{"id":3745,"date":"2022-08-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/news\/sadc-region-urged-to-step-up-action-against-water-energy-and-food-challenges\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:12:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:12:24","slug":"sadc-region-urged-to-step-up-action-against-water-energy-and-food-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/news\/sadc-region-urged-to-step-up-action-against-water-energy-and-food-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"SADC region urged to step up action against water, energy, and food challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Speaking during the <\/span>Water, Food, and Energy (WEF) Nexus Dialogue in <\/span>Gaborone, <\/span>Botswana <\/span>on Friday, 29 July, <\/span>Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs in <\/span>Botswana<\/span>, <\/span>Mr. <\/span>Nchidzi<\/span>Mmolawa<\/span>said <\/span>while the Southern African region is the most dynamic and economically attractive region <\/span>of the continent, challenges such as water scarcity, limited energy <\/span>resources, and <\/span>poor food production continue to derail<\/span> the <\/span>economic development of the <\/span>region<\/span>.<\/span>Mr. <\/span>Nchidzi <\/span>Mmolawa <\/span>said: \u201cI<\/span>t was <\/span>imperative to step up actions <\/span>to counter these challenges.\u201d<\/span> <\/p>\n

\"Deputy<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Botswana <\/span>Deputy Permanent Secretary<\/span> for Water officially opened the meeting<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Among the achievements of SADC nations which have caught the attention of the wider world <\/span>are<\/span> rapid economic growth, a vigorously expanding population, and advanced technological development, set alongside the unique and appealing nature and culture of our region.\u202fOn the other hand, it could <\/span>be said<\/span> that these seemingly positive factors have posed problems, in rendering SADC people vulnerable to sudden and sometimes drastic environmental and political changes.<\/span><\/span> <\/span>  <\/p>\n

Mr. <\/span>Nchidzi <\/span>Mmolawa<\/span> <\/span> said anyone browsing articles about SADC countries will come across often-repeated topics such as water scarcity and limited energy resources, including land degradation, poor soils for food production, deforestation, and effects of Climate Change<\/span>.\u202f\u202f<\/span>These issues present challenges to Governments in the SADC <\/span>region, who<\/span> must try to relieve, or prevent, the frictions and tensions generated by failure to adapt to effects of climate change.<\/span> <\/span><\/span> <\/span>  <\/p>\n

Senior Programme Officer of the SADC <\/span>Energy Division<\/span>, <\/span>Mr. Moses Ntlamelle <\/span>said <\/span>integrated planning of water, food, and energy sectors and promoting regional cooperation have been considered by SADC as strategies to meet targets in the three sectors <\/span>t<\/span>o improve natural resource use efficiencies in the region<\/span>.\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. <\/span>Ntlamelle said, <\/span>\u201c<\/span>The SADC Secretariat recognizes the <\/span>important role<\/span> of the nexus approach in accelerating and implementing sustainable investments at the national and regional level. This approach allows not only the identification of possible trade-offs, but also synergies, whereby an investment in one sector benefits the others. <\/span>Under the second phase of this project, we are having these WEF Nexus national dialogues aimed at identifying national WEF nexus priorities and showcasing the benefits of how improved sectoral coordination can accelerate national investment opportunities.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ntate<\/span><\/p>\n

 Senior Programme Officer of the SADC Energy Division, Mr. Moses Ntlamelle<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Apart from identifying WEF Nexus national priorities<\/span>, <\/span>stakeh<\/span>olders in the three sectors are expected to <\/span>establis<\/span>h<\/span> a technical working group t<\/span>o <\/span>facilitate continuous<\/span> WEF<\/span> engagements in Botswana<\/span>.\u202f\u202f<\/span><\/span> <\/span> <\/p>\n

During the meeting, <\/span>SADC <\/span>committed <\/span>to <\/span>continue to <\/span>work<\/span> with <\/span>other partners<\/span> and member states to ensure that efforts are made to mobilise resources for implementing the projects identified from <\/span>the dialogue<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

With<\/span> funding from the European Union, the SADC Secretariat is leading a multi-sector and stakeholder driven process in adopting the WEF Nexus approach in Southern Africa, through the <\/span><\/span>SADC WEF Nexus Regional Dialogues Project<\/span><\/span><\/a>. The <\/span>project<\/span> is <\/span>being <\/span>implemented<\/span> by <\/span>the <\/span>Global<\/span> Water Partnership Southern Africa<\/span>(GWPSA<\/span>)<\/span> on<\/span> behalf of the <\/span>SADC<\/span> Secretariat<\/span>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Mr. Jos\u00e9 Becerra, Deputy Head of Cooperation <\/span>EU<\/span> in SADC, <\/span>commended<\/span> the government of  Botswana<\/span> on <\/span>its utilisation <\/span>of solar energy <\/span>to augment the  40%  of its <\/span>energy<\/span> imported fr<\/span>o<\/span>m South <\/span>Africa.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

“Solar power is the <\/span>cleanest <\/span>source<\/span> of <\/span>energy<\/span> and <\/span>is <\/span>abundant in Botswana. <\/span>The <\/span>country <\/span>has the <\/span>potential<\/span> to <\/span>become<\/span> the continent\u2019<\/span>s <\/span>sol<\/span>ar powerhouse <\/span>exporting <\/span>solar energy to the region<\/span>,\u201d<\/span> he said.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

He added that solar energy is set to become a major driver of the country\u2019s economy, alongside tourism and diamond mining.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"Mr.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Mr. Jos\u00e9 Becerra, giving remarks on behalf of the EU<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Making a presentation on the SADC Nexus Regional Dialogue<\/span>Phase II and linkages to investment opportunities, GWPSA SDG Water Investments Specialist Mrs. Shamiso Kumbirai-<\/span>Mlilwana<\/span>, said, <\/span>\u201cThe g<\/span>oal<\/span> is to l<\/span>everage $50-60 million in investments to strengthen the application of the WEF\u202fNexus approach within the SADC region<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Through the SADC WEF Nexus National Dialogues\u200b, countries are identifying priority national WEF Nexus investment opportunities\u202frequiring support to accelerate \u202finvestments and establishing national WEF Nexus technical working groups to\u202fsupport integration of nexus into select prioritized\u202f opportunities.<\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

She said GWPSA <\/span>will provide technical support for <\/span>project preparation<\/span> or <\/span>investment proposal development\u200b<\/span> for <\/span>p<\/span>rioritised\u202fprojects<\/span>. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The WEF Nexus <\/span>National Dialogues are being held <\/span>across <\/span>SADC countries. <\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Government of Botswana has commended the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for championing an integrated approach to dealing with challenges in water, food, and energy, which is proving efficient and effective.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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Government of Botswana has commended the Southern African Development Community (SADC) for championing an integrated approach to dealing with challenges in water, food, and energy, which is proving efficient and 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