Water in Africa. Scarcity or Mismanaged Abundance? Priv. Doz. Dr. Salua Nour Freie Universität Berlin / Otto-Suhr-Institut 20.

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1 Water in Africa Scarcity or Mismanaged Abundance? Priv. Doz. Dr. Salua Nour Freie Universität Berlin / Otto-Suhr-Institut 20. März 2010

2 Africa Water Resources

3 1. World Wide Problems of Access to Clean Water Water is a finite and vulnerable resource. Although the surface of our Planet is covered by water, mankind is still facing a major and increasingly serious problem of access to this resource. 70 % of the surface of Planet Earth is covered by water, 97.5 % of which is salt water. The remaining 2,5 % are not entirely available for sustaining human life. 66 % of this quantity is tied up in glaciers, icebergs and frozen water at the North and South Pole.

4 The insufficiency of water resources is not only due to the scarcity but also to the management of water. The distribution of access to water depends, between countries and within societies between social groups, on power relations. There are next to no regulatory mechanisms to protect the vast majority of poor and defenseless people against a water management system that denies them access to water.

5 If the actual trend of decreasing water supply for ever growing numbers of human beings is maintained in the next 10 to 20 years, the probability of conflict as well as political and social upheaval within countries and between those, caused by an unjust distribution of water resources, will increase dramatically.

6 Access to water and water supply constitute, therefore, a challenge to all human beings using the resources of our Planet and not only to the growing numbers of people who lack access to water.

7 2. Water Scarcity in Africa Consequences and Development Trends Vast regions of the African continent are covered by desert and forest. Those regions are uninhabited. Some regions, where resources allow for the survival of the population, are overpopulated, like Nigeria, the Nile Valley and some parts of the Great Lakes Region in East Africa.

8 Water Supply in Arid Areas

9 14 African countries are already experiencing water stress. 11 are expected to join them by 2025 at which time 50 % of Africa s then 1.45 billion population will face water stress or scarcity. Today 62 % of a population of 780 million (85% in rural areas) lack access to safe water and suffer from one to six water related diseases. 41 % have no access to any form of sanitation.

10 The average consumption of water by person is in some African countries less than 5 liters per day, to be compared with the average consumption of 150 to 500 liters per day in industrialized countries. Statistically, more water is available to the population in Africa than in Europe. In reality, the available resources are not exploited in Africa because of the lack of management capacity and of investments in water infrastructure and also because of the unbalanced population distribution.

11 Water Supply Burkina Faso

12 In many regions, water resources are polluted and cause diseases for human beings and animals using those, a typical disease being diarrhea of which African children die each year.

13 Only an average of 25 % of urban households is supplied with clean water. The majority of city dwellers rely on public taps providing small quantities of water against payment of fees. Many residents of poor urban areas don t have access to any public or private water supply source. They depend for covering their water needs on wells, lakes and small rivers.

14 80 of Africa s major rivers and lake basins are shared by two or more countries and many countries depend on water flowing from outside of their boundaries.

15 Chad Lake

16 Large scale water infrastructure projects, like the dam projects financed by the World Bank and other donors, may solve some of Africa s water supply problems in the agricultural sector. However, it has been proved that dams exacerbate environmental problems, threaten the livelihoods of millions of poor people and reduce their access to water (compulsory relocation of the population in dam areas).

17 Uncontrolled deforestation and overgrazing taking place in many populated areas in Africa have a direct negative impact on wetlands which are needed to maintain water tables and recharge ground water that fills wells and runs in taps. Africa s water table is dropping fast by 1 to 30 meters in some areas, causing the disruption of water supply for hundreds of thousands of Africans each year.

18 Because Africa lacks water management capacities and strategies the population is helplessly exposed to the impact of periodic flooding and drought. Floods and droughts are caused by extreme climatic conditions which cannot be influenced (in rain forest, savannah and desert areas). However, their impact can be managed by means of modern technology which is not accessible to poor African countries.

19 Orange River -Namibia

20 Okavango River Namibia

21 Climate change is expected to aggravate the water supply problems in Africa. In 2055 North and South Africa are expected to experience extreme water stress and less water flow in rivers (the water flow in the Nile river is expected to decrease by 75 % in 2100), whereas the water supply in East and West Africa may improve slightly.

22 Okavango River

23 Water problems in Africa are not caused by scarcity alone but also by inefficient supply mechanisms, mismanagement, bureaucratic obstacles, corruption as well as by the lack of functional public institutions and of investments in capacity building, training and infrastructure. The solution of these problems constitutes a political task.

24 The World Bank and the Donor Community suggest the privatization of water supply as an approach to solving Africa s water scarcity problems. Attempts at privatization of water supply led to huge increases of water prices and to the exclusion of a growing number of poor people, who cannot afford to pay these prices, from access to water.

25 3. Water Abundance in Africa the Management Deficiencies Statistically, Africa constitutes the continent with the most abundant water resources. An overview on the rivers and lakes in Africa is attached to this document. Vast areas with huge reservoirs of water, such as the Congo River basin, are covered by rain forests and uninhabited.

26 Victoria Falls Sambesi River

27 Victoria Falls Sambesi River

28 Mountains are considered to be nature s water towers. Their size and shape force air upwards making it condense as clouds which give rain, snow and supply water in rivers. In East Africa the Rift Valley Mountains attain the height of 6000 m and have a north-south extension of 4000 km. In Guinea, the Fouta Djallon and Nimba Mountains boast 1165 rivers with a total of 6500 km of flowing waters and 23 lakes, 12 of which cross several country borders. These regions dispose of abundant and badly or non-exploited water resources.

29 The Congo river is Africa s most powerful river and the second most voluminous river (next to the Amazon River) in the world with cubic meter of water passing out of its mouth every second. It is the fifth longest river in the world, draining a basin of nearly one million square kilometers. Given the needed investments, the Congo River water could be used to cover the water needs of over a half of African countries.

30 2600 freshwater fish species are found in Africa and fish constitutes 21 % of animal protein intake there, second only to the fish consumption in the Far East. 40 % of the total fish catch in Africa come from rivers and lakes. The Niger River has 243 fish species, 20 of which are not to be found anywhere else in the world. Lake Malawi has the richest freshwater fish fauna in the world. 14 % of the world freshwater fish species are to be found there, 99 % of which are to be found only in this lake

31 Okovango River -Namibia

32 Obviously, these resources are not rationally exploited in Africa: They are mostly squandered, neglected or depleted in a nonrenewable way. This is mainly due to the deficiencies of decisionmaking, management and supply systems in the water sector in African countries. No measures are taken anywhere with view of stopping the loss of an average of 40 % of water that is supposed to cover the needs of agricultural production from evaporating and seeping unused into the soil. Investments in infrastructure, capacity building and training inthe water sector are insufficient or lacking absolutely in most African countries. These countries are in fact not facing a water scarcity problem as such but rather a problem of dealing with available and exploitable water resources.

33 The solution of the water problem in these countries is, therefore, not located in schemes for saving water or for privatizing water supply systems, but rather in water policy reform and the application of strategies to rehabilitate and improve the performance of water management and supply systems. This depends on the seemingly weak reform willingness of governments, their economic and intellectual capacities, the functionality of institutions and the degree of awareness of the concerned populations.

34 4. What will happen if water supply problems will not be solvedin Africa in the next ten to twenty years? Loss and depletion of water and water-related resources, increasing imbalances between arid and semi-arid regions and regions with unutilized abundant water resources (increase of droughts, floods, desertification and soil degradation); Degeneration of living and health conditions and loss of livelihoods in the rural sector resulting in massive rural exodus and excessive unplanned urbanization; Diminishing availability of usable water in the face of rising demand creates the potential for disputes and conflicts over water resources, both within and between countries; Lack of coordination and cooperation between countries sharing the same river (Congo 9 countries, Niger 9 countries, Zambezi 8 countries, Volta 6 countries, including Lake Chad 5 countries and 14 countries within transboundary river and lake basins) may lead these countries to resort to violence to sort out interest conflicts with regard to common use and the environmental protection of water resources; Intensification of migratory movements from Africa towards industrialized countries.

35 5. Who can do what about Africa s water supply problems?

36 Dwindling Water Supply

37 African Governments: Policy reforms in the water sector (revision of the privatization approach and its adaptation to the needs of the rural and urban population in the respective country; integrated strategies for dealing with problems of water management and supply as well as land utilization, food production and environmental protection specific to countries with scarce and with abundant water resources; anti-corruption strategies); Rational use of development aid, credits and foreign investments with view of building up infrastructure and managerial capacities in the water sector; Harmonization of Government interests and activities in the water sector with the interests and activities of non-governmental actors; Promotion and mobilization of the national private sector with view of motivating it to intensify its engagement in the water sector.

38 Luvhuvhu River -South Africa

39 Regional African Organizations: Development of common visions and strategies for the utilization of water resources; Realization of infrastructure projects of common interest (dams,power plants, extension of irrigated agricultural production areas); Conservation and protection of eco-systems in the water basins (including soil conservation, fighting erosion, exploiting alternative technologies to collect, recycle and stock water as well as reduce pollution, evaporationand seeping of water); Promotion and capacity building of stakeholders (including representatives of the population) in the respective national water sector; Follow the example of the successful Autoritédu Basin du Niger(the members of which are: Burkina Faso, Benin, Côte d Ivoire, Guinea, Cameroon, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad) which has engaged in a strategy, based on the abovementioned measures, to improve water supply for a population of 105 million between 2010 and 2025 and which the EU is assisting with the amount of 5,5 billion EU.

40 River Niger

41 Donor Community: Promotion of local initiatives for solving water supply problems; Development and realization of integrated resource management strategies by which water supply, social and ecological problems are tackled simultaneously; Capacity building and reform of institutions in charge of the water sector, of water supply and sanitation and of water resources management on the national and regional level; Revision of Privatization Dogma in order to allow countries to chose their way out of their water supply problems without being submitted to the pressure of having their access to international credits barred if they do not privatize water supply systems; Revision of world trade policies which disadvantage the exports of African countries and perpetuate their condition of poverty and dependency on foreign credits to keep their economic and social systems going;

42 NGOs in industrialized countries and local NGOs: Assistance of populations in finding local solutions for water supply problems; Assistance in reforestation, fight against erosion, terrace cropping, construction of water reservoirs and small dams, especially in arid areas; Introduction and assistance in application of alternative technologies for water collection, recycling and conservation; Lobbying activities in favor of the population to collect financial resources and to mobilize public awareness for water supply problems; Assistance in creating a civil society based African Water-Network by means of which the populations of African countries can claim their humanright to be supplied with water through public services and not through profit-oriented business channels; Development and application of strategies to avoid being of support of Government and Donor Community policies which aim at supplying water to the social class which can afford buying water from private enterprises ( privatization ) whereby the water supply for the poor is left to the care of charities.

43 Youth in industrialized countries: Participation in activities and events aiming at raising awareness for water supply problems in Africa (awareness is the first step towards getting involved in solving problems); Research about and study of appropriate solutions for water supply problems on the technical as well as on the social and political level; Engagement in practical work with NGOs in Africa and in industrialized countries which carry out lobbying or technical activities with view of contributing to the solution of water supply problems; Participation in activities of confessional and political youth organizations addressed to water supply problems in Africa.