SOUTHERN AFRICAN WATER CO-OPERATION – LESSONS

FROM THE OKAVANGO BASIN

Anthony Turton & Peter Ashton

Gibb-SERA Chair in IWRM and CSIR – Environmentek

P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa© 2004

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

• Understanding the background to the problem

• Practicalities and difficulties

• What can we learn for environmental peacemaking?

• What do we want to communicate to decision-makers on environmental peacemaking?

• Conclusion

UNDERSTANDING THE

BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM

SITES OF DISPUTES

OVER WATER

250

500

0

Kilometres

N

Most disputes over water occur in areas of

transition from perennial to ephemeral

systems, or where availability is uncertain

NAMIBIA(254)

BOTSWANA(400)

SOUTH AFRICA(497)

ZAMBIA(1,011)

ZIMBABWE(652)

ANGOLA(1,050)

D. R. C.(1,534) TANZANIA

(937)

MOZABIQUE(969)

SWAZILAND(788)

LESOTHO(760)

MALAWI(1,014)

100200300400500600700800900

10001250150020002500

Mean annualRainfall (mm)

250

500

0

Kilometres

N

MEAN ANNUAL

RAINFALL

Large areas of the Okavango / Makgadikgadi basin receive low rainfall

Only Cubango and Cuito rivers are perennial

MAKGADIKGADI CATCHMENT

Map sourced

from GEF Report on Okavango

Delta Study

100 km

N

ZAMBIA

Boteti River basin

ZIMBABWE

NAMIBIA

ANGOLA

BOTSWANA R.S.A.

Deception Pan basin

Ntwetwe Pan basin

Lake Ngami

Okwa R.

Nata R.

Omatako R.

Cubango R.

Okavango Delta

Cuito R.

Kavango R.

Cuando R.

Chobe R.

Zambezi R.

Deception Pan

complex

Okavango Basin

DRC

A

T

Za

ZiMa

Mo

NB

S

L

SA

Sowa Pan basin

Extent of Ramsar Site

Availability in Driest Month(“Normal” Year)

Source:Biggs & Scholes (2004)

Annual Availability(“Normal” Year)

Supply >> Demand

Supply ≈ Demand

Supply << Demand

WATER ABUNDANCE / SCARCITY

PROPORTION OF WATER

INFLOWING / TRANSFERED

FROM NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES

0 %

0 - 10 %

11 - 25 %

26 - 50 %

> 50 %

5 8

76 91

58

97 9

10

32

607

50

3325

12

0

42

PRACTICALITIES AND DIFFICULTIES

THE LEGACY OF CONFLICTS

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FOR

ENVIRONMENTAL PEACEMAKING?

Cuvelai

Kunene

Zambezi

Limpopo

Pungué

Buzi

Save-Runde

Orange Maputo

Incomati

Umbeluzi

Okavango/Makgadikgadi

Congo

Nile

Lake Chad

Namibia

Botswana

SouthAfrica

Congo (DRC)

Tanzania

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Lesotho

Swaziland

Malawi

Mozambique

Angola

250

500

0

Kilometres

N

Rovuma

SHARED RIVER

BASINS IN SOUTHERN

AFRICA

The types of “solutions” that are selected for the Okavango / Makgadikgadi basin could be used in other SADC basins

Cuvelai

Kunene

Zambezi

Limpopo

Pungué

Buzi

Save-Runde

Orange Maputo

Incomati

Umbeluzi

Okavango/Makgadikgadi

Congo

Nile

Lake Chad

Namibia

Botswana

SouthAfrica

Congo (DRC)

Tanzania

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Lesotho

Swaziland

Malawi

Mozambique

Angola

250

500

0

Kilometres

N

Rovuma

DAMS AND SHARED RIVER

BASINS IN SOUTHERN

AFRICA

South Africa and Zimbabwe are listed amongst the top

twenty countries in the world in terms of the

numbers of dams built (WCD 2000)

Cuvelai

Kunene

Zambezi

Limpopo

Pungué

Buzi

Save-Runde

Orange Maputo

Incomati

Umbeluzi

Okavango/Makgadikgadi

Congo

Nile

Lake Chad

Namibia

Botswana

SouthAfrica

Congo (DRC)

Tanzania

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Lesotho

Swaziland

Malawi

Mozambique

Angola

250

500

0

Kilometres

N

Rovuma

WATER TRANSFER

S IN SOUTHERN

AFRICA

Existing water transfer scheme

Proposed new water transfer scheme

POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS

100 km

N

ZAMBIA

NAMIBIA

ANGOLA

BOTSWANA

Lake Ngami

Omatako R.

Cubango R.

Okavango Delta

Cuito R.

Kavango R.

Cuando R.

Okavango Basin

Several potential hydropower dam sites identified on the Cubango River

Could include irrigation supply

One potential hydropower dam site identified on Kavango River in

Namibia

(Popa Falls)

Expansion of irrigated agriculture

along south bank of Kavango River – (part of Namibia’s “Green Plan” for

food security)

Possible water abstraction at

Rundu for transfer to Windhoek

Possible water transfers into the Cubango or Cuito

from the Kasai River

Potential expansion of irrigated agriculture near

Shakawe

Expanded groundwater abstraction from fringes

of Okavango Delta

WHAT DO WE WANT TO

COMMUNICATE TO DECISION-MAKERS

ON ENVIRONMENTAL PEACE-MAKING?

LANGUAGE DISTRIBUTION

100 km

N

ZAMBIA

Boteti R.

ZIMBABWE

NAMIBIA

ANGOLA

BOTSWANASOUTHAFRICA

Deception Pan

complex

Makgadikgadi Pans

Lake Ngami

Okwa R.

Nata R.

Omatako R.

Cubango R.

Okavango Delta

Cuito R.

Kavango R.

Cuando R.

Chobe R.

Zambezi R.

3

2 1

4 56

7

8

9

10

12

13

7

11

1 = NKANGALA 2 = MBWELA 3 = NYEMBA 4 = KWANYAMA 5 = !O!UNG 6 = KWANGALI 7 = HERERO 8 = KUNGU / TSUMKWE 9 = KUNG / =KX’AU//‘EIN10 = YEYI / KXOE11 = MBUKUSHU12 = KXOE13 = DIRIKU

Plus:

PORTUGUESE, AFRIKAANS,

ENGLISH, TSWANA, UMBUNDU

KEY TO LANGUAGE CODES

DEVELOPMENT IMPERATIVES (1)

Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Rural Development Urban & Industrial Growth

Eco-Tourism Development

DEVELOPMENT IMPERATIVES (2)

Subsistence Agriculture National Food Security

Conservation Hydroelectricity

2002 ADULTHIV/AIDS

PREVALENCEIN

SOUTHERN AFRICA

0 - 10 %

10 - 15 %

15 - 20 %

20 - 30 %

> 30 %

5.5

5.9

7.8

21.5

22.5

33.7

38.8

13.0

33.4

31.0

20.1

15.04.2 7.2

8.3 7.4

15.0

8.9

Data Sources:

• UNAIDS, 2003

• World Population Data Sheet, 2003

CONCLUSION

Conclusion

• Build on shared values

• Ubuntu – “umuntu, abantu, amabantu” (a person is a person because of people)

–Cultural heritage

–Language

• Peace needs for health and prosperity are universal

–HIV/AIDS as an opportunity for engagement

Conclusion

• Strategic development ethic: WEALTH

• W - water

• E (2) - education & energy

• A (4) - access (markets, finance, justice & ecosystems)

• L – land tenure

• T - technology that is appropriate

• H (2) - health (human & ecosystem)

Conclusion

• Move from national self-sufficiency to food security

–Southern African Hydropolitical Complex

– Driver of regional economic integration

• Move from water sharing to benefit sharing

–Parallel National Action (PNA) as a possible model

– Deepening the democratic experience