First wastewater-to-energy plant in Mali

The Blue Deal partnership in Mali facilitated a pre-feasibility study at a wastewater treatment plant. The goal of the study is to see if an existing wastewater treatment plant could be developed into the first energy-producing wastewater treatment plant in Mali.

Two men viewing a wastewater treatment plant in Mali
Visit to a wastewater treatment plant in Mali

The energy-producing wastewater treatment plant would be the first project of its kind in Mali. The project is being carried out with support from the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development and SNV.

More on the Blue Deal partnership in Mali

OECD investigates water governance in Peru

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a report on water governance in Peru. Although Peru is making progress in water management, there are still issues with flooding, drought, pollution and access to clean water.

Waste water management installation in Peru
Waste water management installation in Peru.

The OECD report provides an analysis of water governance in the country and gives policy recommendations to strengthen the multisectoral approach to water in Peru. For example, it recommends improving the use of economic instruments to protect and sustainably use water resources, its sources and related ecosystem services. Another recommendation is to strengthen regulatory conditions to improved access to safe drinking water and sanitation in urban and rural areas.

View the OECD report

Lecture: solutions for complex water problems

The KIWI learning programme recently organised a lecture by professor Guy Alaerts about the unruly nature of international water management and solutions for complex water problems.

Water managers worldwide are looking for integrated solutions for complex water problems. Major investments are often required to become climate proof, but finding financing is difficult. Water managers and financial institutions do not know where to find each other and converting globally available financing into concrete projects on a large scale is difficult. Watch the lecture below. The lecture is in Dutch, but can be viewed with subtitles.

Integrating human rights into water management

In a recent workshop, the board of the Nakanbe water authority in Burkina Faso discussed how to integrate human rights into water management policies. Water management plans can be tested against human rights on the basis of a developed guide.

Group of people working in a project involving water plants in Burkina Faso

The guide identifies aspects such as gender equality, taking the poorest people into account and water allocation for the common good. The board of the Nakanbe water authority embraces the assessment framework in the guide and has decided that respect for human rights should be leading in its policies.

Community involvement in South Africa

More than 200 participants took part in the webinar on community involvement in South Africa on 21th April 2021. Various stakeholders in the field of water use, water resources and water resources met online to discuss water scarcity and community involvement in South Africa.

The webinar presentation by Ms. T. Sigwaza, who represented the national central South African government, highlighted how important she finds community involvement in issues related to water resource management. Water users, water sources and water supplies come together as interests in a context of water scarcity.

View the webinar on community involvement

Water challenges

The Umgeni River is strategically the most important in the KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa. The river system is faced with a myriad of challenges, including alien and invasive plants, riverside erosion, streamside cultivation, agricultural effluent releases, sewage and factory discharge, unlawful dumping, illegal sand mining and broad-spectrum pollution. Fortunately, several people and organizations are confronting these challenging issues.

Community project

The Duzi Umgeni Conservation Trust made a video about their work to shape community involvement with the Amanzi Ethu Nobuntu project. A group is working on cleaning up the riverbed, removing invasive plants from the river and carrying out small-scale repairs to the sewage systems.

Video of the Amanzi Ethu Nobuntu project in South Africa

Collaboration with gold sector Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, the gold sector is a large water user and polluter. To improve water management in the Burkina Faso gold sector, a collaboration has been set up by the Blue Deal partnership 'Faso Koom'.

People standing in a dry riverbed in Burkina Faso, Africa.

To work on water issues at the gold mines, a collaboration has been set up between Dutch Water Authorities, the Burkina Faso Ministry of Mines and several research institutions and NGOs.

Among other things, a guide has been developed on how to build water retention reservoirs at small-scale gold mines. The Blue Deal partnership is also starting a project with a research institution to clean an abandoned contaminated gold mine with reeds. Faso Koom is expected to realise both projects in 2022.