Africa Water Atlas - UNEP/GRID-Sioux Falls

“The consequences
of doing nothing, or
waiting too long, can
lead to situations
where physical and
economic resource
scarcities converge,
including geopolitical
hotspots…..”
– Bergkamp 2009
David Trainer/Flickr.com
demand from agriculture, hydropower, industry,
tourism and transportation at national levels
(UNECA n.d.). “Hard” water development
requires infrastructure such as dams, weirs,
interbasin transfer pipelines, aqueducts and
centralized treatment plants (Gleick 2003).
• Improve water-use productivity: In addition
to developing more water resources, Africa
will need to follow the “soft” path in water
resource development, management and
use by improving water-use productivity as
opposed to seeking more sources of new
supply (Gleick 2003). In this instance, water is
acquired through a combination of Integrated
Water Resources Management (IWRM) measures
that include managing by water basin rather
than within national boundaries; conserving
water through efficiency approaches; making
decisions at the appropriate level of public
participation; investing in technology that is
suitable for targeted communities; protecting
aquatic ecosystems; pricing water appropriately;
improving governance, including the operation
of farmers markets; training people to maintain
their own water infrastructure; managing
aquifers more efficiently; analysing what farmers
grow and encouraging change if appropriate;
implementing drip irrigation to save fuel and
water; and harvesting water (Gleick 2003).
• Improve urban planning for better water
provision: Africa’s increasing population and the
unreliability of its water resources presents an
opportunity for forward planning and learning
new adaptation mechanisms. An example is
the facilitation of migration from rural to urban
areas (World Bank 2010). The availability of
long-term historical rainfall patterns and various
scenario analyses means urban planners can
already factor in future contingent measures
to handle rural-to-urban migration well before
water systems get overwhelmed.
• Rationalize water prices: Given the contradiction
between adequate water supplies and the
lack of acceptable access, the economic, social
and environmental values of water need to be
defined and reconciled (UNECA 2006). Improved
water pricing is necessary to indicate rising
water scarcity and its value, force water towards
high-value uses, encourage investment and
improve water services. Water access and rights
for the poor must also be protected, since water
is a social good. Economic instruments can be
used to ensure water allocation is productive,
equitable and environmentally sustainable
(IWMI 2008). Rational pricing approaches can be
implemented that help the poor to access water
at the same time as reducing costs. For example,
in South Africa a levy was used to finance
rural water supply and sanitation upstream,
in a scheme in which urban areas supported
protection measures upstream with economic
benefits for those downstream (Grey 2000).
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