Journal of Global Ecology and Environment

The city of Bukavu, like most of the Sub-Saharan African cities, is characterised by poor water performance yet it is coming under increasing pressure in the face of climate change and rapid urbanization. Following the commitment of the Congolese government to prioritize tackling water challenges as a crucial part of the county’s way to development in 2011, initiatives have been taken at institutional, legislative, and financial levels both nationally and locally but there has been a lack of a clear strategy in coordinating the efforts made, leading to a status quo at some levels and an exacerbation of the situation in others caused by the resurgence of new crises. This paper describes an evaluation of the governance capacity of Bukavu to tackle the city’s most prominent water challenges (water scarcity, flood risk, wastewater treatment, solid waste treatment and urban heat island), focusing on opportunities and barriers in the governance of these challenges so as to provide insight into the areas where decision-makers and the general public should consider in the planning for a better water governance in the city. The City Blueprint Approach, a diagnostic tool consisting of the Trends and Pressures Framework, the City Blueprint Performance Framework and the Governance Capacity Framework was selected and applied to Bukavu using publicly available information. The analysis revealed that awareness of the challenges; through community knowledge and local sense of urgency, is critical in building water governance while considering uncertainties and complexities. It explains the slightly better water scarcity governance of Bukavu, compared to the other selected challenges. It is recommended that local authorities play a more influential role in the strategic planning for water governance in the city, starting with awareness-raising and building local capabilities as part of an iterative strategic planning aimed at welfare enhancement in Bukavu.