Ms Maria Salvetti, OECD

1. Water Security for sustainable development in Africa (2019-20)
Online
Repository of
Success Stories
Regional
Survey
on Water
Governance at
city level
Policy
Dialogues
at local,
national and
basin levels
Cross Cutting Activities,
including international events/conferences, capacity development,
webinars, MOOC, videos, infographics

2. Why does water security matter for African Cities?
POLLUTION
20% of urban population in Sub-
Saharan Africa using safely
managed sanitation facilities
DROUGHTS
2000-2009:
116 million people
affected by droughts in
Sub-Saharan Africa
FLOODS
2000-2009:
21 million people affected by
floods in Sub-Saharan Africa
UNIVERSAL
COVERAGE
62% of informal
settlements in Africa
urban areas
5% annual economic
growth rate in African
cities for the past
decade
Urban population in
Africa to represent
50% by 2030 and
60% in 2050
79 urban centres in Africa
are rated as “extreme risk”
in the Climate Change
Vulnerability Index
Potential for new
technologies to better
predict water risks and
disasters
Water
risks
Megatrends

3. Key policy questions
• What are the key water risks in African cities and how do they vary across and within
countries?
• How do/will urbanisation, climate change and demographic trends exacerbate water risks
now and in the future ?
• How do/will re/decentralisation, urban/rural development, and fiscal capacity affect the
capacity to deliver drinking water and sanitation?
• How can/do urban and rural policies drive or hinder water security and growth in African
cities (e.g. land use, spatial planning, agriculture, energy, environment etc.)
• What are the key governance gaps against the OECD Principles, and how to cluster cities
facing similar situations?
• How to foster good urban water governance in a context of informal settlements and
economy?
• How can Mayors champion water security in Africa, how do cities engage with their
hinterlands, and where are best practices?

4. Proposed building blocks of the Survey
Climate change (floods, storms, droughts, water stress, reduction, arable land
reduction…), Urbanisation growth (housing, spatial planning, urban/rural policies,
informal settlements…), Demographic change (migration, growth…), Economic
development (poverty, inequalities, food insecurity, informal economy…), Digitalisation
(smart water)
Too much water (floods, storms …), Too little water (droughts…), Too polluted water,
Coverage of WSS services (SDGs), Infrastructure (missing, obsolete…)
Key water
risks
Megatrends
for WSS &
WRM
Frameworks &
Institutions
Governance
gaps
Institutional mapping: who, what, how – Policy frameworks (dedicated water laws,
interministerial cooperation, river basin organisations etc.)
Fragmentation (siloes), scale (local, basin etc.), Funding (sources of revenues, etc.)
Information (knowledge, monitoring…), Integrity (corruption, cutting red tape),
Capacity (staff, skills…), stakeholder engagement etc.

5. Survey on Water governance in African cities: where and
when?
• Objective: 40 cities in partnership with
 Draft survey: February
 Survey period: March-April
 Webinar: May
 Preliminary findings: June 2020 @14th WGI meeting
 Final report: Oct-November 2020 @15th WGI meeting

6. Questions for discussion
• Do you agree with the survey building blocks or have
suggestions?
• Is the approach/scope/content specific enough for
Africa’s priorities and challenges?
• Is there a particular city you can help us engage with?

7. THANK YOU
maria.salvetti@oecd.org