18 December 2012: As part of its Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Country Programme, and building on the recommendations of its Post Conflict Environmental Assessment (PCEA) of the country, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a water scheme aimed at protecting the Lukaya river basin, which is a major source of drinking water for the capital, Kinshasa.

The PCEA, released in November 2012, identified 13 environmental degradation “hot spots” near or in urban areas of the DRC, recognizing the pressures on the environment from rapid population growth and unplanned urban expansion. In response, UNEP, in partnership with other institutions including the DRC’s Ministry of the Environment and state-owned public water company REGIDESO, developed a pilot project to implement Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), aimed at improving planning and priority-setting to address the multiple demands on water resources. To fund the project, UNEP estimates that investment must increase to approximately US$10 million over the next five years. [UNEP Press Release]