Sharing is caring? The problems facing trans-boundary water resources management in Africa

  Africa is one of the fastest growing continents in the world in terms of population, and this population growth needs to be supported by a variety of resources the most important of which is water. Unfortunately, water is not a resource that Africa is known for. More devastating perhaps is the fact that the water resources in the continent is unevenly distributed. As pointed out by Peter Ashton (2002), 52.5% of the African continent is home to almost 61% of the continent's population but over 95% of its water resources. This uneven distribution meant that some nations are uniquely powerful in the management of water resources in Africa and their desire to ensure the availability of water within their nation may be the cause of tension and conflicts. This tension is further exacerbated by the fact that 85% of Africa's water resources are trans-boundary river basins (see map).

Map of International River Basins in Africa. Chikozho 2014

  As can be seen from the map, river basins in Africa are complex systems that spread across as much as 10 different nations. This makes the trans-boundary management of water resources difficult but, given the already politically unstable state of many African nations, cooperation is perhaps better than conflict. This idea of international cooperation is also encouraged and enabled through international organisations and their emphasis on building national capacity to achieve their individual river basin management programs. This could be seen in Claudious Chikozho's 2014 article, which highlighted the importance of international bodies such as the United Nations and the World Bank in providing funds and expert knowledge that allowed trans-boundary river basin management in both the Nile and Senegal basin. Chikozho's article would seem to suggest that the establishment of these trans-boundary river basin organisations (TRBOs) is the solution for trans-boundary river conflicts and is crucial for encouraging development and capacity building in the region, but is this actually true? One of the prerequisites for any form of  TRBO is a stable political environment where national governments have actual control over the water resources and can therefore dictate the ways in which they are managed. The turbulent political nature in the continent therefore poses significant barriers to effective trans-boundary water resources management. The challenges political instability is further exacerbated by the power asymmetries that exist within an international river basin. Whilst countries that are upstream undeniably has more power in controlling trans-boundary water resources, this power may be negated by the political and, perhaps more importantly, military power of downstream nations. This can be seen in the Nile river basin, where Egypt threatens to take military action against other nations that are considering projects that would affect Egypt's access to freshwater from the Nile.
  It could therefore perhaps be said that despite the many efforts to encourage the trans-boundary sharing of water resources in Africa, it must be recognised that such efforts are often carried out between national governments which, at end of the day, is responsible for ensuring the interests of their citizens. As a result, one can laud the positive impacts of TRBOs but the fact is such cooperation can only take place when the interests of the various parties can be taken into account. This blog sets out to do just that: in the coming weeks, I will examine the ways in which TRBOs in Africa operate and the ways in which conflicts of interest could be resolved. It might not be the most exciting or unique blog, but at least through this blog one can hope to understand the intricacies behind trans-boundary water resources management and have a glimpse of what the future has to hold.