World Water Day 1995
Women and Water
Celebration of World Day for Water in Lesotho
Presented by the Department of Water Affairs
For the first time Lesotho celebrated the "World Day For Water", on March 22, 1995. The international theme for the day was 'Women and Water'.
The Department of Water Affairs organized two main activities for the celebration of the Day: on water pollution and on environmental degradation.
Educational Tour
The first activity was an educational tour on 21st of March to the highlands of Lesotho for post-primary students and their science teachers from 17 schools in the Maseru urban and pen-urban area. Two students (a boy and a girl wherever possible) were taken from each of the 17 schools. The target group of this action were the students, who were to be taught about the importance of wetland ecosystems and the need for their protection for future water resources sustenance. The aim was to furnish these select group of students with the information which they can later disseminate among their school mates, thus creating awareness at this very important level of society.
Workshop
The activity on 22nd of March was devoted to a one day mini-workshop which was organised for major stake holders in the water sector i.e all government departments, parastatals, and non-governmental organisations with interest in water pollution and environmental degradation.
The workshop was opened officially by the Principal Secretary (P.S) of the Ministry of Natural Resources. It started with the P.S's opening speech in which he outlined the day's theme and gave a highlight on the movement's policy with reference to water. This was followed by an introductory lecture presented by the Water Pollution Control officer from the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) who pointed out some problems of water pollution in Lesotho including their tentative remedial measures. After these two presentations, the participants were taken on a guided tour, to inspect various areas within Maseru city, which showed examples of water pollution. Some of the places visited during the excursion included a visit to Thetsane industrial estate to see how waste-water is handled and finally disposed off. A solid waste disposal site at Ha Tsosane and a leaking sewage treatment pond near Lepereng Hospital were also visited by the group.
The main objective of the exercise was to create awareness among those present, about water pollution problems in Maseru urban setting and the rest of the country, with the hope of fostering coordination among all stake-holders in tackling the problems.
The tour was aimed at creating awareness on the environmental degradation of the Afro-Alpine wetlands ecosystems. These wetlands, commonly referred to as "sponges", are the sources of the major rivers of Lesotho, and brace their sustainable utilisation and management is of vital importance to the water resources of the country.
A Student Participant's Views on a Trip on World Day for Water to Motete River in Lesotho
by Richard Motlomelo - Maseru Day High School
I was invited to be one of the students to take part in an educational tour to Motete river, in the highlands of Lesotho. The trip was organized by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. It was an educational trip in connection with the celebration of the World Day for Water on 22 March 1995.
On the way we stopped at Tabola and we were shown a dyke, which is a volcanic feature and an important source of groundwater in Lesotho. It is impermeable, that is, it does not allow water to pass through it. Instead the water is kept in the cracks. So if you wanted groundwater, you bore 3 metres from the dyke. Sometimes it is not easy to see the dyke itself but you would recognise it by the red soil, which is an indication of volcanic eruption.
It was a river which has alluvial deposits. These deposits absorb a lot of water on rainy days. During dry season water comes out from underground as a base flow. That means water flows from under the deposits to the surface of the river. Such rivers have flowing water even when drought occurs. So when we want groundwater we just have to bore a few metres away from such a river.
Again we stopped at Muela, where there is a hydro-electric plant. In this place the water from the highlands was being used to generate electricity. After generating the electricity the water falls into a pond with tunnels, ready to be conveyed to South Africa to the Vaal Dam.
Our trip continued to Tsehlanyane station and were given explanations about the instruments at the station. From there we moved onto the sources of Motete river commonly known as the Motete "sponges". At Motete the structure of the soil and vegetation was such that a lot of rain water gets retained and is not easy released. In the past these sponges represented a very beautiful scenery, but since it has been overgrazed, it has lost its original splendour and its natural water retention capacity. Water is a very valuable resource which gives us life, so we should not spoil its sources, like those sources of Motete river which have been overgrazed.
Conclusions
The whole exercise on both days could be said to have been a good success both in meeting the targets that were set forth and the publicty it was expected to convey. For those who went on the educational tour it left a strong impression that this kind of activity should not be confined only to the celebration of World Day for Water but should be a continuous exercise that needs to be organized as often as possible. The celebration on the second day was also successful as the occasion led to subsequent formation of a Coordination Committee on Water Pollution Control with membership drawn from all sectors of society; that is: all the relevant government departments, parastatals, and non-governmental organisations. Finally one would deem it safe to say that the celebration in Lesotho of the World Day for Water in 1995 was useful as a first step forward in promoting public awareness.