RECOMMENDATIONS Optimize energy and water consumption: • Incentivise the use of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies for lighting and water heating by among other things zero-rating duty on imported technologies. • Put in place a Regional policy that each new building development should incorporate rain water harvesting facilities. The usage of rain water for both domestic and industrial purposes will drastically reduce water and energy consumption during the rainfall months. • Rehabilitate and maintain water and energy infrastructure: • Charge cost reflective tariffs to raise sufficient financial resources to facilitate repairs and reduce non-revenue losses such as leakages. • This ensures the “sweating of assets” that also ensures that all existing infrastructure operates, as a minimum, at 80 per cent efficiency levels. • Adequate maintenance of existing infrastructure prolongs the life of the infrastructure ensuring the “sweating of assets”. • Reuse and recycle water: • Alternative water sources, including wastewater, storm water and rainwater, represent invaluable resources for addressing society’s growing appetite for water. There is therefore need to harvest these sources for reuse and/or recycling. This will delay introduction of new infrastructure. • Commercialise and implement existing designs for household and industry reuse of wastewater, storm water and rainwater. • Develop new energy and water sector infrastructure • There should be a paradigm shift from reliance on rain-fed agriculture to irrigated agriculture as the mode for growing crops, even at subsistence level. Irrigation systems should be supplemented by rainfall and not the other way round. This will entail a large investment in the development of water, energy and irrigation infrastructure. • Put in place a regional policy that each new building development should incorporate energy use efficiency technologies and materials. • As demand for energy and water services increases due to population growth, national economic growth, improved living standards of the SADC citizens, etc. new climate resilient infrastructure should be developed in line with planned growth patterns. • SAPP should take advantage of the 2 hour time difference between western SADC and eastern SADC areas to phase peaking power requirements. This will result in less load shedding events and better use of generation plant. In this regard there is need to accelerate projects that connect Angola and Tanzania which are key players in the time difference as well as undertaking a Study on implementation modalities of use of the 2 hour time difference. • SAPP and national utilities should pursue vigorously time of use tariffs for industries to encourage night operations. This is similar to the airline industry which usually utilises night time for long haul intercontinental flights when the flight conditions result in less fuel consumption. • Promote renewable mini-grid systems (solar and hydro) to power isolated populations and economic activities as opposed to long-distance grid extensions were possible. • Establish national and regional extreme event funds to cater for droughts, floods, disease epidemics, traffic accidents etc. This will prepare SADC Member States to address such events timeously and effectively without having to depend on international assistance. WILDLIFE AND TOURISM The impacts of drought on wildlife include the following: • Loss of wildlife, including increased stress on endangered species or even extinction • • Increase in diseases in both wild animals and livestock because of reduced food and water Destruction and loss of suitable terrestrial and aquatic habitats 23