Deputy Minister David Mahlobo will participate in the sixth edition of Cairo Water Week (CWW2023) from 29th October to 2nd November 20203 in Cairo, Egypt. The conference is organised by the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and will be attended by ministers, water experts, stakeholders and academics from around the world.
Under the theme of "Action on Water Adaptation for Sustainability", the focus will be on fostering cross-sectoral cooperation and present innovative solutions for the sustainable management of water resources.
Over the past five years, Cairo Water Week has evolved into a prominent global platform for addressing pressing water-related challenges. Through its diverse workshops, seminars, and knowledge exchanges, it has played a pivotal role in shaping innovative solutions and collaborative strategies to tackle issues such as water scarcity, climate change, and ecosystem resilience.
Deputy Minister Mahlobo will engage in constructive discussions on vital issues, policies, strategies, plans, and measures related to water adaptation to ensure sustainability for the Arab, Mediterranean, African, and worldwide regions.
Among the issues to be discussed is technologies of reclamation and desalination of water in the African region, which can increase freshwater supplies to areas that are experiencing decreased water supply and water quality.
The current installed desalination inventory in South Africa is very modest in comparison to other parts of the world like the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Australia and the United States of America.
There are about 33 plants that have been built over several years, with a combined capacity of not exceeding a total of 200 Ml/d to treat various types of waste water, including seawater and mine water for mostly domestic consumption. The plant capacities range from 1 kl/d to 47 Ml/d, but the vast majority are smaller than 10 Ml/d and were implemented as emergency drought response projects.
Such plants are generally not deemed viable for continued operation when the drought breaks and conditions returned to normal. For comparison some of the new schemes coming up in MENA region are in the order of 600 Ml/day.
Deputy Minister Mahlobo said South Africa need to increase on the projects for reuse, reclamation, and desalination of sea water to strengthen its water resilience.
"This is in line with our National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, which highlights a need for the country to aspire to increase desalination capacity by 1,610 Ml/d (588 million m3/annum). Developing capacity to implement desalination is also reflected in the National Development Plan of 2012 as well as in the Department's National Water Resources Strategy of 2023 (NWRS-3). There should therefore be 10 to 15 separate projects in coastal areas given the spread of coastal settlements targeted," said Deputy Minister Mahlobo.
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South Africa acknowledges that climate change is an urgent threat to human societies and to the environment and requires an effective, progressive, and well-coordinated response.
Deputy Minister Mahlobo will therefore outline South Africa's several initiatives including policy, legal/regulatory and strategies on climate change.
"Our country is further strengthening the outlook to consider the impacts of climate change on the water sector as well as to mitigate secondary impacts on other water dependent sectors such as agriculture, health, mining, and energy. We hope that our participation in this high-level event will add to Africa's messages to the international water community regarding the implementation of water and climate change related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," said Deputy Minister Mahlobo.
