Successful inception workshop of the project AltWater

On 21 July, UNESCO-IHE and Maputo Water Company - Aguas da Regiao de Maputo (AdeM) organized the inception workshop of the project 'Enabling the assessment of alternative water supply systems to promote urban water security in the Global South' (AltWater). About thirty representatives from the partners' project cities of Maputo, Beira (in Mozambique) and Surabaya, Gresik (in Indonesia) attended the meeting. UNESCO-IHE was represented by Dr. Janez Sušnik and Dr. Assela Pathirana.

AltWater

AltWater investigates ways to increase the self-reliance and sustainability of cities in the global South with regard to water supply by relieving pressure on traditional sources through the implementation of alternative water systems (for example rainwater harvesting, wastewater reuse, desalination). With partner cities in Mozambique and Indonesia, this project will develop a tailor-made approach in each city to evaluate the potential of alternative systems to contribute to urban water supply and security. Assessment of site-specific aspects of potential systems, including yield (water volume) and reliability, cost, institutional and socio-environmental factors across the city area will be carried out.

"Leader-Follower" City approach

AltWater adopts a novel “Leader-Follower” City approach whereby Maputo and Surabaya are designated as leader cities. These two cities will then become primarily responsible for developing and training capacity in the Follower City (Beira and Gresik respectively). Local partners will gain knowledge and expertise in alternative supply assessment and planning through participation in the research. Collaboration and knowledge exchange between partners will be strengthened, increasing capacity and networks.

Mr. Carlos Cossa, Technical Advisor for Administration coordinated and hosted the workshop. The meeting was opened with a welcome by the Chairman of AdeM Mr. Jose Ferrete. There were presentations from the cities of Maputo, Beira, Surabaya, and Gresik describing their water supply system. Dr. Janez Susnik presented a detailed overview of the project, describing its deliverables, planning, milestones, etc. The event concluded with a round-table discussion among project partners discussing different aspects of the project and expectations of each of the partners.

Read more about the workshop here.

Global Partnership for Water and Development

The four year project is funded by DUPC2 (programmatic cooperation between the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UNESCO-IHE) – with a subsidy of EUR 542,600. The project partners will contribute with co-funding worth of EUR 153,200.