Naivasha, 30 November 2015 – Experts from China and Kenya have exchanged experience and knowledge on water treatment in Kenya today, during the Workshop on Drinking Water Treatment Technology and Water Plant Management in Kenya held by Tongji University and Nairobi Water & Sewage Company.

With the existing climate change scenario, almost half of the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress by 2030, including between 75 million to 250 million people in Africa. And sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number of water-stressed countries of any region. As Africa is experiencing rapid population growth and economic development, the ability of ensure drinking water safety and the capacity of climate adaptation will be the key constraint factor.

Adopted in September 2015, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has water and sanitation as its core, with a dedicated Goal 6 that aims to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all, by 2030. And the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference which is inaugurated today in Paris, the world leaders are expected to join their hands to tackle the climate change challenge that will significantly help achieving the SDGs.

Recognizing the importance of water issue in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and supported by UNEP, UN-Habitat, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, Collaborative Innovation Center for Clean Water, Tongji University and Nairobi City Water & Sewage Company have combined their technical capacity and professional networks in organizing a Workshop on Drinking Water Treatment Technology and Water Plant Management, focusing mostly on 1) theory and technology of drinking water treatment, 2) quality control, 3) operation and management of water plant. This workshop is based on the outcomes of the long-term cooperation between the two parties, and aims to promote the promising solutions to other water companies in Kenya, as an approach of South-South Cooperation.

Around 20 participants from water companies and water plants all over Kenya, including technicians and managers have participated in the five-day workshop, sharing their frontier experiences.

The cooperation between China and Kenya regarding water issues can be dated back to 2008, when the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and UNEP signed an MOU on environment cooperation in Africa. By 2014, through two phases of the UNEP-China-Africa Cooperation on Environment, 16 African countries and 17 Chinese institutes have worked on more than 11 projects regarding watershed management and rainwater harvesting, affordable drinking water treatment, sustainable dryland agriculture and combating desertification. In 2014, an MoU signed by Tongji University and Nairobi City Water & Sewage Company to build a collaborative lab on drinking water safety, and the two parties will enhance their cooperation on water treatment technology, water plant management, capacity building and other key issues.

This workshop is also a follow-up to the Workshop on Planning for Greener Cities in Africa that took place in Shanghai and Wuhan, China, in March and October 2015, under the UNEP/UN-Habitat Partnership on Greener Cities.