D. BashirNational Water Resources Institute, Kaduna,

Nigeria

Presentation at the 3rd Annual International Conference of the African Science Academy Development Initiative

(ASADI III) on “Water and Health” at Hotels Ngor Diarama, Dakar, Senegal on November 12 - 14, 2007

Outline of Presentation

The African ContinentCharacteristics of Water Resources in AfricaWater Resources UtilizationWater Resources Management IssuesConclusionsRecommendations

a) Area = 30,065,000 km2

b) Population = 877,500,000 (2006 est.)

c) Fastest growing region on earth - population is forecast to reach 2 billion by 2050

d) Faces severe water and food shortages

e) Serious health problems (HIV/AIDS pandemic)

f) Indebted countries with trade imbalances: Average economic growth of 3%

g) More than 3000 unique ethnic groups – Many Conflicts

h) Low life expectancy < 50 yrs

Sahara Desert

Kalahari Desert

Namibia Desert

Water shortages may not be due to lack or inadequacy of water resources but lack of capacity and capability to exploit and manage the resources

Mean Annual Rainfall

Regions of Africa

‐ Mean annual rainfall = 670mm‐ Wide temporal and spatial variability‐ Highest rainfall in island countries (1,700 mm)‐ Central Africa and Gulf of Guinea (1,400 mm)‐ Lowest in North Africa (70 mm)

‐ 17 big rivers (catchment area > 105 km2)‐ 160 large lakes (> 27 km2)‐ Most of them in Central Africa and East Africa (within the Rift Valley)‐ Appreciable groundwater – important source of drinking water (for 75% of population)

(Total Africa =

Distribution of IRWR (km3)

5,570.2 km3)

Source: WRI, 2007

Internal Renewable Water Resources (km3)

Source: WRI, 2007

• Multitude of shared water courses• Most countries share at least one water course with neighbors• up to 14 shared watercourses in Guinea alone• About 80 watershed basins in Africa

• 20 major river/lake basins• Covering 60% (18,000,000 km2) of land mass)• About 395 m people (45 % of population) live within the catchments of the basins

Major Basins

• Very low exploitation of available water resources• Only 3.84% of available water withdrawn

• Physical resource base inadequate to meet demand (North & Southern Africa)• Abundant water but inadequate capacity to withdraw (Central and parts of East & West Africa)• Both resource & capacity inadequate (Sahelian countries)

% Water Withdrawals

% Regional Water Withdrawals

% Regional Utilization of Water Resources

• 67% of water withdrawn is used for agriculture – 143.15 km3/yr• Quantity very small for a large continent with high ET• May account for very small land under irrigation (≈ 13.4 million ha); just 6.2% of agric. Land and 0.44% of land mass

• North African countries have largest agricultural land under irrigation• Egypt has 99.9% with Mauritius a distant 2nd with about 20%• Countries with insignificant (0%) land under irrigation include Botswana, CAR, Congo, Congo D.R., Mauritania & Namibia

Land under irrigated agriculture (103ha)% of total agricultural land under irrigation

Ave. national access = 71%Ave. access in urban areas = 86%Ave. access in rural areas = 60%

Countries with highest access:Mauritius (100%, 100%, 100%)Egypt (98%, 99%, 97%)Botswana (95%, 100%, 90%)

Countries with lowest access:Ethiopia (22%, 81%, 11%)Somalia (29%, 32%, 27%)Cote d’Ivoire (42%, 41%, 43%)

Regional Access to Potable Water Supply (%)

Access to Potable Water Supply (%)

• Enormous potential • Total tech. potential = 1,750 TWh• 90% in 10 countries• Congo D.R. accounts for about 50%

• Currently developed = 5% • Tech. & econ. feasible now = 58%• Eco. Viable in future = 37%

• Current installed cap. = 21 GW • >50% in 5 countries (Congo D.R., Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria and ZambiaSource: Africa-EU Energy Cooperation of the German EU

Presidency (2007)

African hydropower potential in top 10 countries (TWh)

Electricity Generation from various sources (%)

Source: http://www.dams.org/kbase/thematic/tr31.htm

Water Resources Management IssuesWater is scarce in Africa for socio-economic

activities and environmental sustainabilityCan be attributed to low technical and economic

capabilities, ineffective institutions and unstable socio-political systems prevalent in the continent

Water resources management issues would include:Growing water scarcity;Multiplicity of transboundary water basins;Inadequate institutional and financing

arrangements;Inadequate data and human capacity;Insufficient access to water for human health, food

and energy security; andThreats to environmental stability.

Water Resources Management Issues

Scarcity is meant lack of or difficulty to access water

Economic scarcity – water scarcity caused by lack of investment in water and/or of human capacity to access (Sub-Saharan countries)

Physical scarcity – water scarcity when there is not enough water to meet all demands (Countries in arid regions)

Water Resources Management Issues

Other water stressed countries include: Burundi, Rwanda, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia,

Libya, Tunisia, Lesotho, Malawi, Burkina Faso, and Cape Verde.

International Standard for Water Scarcity (1,700 m3/per capita/yr)

Water stressed countries (below 1,700 m3/per capita/year) include: Zimbabwe, South Africa,

Morocco, Kenya, Egypt, and Algeria.

Many countries have dependency on external contributions to their renewable water resources

Highly dependant countries include:Egypt (97%), Mauritania (97%), Niger (90%), Botswana

(80%), Sudan (77%) and Congo (73%)Majority of the water basins are not jointly managedMajor RBOs established include: Nile, Zambezi, Congo,

Niger, Senegal, Lake Victoria and Lake ChadSome bi-lateral agreements These organizations face multiple problemsNo country is yet a party to the 1997 UN Convention on

Non-navigational Uses of International Water courses

Most African countries unable to set up functional institutional arrangements as well as provide adequate investment for the water sector

Increasing awareness of, and political commitment to, IWRMContinental and regional organizations coming up with and/or

supporting a number of water related initiatives, programs and projects

On-going water policy reforms in most countries with emphasis on decentralization, stakeholder participation and (PPP)

Increasing support and investment from Donors, multi-lateral organizations and international development banks

Need to emphasize on streamlining and development of synergies between national, regional and continental initiatives and programs, including donor coordination

Paucity of accurate and reliable dataNeed for strong, effective and sustained advocacy for

proper investment in data collection and managementLimited skills for IWRM in AfricaEfforts of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) on

sensitization and awareness of IWRM principlesDeveloping IWRM skills through the activities of its

regional and national partnerships as well as the regional capacity building networks

Organizations and initiatives at national, regional and continental levels should join and support these partnerships and networks

increasing investment in water supply and sanitation is imperative to break the vicious circle between poverty and inadequate access to water supply and sanitation (a necessity for attaining most of the MDGs)

Most African countries have less than 5% of their cultivated lands under irrigation

In Sub-Saharan Africa , number of food-insecure people rose from 125m in 1980 to 200m in 2000 with average daily per capita food supply at just 2,200 kcal (< world average of 2,800 kcal)

To achieve the MDGs target on food security, it is necessary to increase irrigated areas more than 5 folds

> 90% of the people of Africa are without access to electricity. Botswana has the highest per capita consumption with 950 kWh per capita . This is far below the global weighted average of 2750 kWh per capita

Negative consequences of improperly developed and managed water resources infrastructures include:

loss of unique habitats and their biodiversity, reduced flood retention capacity, pollution of water sources, and changes in microclimate regulation

Groundwater levels are declining rapidly in a number of placesLarge scale irrigation schemes are causing salinization of the soil

and creating water logged conditions, thereby reducing the productive potentials of the soils

capacities of the water management institutions have not been sufficiently developed

Application of IWRM principles will address and minimize the problems

Major challenges of water resources development and management in Africa arise from inadequate catchment management resulting in:

Inadequate access,devastating erosion,perennial flooding, recurring drought, and increasing desertification;

The challenges are caused mostly by:competing water uses, low capacity and inadequate investment,degrading watersheds and water courses, fragmented and uncoordinated water resources development,poor data, and lack of cooperation on co-riparian use of international waters.

Sustainable water resources management demands:a well coordinated and decentralized management

structure,Involvement of all relevant stakeholders,institutional arrangement set up with the objective of

achieving efficiency and effectiveness through decentralization of management functions and provision of mechanisms for enhancing coordination, partnerships and accountability

To develop the framework for streamlining and development of synergies between national, regional and continental initiatives towards effective and sustainable exploitation of the available water resources in Africa, the following are recommended:

1. Slow down population growth, increase investment in the water resources sector and reduce inefficiency and wastage in water use through effective O&M and improved technologies;

2. Earmark at least 25% of all donor support to capacity building and data collection and management from now to 2015 and advocate for counterpart contribution of at least 10% of water resources sector budgets;

3. Promote partnerships and cooperation among and between countries sharing water basins and strongly advocate for ratification of the 1997 UN Convention on Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses by all countries in Africa;

4. All countries should finalize their IWRM plans and Water Safety Plans by the end of 2008;

5. Develop synergies between national, regional and continental initiatives, programs and projects;

6. Develop and implement appropriate framework for donor coordination in all countries;

7. Promote public-private partnerships in the development and management of water resources including the local manufacture and distribution of water resources equipment and materials;

8. Support and involve NGOs in all aspects of water resources development and management including advocacy, awareness creation, capacity building and mobilization;

9. Develop rational and implementable energy strategies that integrate various options with emphasis on hydropower and energy efficiency