The world is replete with cases of water being used as a
weapon to score either political or socio-economic goals, especially if
many countries share the common resource.
So, what are some of the causes of the current water wars in Africa and what are their impact on the environment?
Egypt and Ethiopia are going at each other’s
throat over River Nile. Ethiopia is busy constructing a controversial
dam, which Egypt complains will disrupt the river’s flow, with
detrimental impact on its population that is almost entirely dependent
on the Nile.
Addis Ababa embarked on construction of the $4.2
billion Grand Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam (GERD) with 6,000MW electric
power generation capacity in April 2011, possibly taking advantage of
the Arab Spring, that distracted Cairo.
This move angered Egypt so much that at one point
Cairo threatened military action against Ethiopia, though the parties
later agreed to dialogue over River Nile’s governance.
Ethiopia adopted the Harmon Doctrine - an
international resources law that holds that a country has absolute
sovereignty over the water that flows through its territory, regardless
of its impact on other riparian states. Cairo now views Ethiopia’s move
as bullish and reads political sabotage
Egypt, however, adopted a hard line by holding
onto the 1959 historical usage rights to exploit the waters and earlier
treaties that the majority of Nile Basin nations never signed.
Egypt gets 94 per cent of its total water
resources from the river. The Nile Basin supplies water to about 300
million people across Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Congo,
Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia.
Food production
Water wars in Africa are not new, given the
growing populations and rising temperatures, especially where rivers are
shared by more than one country. Experts have tied these wrangles to
water usage rights and shortages. Some of the disputes have even
resulted in serious conflicts.
Conservationists have pointed out over and again
that these lead to droughts, soil erosion and other unfavourable
environmental consequences.
There have been calls on various countries to
utilise three main river basins - the Nile, the Zambezi and the Senegal.
The three constitute the economic backbone of the countries they flow
through.
This is not only for avoiding conflicts, but also
to ensure everyone has enough to drink. It will also increase
hydroelectric power generation, tourism and food production. All these
result in sound environmental management, which boosts economies
courtesy of trade and growth.
Just last year, conservationists in Kenya were
outraged after Ethiopia announced that it would build a dam on River
Omo, which is the main source feeding Lake Turkana.
They argued that Lake Turkana in north-eastern
Kenya, which sustains many lives, might dry up due to reduction in the
flow of River Omo. Ethiopia became bullish, insisting it would go ahead
with the Gibe III dam project.
Friends of Lake Turkana pointed out that the water
mass has been shrinking because of increased evaporation, reduction in
the flow of River Omo due to less rainfall and human activities like
irrigation, which often lead to diversion of water and upstream dam
projects. As the lake has diminished, it has disappeared altogether from
Ethiopian territory and retreated south into Kenya.
In 1990, armed clashes erupted between Nigeria and
Cameroon over the use of Lake Chad water. This was fuelled by water and
land scarcity. Lake Chad has shrunk by 90 per cent, though it remains
the only large source of fresh water in the Sahel zone.
Nigerian fishermen who depend on the lake,
followed the retreating water up to Cameroonian territory and
established villages there, leading to the outbreak of conflict. The
case was then taken to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which
ruled in Cameroon's favour in 2002.
Electricity needs
In Southern Africa, the Lake Malawi issue is the hot topic now with both Malawi and Tanzania claiming ownership.
The issue is being mediated by SADC even as Malawi
threatens to take it to ICJ if they are not satisfied with the
mediation. The dispute, which has been running since colonial times, was
reignited last year when Malawi allowed gas and oil exploration to
begin around the lake. The lake, which connects Malawi, Tanzania and
Mozambique, is the eighth largest in the world and sustains about
600,000 people.
River Cuito, which has its source in Angola, flows
through Namibia before ending in Botswana. It has also been a source of
conflict with each country trying to have control, though the dispute
has not escalated.
Namibia and Botswana also exchanged bitter words over the ownership of Sedudu/Kasikili Island in the Chobe River, which is on the border of the two countries. After failing to resolve the issue amicably, they both presented it to ICJ which recognised the territorial claims of Botswana.
Namibia and Botswana also exchanged bitter words over the ownership of Sedudu/Kasikili Island in the Chobe River, which is on the border of the two countries. After failing to resolve the issue amicably, they both presented it to ICJ which recognised the territorial claims of Botswana.
Analysts have pointed out that Burkina Faso and
Ghana, which share 80 per cent of the Volta Basin, might end up
quarrelling over the use of water resources. Ghana depends on the river
to feed and maintain its hydroelectric dam that accounts for 80 per cent
of its electricity needs.
The Zambezi River, flowing within SADC countries
with a catchment area of 1,300,000 square kilometres, occupying the
territories of Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania,
Zambia and Zimbabwe, has also been predicted as a potential source of
conflict if water resources are not properly managed.
Then there is the Migingo Island dispute pitting
Kenya and Uganda. The island which sits on Lake Victoria, measures about
an acre of land.
Climate change
Kenyan anglers have complain of harassment by
Ugandan police for ‘illegal fishing in Ugandan waters’. Kenyans living
there have also been asked by Ugandan authorities to purchase residencypermits.
Unpleasant words have also come from Ugandan
President Yoweri Museveni, who at one time insisted that the island was
in Kenya but the waters surrounding it belonged to Uganda.
The island is a fisherman's paradise going by the
reports that it has a lot of Nile perch. About 30 million people depend
on the lake for survival - as a source of income, employment, food and
foreign exchange for East Africa.
According to the Lake Victoria Fisheries
Organisation, the lake produces a fish catch of over 800,000 tonnes
annually, currently worth about $590 million of which $340 million is
generated at the shore and a further $250 million a year is earned in
exports from the Nile perch stock.
Nile perch stock is dwindling in the lake due to
overfishing, overpopulation, pollution and deforestation according to
the Uganda National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI).
This has forced five factories to shut down in the country, leaving only
15, which were operating below capacity.
Experts have traced the conflict to the declining fish stock and declining water levels.
However, Dr Shadrack Kithia, who is an
environmental and water expert at the University of Nairobi, believes
that investing in research to enable African countries tap into
available resources like underutilised aquifers will help reduce water
wars.
“Africa has large and often underutilised aquifer
resources, which can sustain large populations in both arid and
semi-arid areas," he said.
Dr Kithia also called for trans-boundary treaties
and legal frameworks to be put in place to regulate the management of
shared resources that often extend across the borders to reduce water
wars.
He adds that that more effort needs to be put into
conservation by various governments as the demand for water usage
increases with population boom and climate change.
SOURCE: AFRICA REVIEW
SOURCE: AFRICA REVIEW
