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**** **** **** **** **** TUNIS, Tunisia,** September 25, 2012/ *– *The
African Development Bank (http://www.afdb.org) approved on August 29, an
African Water Facility (AWF) grant of €950,000 to support a project to help
the Government of Zambia develop, test and adopt updated guidelines, which
will be used as framework for programming as well as designing the
financing, construction and operations of multi-purpose small dams. The
dams are expected to directly improve the lives and livelihoods of an
estimated 90,000 people, and indirectly benefit about a million people
living in rural areas, thus enhancing water security in more vulnerable
parts of the country. ****
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Specifically, the AWF funding will be used to modernize and update the
guidelines that govern and promote investments in multi-purpose small dams,
with the aim to give greater relevance to the selection of potential dams
using criteria based on community interest and environmental protection, as
well as to build confidence of potential development partners. This project
should ultimately result in attracting the massive investments required to
proceed. ****
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The urgent need for building additional small-purpose dams in the country
comes as increasing hydro-climatic variability due to climate change has
intensified water stress, particularly in the drought-prone areas of the
Eastern, Central and Southern provinces.****
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The small dams would help sustain the lives and livelihoods of local
communities through multiple uses, by securing access to water: ****
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– for domestic use;****
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– for agriculture, with the aim of increasing the agriculture
yields of smallholder farming; ****
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– for fish farming; ****
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– for livestock; and ****
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– for various water-dependent activities such as mini hydropower
systems, brick-making, tree growing, and food processing . ****
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The small dams will also be beneficial instruments for climate change
adaptation by attenuating the impact of flooding.****
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“The AWF is fully committed to supporting projects such as this one that
propose water solutions poised to build resilience to climate change,
increase food security and support socio-economic development,” said Dr.
Akissa Bahri, Coordinator of the African Water Facility. “Heavily hit by
climate change, Zambia will greatly benefit from improving its water
storage capacity as a way to adapt to increasingly unpredictable rainfalls
– one of the main sources of water for people living in the regions
targeted by this project.” ****
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In addition to the delivery and testing of the guidelines, another
important attribute of the project is its contribution to design planning
and mobilisation of funds to serve as a springboard to scale up water
development program, such as the national Integrated Water Resources
Management and Water Efficiency Implementation Plan (2007-30). ****
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The project will be implemented over a period of 36 months from the date of
grant signature. The Zambia Ministry of Lands, Energy and Water Development
and the Department of Water Affairs will be the Executing Agency. ****
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*Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of the African
Development Bank.*
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*Contacts:*
Katia Theriault, T. +216 71 10 12 79, M. +216 24 67 18 83,
k.theriault@afdb.org ****
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*About the African Water Facility (AWF) *
The AWF is an initiative of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW)
hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), established in 2004 as a
Special Water Fund to help African countries achieve the objectives of the
Africa Water Vision 2025. The AWF offers grants from €50,000 to €5 million
to support projects aligned with its mission and strategy to a wide range
of institutions and organizations operating in Africa. Its three strategic
priority activities are: (1) preparing investment projects to mobilise
investment funds for projects supported by AWF; (2) enhancing water
governance to create an environment conducive for effective and sustainable
investments; (3) promoting water knowledge for the preparation of viable
projects and informed governance leading to effective and sustainable
investments. Since 2006, AWF has funded 73 national and regional projects
in 50 countries, including in Africa’s most vulnerable states. It has
mobilised more than €420 million as a result of its project preparation
activities, which constitute 70 per cent of its portfolio. On average, each
€1 contributed by the AWF has attracted €20 in additional follow-up
investment. The AWF is entirely funded by Algeria, Australia, Austria, the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Burkina Faso, Canada, Denmark, the
European Commission, France, Norway, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, the United
Kingdom and the African Development Bank. For more information,
http://www.africanwaterfacility.org ****
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*SOURCE *
African Development Bank (AfDB)****
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