How can world rowing provide clean water to inhabitants on the banks of the Zambezi river and grow the next generation of world class African athletes?
March 09, 2021Jim James
The UnNoticed Entrepreneur
How can world rowing provide clean water to inhabitants on the banks of the Zambezi river and grow the next generation of world class African athletes?
Purpose driven projects are increasingly part of an organizations role in the world, and for the 150 year old World Rowing Federation, a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature is taking the form of a rowing centre on the Kafue river in Zambia. Mark Thomas shares why taking care of water is a concern for all, and also how organizations can align their purpose with practical solutions to problems facing the world.
WWF and World Rowing have a very strong and active partnership because our sport is a powerful and very relevant means of communication to all age groups, about Clean Water issues around the globe. As well, we are working together on an important “water-project” near Lusaka, Zambia, called the Kafue River & Rowing Centre. In just a few words, this Centre will be a place on the banks of the Kafue River (a major tributary to the Zambezi) where conservation, research, and sport unite to tackle global water issues. It is a project where a partnership such as this - and with the support of companies whose interests lie in the same direction, can make a crucial local intervention – yet with global impact.
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the idea is simple. we are in the process of building a, river and rowing, project on the kafue river, which is one of the tributaries of the Zambizi,
Jim James:
Welcome to this episode of the unnoticed show. And today I've got Mark Thomas. Who's a man I've known for many, many years originally from China and one of the greatest proponents and advocates of sport in the world. And Mark, thank you for joining me. Let's talk about world rowing and how it's taking a leadership position in, in water, not just around the world, but specifically this Africa project. So thank you for coming on the show.
Mark Thomas:
Yeah, I think firstly, it's sort of important sort of understand the relationship that rowers have with, with water. You know, basically it's almost a symbiotic sort of relationship that, you know, if you're rowing, you're very much in tune with, with water and the nature around you. So, it was a natural sort of progression from that sort of relationship sort of to say, well, if we're going to basically do everything. On water, you know, what do we need in terms of sustainable and environmental sort of, aspects to make sure that the the water we row on is, is fit to, to row. And then you sort of open up a whole question and, you know, one of the, I suppose, the big Purpose issues we have in the world is water and clean water, you know, over 1.1 billion people don't have access to water. And you know, if you had, you know, in terms of sanitation and you know, some of the issues around, you know, lack of or decrease in biodiversity and species around water is now become one of those probably. Key pillars of purpose in the world, but it's probably one that doesn't have the same sort of voice as you know, say, you know, climate change or sort of other areas, or,
Jim James:
clean air has been an easy one to sort of easy to see pollution, right? Yeah, exactly. But it is a pillar. Of world rowings partner WWF. So in 2011, you know, you know, to, to sort of be more active in this space World Rowing created a long-term global partnership with the. world wildlife fund for nature. That's a known as a WWF. And the idea was to, you know, firstly, you know, shine a light on this through communications and awareness programs that we can do with all our international events around the world. But also start to take sort of active action in terms of what we can do to progressingly make sure that the environments that that we row in are both clean in terms of the water that we're rowing on, but also the whole aspect are we doing is. Environmentally sustainable. So we have very clear guidelines that we issue to all our event hosts in terms of, you know, environmentally environmental and sustainability. and we sort of make sure that those, those events will manage within that criteria. But we also do very simple things that, you know, we make sure that every event that has a world running events has clean water. And you know, that comes from simple testing, you know, and then putting the, the right sort of systems and applications in place to make sure that is not only, you know, for when we row it, but it is maintained as a longterm deliverable in terms of what we're doing in terms of those venues. If we just step back just a little bit, because those people that haven't heard of world rowing, just take us just through that organization, because what seems impressive is that this is an organization that's making commitment to sustainable goals. It's not a large corporation, it's not a funded NGO. And that's what I think is really intriguing. Can you just explain a little bit more about World Rowing? Cause it's just, it's people who love rowing and are competing, I think, right.
Mark Thomas:
so well rowing is the international Federation that governs rowing as a sport around the world. so we have over a hundred sort of national federations of feed into us. So it's in essence is a small organization it's based in Lausanne like many of the international sports federations and is recognized as the, as by the IOC, as the governing body for rowing. So we, we manage all aspects of sports events around that. So yeah, essentially it's a, it's a, it's a big responsibility, but actually organizationally, you know, it's quite a small organization in terms of the actual team that delivers it. so part of obviously that is actually ensuring that what we do is sustainable and environmentally acceptable in terms of everywhere we go in terms of events and sports activities. And like I said before, it's very much in the DNA of rowers to be linked to the environment and specifically water.
Jim James:
Was there a moment when this kind of initiative was decided upon because the rowing Federation has been in existence for quite a long time, was there a catalyst a particular moment when enough people within world rowing said, Hey, you know what? We should make a difference to where we row, not just turn up and row.
Mark Thomas:
Okay. Yeah. I mean, you know, as you said, we are the oldest international Federation in the world, so, you know, we've been going for, you know, almost 150 years. one of, one of the original sports in the first Olympics and have been there ever since. And like I said before, there's always been a symbiotic. Relationship between rowers and water. So it's natural, but in terms of actually doing something about that, I think that was really sort of born from the relationship that we've now fostered with with WWF. and that kicked off in earnest. In 2011. so like I said, a lot of that is on communication awareness and developing it, but we actually believe that apart from that, you know, we needed to show action in terms of what we can do with that partnership to to move forward and do something that is tangible in terms of of solving this issue around water globally.
Jim James:
That idea of action leads us nicely into this Kafue River project. Do you want to talk to us about that? It looks amazing.
Mark Thomas:
Yeah. I mean, it's a very specific thing that a world rowing is doing in conjunction with WWF. I mean, WWF run freshwater conservation projects in more than 50 countries around the world. but this is a very specific project that we're joined with them, but we can go into partnership with them, set up a project that can do real good. And the idea is simple. we are in the process of building a rowing river and rowing project in, in, on the kafue river, which is one of the tributaries of the the Zambizi. In Zambia. And the, the idea is that is used to sort of firstly highlight all aspects of, of water issues. And one of the the big things, if you ever have a chance to go to the Kafue river in Zambia is it probably shines a light on all the things that are a problem for water, whether it be water consumption. And the accessibility of clean water for drinking for the population. whether it be, you know, irrigation issues around agriculture, whether it be industrial pollution, you know, flowing into that river, whether it be the link with hydro electric power and what a profound effect that can have on, on natural waterways, all those things come into focus in that one space. So the idea is to build a sense of they're using rowing as a, as an overriding concept. But really the idea is to one, understand those issues by having, you know, scientific and research projects going in around that center. it's also about education. So bringing young people, old people of all backgrounds to the center to one enjoy rowing. Yeah. But obviously also to shine a light on some of those issues that, that river counts. And then from that we want to basically then do proactive plans where, from what we've learned there, we can then replicate and roll some of those ideas into some of those other water conservation centers around the world. WWF works for. And ultimately the idea is to sort of affect you like any business, but this is a, a business for, you know, solving water solutions is to see how we can potentially scale that up. So if you, if the learnings for Kafue could then be taken to, for example, parts of China, Or parts of South America and then understand and implement some of those plans there. So it's a step-by-step process. The first thing we've got to get the thing up and running and Kafue and we've got a, we're going really well with that. The idea is to use this project to have research education and create understanding that can create models that can be used in other centers around the world. As I mentioned before, the WWF run Projects, clean water projects around the world and learnings for this can be used in those projects. But also we can potentially use the learnings from the project to Also understand and put actionable plans in other areas of the world. So that could be in China or South America or wherever the, that those problems are active. So what we want to do is sort of use this as a, a base for learning and understanding, research and education, and then see how that is applicable in other crisis areas around the world in terms of water.
Jim James:
So how much money are you going to raise for the Kafue river project?
Mark Thomas:
Well, the river project is now currently in process in terms of raising money. So we've We've got a couple of million to raise and we're sort of, just going through the process of that at the moment. so the initial as far as funding has come from the Goodwill of the global rowing community so we have reached out to just normal folks who want to do some good. And that that donation has been really positive. And now we're sort of going on to the sort of the next stage when we sort of asked for corporate funding in terms of more support on that side. And we've just secured our, our first partner with a company called Royal. RN, which is a, a Dutch furniture company and we hopefully will also be reaching out to other parties. So we've actually now just the process where we've, we've secured the land and hold the title deeds so that these, the land, and now we're moving forward with the construction. So, you know, managing obviously the funding and the cashflow with that is obviously crucial going forward. But we're in a pretty good space at the moment.
Jim James:
So if. Companies want to get involved in Kafue as part of their CSR project what could they contribute? And also what could they, participate in as well, because it's not just about donation of the money, right? This can also become part of an organizations Corporate social responsibility program and education as well for their own staff and their own suppliers.
Mark Thomas:
Yeah, absolutely. And you know, there's certain organizations that lend themselves very well to this sorts of purpose driven program. so take an example, the beverage industry or soft beverages or. Or beers or whatever, they process an awful loss of water within their industrial manufacturing process. So how they take care of that water, how that industrial process affects water environments is key and they, for example, can also help or get learnings from what we do to maybe help them. In their own and the sustainability with regards water. So there's certain I would say industries that lend themselves very well in terms of one, again, a mutual sort of understanding and benefit from that. and there's others, obviously that. You know, see this as one of the crucial pillars of a crisis in the world at the moment. And again, a very poignant positioning in terms of how they can help us in the world in terms of resolving those problems. So that could be anything from banks to insurance companies to, you know, Companies are maker sports goods as well. So, we're fairly open in terms of who we work with, but we want people who share the same values as us, which is really important. so for example it's very difficult for us to look at, you know, industries such as big oil or maybe hydro power who are doing so much damage to the environment without them stepping forward in terms of, you know, actionable Plans in terms of improving what they do at the moment?
Jim James:
You know there are some like BP who are committed to sustainable energy solutions. Aren't there. So purpose driven contributions by some of these MNCs can actually be part of the way that they can redefine their own. Company image as well. Isn't it. Tell us a little bit Mark about, about the country though. Now is Zambia sort of approaching and and being receptive to the Kafui river and to the world rowing because the host nation itself, the relationship is also important to the success. Isn't it, of, of the project.
Mark Thomas:
the local government, the national government have been very supportive to this and other purpose driven projects. I think one of the issues, you know, that we always likely to encounter in developing markets is the trade-off between their own industrial and economic development. And a worthwhile projects in terms of environment and sustainability. And a lot of the times that's seen as a conflictual relationship. And again, it's, it's. Sort of our responsibility as well to try and turn that into a more, a win-win situation and look forward to it. But it's difficult because again, if you look back at the West and how we, through our own industrialization, you know, cause massive amounts of pollution it's a balance in terms of how you. Educate develop a more environmentally sustainable economy while also not affecting their own development.
Jim James:
Now what about getting people in Africa into the sport of rowing? Because. Historically, that's maybe not been seen as as the home of great rowers, but in the same way with most athletics, African nations, for example, in the, in the running have amazing athletes what's world rowing doing to encourage participation in the sport itself.
Mark Thomas:
Well, we have a global development division who very much put a focus on our sporting development and Africa as a key part of that. I think, you know, rowing has some issues in terms of his accessibility, you know, it's. It's traditionally been seen as an expensive, maybe elite sports. and again, I think those sort of questions need to be answered. So there's a few things that I'd raise one, building a facility like this, and hopefully others to come gives accessibility. So we can open this up to youngsters and folks interested in women of all age, all ages, but it's also important for development to see. Well, Not everyone can get to a river. So one of the things that we've looked at in terms of developing markets and is, is, is developing other variants of the sports that can bring people in. So, you know, Africa has a vast coast and we have a variance of rowing called coastal rowing. And that's seen as a key pillar of development in some of those other markets. So it's much easier to row off, off a shore than it is to find a facility and the other area, which is. You know, really gaining momentum at the moment. and we just had a really great event last week, the the virtual indoor rowing championships, and that had really good representation from Africa. And again, it's much easier for someone to sit on an indoor rowing machine at home or in a gym or wherever and get involved in rowing as a first step than maybe. Finding a boat and a team and those sort of things. So I think there's a step and I would say a holistic process, but yeah, we hope this would also help in this stimulus for interest and participation in in Africa.
Jim James:
Mark people want to find out more about world rowing and the kafue project, and even just rowing in general, where can they go?
Mark Thomas:
Well, I think the best starting point is a website. So go to a world rowing.com. and that's got a section on what we do with WWF and the kafue project, and also has contact information. If you want to get in touch with myself or any of the colleagues that work in around this project and others in Boeing. Mark Thomas Thank you so much for joining me today on the unnoticed. show My pleasure. Thank you very much, Jim.
Jim James (2):
So you've be listening to Mark Thomas and I talking about Purpose driven contributions are in how the world rowing has collaborated with the world wildlife fund for nature to introduce a project in Africa to highlight the needs and the benefits to sustainable water treatment. Thanks for listening to this episode and all the notes we'll of course be in the show notes and the transcript. And until we meet again, I wish you the best of health as sustainable, if not a profitable business and that if you have some time and you think about a sport check out rowing it's great exercise and who knows maybe one day you could be running down the Zambezi with mark Thomas. Thanks so much for listening.
