African Unification Front
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AUF POLICY ON FRESH WATER USE IN AFRICA
AUF WATER USE & CONSERVATION POLICY
The AUF wants the centralization of fresh water management for the whole of the African Union. It is necessary to create a single organization to coordinate research, policy, and funding for fresh water conservation and consumption. This is necessary because all of the major fresh water sources service multiple communities and are generally poorly managed. Moreover, Most water sources lie across boundaries (eg., the Karoo aquifers cover some 50% of the region of Southern Africa), and require major capital outlays, and long-term political commitment for their administration.
The are approximately 75,000 dams in the African Union. Water supply systems include works for the collection, transmission, purification, storage and distribution of water for domestic needs, commercial establishments, industry (chiefly for cooling), wildlife, and irrigation; and for public needs such as fire fighting, waste processing facilities, street flushing, recreation and other municipal and community activities such as parks and pools.
There is need to address the interplay between climate variability, extreme events, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity and responses. Managers and policy makers must design a strategy to develop an integrated model for the African Union based on the complexities and interlinkages between the different disciplines.
The flooding in Somalia, Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique in the last two years was some of the worst that occurred in the world, and it underscored the need for an integrated model that emphasizes the river basin as a unit of management that encapsulates regional shared issues, such as the impact of land use and land cover change, the consequences of climate variability, the role of governance, and local community management.
ESTIMATED COSTS OF CAPACITY-BUILDING
The African Union must invest significant financial and human resources to maintain compliance with standards for portable use and for wastewater discharges. Since water management is essentially an environmental management business, it is difficult if not impossible to separate environmental costs from other costs. Most of Africa's Water investment must comply with these standards, refurbish water mains, and meet other obligations contained in the legislation regulating water resources management activities and institutions.
The total estimate of water management costs required for Africa amount to US $10 billion annually, for the duration of 20 years at least. The commitment of these amounts continent-wide will be a major boost towards the implementation of a riparian & interlacustrine alien plant clearance programme in the strategically important catchments zones.
These costs include, completion of land reclamation projects across Africa, as well as the review or completion of current projects such as the Toshka Canal, the Jongelei Canal, the Libyan Canal Project, Salinity Control on the Gambia, the Niger Delta oil pollution clean up, and the clean up of the Lake Victoria. Moreover, funds must be spent on lessening the population concentration on the banks of the Lake Victoria.
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The AUF is pursuing an integrated improvement of Africa's environmental performance. The AUF Water Use & Conservation Policy is a fundamental element of our mission. The AUF policy sets out strategies for water demand management and water resources management. In order to implement this Policy, AUF has set objectives to:
[1] Foster implementation of integrated catchment management in Africa.
[2] Promote environmental protection and social upliftment.
[3] Pursue enforcement of environmental standards and regulations.
[4] Promote the integrated regulation on environmental performance of all water concerns in Africa.
[5] Ensure openness and community involvement in environmental issues.
[6] Maintain active involvement in local water quality management, pollution prevention and environmental education.
[7] Improve AUF members awareness of the environmental policy.
[8] Promote creation of a Watershed & Environmental Management Act
[9] Conduct all economic convergence developments according to Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) principles.
[10]Undertake audits of environmental performance and compliance at operational sites.
INTER-GENERATIONAL ACCOUNTING
These policies will ensure African water is managed in environmentally and socially responsible ways, and in such a manner that we meet the needs of the present generations, while securing water resources for future generations.
The government of unity will implement water resources developments, associated with an active water conservation and land-use management programme, which will ensure a reliable supply of water to meet the increasing demand over the next decades.
AUF catchment management and pollution prevention initiatives call for sharing expertise for the public good and global environmental developments.
AUF INTEGRATED CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT POLICY
The AUF Integrated Catchment Management Policy aims to promote the sustainable use and protection of the water resources in Africa. The promulgation of the projects such as the ADB Integrated Water Resources Management Policy (IWRM) and the South African National Water Act, provide the legislative and institutional framework for future implementation of catchment management principles.
Africa is to be divided into 62 Water Management Areas which will be controlled by catchment management agencies and supported by statutory catchment management committees, and non-statutory advisory forums. These structures will ensure that all interested and affected parties participate in the decision-making regarding the quality and quantity of the water resource available to water users, and the sustainability of the environment.
The AUF will create an integrated African Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry to establish an advisory catchment management forums. These fora will identify issues that need to be addressed. Sub-committees will be established for significant sub-basins, and these committees will help create awareness of the water quality challenges in the areas that they are assigned.
The Ministry will advise industry on the handling of hazardous materials spills, promote environmental awareness, and assist with monitoring the spread of invasives (such as hyacinths). The ministry allocate supplementary funding, for the coordination and monitoring of the thousands of pollution investigations, emergency responses, water-related complaints from the public, and trade effluent sample collections.
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As well they will initiate legal proceedings and enforce legislation designed to help African industry in undertaking remedial works in containing and cleaning up industrial spills. Owing to expansion of the African tax base, the government of unity will be the best position to fund the clean-up costs of industry which has contaminated rivers with oil, sewage, and industrial waste.
In an attempt to comply with new environmental guidelines regarding the heavy metal content of sewage sludge, the government of unity will coordinate and tighten trade effluent by-laws’ metal limits.
A safe and affordable water supply alone does not necessarily lead to improved health. The possibility remains that without a community's awareness of health issues and the implementation of proper sanitation practices, the environmental health of a catchment area could decline. Improved communication between the health and water sectors through regular participation in meetings and Environmental Health Fora; investigation of health-related incidents including reports of cholera and dysentery that are perceived to be associated with water resources; and contribution towards reference material on water and sanitation material for environmental health officers.
WATER DEMAND and POPULATION GROWTH
The contribution of population growth in water demand projections is often obscured, since only the increase in domestic water demand is usually taken as an indication of the increase in water demand due to population growth. One way to study impact is to quantify direct (domestic) and indirect water requirements (e.g. for food production, energy etc.) to sustain an individual at a particular lifestyle level.
The average domestic water demand projected to the year 2015 accounts for only about 20% of the average full demand while the water demand for the production of food and consumer goods and for employment accounts for 80% of the full water demand to sustain an individual.
The full water demand of the 1995 increase in the South African population of about 1 million people, projected to the year 2015 when the newborns reach adulthood, is conservatively estimated at 638 Ml/d or about 23% of the current average daily water supply of Rand Water, indicating the tremendous pressure on water resources as a direct consequence of the high current levels of population growth.
In the past, conventional water resources strategies, such as the creation of storage, have been utilised to meet growing water demands. Reconciling demand and supply is an option that may help reduce the need for sometimes enviromentally risky construction of dams and reservoirs. It is recognised that resource capture through conventional surface or groundwater development (supply management) is not the only option available, but that the implementation of water conservation strategies can successfully achieve the same objective of reconciling demand and supply.
The optimal long-term solution is most often to be found in an Integrated Resource Management (IRM) approach which combines conventional supply management strategies with water conservation strategies. The task of AUF water resource planners is to foster a centralized approach to coordinate the best practices in water resource management so that benefits are shared all across the continent.
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INTERNATIONAL RIVER BASIN ORGANISATIONS
The International Network of Basin Organizations has the following objectives: to develop permanent relations with the organizations interested in a global river basin management, and facilitate exchanges of experiences and expertises among them, to promote the principles and means of sound water management in cooperation programmes to reach a sustainable development, to facilitate the implementation of tools for institutional and financial management, for programming, for the organization of data banks, of models adapted to the needs, to promote information and training programmes for local elected officials, for users' representatives and for the different actors involved in water management as well as for the executives and staff of the member basin organizations, to encourage education of the population, the young in particular, to evaluate ongoing actions and disseminate their results.
AFRICAN GIS CENTER
The government of unity will oversee the creation of an integrated GIS program and centre for Africa. The database will be accessible to the public free of charge, for use by government, industry, and private citizens. The African GIS centre will include the largest and most comprehensive compilation of data on Africa, for such information as environmental impact quantification and monitoring, classification of suitability of the rivers and dams according to their health risk based on contain enteric pathogens, heavy metals and organic pollutants.
It will be possible at a central location in single glance to determine the spread and concentration of micro-invertabrates (eg E.coli) in African wells and the likely course of the spread of infection. The African GIS centre will useful in creating guidelines for drinking, full contact recreation, fisheries, etc.
The GIS center will integrate infomation on drinking water treatment processes, waste management. The GIS will be useful for investigating the best practicable environmental options for disposal of waste, and for the production of plans for better management practices. The African GIS center will help develop sound and objective measurement systems that will determine which activities are a priority for action.
The GIS centre will also be instrumental in designing methods for measuring the continent-wide performance of the wastewater works, say in terms of the environmental soundness of sludge containment and disposal practices, public complaint-resolution procedures, soil erosion control, storm water control, disposal areas, access control, record-keeping and other areas of compliance.
GIS technology important for: the reviewing and updating our health, safety and environmental polices; Improving the measurement of environmental aspects and setting targets relating to environmental performance throughout the organisation; Continuing to engage Africans in matters of environmentally and socially sound management and ensuring that their expectations of transparency and openness play a mainstream role in Africa's growth strategy.
GIS would help in identifying and managing pollution. Common forms of pollutants in Africa include:
Microbiological and disinfection: total coliforms, E.coli, F. streptococci, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, coliphages, total chlorine, free chlorine
Inorganic: pH, conductivity, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, sulphate, chloride, fluoride, copper, lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, arsenic, selenium, nickel,barium, silver, antimony, cyanide, bromate
Organic: total trihalomethanes, chloroform, bromodichloroform, dibromochloroform, bromoform, phenols, atrazine Aesthetic, Corrisivity and scaling: turbidity, colour, iron, manganese, aluminium, sodium, zinc, total hardness, taste, appearance, odour.
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ALTERNATIVE SOURCES: DESALINATION OF OCEAN WATER
Desalination on a large scale for agricultural use is costly. Instead of looking to a bleek future where we have to reconstruct our wetlands, it would be more prudent to protect the natural wetlands that are still in a better state than those of other countries. Of the world's three largest lakes, Vitoria is the least contaminated, even while facing eceological collapse. The Great Lakes in north America no longer hold any of the diverse species of life that once thrived there. Although Victoria has lost over 50% due to extinction, we still have the capacity to prevent the extinction of the remaining lifeforms.
Thermal Desalting
The most common ways to desalt the seas involve some form of boiling or evaporation. In a simple still seawater can be boiled releasing steam which, when condensed, forms pure water. Many stills can be connected together making the process more efficient. To achieve this however each still, or effect, must be at different pressures. At sea level pure water boils at 100 degrees Celsius (212 deg F). In a vacuum it can boil at much lower temperatures. Multiple Effect Distillation (MED) makes use of this phenomenon.
What happens if water is heated to 100 degrees Celsius but held under pressure until it is released into a vacuum chamber? The answer is the water flashes into steam. The difference between flashing and boiling is;
Boiling is accompanied by a constant input of heat, just like when cooking on a stove. Flashing involves heating, holding under pressure, then introducing a vacuum to allow flashing. Connecting multiple stages at successively lower pressures in the principle behind Multi-Stage Flash desalination (MSF).
Other thermal processes include a variation of the simple still known as vapour compression (VC). This can be done using mechanical (MVC) or thermal (TVC) compressors. MVC uses centrifugal fans or blowers to compress and thereby heat steam making it suitable for driving a desalination process. TVC uses moderately pressured steam to drive a steam jet thermocompressor.
Membrane Separation
Semi permeable and ion specific membranes can also be used to desalt seawater. Membrane processes are based on separation rather than distillation (although membrane distillation has been performed).
Reverse osmosis membranes basically let water pass through them but reject the passage of salt ions. In reality a small percentage, say 1%, of sea salts passes through the membranes, or leaks around seals. For portable water this leakage is acceptable but for industrial purposes it may require further treatment.
The operational pressure of reverse osmosis systems is a function of the salinity of the feedwater. The salinity results in a colligative property known as Osmotic Pressure. The osmotic pressure of brackish waters is very much lower than that of seawaters or brines. Typical 500 PPM potable water has an osmotic pressure of 2 bar while normal seawater is closer to 25 bar.
Since this directly relates to working pressure and energy consumption reverse osmosis has an advantage over thermal processes (where the latent heat of evaporation is very constant irrespective of TDS {well for waters at least}).
Electro-dialysis reversal (EDR) makes use of ion specific membranes which are arrayed between anodes and cathodes to drive salt ions in controlled migrations to the electrodes. While not as widespread as RO it is still in common use. RO is by far the most widely used separation process and has tremendous energy advantages when 1% salt passage can be tolerated, when steam is not available, and when good quality seawater is available.
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