Water issues in Africa: South Africa Perspective

1
Water issues in Africa South Africa Perspective

• OS Fatoki
• Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula
  University of Technology, Cape Town 8000, South
  Africa
• Email FatokiO_at_cput.ac.za

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The Human Right to Water

• More than a billion people in the developing
  word, most of them in Africa lack safe drinking
  an amenity taken for grated in developed world
• Nearly 3 billion live without access to
  sanitation
• The failure of nations to satisfy these basic
  human needs has led to substantial and
  unnecessary and preventable human suffering

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Water Related Diseases

• This include those due to micro-organisms or
  water related vectors
• Cholera dysentery diarrhoea ring worm,
  scabies, Guinea-worm schistosomiasis typhoid
  and para-typhoid fevers, malaria river
  blindness hepatitis etc
• if the misery of our poor be caused not by laws
  of nature, but by our institutions, great is our
  sin (Charles Darwin)

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• Those due to chemicals
• Cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria (due to
  algal growth in water)
• Arsenicosis Arsenic in water
• fluorosis
• Methaemoglobinemia nitrate pollution
• Carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, tetragenicity
  pesticides, PCBs, PAHs, Phthalates, heavy metals
• Endocrine disruption (disruption of the normal
  functioning of hormones) - pesticides, phenols,
  phthalates and heavy metal (Cd)
• (the test of our progress is not whether we add
  more to the abundance of those who have much, it
  is whether we provide enough for those who have
  little (Franklin Deno Rooseevelt)

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• Estimated 14 30 thousands people mostly
  children and elderly die everyday from water
  related diseases (UN, 1997)
• Gleick (1998) argued in his paper that access to
  a basic water requirements is a fundamental human
  right implicitly supported by international law,
  declaration and state practices
• McCaffrey (1992) tackled the legal background
  from the perspective of UN human rights
  framework. His conclusion was that there is a
  right to sufficient water to sustain life

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• Among the various declarations and conventions
  are the right to life, to the enjoyment of
  standard of living adequate for health and well
  being to protection from diseases and to adequate
  food
• Several of these explicit rights especially those
  guaranteeing the rights to food, human health and
  development can not be attained or guaranteed
  without also guaranteeing access to basic clean
  water

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• The UN water conference in 1977 agreed that all
  peoples , whatever their stage of development and
  their social and economic conditions, have the
  right to have access to drinking water in
  quantities and qualities equal to their basic
  needs . Access to safe drinking water has
  therefore become a kind of human right.
• (by acknowledging human right to water and
  expressing the willingness to meet this right
  for those currently deprived of it, the water
  community would have a useful tool for addressing
  one of the most fundamental failures of the
  century P Gleick)

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The NEPAD Initiative, The Earth Summit and the
Millennium Development Goals (2015)

• NEPAD Initiative
• NEPAD represents a pledge by African leaders to
  eradicate poverty and place African countries on
  a path of sustainable growth and development
• In relation to water, NEPAD defines adequate
  water supply and sanitation as a sectoral
  priority (NEPAD, 2001)
• Specific objectives concern sustainable access
  to safe and adequate clean water supply and
  sanitation and the need for cooperation on shared
  rivers among member states,

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• the maintenance of the ecosystem diversity and
  wildlife and need for enhanced irrigation and
  rain-fed agriculture to improve agricultural
  production and food security.
• The Earth Summit
• The Rio Earth Summit on sustainable Development
  (Agenda 21) also echoed the importance of water
  to sustainable development in its declaration
  water is needed in all aspects of life (Rio
  Summit, 1992).
• It was declared, better management of urban
  water resources, including elimination of
  unsustainable consumption patterns can be
  substantial contribution to the alleviation of
  poverty and improvement of the health and quality
  of life of the urban and rural poor Earth
  Summit, Agenda 21, Rio, 1992.

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• The Johannesburg Summit
• (WSD, 2002) also endorsed this view and has
  recommended an integrated approach integrated
  water resources management (IWRM) for sustainable
  water availability
• Millennium Development Goals
• The worlds drinking water Millennium Development
  Goal (MDG) target was to provide water for 89 of
  global world population (MDG target, 89 ) by
  2015. Global MDG target for sanitation is 74

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• The MDGs and the Johannesburg, WSD, programme
  set the targets for Africa of halving the number
  of people without access to safe water and
  sanitation by 2015.The Africa Water Vision
  ambitiously aims to reduce the no by 70 by the
  same year.
• Global access to improved water supply and
  sanitation
• Water supply
• Location population served House connected
• 1990 2004 1990 2004
• Urban 95 95 80 78
• Rural 64 73 26 30
• Total 78 83 49 54
• Sanitation
• Urban 79 80
• Rural 26 39
• Total 49 59
• (Source WHO/UNDP, 2007)

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• Access to water supply and sanitation in least
  developed countries
• Water supply
• Location population served House
  connected 1994 2004 1994 2004
• Urban 78 79 34 30
• Rural 43 51 2 2
• Total 51 58 9 10
• Sanitation
• Urban 48 55
• Rural 16 29
• Total 22 36
• (Source WHO/UNDP, 2007)
• of people worldwide who has improved access to
  an improved water supply has risen from 78 in
  1990 to 83 in 2004 and to improved sanitation
  from 49 in 1990 to 59 in 2004 but the
  scenario is different for many developing
  countries.
• Given the above statistics there is slower
  progress in meeting the drinking water MDG
  targets, especially in many developing world
  where many countries are off-track meeting the
  target and clear need for considerable
  accelerated progress in these countries towards
  meeting the water and sanitation target.
  

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Major Water Problems in Developing Countries

• Three major problems face water services in
  Africa
• Water scarcity due to uneven distribution of
  freshwater resources and unprecedented population
  explosion
• Quality problem due to uncontrolled domestic and
  industrial pollution.
• The first two are compounded by the third which
  is lack of adequate and efficient water resources
  management system

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Global Freshwater Resources

• Our planet Earth, seen from space, is almost
  perfect beautiful blue sphere. The blue colour
  shows the vast amounts of water found on earth
  but this apparent abundance is a mirage (Donkor,
  2006)
• 97 of planet water occurs as salt water
  (oceans)
• Of the remaining 3 , 2/3 occurs as snow in polar
  and mountainous regions
• 1 of global water occurs as liquid freshwater
  (98 of this occurs as ground water and 2 occurs
  in more feasible form of rivers, streams and
  lakes which are often fed by ground water

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Freshwater Trends in Africa

• Water resources unevenly distributed around the
  world and this holds true of Africa
• 50 of the total surface water on the continent
  is contained in a single basin the Congo River
  Basin
• (ii) 75 of total water resource contained in
  eight major river basins the Congo, Niger,
  Ogoone (Gabon), Zambezi, Nile, Sanga,
  Chari-Longone and Volta (Donkor and Wolde, 1998).

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• Countries with the most volume in annual
  renewable water resources include DRC (1283
  km3/y), Republic of Congo (832 km3/y), Madagascar
  (337 km3/y), Nigeria (286 km3/y), Liberia (232
  km3/y), Guinea (226 km3/y) and Mozambique (216
  km3/y).
• DRC, Republic of Congo and Gabon are in the
  equatorial high rainfall areas.
• In terms of water use however, the top users of
  water by volume are Egypt, Sudan, Madagascar,
  South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria and Mali
  (Figure1).

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• As these figures show (Figs 1 2), countries
  with the most water resources are not necessarily
  the largest consumers (Donkor and Wolde, 1998).

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• Egypt the largest user of water is in water
  stressed region.
• Also South Africa, another large user of water is
  characteristically described as been a
  water-scarce country.
• By sector, the highest water user is agriculture
  (e.g., Egypt, 88, Sudan, 97 , and Madagascar,
  99 ).

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• Figures are consistently high in Africa with
  exceptions (CAR, 5 , Equatorial guinea, 5 ,
  Lesotho, 33 and Rwanda,
• 33 (WWF, 2000).
• Other major sectoral uses of water resources are,
  domestic water supply, hydro-electricity
  generation, preservation of the ecosystem, etc.

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Population Rise in Africa and Water Stress

• Africa has seen the largest population rise in
  recent years (over the next 25 years, population
  projections indicated an expected increase of a
  further
• 65 )
• It also has the lowest total water supply
  coverage of any region (WHO/UNICEF, 2000)

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• This poses a huge challenge to services in the
  region, largely determined by water supply. To
  reach the MDG target for access to water and
  sanitation and water supply for Africa halving
  the proportion of people without access to clean
  water by 2015 (i.e. provide access for additional
  211 million people in urban areas and 194 million
  people in rural areas, the rate at which people
  get access to water and sanitation delivery
  services will need to be tripled - WHO/UNICEF,
  2000.
• At this rate says the World Water Council,
  access to clean water can not be guaranteed
  until beyond 2050 in Africa - S.A. Mail
  Guardian, 19 March 2006.

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Water Conflicts and Social resource Scarcity

• The issue of water scarcity in Africa has led to
  a long held opinion that water scarcity entails
  prime risks of international conflicts over
  shared water resources (Ohlsson, 2000).
• However events has shown that African countries
  has managed this effectively with several trities
  being signed between countries on shared use of
  water resources, e.g., the Lesotho Highlands
  Water Project in South Africa being one of the
  most successful.
• It is now argued that the risk of conflicts
  within countries is even larger caused not by
  water scarcity itself but by institutional change
  required to adapt to water scarcity (Ohlsson,
  2000)
• in most cases it is not the lack of water that
  leads to conflict, but the inadequate way the
  resource is governed and managed Carius et al,

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• Question
• What could possibly contribute to the fact that
  the countries with most water resources are not
  necessarily the largest consumers of water?
• In fact their populations in most cases if not
  in all cases do have the smallest access to clean
  water and sanitation
• The answer lies in the differences in level,
  efficiency and sophistication of water resources
  management in these countries
• Water resources management issues
• The intricate relationship between water use,
  ecosystem and food security makes the development
  of efficient water resources management policies
  a priority for many African counties if the
  dreams of the 2015 MDG will be realized.

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Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

• Water shortage is likely the most dominant water
  problem of the present century, jeopardizing
  sustainable development.
• (The need of constraining human activities
  within the carrying capacity of the Earth system
  has been unanimously accepted . Agenda 21 (UNCED,
  1993) bearing the subtitle Programme of Action
  for Sustainable Development paves the way
  forward. Therein water issues are dealt with in
  Chapter 18 entirely devoted to freshwater
  resources)
• In chapter 18 of Agenda 21, seven programme areas
  are proposed for the freshwater sector.
  Integrated water resources development and
  management (IWRM) tops the list.
• (Others programmes include Water resources
  assessment Protection of water resources, water
  quality and aquatic ecosystems Drinking water
  supply and sanitation Water and sustainable
  urban development Water for sustainable food
  production and rural development impacts of
  climate change on water resources) Agenda 21,
  Rio Summit, 1992

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• World wide acceptance of integrated water
  resources management (IWRM) is a recent
  imperative.
• Efforts such as UN Water Conference, 1977. Inter.
  Conference on Water and Environment, 1992 Second
  World Water Forum, 2000, Int. Conf on Freshwater
  (2001) World Summit on Sustainable Development
  (2002) and the Third World Water Forum, 2003
  collectively led to breakthroughs that thrust
  IWRM onto the political agenda
• The Johannesburg World Summit (2002) defined
  IWRM as a process which promotes and coordinates
  development and management of water, land and
  related water resources in order to maximize the
  resultant economic and social welfare in an
  equitable manner without compromising the
  sustainability of the ecosystem (Rahaman and
  Varis, 2005).

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• This notion of IWRM is based on the perception of
  water as an integral part of the ecosystem, a
  natural resource and a social and economic good.
  It embraces quantity and quality aspects, surface
  water and groundwater, and multi-interest
  competing demands. It should enhance the
  efficiency of water use, sustainable water
  utilization patterns, water conservation, and
  water management. Rational land use and landscape
  planning should play an important role
  controlling water distribution, and abatement of
  pollution and eutrophication of freshwater bodies
  Kundzewicz, 1992.

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What is African Approach to IWRM ?

• Since 1990 African governments took an active
  part in the global movement of water reform
  towards IWRM.
• The first step consisted primarily of
  assimilating the generic principles of IWRM. The
  Accra declaration of Africas Regional
  stake-holders Conference for Priority setting
  (2002) states Water can make an immense
  difference to Africas development if it is
  managed well and wisely. Given clear policies
  and strategies and real commitments to its
  implementation, water can help eradicate poverty,
  reduce water-related diseases and achieve
  sustainable development Africa Water Task
  Force, 2002.
• It is to operationize the issues that Africa is
  lacking mainly due to scarcity of economic means
  among African states and lack of logistics.

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Integrated Water Resources Management Policy in
South Africa.

• The need for Reform
• Pre 1994, water was mostly used by a dominant
  group which has privileged access to land and
  economic power
• The victory of democracy demands that national
  policy on water use and water law be reviewed
• The review reflect the requirements of fairness
  and equity
• It reflects the limits of water resources
  available to the nation
• It also highlights the need for a coordinated
  system of water management in South Africa (pre
  1994, the management of water resources in South
  Africa was so fragmented (DWA, DoEnv., DoEnergy,
  DoAgric)

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1997 South Africa Water Policy and the Water Act
(1998)

• The 1997 White Paper replaces the 1956 White
  paper.
• Main objective of the 1997 white paper is
• To set out the policy of government for the
  management of both quality and quality of South
  Africa scarce water resources
• Main objective of the policy is
• to promote equity in access to benefit of water
  of the nations water resources for all South
  Africans.

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• Some Major Key Proposals in the SA Water Policy
• (i) SA water resources is an indivisible asset
• (ii) The new Water Policy states that South
  African government is custodian of the nations
  water resources and will exercise its powers in
  this regard as a public trust
• (iii) The S.A Government exercises this
  mandate, reconciling, integrating and
  coordinating diverse and often conflicting
  interests of different stakeholders within the
  framework of sustainable and equitable
  utilization of the SA water resources for the
  optimal social and economic benefit of the
  country.

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• All water cycle - land, underground or surface
  channels flowing through or infilterating between
  such systems will be treated as part of the
  common resource and to some extent must meet the
  common objectives of water resources management
• Only water required to meet human needs and
  maintain environmental sustainability will be
  guaranteed as a right. This will be known as the
  Reserve. All other uses will be recognized only
  if they are beneficial in the public interest

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• Other uses to be subject to a system allocation
  that promotes use which is optimal for the
  achievement of equitable and sustainable economic
  and social development
• New system allocation implemented in phased
  manner beginning ijn water catchment areas which
  are already under stress
• The riparian system of allocation in which the
  right to use water is tied to ownership of land
  along the rivers effectively abolished

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• Water use allocation no longer permanent but for
  a reasonable period of time to allow for transfer
  or trade of these rights between users, with
  Ministerial content
• To promote efficient use of water, policy will
  charge users for full financial costs of
  providing access to water

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• Farming, forestry and industries important
  sectors of the economy that create wealth but
  unfortunately pollute the water systems. The
  sectors must re-evaluate their use and impacts on
  water resources, and will have to pay a price for
  water that reflects the real economic cost
  including the direct cost to society and
  environment for their water use.

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• Industries in particular must be under pressure
  to clean up their acts
• Local government (an their domestic users they
  serve) will have to look at the way they use and
  often waste water. Even the promoters of the
  need of the environment will have to justify the
  degree of environmental protection they seek.

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• Water policy objective in relation to neighbours
  is the same as it is within South African borders
  to ensure that we adjust to the demand of the
  future through cooperation not conflict in
  harmony with the needs of our common
  developmental goals and protection of the
  environment.

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Water Management Areas (WMAs) and Catchment
Management Agencies (CMAS)

• These development established inter alia a formal
  process of Integrated Water Resources Management
  (IWRM) according to Water Management Areas
  (WMAs)/Catchment Areas or Catchments Management
  Agencies (CMAs) at regional or catchment scale.

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• Water management to be carried out in regional or
  catchment management areas
• (which will coincide either with natural river
  catchment /groups of catchment or areas with
  linked supply systems with common social economic
  system) recognizing that conflicting interest
  will intensify the need for national management
  and supervision.
• Catchment Management Agencies subject to
  national authority to undertake water resources
  management in these water management areas.

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• At the national scale, the process of integrated
  management is structured by a National Water
  Resources Strategy (NWRS), while the evolving
  Catchments Management Strategies (CMS) provide a
  management framework at the regional and
  catchment scale.
• National Water Resource Strategy (NWRS)
• NWRS gives effect to IWRM at national strategic
  level, by providing a framework for water
  resources management between and within WMAs
  /CMAs. It makes provision for water quality and
  quantity requirements of strategically important
  water uses (use is defined in NWA as the
  consumptive use of the resource , as well as the
  use of the resource for the discharge of water
  that contains waste).
• NWRS is established by law and may consist of
  functional and/or issue based strategies for the
  protection, use, development, conservation,
  management and control of water resources (DWAF,
  2003).

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• Catchment Management Agencies (CMAs)
• NWA devolves management of the water resource at
  regional and catchment level via CMAs.
• CMAs are to undertake Integrated Water Resources
  Management (IWRM) in defined Water Management
  Areas (WMAs). CMAs are responsible for
  implementing the statutory provisions of the
  Water Act, as well as developing Catchment
  Management Strategies (CMSs) in their WMAs, in
  line with the NWRS.
• Stakeholder consultation and participation
  underlies the entire process (it is a critical
  component of the development of the CMS) as the
  CMAs must ensure the buy-ins and ownership by
  the stakeholders.
• CMAs sets out the
• Strategies, objectives, plans, guidelines and
  procedures of the CMAs Allocation plan,
  reflecting the principles for authorizing water
  use Institutions to be established. CMAs must
  enable the public to participate in managing
  water resources in their WMAs (DWAF, 2003).

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• Catchment Management Framework
• Catchment management process generally involves
  the following stages although these are
  characterized by significant overlap and
  interaction
• (i) Initiation - of the catchment management
  process triggered by one or more
  water-environment related issues
• (ii) Assessment to provide understanding of
  the water, social, economic and institutional
  environment
• (iii) Implementation - of the actions and
  procedures detailed in the CMS
• (iv) Administration of the catchment in terms
  of the CMS including fine-tuning
• (v) Monitoring and processing - of data and
  information collected in the catchment
• (vi) Auditing of catchment against performance
  indicators and regular review of strategy (DWAF,
  2003).

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• Resource Protection
• NWA is grounded in the resource protection
  approach based upon resource directed measures
  and resource directed controls, which are not
  prescribed by law, but have to be developed by
  DWAF policies.
• Resource directed measures allows for the
  ecological classification of water into four
  classes, describing relatively pristine to highly
  degraded (ecologically dysfunctional) resources.
  This ecological classes may be combined with the
  socio-economic importance of the resource (DWAF,
  2003) to formulate management classes reflecting
  the level of protection.
• Resource Management Classes will focus
  management attention on sensitive or degraded
  systems, and may indicate standards and practices
  required to control pollution (in some cases they
  may highlight remediation, either for water
  resource itself or the sources causing the
  pollution).

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• The classification system will also establish
  Resource Quality Objectives (RQOs) for each water
  resource (RQOs specify the numeric and narrative
  objectives that may relate to quantity, quality,
  habitat, biota, or in-stream/land-based
  activities for different water bodies (this is
  done in terms of the requirements for the
  reserve and the needs of the users) (DWAF,
  2003).

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Conclusion

• The Integrated Water Resources Management Policy
  in South Africa seems to be working. As indicated
  in Figure 2 - 3, though South Africa can be
  classified as a water scarce country, it ranked
  among the top users of water in the continent and
  its people has one of the largest access to clean
  water supply and sanitation in the continent.
• However mention must be made that there are
  still great disparities between the urban and
  rural dwellers with regards to access to clean
  water and sanitation but government is committed
  to its programme that by 2012 all South Africans
  no matter where they reside will have access to
  clean water and sanitation.

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What are our contributions to Water Resources
Management in South Africa?

• The Water Research Commission (WRC), South
  Africa is the agency dedicated to water research.
  It funds water research projects in the
  universities, research institutes and by private
  consultants. It is a parastatal within the DWAF
  and gets its funds from levies on every litre of
  water pumped in SA.
• Our group has been involved in some major
  projects on water management and quality
  assessment issues funded by the commission

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• Completed projects
• (i) Development of sustainable development
  indicators for Water Systems in three
  municipalities in South Africa municipalities
  a set of indicators were developed which the
  water managers in the municipalities can use
  to assess system performance and the
  sustainability of their water systems (WRC
  funded).

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• Characterization of the Umtata River Catchment
  Physical, chemical and microbiological
  characterization ( WRC funded)
• (iii) Took part of the National
  Eutrophication Monitoring Programme -
  nutrients (phosphates and nitrates) in some
  rivers in the Eastern Cape Province, SA (WRC
  funded)
• (iv) Study on endocrine disrupting chemicals
  (EDCs) and health risk assessment pesticides,
  phthalates and heavy metals (WRC/NRF funded)

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• (v) Study on Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons in some
  SA water sytems
• (vi) Trimethyl-, Tributyl- and Triphenyl tins
  (found in antifouling paints) in water systems
  (Marine sytems) Most potent aquatic toxins,
  especially the TPT (NRF funded)

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• Ongoing
• (vii) EDCs Phenols in water systems, Western
  Cape Major industrial pollutants

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• THANK YOU VERY MUCH, NKOSI, SIYANBONGA, ESEE

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