Introduction, motivation and positionality

KEY TERMS: Water, development, politics, conflict, resource management, colonialism, positionality

Water and Development

Hello, and welcome to my blog focusing on the politics of water in Africa!

Water plays a significant role in almost every aspect of our daily lives, whether visible or not, and the management of this key resource has consequences for social and economic development. Africa’s development relies heavily on its ability to effectively use its water resources and negotiate disputes over them. Access to water is first governed by the geography of the region, with riparian states having the benefit of physical proximity that has historically been important for usage rights. The unique geography of each country also impacts how water is supplied from the source to households, farms or for industrial use. These decisions around water supply have an impact on the development of certain industries – and therefore the economy of the country – but can also lead to conflict if ineffectively managed on a community level. 

Why Politics?

While being the most affected region, Africa is the least responsible for the carbon emissions causing climate change. The increased variability of an already scarce resource means education both of political leaders and communities is required to understand the most effective forms of adaptation for each specific area and encourage cooperation. 

Access to water in Africa is highly intertwined with politics. International agreements on the management of transboundary water sources such as aquifers, rivers and lakes often have a strong colonial history and must be continually negotiated to sustainably provide water across the continent. Politics is usually at the root of challenges and disputes associated with water resource management, whether they concern local power dynamics, equitable access to safe water or transboundary aquifer management. These blogs will focus on Water in Africa through the lens of politics, specifically on conflicts in Southern Africa. The colonial legacy of this region has left it with significant development inequalities and rapidly urbanising cities built far away from water sources. International agreements over resource allocation were made by colonists and inherited by the current states. Disputes over the management, provision and use of water happen across all scales, not just internationally. There can be conflict within countries or even communities that can often be traced back to who has control over water. In Southern Africa, there are fifteen international river basins that have the potential to cause international disputes, but also local conflicts such as the unequal provision of water to rural areas in South Africa that have led to vandalism and destruction of water infrastructure. Over three million people in the country lack access to safe water, and for those who do have access it is unreliable despite its government committing to SDG 6.1: “access to accessible and safe drinking water”. The negotiation of these disputes has consequences for development as this affects national and regional stability as well as the potential for economic growth.

Figure 1: Map showing rivers in South Africa

Positionality

When writing about Africa, it is significant to avoid generalisation of the continent or even its regions. There are significant differences across countries due to language, religion and cultural divides, many of which stem from the remnants of colonial occupation. Water in Africa has often been associated with jarring images of vast deserts and malnutrition, which portray the continent and its people as needing foreign intervention to function. This narrative is very colonial and has sought to justify Western involvement and the ‘white saviour’ stance – often proving unhelpful in supporting equitable and sustainable projects in Africa.

In subsequent blogs I aim to focus more on Southern Africa, exploring the link between colonialism and access to water, transboundary water resource management and conflicts over water within countries. Thank you for reading and I look forward to delving into these topics further!