Wetskills-Lesotho 2023

Case 1: Balance between NRM measures and livelihoods

Case owner: ReNOKA (Integrated Catchment Management Program for Lesotho)

The Government of Lesotho, with support from the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, has embarked on an ambitious “National Programme for Integrated Catchment Management (ReNOKA). Its aim is to rehabilitate degraded watersheds across the country and to put in place prevention measures that will halt the further degradation of Lesotho’s catchment areas. How can this program facilitate socio-economic development and adaptation to climate change in Lesotho, taking into consideration gender equality?

Case 2: Promoting water use efficiency

Case owner: Water Research Commission

Water use efficiency is one of the pillars of the sustainable development goals. This concept promotes the use of various sources of water to ensure demand. The sustainable implementation of water reuse and recycling can be used as a strategy to curb freshwater abstractions, promote replenishment of groundwater (managed aquifer recharge), and promote a more efficient use and management of water resources. How can SADC countries create a roadmap that facilitates the sustainable implementation of water reuse projects for potable and non-potable purposes, in collaboration with local authorities, water utilities, and as means of promoting sustainable water use efficiency and water behaviours?

Case 3: Integrated framework for trans-boundary water cooperation

Case owner: Rand Water

By the early 1970s, Rand Water’s primary source of water, the Vaal River, had reached available abstraction capacity. Water supply problems in the Gauteng area were becoming increasingly serious. One of the interventions was a transboundary solution to create the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) to transfer water from the Tugela River to that of the Vaal. The current transboundary water cooperation between Lesotho and South Africa faces numerous challenges. How can the key factors that influence the effectiveness of this cooperation be integrated in a framework, to promote sustainable water management, supply and equitable sharing of water resources?

Case 4: Sustainable solid waste system and dumping site

Case owner: ReNOKA programme (Ministry of Water Affairs Lesotho)

The National Programme for Integrated Catchment Management (ReNOKA) aims to rehabilitate degraded watersheds across the country and to put in place prevention measures that will halt the further degradation of Lesotho’s catchment areas. Questions for this case: How can we effectively prevent leachate seepage from the solid waste dumping site into the dam? How can the waste management infrastructure be improved to be more sustainable? Considering the urgent need for a solution, how can the proposed system be implemented quickly and effectively with reasonable costs?

Case 5: Water Footprint Compensation and the soil erosion blankets

Case owner: Water Footprint Implementation

In March 2023, Water Footprint Implementation (WFI) successfully launched Water Footprint Compensation during the United Nations Water Conference in New York. In this first phase, WFI laid the methodological foundation for a first of-its-kind water offset scheme based on the principle of “a litre for a litre”. Its ultimate goal is to accelerate the transition to a water secure world by providing businesses with the enabling knowledge and a robust platform to offset their water consumption. How could the soil erosion blankets project in Lesotho benefit from the Water Footprint Compensation concept? and their industries in Lesotho to sustain and increase the soil erosion blankets?

WetsNext Case 2018: Transboundary basin management – the challenge of creating a win-win situation

Case owner: Department of Water Affairs Lesotho

Water is one of the most important natural resources of Lesotho. The unique geographic location positions Lesotho as the ‘Water Tower’ of Southern Africa. Its wetlands sustain the perennial water flow of a.o the Senqu-Orange river system, shared by three other riparian states: South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Unfortunately, the water system in Lesotho is threatened by degradation and climate change, and so are its downstream communities, who are for their economic activities and water availability very much depending on quality water coming from Lesotho. How can downstream riparians influence the situation in the upstream watershed, of which they are extremely dependent?

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