Ministry brainstorms on water saving technologies
A project team that took part in a workshop this week will have to find sustainable alternative sources of portable water for both human consumption and economic activities to address the acute water shortage being experienced in the country.
The Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) workshop on the Identification and Prioritization of technologies to address water scarcity and climate change impact workshop was organised by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism to develop and explore these alternatives. The Minister of Environment and Tourism, Hon. Pohamba Shifeta at the workshop said that the adverse impacts of climate change and the fact that it is one of the greatest challenges of our time represents a daunting threat to our planet, ecosystems, human societies, livelihoods and is capable of destroying the economy.
“It my hope that the Integrated Water Resources Management Plan will form an integral part of discussions in this workshop and that it will be further elaborated especially in terms of costing,” he said.
According to Shifeta it is his wish to submit the proposed list of technologies to be developed and submitted for funding by the Green climate Fund. The ministry in collaboration with the Climate Technology Centre Network and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, has developed a two year joint research and development project to prioritize, support and to strengthen the funding of technologies to address water scarcity problem in Namibia with a view to finding a long-term sustainable and comprehensive solution to water shortages in.
The workshop participants that comprise of the ministry’s employees, the Climate Technology Centre and Network, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research will follow policies and plans that guides the managements of water resources such as the Integrated Water Resources Management Plan which intents to enable the country to achieve a sustainable water resource management regime contributing that contributes to social equity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. This plan suggested a number of options to overcome the water scarcity problem such as Desalination of sea water, Re-use of water, Recycling of water used in industrial and mining processes, reclamation of water from waste water effluent, artificial recharge enhancement of aquifers and Water demand management initiatives.
