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Institutional Affiliation: Zimbabwe National Water Authority
Region/Locale: Africa
References:
UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, SHARING INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCES, Volume 11
http://tcdc.undp.org/sie/experiences/vol11/content11new.asp
Published in partnership with:
Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO)
The Academy of Sciences for The Developing World (TWAS)
Website: http://tcdc.undp.org/sie/experiences/vol11/Chpt_21.pdf
Description:
The majority of people living in rural areas of Zimbabwe obtain their drinking water from rivers. Although chemical and microbiological water quality monitoring programmes are well established in Zimbabwe, the quality of the nationÂ’s rivers has been progressively deteriorating, partly because of various constraints on the monitoring programmes. Biological monitoring, which involves an assessment of the macroscopic life in the rivers, provides an alternative means of evaluating the quality of riverine environments and would complement chemical monitoring in an effective, countrywide water quality management system.
The main objective of the project, therefore, was to undertake research to establish reference sites suitable for the long-term biomonitoring of water quality in Zimbabwean rivers. To achieve this, a methodology developed and applied in South Africa was adopted. This involved a desktop study aimed at establishing a spatial framework of the river systems in Zimbabwe. A pilot site, the Manyame catchment area in the north of the country, was subsequently chosen to assess whether the system developed in South Africa could be replicated in Zimbabwe. If so, the results of the pilot project would help to guide the implementation of a biomonitoring programme in Zimbabwe and ultimately throughout southern Africa.
Contact Information:
Zvikomborero Manyangadze
Ministry of Water Resources and Infrastructural Development
P. Bag 7767, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel.: (+263) 4 702015 / 700596, ext. 219
Direct line: (+263) 4 793914
Fax: (+263) 4 722733
E-mail: hydro@mweb.co.zw
This Solution is classified within these Core Themes:
Environment
National
Africa
Indicators and monitoring
Regional (Subnational)
Health
Water and Sanitation
Using large data sets
This Solution is directly associated with the following:
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PUBLICATIONS
Selections from Sharing Innovative Experiences (2005)
UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), The Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO), The Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
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