Case 1: Drought Preparedness and Resilience

Case owner: City of Bulawayo (Water and Sanitation Department)

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, faces recurring droughts, a crisis exacerbated by climate change. These droughts significantly threaten the city’s water security and economic stability. This case highlights the gravity of Bulawayo’s water challenges and the urgent need for a robust drought response strategy. The task at hand is to formulate a conceptual plan that integrates civic engagement, technical solutions, and exploration of alternative water sources. The ultimate goal is to enhance Bulawayo’s resilience against drought, ensuring sustainable development and long-term viability amid escalating climate uncertainties.

Case 2: Urban Food Resilience with Climate-Smart Systems

Case owner: Green Hut Trust (NGO in Bulawayo)

The Urban Futures project of NGO Green Hut, seeks to improve the climate resilience of urban food systems in Bulawayo. The unpredictable rainfall patterns and prolonged dry spells due to climate change has significantly affected agricultural activities in the city. The Urban Futures project works with young people to find innovative solutions, through climate-smart agri-food systems, wastewater reuse for irrigation and capacity building for youth farmers. In this challenge, we are seeking innovative, easy to adopt methods for wastewater reuse, that will help promote sustainable and safe food production in Bulawayo.

Pitch & poster – Winning team!

Pitch & poster

Case 3: Catchment Caretakers for Sustainable Water Supply

Case owner: City of Bulawayo (Water and Sanitation Department)

Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, is facing the challenge to enhance the resilience against drought, ensuring sustainable development and long-term viability in the face of escalating climate uncertainties, by developing on an upstream approach. This case presents an opportunity to protect the catchment area where the city’s dams are located and maximize inflows to the dams. Tasked with formulating a comprehensive catchment plan, participants are called upon to develop a plan that ensures sustainable management of the UMzingwane catchment, safeguarding water quality, quantity and ecosystem health while supporting socio-economic development and community well-being.

Case 4: Industry-Focused Water Use

Case owner: City of Bulawayo (Water and Sanitation Department)

Bulawayo primary surface water sources, including 5 dams, are unable to meet the escalating demand, exacerbated by frequent droughts. Despite efforts to bolster supply by tapping into the Mtshabezi dam and extracting groundwater from the Nyamandlovu Aquifer, the demand continues to outstrip supply. Future projections indicate a potential doubling of water demand in 20 to 40 years, underscoring the need to urgently explore alternative water sources such as water recycling for industry use. The challenge: a plan to tackle water scarcity and water usage, particularly for industries, to support the city to bolster water security, bridge the supply-demand gap, and foster sustainable development.

Pitch & poster

Pitch & poster