Berlin, 21 October 2019. In many parts of the world, getting drinking water from a tap cannot be taken for granted, and neither can the controlled disposal of wastewater. Population growth and rapid urbanisation are placing great demands on water supply and sanitation in many countries of the Global South. The situation is further exacerbated by climate change in the form of drought and torrential rain. Today, more than 30% of the world’s population have no access to safe drinking water, and more than 60% lack adequate sanitary facilities.

Municipal water supply and sanitation companies are therefore key actors for sustainable urban development. This is why the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is supporting projects between municipal utilities in Germany and countries of the Global South through the pilot project “Utility platform for strengthening partnerships of municipal utilities worldwide”.

On Monday, the German experts met the project partners from the utilities in Lviv (Ukraine), Lukanga (Zambia) and Miyahuna (Jordan) face to face for the first time.

A meeting with RADEEMA, the fourth partner utility, is planned.

There are four lead partners on the German side, and they are the main points of contact. In order to broaden the range of know-how, three of them are supported by co-lead partners: Gelsenwasser is backed up by Emschergenossenschaft, Dresdner Stadtentwässerung by Berliner Wasserbetriebe, Hamburg Wasser by hanseWasser Bremen, and Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesische Wasserverband is on its own.

Cooperation takes shape: key areas already identified

 

After the words of welcome by Felix Reifschneider, a brief introduction by the participating municipal utilities and a presentation of the framework and objectives of the utility platform by Heiko Heidemann (GIZ) and Silvia Boehmsdorff (Service Agency Communities in One World), the participants split up into working groups. Here, the experts presented their companies in greater detail. The strengths and weaknesses of the respective utilities were openly discussed and, based on this, key areas of work identified for the partnerships.

The German municipal enterprises have a base in their respective regions and can contribute business management skills and organisational know-how in addition to technical expertise. The opportunities for structured cooperation offered by the utility platform will enable mutual learning. The German utilities will thus benefit from the international exchange of experience and gain new perspectives beyond the area they cover.

Trust is best created on the ground

 

Following the workshop in Berlin, the international guests travelled on to their partners. The team from Lviv was invited to Stadtentwässerung Dresden. The experts from Miyahuna visited Hamburgwasser and Emschergenossenschaft, while the delegates from Lukanga made their way to Gelsenwasser and Emschergenossenschaft.

In the coming months, the German experts will visit the utilities in Ukraine, Zambia, Jordan and Morocco in order to map out the next steps for project implementation on site.