by Mutizwa Mukute
While thirsty Southern Africa struggles to meet the current water needs of its drought-stricken people, water managers and planners are concerned about the future.
‘The drought is giving us a frightening but clear message – that our water resources cannot tide us over for even one year. This should be enough to persuade decision-makers to allocate more funds for water resources development,” remarked one planner.
Except for arid Botswana, Namibia and parts of South Africa, southern African countries have had plenty of water in the past.
However, growing population, industrialisation, irrigation, siltation of water bodies, pollution of freshwater and over-extraction of irreplaceable ground-water is tipping the balance between water demand and supply.
In Namibia water is scarce. Diamond and uranium mining and irrigation are the major water users, but even basic requirements exceed the naturally available water in most areas.
To address the water shortage, Namibians, then under South African rule, started building the Eastern National Water Carrier (ENWC), a canal more than 750 km long which will eventually connect the Okavango river to the central arid region.
But the completed portion of the canal has been a death trap for wild animals with 10,000 drowning annually trying to cross over.
‘The canal is an ecological disaster,” said a Namibian environmentalist.
A 302 km Jong canal from Omatako to Grootfontein, is already complete. The final phase involves connecting the canal to Okavango River which feeds the internationally acclaimed Okavango delta. It could negatively affect Botswana’s most significant tourist attraction in the delta.
Botswana’s water problems arise because two-thirds of the country, covered by the Kalahari Desert, has no surface water supplies.
“Botswana will run into water problems by year 2020 if the water supply is not increased because water demand will double between now and then,” says a Botswana government report.
In 1987 the country considered using water from the Okavango delta but the project was abandoned after lobbying by the international environmental organisation, Greenpeace, on the premise that it was going to destroy the biological diversity in the delta.
South Africa is also expected to outgrow its water supply by the year 2020, according to a South African Water Department report.
Current dam capacity in the country is 50,000 million cubic metres annually.
An additional 2,200 million cubic metres of water will be diverted from Lesotho’s Sengu-Orange River to the Vaal in South Africa.
The project, called the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, will cost RS. l million and involves the
construction of four major dams, a tunnel and hydroelectric power stations. The water will be used in the mines and factories of the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV) area, South Africa’: industrial heartland.
“It is the most ambitious tunneling system in Southern Africa,” remarked Hans Pettenburger. a project technician.
The project also has a compensation system that Jonathan Jenness, a project engineer described as, “the most generous in Africa”.
But a prominent Basotho chief views it as the decline of a nation and the surrender of sovereignty because it takes away the only wealth Lesotho has.
Water experts say even with the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, shortages will occur in South Africa within the first quarter of the next century.
To make up the difference South Africa is proposing another ambitious water plan, the Zambezi Aqueduct, which is intended to draw water over 1,200 km from the Zambezi River at Kazungula through Botswana to Pretoria.
Swaziland also depends to a large extent on the goodwill of neighbours as its rivers originate in Mozambique and South Africa. South Africa had already dammed the major rivers, and this tiny country lacks the clout to negotiate with its neighbour. While at the moment it has enough water, the future will depend on whether or not the rivers that run through it are not excessively dammed in its neighbouring countries.
Lesotho has abundant water resources. Its mean annual rainfall is over 780 mm. Tanzania, too, has enough water to meet its present needs.
To ensure it maintains good water supplies, Tanzania is working on a river sources protection project.
“By protecting the forests in the watershed. we are ensuring a healthy and continuous supply of water into rivers that carry little sand,” said Patrick Aldtanda, a forest officer in the project.
The Rufiji River Basin Development Project is another Tanzanian project designed to swell the supply of energy and water for irrigation. When complete it should generate some 4,000 megawatts and provide water to over three million people living in the area for agricultural purposes.
Zambia’s water development plan as outlined in the New Economic Recovery Programme (1989-1993) provides for 161 dams and 650 kilometres of canals in the Bangweulu, Lukanga and Zambezi basins. Some 205 kilometres have already been built for irrigation and domestic use.
Malawi’s water position also seems quite secure.
“But,” adds Crosby Mphande, an irrigation specialist, “it will not be easy to harness water from Lake Malawi for industrial and domestic use because it is very low lying and next to it is a very high plateau.”
Malawi has plans for a Shire Highlands Water Project which could start after an environmental impact assessment which is yet to be done.
It will primarily be used for watering some 29,000 hectares of land. A canal will carry water from the Kamuchira Falls. The project will cost Kl 72 million and will be constructed over a period of 20 years. Angola, whose average rainfall is 1,500 mm a year, is under no pressure to embark on water development projects. It is the source of the Zambezi River, the Okavango River shared with Botswana, and the Cunene River shared with Namibia.
“Angola is in a very strategic position insofar as water is concerned and, in taking decisions about water utilisation in the region, its role is crucial,” said Tabeth Matiza, a wetlands specialist.
Zimbabwe’s annual ·water consumption is expected to double in the next 20 years and two dams are being proposed on the Save River in the eastern part of the country to supply water for irrigation in Zimbabwe’s fertile Lowveld
Industrial development in Zimbabwe’s second largest city, Bulawayo, has been handicapped by water scarcity.
To address the problem, the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project has been proposed. It will carry water from the Zambezi River to Bulawayo. The estimated cost stands at Z$l, 650 million but so far only Z$7million has been received by the project trustees.
With water problems looming in much of Southern Africa, many countries are sizing up the 3,000 km Jong Zambezi River as a potential water supply. Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique share the Zambezi River. It is a potential area of conflict. •
Realising the need for cooperation, countries sharing the river formed the Zambezi River Action Plan (ZACPlAN) which was adopted by a Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) now Southern African Development Community (SADC) Council of Ministers in 1987.
The main objectives of the plan are to carefully manage water resources in the Zambezi area and to make environmental considerations a priority so that water is sustainably utilised and the ecosystem receives minimum disturbance.
Between 1990 and 1996, ZACPl.AN activities include the identifying of environmental impacts of major development projects in the area. Member countries are also looking at strengthening national and international water legislation. SADC Environment and Land Management Unit coordinates ZACPLAN. There are four water development issues that the region is facing, namely, equitable allocation of water, adequate planning, water conservation techniques and responsible stewardship of the water as a resource.
Matiza says, “In the light of the diversity of water uses and conflicting interests in the region, the challenge lies in the formulation of utilisation and management strategies that fairly distribute at local, national and regional levels, the benefits of water.”
The ZACPLAN illustrates the point very well but Namibia’s ENWC and the damming of all rivers in South Africa that lead to Swaziland shows the inadequacy of cooperation between some countries.
Planning requires adequate and sufficient knowledge of the problems at hand. For example, little is known about the dynamics of ground-water.
Environmental impact assessments, such as those proposed in Malawi, prior to projects would avoid lasting damage to the environment.
Southern Africa could conserve more water by sharing techniques and experience. Zimbabwe has experience recycling municipal waste water and could share its expertise with other countries in the region.
The water transferred from Lesotho to South Africa via the Lesotho Highlands Water Project will go through tunnels which minimise water loss through evaporation.
Tree cutting, inappropriate agricultural practices and overstocking have caused loss of vegetation in the watersheds which leads to soil erosion and siltation of rivers and dams. For example, the Save River annually loses some 273 cubic metres of storage space to siltation. Correcting the manner in which the land is being exploited could result in more water being available.
Pollution, especially in the industrialized South Africa, has been significant and measures should be taken to enact and enforce law that discourages it.
If the fight against water shortage is to be won, specialists in various disciplines across Southern Africa have to join hands. Scientists, educators, politicians, and donors and many others should be involved in the evolution of water strategies, their development and implementation.
Southern Africa needs to build on its water expertise to meet the challenges ahead, and cooperation between countries is necessary so everyone benefits as much as possible from water developments in the region lest water becomes the major source of future conflicts in the region. (SARDC)
