Successful water demand management (WDM) implementation as a component of integrated water resource management (IWRM)
can play a significant role in the alleviation of poverty through more efficient use of available water resources. The urban population in
Southern African cities is characterised by so-called water poor communities who typically expend a high percentage of their household
income on poor quality water. Usually they have no access to an affordable alternative source.
Although WDM as a component of IWRM is not a panacea for poverty, it can help alleviate poverty by facilitating water services
management by municipal water supply agencies (MWSAs) in the region. WDM is a key strategy for achieving the millennium development
goals (MDGs) and, as such, should be given due attention in the preparation of national IWRM and water efficiency plans.
Various studies in the Southern African region have indicated that capacity building is necessary for nations to develop IWRM and
water-use efficiency plans to meet the targets set out in the MDGs. WDM education and training of water professionals and end-users
is particularly important in developing countries, which are resource and information-access poor.
In response to these findings, The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and its consulting partners, the Training and Instructional Design
Academy of South Africa (TIDASA), and Centre for Applied Research (CAR) designed, developed and presented a pilot WDMGuideline
Training Module for MWSAs as part of Phase II of IUCNs Southern Africa regional WDM project. Pilot training was conducted in July
2004 in Lusaka, Zambia for a group of 36 participants involved in municipal water supply from nine Southern African countries.
This paper looks at the links between building the capacity of professionals, operational staff and other role-players in the municipal
water supply chain to implement WDM as part of broader IWRM strategies, and the subsequent potential for poverty relief resulting
from more effective, efficient and equitable use and allocation of municipal water supplies.