Volume (1) I: Draft Report on Human Capacity Development priorities in the Water Sector in Africa

As one of the activities under the ACE-Water project, the Water and Marine Resources Unit of the Institute on Sustainable Resources commissioned a review of available information to prepare a report on the Human Capacity Development (HCD) priorities in the Water Sector in Africa. The requirement was to analyse both the information gathered by the European Commission Joint Research Centre; and information from strategic documents of the project partner institutions and organisations. The demand for human capacity development in the water sector is defined by the role water plays in Africa’s ambitions for socio-economic development as espoused by the African Union Agenda 2063. A key priority area of Agenda 2063 is water security. The report, therefore, employs the UN definition of water security, which is developing the capacity “… to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability” (UN Water, 2013). By this approach, the continental aspirations for growth and transformation are juxtaposed with the influence of water access and use on overall economic output. In this perspective, capacity constraints in the water sector are understood to pose grave implications for the realisation of Africa’s development agenda. Due cognisance is also given to the strategic directions of the education and training sector to develop the requisite human capital to sustain the vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa. And it being that improvement of water wisdom is one of the facets of that undertaking, the ongoing strategic reforms in the education and training sector provide the framework within which the water sector HCD priorities are identified. The review, thus, focused on the following documents: i) the African Union agenda 2063: “the Africa we want”; ii) the Africa water vision 2025 and framework for action; iii) the AfDB human capital strategy for Africa; iv) the continental education strategy for Africa; v) the Science, technology and innovation strategy for Africa; vi) the African space policy and strategy; vii) the agreement on the African resources management satellite constellation; viii)the continental strategy for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET); ix) the AMCOW strategy 2018 – 2030; x) the AMCOW policies and strategies on mainstreaming the youth and gender in the water and sanitation sector in Africa; xi) various decisions and declarations of the policy organs of the African Union and the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW); and, xii) relevant human capacity development instruments currently under implementation by the East African Community; the Economic Community of West African States; the Intergovernmental Authority on Development; the Southern African Development Community and the Union du Maghreb Arabe. Four broad categories of priorities are deduced from the derivational linkages between the African Union clarion call for a revolution to a knowledge-based and productive society; and the vitality of a vibrant water sector to the advent of sustainable development in Africa. And as such, the water sector HCD priorities are identified within the framework of the strategic reforms in the education and training sector as follows: Page | iv i) Building critical skills – particularly as relates to sustainable development, utilisation and management of water and related resources – to enhance economic growth and social transformation. The strategy is to utilise approaches encouraging technological empowerment, eeducation and adaptive learning. To this end, the centres of excellence in water sciences and technology (CoEs) have to be strengthened into a fully functional, Africa-wide knowledge and excellence network. In turn, the network will play a significant role in fostering opportunities for development and water knowledge sharing across all AU Member States. ii) Fostering transformation in the TVET sector to integrate flexibility, adaptability and continuous learning in education and training supply. For the water and sanitation sector, it is imperative to: a) develop and institute officially recognised vocations for the water and wastewater sectors; and, b) raise the level of prestige and attractiveness of sanitation related occupations. iii) Supporting space science and astronomy research, teaching and outreach. There are numerous underdeveloped opportunities for the application of space science and technology to effectively manage resources such as water, land, forests, and marine ecosystems. The use of space technology is also of vital importance in generating sorely needed information to support decision making for the sustainable utilisation of the resources. iv) Recognition of competences from non-formal and informal education and training. The overarching goal is twofold. First, enable tapping into existing technological preferences, cultural practices, local values and traditions of community learning to impart life skills. And, secondly, contribute to mainstreaming indigenous water and pollution management knowledge into lifelong learning systems. Specific scientific, technical and institutional priorities are defined under each of the above mentioned broad themed categories. The specific priorities provide entry points for implementing the AMCOW human capacity development programme to address junior professional and technician level capacity challenges in Africa. Outside the AU-NEPAD African network of centres of excellence in water sciences and technology (CoEs), the key identified institutional partners include: the pan-African University; the African Scientific, Research and Innovation Council (ASRIC); the African Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation (AOSTI); the Africa Regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education (ARCSSTE); the African Association of Remote Sensing and Environment (AARSE); African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development (ACMAD); the African Regional Institute for Geospatial Science and Technology (AfRIGST); the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA); the pan-African Institute of Education for Development (IPED); the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE); the Global e-Schools and Communities Initiatives (GeSCI); the International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education (INRULED); the Africa Network Campaign on Education for All (ANCEFA); and the Pan African Association for Literacy and Adult Education (PAALAE ). An implementation, monitoring and evaluation framework is also defined. It delineates roles and responsibilities for the policy organs of the African Union and AMCOW; the AMCOW Secretariat; the Commissions of the African Union and the European Union; the EC Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC) and UNESCO-IHP; the regional networks of the centres of excellence; and the individual centres of excellence. These span leveraging of political and financial commitment; resources mobilisation; coordination of funding and implementing partners; periodic planning and reporting; and project management oversight and accountability for resources and results.