sub-

saharan countries. in 2006 UNU-FtP organized, in cooperation with iCeiDa, a conference

in Namibia on Fisheries and aquaculture development in southern africa. the conference

was attended by about 90 high-ranking fisheries official and guests from seven countries

and several former UNU fellows were also invited. several former fellows were invited

to attend a conference on Challenges and opportunities in international seafood trade

organized by the Fao in iceland. and in 2008 UNU-FtP celebrated its ten year anniversary

with a conference on sustainable Fisheries.

scholarships to former fellows are meant to provide continuing support to those fellows

that do especially well in the UNU-FtP. so far six scholarships, four for msc and two for

PhD studies, have been awarded to UNU fellows from countries in sub-saharan africa.

Conclusion

Fisheries, like so many other fields, have increasingly to deal with complex and global

issues. this is reflected in the management of what is left of fisheries in the developed

countries and also in development cooperation, with projects and programmes being in-

creasingly integrated and regional in nature. training for fisheries should then reflect this,

like training in so many other disciplines, with an increased emphasis on training people

to be able to work within a multidisciplinary context and to develop new approaches. in

teamwork, members must bring a particular strength or expertise to the group, but they

must also be able to understand the contribution of others and the larger context. today

there is no shortage of university-educated people in sub-saharan africa, but in many

countries the institutional capacity needs to be strengthened.

most development projects aim at capacity development in one way or another, but too

often they include scholarships where the people selected only return to their work once


the project that they were part of has been completed. the UNU-FtP offers an alternative

to this and in several cases fellows have in their individual research projects contributed

to the implementation of larger projects in their home countries. this has similarly been

the case with some of the msc and PhD research and we will, in future, focus even more

strongly on this connection as a prerequisite for scholarships award.

a recent study by the overseas Development institute1 identified effective leadership, co-

herent policies, institutional capacity and international cooperation as the four main driv-

ers of development. the UNU-FtP has, from the start, focused on institutional capacity

based on a long-term and genuine partnership. several studies that fellows do in their fi-

nal projects and follow-up activities, like short course and conferences, also influence the

formulation of policies in partner countries. a recent survey of former fellows, to which

over 50% responded (107), showed that 77% have advanced in their careers after the

UNU-FtP involvement, either academically or professionally. 40% have been promoted,

25% went on to doctoral studies and 12% have gone on to master’s studies. as former

fellows advance their careers, the impact of the training should become more evident.

the UNU-FtP has a strong applied focus, in which the process of enquiry, analysis and

interpretation is emphasized. Fellows should be critical, but constructive, reflect on their

work and on the value of it to their communities and societies. in this we have been in-

fluenced by the concept of action competency in environmental education, where the

emphasis is on fostering the will and ability of fellows to become involved with urgent is-

sues in a democratic way. the success of the programme depends on the professional de-

velopment of the fellows, their participation and critical and reflective approach. to make

a difference, they must not only have the knowledge and the skills required to address

present and future challenges, they must also have the right attitude, be professional in

their work, responsible for their knowledge and abilities, and use them to contribute to

the sustainable development of their fisheries.

1 mapping progress: evidence for a new development outlook. http://www.developmentprogress.org/global-report


6 | Chapter 5

THe New UNiTed NaTioNs UNiversiTy iNsTiTUTe For iNTegraTed MaNageMeNT oF MaTerial FlUxes aNd oF resoUrces iN dresdeN, gerMaNy, aNd MapUTo, MozaMbiqUe: core areas oF FocUs aNd TwiNNiNg coNcepT r. ardakaNiaN1, s. HülsMaNN2 aNd p. krebs3

The UNiTeD NaTioNs UNiveRsiTy iNsTiTUTe foR iNTegRaTeD MaNageMeNT

of MaTeRial flUxes aND of ResoURCes (UNU-floRes) CURReNTly beiNg

esTablisheD Will be DeDiCaTeD To ReseaRCh, PosTgRaDUaTe eDUCaTioN

aND TRaiNiNg of PRofessioNals, DealiNg fiRsT aND foReMosT WiTh The

eNviRoNMeNTal ResoURCes soil, WaTeR aND WasTe.

1 UNU focal point on the establishment of UNU-floRes, United Nations University, bonn, germany

2 United Nations University, vice Rectorate in europe (UNU-vie), bonn, germany

3 institute for Urban Water Management, Dresden University of Technology, germany


one campus of UNU-floRes will be based in Dresden, germany, closely working with

the Dresden University of Technology and affiliated research institutions, which offer a

rich and well-established research environment with an interdisciplinary structure and

an integrative approach to environmental science and resource management. UNU-

floRes will thus explore the potential and contribute to the international up-scaling of

the available competence and institutional framework related to integrated manage-

ment of material fluxes and of resources. its core scientific task is to develop a “linked

cycle management” to replace traditional input–output models for the management of

water (as resource, dissolver and transport agent) as well as soils, recyclable organic mat-

ter and nutrients to foster the efficient and sustainable use of these resources. based on

this integrative research approach, innovative concepts for target- and region-specific

knowledge transfer and capacity development will be put into action. according to the

‘twinning’ strategy of UNU, additional campuses of its existing and future institutions,

such as UNU-floRes, will be established. Twin institutes (indeed, second or third cam-

puses of existing ones) should be located in developing and transitional countries. They

should be demand-driven and receive in-kind, financial and moral support from the new

host countries. The government of Mozambique confirmed its willingness to support the

establishment of a UNU-floRes twin in Maputo, which could provide and strengthen

the capacity needed (both at individual and institutional levels) to address various chal-

lenges related the sustainable management of water, soil and waste. The twinning con-

cept foresees a close interaction of the twin campuses both in research (joint projects)

and in teaching activities (exchange programmes for students and lecturers). The twin

institute of UNU-floRes, by establishing and strengthening strong partnerships within

the region, is envisioned to act as a hub for integrated management of material fluxes

and of the resources water, soil and waste for southern africa and even beyond.


Why the United Nations University Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources?

The on-going and expected future change of the global and regional climate, current

land-use changes and substantial alterations of the demographic structure in and be-

tween urban and rural societies challenge the paradigms of sustainable development

and integrated resources management. as one key feature and observable consequence

of these changes the global hydrocycle is accelerating (iPCC 2007). This is manifested

through the increasing frequency of stronger and longer-lasting extreme events at both

ends of the spectrum, even if mean values remained unchanged. Water is not only a re-

source in itself, but a potent dissolver and transport agent. as a consequence soils, nutri-

ents (e.g. phosphorus, Cordell et al. 2009; Cordell et al. 2011; elser and bennett 2011) and

recyclable organic material and waste may “migrate” with water and ultimately can be

“lost” in unwanted places, like oceans and other recipient water bodies, which makes re-

cycling infeasible, at least with present day-technologies. This “volatility” of vital resourc-

es should be accounted for in face of the ever-increasing demand for food, its production

relying extensively on water, soils and organic nutrients. simultaneously, the growing

demand for improving environmental quality should also be satisfied. Thus, sustainable

use of the resources soil, water and recyclable organic matter and fertilizers in wastes is of

growing importance for the mitigating of and adapting to the future changes of climate,

land-use and demography.

The complex relations between demands, resource availability and quality, and financial

and physical constraints can only be considered by knowledge-based policies and pro-

fessional practice. There is an urgent need for this knowledge and for its interpretation

in a policy-relevant practical setting. generation and application of knowledge is first

and foremost a capacity development (personal and institutional) problem. high prior-

ity is to be given to the transfer of knowledge and to innovative methods using mod-

ern media and capacity-building concepts. integrating and developing knowledge on

sustainable-resources management is of crucial importance for target-specific education

and advanced training in environmental sciences and engineering.


The challenges outlined so far were the background against which the establishment of

a new institute devoted to the integrated management of material fluxes and of resourc-

es was proposed. integrated resources management as a concept is certainly not new,

especially with respect to water (iWRM) it is a widely accepted approach. various case

studies are available and well-developed study programmes on the issue (e.g., by the

United Nations educational, scientific and Cultural organization institute for Water edu-

cation, WaterNet, Capnet, United Nations University institute for Water, environment and

health (UNU-iNWeh)) are established. still, the implementation of the approach into wa-

ter governance lags behind. This notion holds both for developed countries (Teutsch and

Krueger 2010) and for developing countries, e.g. in africa (Jonker 2007). The United Na-

tions University institute for integrated Management of Material fluxes and of Resources

(UNU-floRes) is supposed to extend and upscale the concept of integrated resource

management through adopting a truly integrative perspective by explicitly considering

interrelated resources (water and soil and waste) and by emphasizing fluxes of resources

between phases and between compartments. Thus, instead of the traditional input–out-

put model, it will explore whether the consistent tracing (follow-up) and management of

the resource throughout its migration (passage, flow, transport, transfer) through sub-

sequent compartments and phases would bring a more comprehensive insight and ul-

timately more efficient and sustainable management results. in the case of the resource

water, this approach implies to close both the so-called small and large water cycles. The

small one describes the sequence “nature” withdrawal, channel transport of water, treat-

ment plant, distribution system, consumption/use, collection and transport of sewage

and waste water, treatment, recycling and/or return to “nature”, and thus it is linked to the

large water cycle (passage of water in the “natural” hydrosphere: atmosphere, biosphere,

lithosphere, oceans and so forth). in simplified terms this means to replace the traditional

input–output model by the concept of linked cycle monitoring and management. The

development of this linked cycle management approach is the core scientific task of the

institute. Consequently, the integrated and interrelated assessment, tracing and man-

agement of the resources water, soil and waste, based on a coherent systems approach

to flux analysis while considering conditions of global change in itself, is considered a

challenging but very promising task and an innovative concept, that clearly requires a

global perspective.


given that the overarching theme of UNU is sustainability (UNU 2011), the topic of UNU-

floRes is at the heart of UNU’s overall aim to foster sustainable solutions to pressing

issues that are the concern of the United Nations and its member states. UNU-floRes,

focusing on the core areas sketched above, will complement related activities of other

UNU institutes both in africa (see further chapters of this compilation) and worldwide,

linking effectively to related initiatives mainly in southern africa.

Why Dresden?

The host institution and envisaged core partner of UNU-floRes, the Dresden University

of Technology (TUD), has collected ample scientific experience in “closing” the above-

described water cycles. The respective scientific areas: water management and environ-

mental, forest and geo resources engineering are grouped into a forward-looking unique

faculty structure, thus enabling research–education synergies to be explored. TUD is

already producing “well-marketable” graduates with an innovative/integrated mindset.

since 2004 the international Master course “hydro science and engineering” has been

offered, which already covers many aspects to be included in study programme of UNU-

floRes.

The envisaged close partnership of UNU-floRes and the TUD faculty of forest, geo and

hydro sciences (fgh) is a solid basis on which to develop the concept of “cycle manage-

ment” for water, soils and waste, but also to move to other challenging areas (like min-

ing and energy) to upscale the existing potential to a global level; this will assist the UN

system and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, to adopt and to adapt new

scientific concepts and methods in their praxis and promotion of integrated resource

management.

These foreseen activities in research and teaching may be based on a well-established

network within Dresden, the free state of saxony and beyond: The Dresden Water Centre

is an institutional platform beyond fgh that includes further institutes of TUD and exter-

nal partners (consultancies, enterprises). a unit of fgh devoted to capacity development

is the Centre for international Postgraduate studies of environmental Management,

which offers courses on various aspects of resource management. Close cooperation is


established with the helmholtz Centre for environmental Research (Umweltforschun-

gszentrum), which has a pronounced profile in water. one important vehicle of coopera-

tion is a graduate school for PhD students (higRaDe); furthermore, joint internal research

projects on water management are established, such as the international Water Research

alliance saxony.

Why Maputo?

one critical element for achieving UNU’s overall goal to enhance research, teaching and

capacity development and knowledge sharing (UNU 2008) is the establishment of twin

institutes. Twin institutes (indeed. second or third campuses of existing ones) should be

located in developing and transitional countries. They should be demand-driven and re-

ceive in-kind, financial and moral support from the new host countries, but also from the

host country of the other twin. Concomitantly to the establishment of UNU-floRes in

Dresden, preparatory steps for the establishment of a twin institute in Maputo, Mozam-

bique, were started in 2010.

Mozambique was proposed as potential host country for establishing a twin institute of

UNU-floRes for various reasons. The government of Mozambique has, both via the am-

bassador of Mozambique to germany and the hon. Minister of science and Technology,

Professor Massingue, expressed its support and commitment to establish the twin in Ma-

puto (ardakanian et al. 2011). The country faces several challenges related to resources

management. Mozambique is intersected by several major rivers (Zambezi, limpopo,

buzi, etc.) that drain the central highlands towards the indian ocean. The flow regimes of

these rivers are particularly subject of climatic variability and climate change. in addition,

large-scale development activities, water withdrawals and reservoirs upstream contrib-

ute to further aggravation of drought, while they do not provide enough storage space

to alleviate the consequences of floods. Mozambique has emerged from a long-lasting

civil war with considerate political stability, reforms and a developing economy. The ca-

pacity needed to carry its economic and institutional progress further (both at individual

and institutional levels) could be strengthened through collaboration and the sustained

presence of the UNU. establishing a twin institute of UNU-floRes in Mozambique would

comply with the general policy advocated by the african Ministerial Council on science

and Technology, the New Partnership for africa’s Development (NePaD) and the Con-


solidated Plan of action for science and Technology for africa calling for a concentrated,

concerted and solution-oriented science for african development and african regional

centres of excellence.

it is foreseen that the proposed twin shall develop close affiliations with the eduardo

Mondlane University (UeM), Maputo, but also with other universities and institutes in the

region to fulfil its envisioned role as a regional hub. a recently launched Msc course on

hydraulics and Water Resources of the faculty of engineering of UeM was identified as

suitable starting point on which to base a joint study programme with UNU-floRes. fur-

ther courses offered by the faculty of agronomy and forestry engineering and the faculty

of sciences of UeM contain elements that may be implemented. existing programmes

in related fields, provided, for example, by WaterNet, Capnet or within the NePaD Water

Centres of excellence, will be taken into account. an implementation plan for twin insti-

tute, based on an assessment of the needs of the region, was elaborated on during the

second international scoping Workshop on the establishment of UNU-floRes, held in

Maputo in october 2011.

The postgraduate training programmes (Msc and PhD) that will be provided by UNU-

floRes will contribute to teaching new elites, which is necessary to help solve the press-

ing need for fostering and implementing sustainable resource management, especially

in developing countries. implementing exchange programmes, both for students and

lecturers, between the twins in Dresden and Maputo will be an effective tool to achieve

multiplier effects via training the trainers, researchers and other stakeholders involved

in resource management in southern africa and even beyond. building on existing Msc

and PhD programmes, the goal is to award joint degrees both with partners in Dresden

and in Maputo. in the long-term perspective, a “multinodal” PhD programme on water is

envisaged, including nodes in North america (UNU-iNWeh), in europe (United Nations

University institute for environment and human security, UNU-floRes) and in asia, stu-

dents being able to enter for and enrol in courses offered at any node.

further information on the background and the state of the art the establishment of

UNU-floRes (as of summer 2012) is provided in the recently published proceedings of

the 1st international scoping Workshop on UNU-floRes (ardakanian et al. 2011). Up to

date information on UNU-floRes is provided on the UNU-floRes blog (www.unu-flores-

mozambique.blogspot.com).


References

ardakanian, R.; hülsmann, s.; Johmann, J. (2011): Proceedings 1st international scoping Workshop on the estab-

lishment of the United Nations University institute for integrated Management of Material fluxes and of Resources

(UNU-floRes) and its Twin in Mozambique. UNU-vie, bonn.

Cordell, D.; Drangert, J-o.; White, s. (2009): The story of phosphorus: global food security and food for thought. in

global environmental Change. vol. 19, pp. 292–305.

Cordell, D.; Rosemarin, a.; schröder, J.J.; smit, a.l. (2011): Towards global phosphorus security: a systems frame-

work for phosphorus recovery and reuse options. in Chemosphere. vol. 84, pp. 747–758.

elser, J.; bennett, e. (2011): Phosphorus cycle: a broken biogeochemical cycle. in Nature. vol. 478, pp. 29–31.

iPCC (2007): Climate Change 2007: the Physical science basis. intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,

Jonker, l. (2007): integrated water resources management: The theory–praxis–nexus, a south african perspective.

in Physics and Chemistry of the earth. vol. 32, pp. 1257–1263.

Teutsch, g.; Krueger, e. (2010): Water science alliance – White Paper: Priority Research fields, helmholtz Centre for

environmental Research, leipzig.

UNU (2008): United Nations University – strategic Plan 2009–2012: Towards sustainable solutions for global Prob-

lems. United Nations University, Tokyo.

UNU (2011): United Nations University – 2010 annual Report. United Nations University, Tokyo.


© U

N-Ph

oto


7 | Chapter 6

CaPaCity DeveloPmeNt iN the Water SeCtor iN afriCa – a regioN for Priority aCtioN for the UN-Water DeCaDe Programme oN CaPaCity DeveloPmeNt Dr. JeNS liebe1 aND Dr. reza arDakaNiaN1 The UNiTeD NaTioNs WaTeR DeCaDe PRogRamme oN CaPaCiTy DeveloPmeNT

(UNW-DPC) iN BoNN, geRmaNy, hosTeD By The UNiTeD NaTioNs UNiveRsiTy

(UNU), is a PRogRamme of UN-WaTeR. UN-WaTeR is aN iNTeR-ageNCy

meChaNism foRmally esTaBlisheD iN 2003 By The UNiTeD NaTioNs high level

CommiTTee oN PRogRammes. iT Was CReaTeD To aDD valUe To UN iNiTiaTives

By fosTeRiNg gReaTeR Co-oPeRaTioN aND iNfoRmaTioN-shaRiNg amoNg

exisTiNg UN memBeRs aND oUTsiDe PaRTNeRs. UN-WaTeR sTReNgTheNs

The CooRDiNaTioN aND CoheReNCe BeTWeeN moRe ThaN TWo DozeN UN

oRgaNizaTioNs aND PRogRammes ThaT alReaDy CooPeRaTe WiThiN UN-

WaTeR, iNClUDiNg The UNU, The ChaiR of UN-WaTeR fRom 2010–2011, as They

Deal WiTh issUes RelaTeD To all asPeCTs of fReshWaTeR aND saNiTaTioN.

1 UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC), Bonn, germany


The aim of UNW-DPC is to strengthen the activities of these UN entities and to support

them in their efforts to achieve the millennium Development goals related to water. UN-

Water includes africa in its focus areas as a region for priority action. simultaneously,

UNU has affirmed its africa strategy, “Priority africa”. as such, like many other UNU enti-

ties, UNW-DPC has carried out numerous capacity development and training activities in

africa. all of its regionally-focused series of workshops since its inception in 2007 have

had one foot in africa. including africa in all of these regional activities allows UNW-DPC

to enable cross-fertilization between policymakers within africa and between africa and

other world regions, making the available knowledge more accessible and promoting

the uptake of solutions.

Introduction

The UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development (UNW-DPC), hosted by

the United Nations University (UNU), is a joint programme of UN-Water. UN-Water is an

inter-agency mechanism formally established in 2003 by the United Nations high level

Committee on Programmes. it was created to add value to UN initiatives by fostering

greater co-operation and information sharing among existing UN members and outside

partners. UN-Water strengthens coordination and coherence between UN entities deal-

ing with issues related to all aspects of freshwater and sanitation.

UNW-DPC started work on 1 august 2007 with the objective of working with the more

than two-dozen UN organizations and programmes that cooperate within the inter-

agency mechanism known as UN-Water to strengthen their activities and support their

efforts in achieving the millennium Development goals (mDgs) related to water. These

efforts are not simply a matter of capacity development, but also include education,

training and institutional development.

The aim of UNW-DPC is to strengthen the activities of these UN-Water members and part-

ners, and to support them in their efforts to achieve the mDgs related to water.

While the main mandate for UNW-DPC is to work with/ for the UN-Water mechanism,

UNW-DPC is simultaneously an integral part of the UNU system.


figure 1: Conceptualization of UNW-DPC core activities of its first Work Plan 2007–2010 (also providing guidance to the second Work Plan)


as such, UNW-DPC also supports the africa strategy of UNU (“Priority africa”), which aims

to make UNU activities in and on africa of greater relevance to the african continent

and its people, the UN organizations and UNU end-users. The africa strategy of UNU also

aims to make UNU-generated knowledge on peace, development and sustainability bet-

ter acknowledged, recognized and used. moreover, the roadmap will contribute to the

implementation of the New Partnership for africa’s Development and the mDgs on the

african continent (UNU africa Roadmap, http://www.vie.unu.edu/article/scientia/unu-

africa-roadmap).

as a UNU-hosted entity, UNW-DPC supports UNU in its mission of contributing, through

collaborative research, capacity development and advisory services, to efforts to resolve

the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the

concern of the UN, its Peoples and its member states. The dovetailing of these two in-

tentions to focus on africa means that UNW-DPC can seamlessly support the missions

of both UNU and UN-Water in the acknowledgement of the importance of the african

region in achieving the mDgs.

To fulfil its UN-Water approved mission and work plans, UNW-DPC engages in the follow-

ing four main fields of activities, each including a number of identified activities. These

fields of activities form the core of UNW-DPC’s second Work Plan from 2010 to 2013 (fig-

ure 1: Conceptualization of UNW-DPC core activities of its first Work Plan 2007–2010 (also

providing guidance to the second Work Plan)figure 1), and also build on UNW-DPC’s first

Work Plan from 2007 to 2010. They are also linked to the strategic directions of UN-Water,

and are seen as areas where UNW-DPC can provide significant and meaningful contribu-

tions to the activities of UN-Water.

These fields of activities are:

• To improve the synergy and increase the strategic and operational coherence

of UN-Water;

• To strengthen technical and policy guidance of UN-Water and contribute to

the “professionalization” of water governance and management, increasing its

institutional capacity development;

• To cooperate with other UN-Water programmes;

• To support UN-Water and its members and partners in general, in particular


its Task forces, Thematic Priority areas and other coordinated activities of UN-

Water members.

UNW-DPC will present its long-term capacity development concept to support UN-Water

with various capacity development services, from single to “embedded” activities using

multilateral thematic, conceptual and collaborative workshops. including africa in all of

these regional activities allows for UNW-DPC to enable cross-fertilization between policy-

makers within africa and between africa and other world regions, making the available

knowledge more accessible and promoting the uptake of solutions.

Capacity Development

The need to address the capacity development challenge is evident and obvious. The

capacities required are human, organizational and institutional and they vary among dif-

ferent stakeholder and beneficiary groups. UN-Water is interested in developing its own

capacity in improving the coherence and coordination of its member and partner ac-

tivities, including its various capacity development programmes and activities. Capacity

building is also a major priority for UNU, in particular at the UNU vice Rectorate in europe,

which focuses on “capacity building and knowledge transfer to strengthen science and

technology for human security”.

The lack of capacity in member countries for effective water management – educational,

scientific, technological and institutional – is a key factor that contributes to the global

water crisis. These required capacities range from individual human capacities to orga-

nizational and institutional capacities. UNW-DPC addresses these challenges by adding

value to existing bilateral activities of individual UN-Water members and partners, includ-

ing UNU, and also by scaling up multilateral cooperation across and with multiple actors

to represent and support UN-Water as a whole.

UNW-DPC Target Groups

given the urgency of water issues and the potential of increased challenges in the com-

ing decades, there is a continuous need for developing the capacity of water educators

and institutions as well as establishing key partnerships to enable a proper assessment


of water challenges and develop suitable educational programmes and curricula. in this

sense, water education and training are envisaged by UNW-DPC as significant instru-

ments to train the next generation of water professionals and raise water awareness.

over the past three years, the activities of UNW-DPC related to water training and educa-

tion focused mainly on promoting the dissemination of existing scientific research and

supporting the educational institutions and educators to exchange ideas and solutions.

in carrying out its capacity development activities, UNW-DPC has primarily focused,

through UN-Water, on four target groups, each of which has different specific needs and

methodologies.

Decision Makers

UNW-DPC has aimed to directly target decision makers in an effort to build their sensi-

bilities and capacities on water-related issues in their respective governments. it is clear

that. particularly when it comes to policymakers, individual and institutional capacities

must be targeted. examples of UNW-DPC activities aimed at decision makers include a

series of regional workshops on “Water loss Reduction in Water and sanitation Utilities”

in latin america and the Caribbean (November 2009), the south east european region

(November 2009) and the arab region (January 2010). These workshops documented

available know-how and best practices and recommended new approaches for more ef-

ficient management in the field of water and sanitation with a focus on water-loss reduc-

tion. The workshops also focused on the economic and political conditions for success

in water-loss reduction in countries with economies in transition. With these workshops,

UNW-DPC and partners aimed to encourage follow-up projects and help to establish

communication between policymakers, water managers and researchers, but also with

the providers of technical solutions.

other activities aimed at decision makers were a series of training programmes of three

weeks on integrated water resources management (iWRm) between october and De-

cember 2009 for decision makers from the middle east and North africa (meNa) at the

german academic exchange service Branch office in Cairo, egypt. in total, 66 decision

makers and professionals from ministries of the meNa region participated in one of

these eight-day workshops to be trained in policy instruments of iWRm. The training pro-


gramme addressed government officials at the intermediate level of decision-making, as

well as decision makers with a relevant university education, which at the time did not

cover policy instruments such as iWRm. Thus, the training programme dealt with policy-

making in the field of iWRm and topics such as network, team roles and project manage-

ment, and multistakeholder cooperation.

Water Professionals

UNW-DPC has conducted numerous trainings for water professionals operating in the

water sector. it is felt that without training and regional partnerships for this group of

hands-on operators, there are real risks of not attaining the water and sanitation targets

in the mDgs.

improvements in the water and sanitation sector have provided opportunities to create

more efficient, customer-focused and autonomous water and sanitation utilities. how-

ever, most developing country utilities continue to face enormous challenges in meet-

ing the ever-increasing demands of growing populations. They suffer from a number of

interrelated institutional and individual deficits in capacity, including inadequate cost re-

covery compounded by a low customer base and limited physical coverage, dilapidated

physical infrastructure, high levels of unaccounted for water, low skill levels of staff and

poor customer relations, among others.

To address these problems, UNW-DPC conducted numerous training events over the past

three years for urban-water conservation and water-loss reduction in asia, latin america,

south east europe and the arab region. Workshops have aimed at documenting available

know-how and best practices and recommending new approaches for more efficient

management. With their workshops, UNW-DPC and partners aim to encourage follow-

up projects and help to establish communication between those who provide techni-

cal solutions and manage water, and also those in charge of making policy, conducting

research and training.

Academia


UNW-DPC is committed to the support of capacity development efforts through the pro-

motion of skills in those who train others, and as such has successfully organized several

series of training-of-trainers (ToT) courses all over the world, on topics such as agriculture,

climate change, urban water, water efficiency, conflict resolution and sanitation, among

others. like anyone else, trainers themselves need to go through training to stay up-to-

date and effective. effective training can be a powerful tool to enhance the performance

and build capacities of those you train. Training sessions need to be engaging, relevant,

practical and structured to achieve long-term assimilation of learning.

Between summer 2009 and spring 2010, UNW-DPC and fao organized five ToT work-

shops on the use of the aquaCrop software “Capacity Development for farm manage-

ment strategies to improve Crop-Water Productivity using aquaCrop”. The objective of

the five-day workshops was to train participants from various regions in africa, asia and

the middle east in the practical applications of aquaCrop, in order to improve partici-

pants’ skills in strategic management towards increasing crop water productivity in rain

fed and irrigated production systems. a total of 147 water managers, extension special-

ists and researchers from governmental and non-governmental organizations from near-

ly 50 countries received training in aquaCrop at this workshop. a follow-up with case

studies from these trainees was carried out in october 2010.

The results of two examples of recent UNW-DPC ToT courses can be found in UNW-DPC

publication Knowledge No. 2, on “education for Water sustainability: Where Decades

meet.”

Media

as its final key target group area, the media have a special responsibility to communicate

the urgency of the global water challenges to the public. This is not to say that the media

have deliberately ignored water as an issue, but they have not yet managed to make it an

attractive topic to media consumers. The media have an important role to play in sway-

ing public opinion and its immense reach can be a powerful influence for positive change.

it can help people to better understand water issues and contribute to finding solutions.

in light of the great impact that scarcity and mismanagement of water has on the whole

world, the media need to exercise actively their influence in encouraging public awareness.


UNW-DPC has been involved in numerous activities that involve capacity development

for journalists on water topics, including three regional workshops for asian countries

(November 2007 in Tehran, iran), arab countries (January 2009 in Cairo, egypt) and latin

american and Caribbean Countries (December 2009 in montevideo, Uruguay). The re-

sults of these workshops can be found in the UNW-DPC publication Knowledge No. 6, on

“Capacity Development for Water and environmental Journalists” (figure 2).

Africa: A Region For Priority Action

“Water can make an immense difference to africa’s development if it is managed well

and used wisely. given clear policies and strategies and real commitments to implemen-

tation, we can use water to help eradicate poverty, reduce water-related diseases and

achieve sustainable development” (african Water vision, 2001). on a related note, the

eighth mDg calls for the world to “ensure environmental sustainability.” a region that

faces great challenges in this area is sub-saharan africa, which has set itself the target

of providing 63 per cent of its population with improved sanitation by 2015. That will

mean providing access to an additional 370 million people. Despite improvements in

world sanitation since 1990, 2.6 billion people lack access to improved sanitation today,

and sub-saharan africa is one of the most severely lacking. acknowledging the great

figure 2: Capacity Development for Water and environmental Journalists


challenges for africa, for example, in the sectors of health, sanitation, freshwater sustain-

ability, drinking water quality and water efficiency in agriculture, UN-Water has made this

continent a priority action area.

UNW-DPC has carried out numerous capacity development and training activities in af-

rica. all of its regionally focused series of workshops since its inception in 2007 have had

one foot in africa, including training for journalists (in Cairo, egypt, January 2009), train-

ing in the use of the aquaCrop software for agricultural efficiency in the use of water

(in ouagadougou, Burkina faso, July 2009 and Bloemfontein, south africa, march 2010,

figure 3), training for policymakers in the meNa region (three workshops between oc-

tober and December 2009), UNW-DPC’s regional Drinking Water loss Reduction work-

shops for water managers (in Rabat, morocco, January 2010) and collaboration in the first

workshop for the scientific g-WaDi network in Dakar, senegal (april 2010). in addition,

UNW-DPC has carried out UN-Water-wide activities in the form of a Capacity Develop-

ment seminar in Kampala, Uganda (march 2010) on the occasion of the 15th african Wa-

ter association Congress, a session on Water loss Reduction guidelines in Burkina faso in

february 2011, and another session for Water loss Reduction in africa at the World Water

figure 3: Capacity Development for farm management Strategies to improve Crop-Water Productivity using aquaCrop: lessons learned (UNW-DPC Publication 7 in its knowledge series)

figure 4: Water loss reduction in africa (UNW-DPC Publication 8 in its Proceedings series)


Day 2011 in march in Cape Town. The results of these last two activities are encapsulated

in a publication dealing with UNW-DPC’s activities on “Water loss Reduction in africa”, as

depicted in figure 4.

including africa in all of these regional activities provides the opportunity for the vari-

ous communities to become informed about local and regional policy questions and to

consider responsive solutions.

Conclusion

africa is facing great challenges in water-related fields, for example in the sectors of

health, sanitation, freshwater sustainability, drinking water quality and water efficiency

in agriculture.

Based on the firm belief that the achievement of the mDgs related to water and sanita-

tion is conditional on stakeholders being able to mobilize essential required capacities,

UNW-DPC’s mission is to enhance the coherence and effectiveness of the capacity devel-

opment activities of UN-Water members and partners, including the UNU. By working

on individual, organizational and institutional capacity development, UNW-DPC seeks to

strengthen the ability of the UN-Water members and partners to support member states

to achieve these mDgs.

although UNW-DPC addresses water-related capacity development needs globally, af-

rica plays a central role in its capacity development efforts. africa receives special rec-

ognition in the form of currently being the only “region for priority action” for UN-Water

and also receives special attention from UNU in its africa strategy (“Priority africa”). also

in the future, UNW-DPC will ensure the specific capacity development needs of africa

are addressed through close collaboration on water-related issues in various forms, be it

individual, institutional or organizational capacity development efforts.

UNW-DPC is funded by the german federal government and hosted by the UNU. The

vice-Rectorate of the United Nations University in europe provides central services to

UNW-DPC in Bonn, germany. UNW-DPC is a programme office of UN-Water and is simul-

taneously an integral part of the UNU system.

adding value in Water-Related Capacity Development

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