Water Stewardship Study Tour – experiences and best practises

Increasing water stress in many parts of the world affects communities, businesses and ultimately entire economies, threatening their sustainable development. Against this background, the Federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) funds the six-year African Water Stewardship Initiative (AWSI) programme which is implemented by GIZ. The AWSI has the goal to increase the capacity of water users to adapt to effects of climate change through the participation of the private sector in the reduction of shared water risks. At the heart of this stands the strengthening of engagement and mutual understanding between participating actors to jointly develop and implement effective solutions.

To enrich ongoing cooperation projects with new ideas and lessons learnt, adelphi has been contracted to develop and implement a European Study Tour. Representatives of public institutions from various African countries had the opportunity to discuss potential risk mitigation solutions and their transferability with practitioners from five European countries. Examples have been selected from cooperative initiatives in the mining and beverage industries, as well as between agricultural companies, water supplier and agrichemical industries. The successful combination of innovative instruments and tools within a careful designed cooperation process are important preconditions to support cooperative and long-term transformative management practices to ensure a sustainable management of water resources.