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Geneva,
10 – 11 December
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V.
Issues Affecting Regional Water Resources Development
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Current
progress by SADC countries to strengthen the policy framework
for regional co-operation is a significant foundation for
improving management of the region's water resources.
Yet regional integrated water resources development and
management requires a multidimensional planning and
implementation capacity which incorporates both national and
regional institutions. Such
institutions are needed to better facilitate the
identification and implementation of national and
transboundary projects and programmes.
In large measure, this capacity is still lacking
throughout most of the region.
Briefly discussed below are six major issues and
constraints that limit SADC member-states' ability to achieve
a more integrated approach to water resources development.
The
Legal and Regulatory Framework
Treaties
in the region, unfortunately, cannot guarantee effective
integrated river basin management.
National water legislation in most SADC countries is
inadequate and weakly enforced.
One reason effective integrated water resource
development and management is difficult to attain is because
different national laws, covering water, often conflict.
Under the ZACPRO 2 project in 1993, a review of the
national laws of each SADC country indicated gaps and a need
for harmonisation with international water laws. Concerning
the jurisprudence of treaties, most regional SADC treaties are
still not applicable at the national level unless and until
their obligations are incorporated in national law.
In addressing legal and regulatory aspects of the
management of international river basins, country-specific
laws pertaining to the use of national waters are thus not
consistent with widely accepted international water
principles.
In
short, the SADC region needs a common and effective legal and
regulatory framework. Effective water resources management
requires adequate legislation, and a mechanism for these laws
to be enforced. These
constraints hinder equitable and reasonable utilisation of
water resources and inhibit water resource conservation,
protection, and management.
Institutional
Strengthening
The
efficient operation and management of water resources
development and the equitable sharing and utilisation of their
benefits are marginally realised due to a lack of
comprehensive, integrated basin-wide approach in the
development and management processes.
The management of water resources requires strong and
effective mechanisms for inter-sectoral planning and
co-ordination. At
the national level when dealing with water resources, agencies
need to collaborate and some machinery for resolving conflicts
among users is invariably needed.
There is a wide range of government agencies involved
with water resource issues, including line ministries,
autonomous bodies and statutory councils.
In the SADC region, as elsewhere, it is common for
different agencies to deal with water supply, sanitation, and
pollution control, leading to divided responsibilities.
Lack of co-ordination is further complicated by the
often inadequate staff training and management practices
within the various agencies.
These
institutional and co-ordination issues are compounded when
moved to the level of joint river basin management in the
region and other transboundary water issues.
Elevating co-operation to address water use demands
remains a high priority and there is much work to be done to
accomplish this goal.
Linkages
with Sustainable Development Policies
As
noted above, current macro-economic policies in the region
have only just begun to address the economic incentives to
encourage the conservation and sustainable use of water
resources. However, socio-economic instruments would encourage
cost effectiveness, increase investments in water
infrastructure, and act as incentives for efficient use of
water and pollution control whilst addressing the basic needs
of the less affluent parts of the population.
Experience has shown that some water development
projects in the past proved to be economically unjustifiable
because of the indiscriminate and untargeted use of subsidies
in the water sector and the lack of concern with cost
recovery. Such policies may result in serious environmental damage,
inefficient use of water, inadequate conservation measures,
inequitable access to water resources, and higher budget
deficits. Although this is a relatively new concern for many SADC
countries, there is considerable scope for making macro
policies for the water sector -- and the regulatory framework
for their enforcement -- more economically, environmentally
and socially responsible.
Data
Collection, Management and Dissemination
SADC
countries need to improve the knowledge base for improved
management of water resources.
Integrated management is dependent on acquiring
appropriate information, managing this information and making
it available to a large diversity of end users.
Regional and local capacities need to be developed for
the continuous updating of pertinent data for planning and
monitoring purposes. Data
and information systems relating to water resources are
generally inadequate throughout the SADC region.
Established systems need further improvements through
better technology, trained human resources, strengthened
capacity, and capital investments.
Information systems are needed to formulate and monitor
policies, regulations, public investment plans, public and
private sector activities, and environmental issues.
Establishing monitoring networks to assess water quality and
quantity and identify major pollution sources is required
throughout the region. Additionally,
stronger links are required between water resource information
and the decision making process.
Information
acquisition and sharing are critical to the development of
transboundary water resources.
As in the case of national concerns, inadequacies in
the availability and dissemination of information on shared
water resources inhibit investment opportunities, strategic
planning, resolution of conflicts between riparian states, and
preparation of joint water-related environmental action plans
and assessments.
Awareness
Building, Education and Training
In
the SADC region, there is inadequate awareness of the state of
water resources to include their economic, social,
environmental and management implications. This limited understanding represents a serious constraint to
improved water resources management and development. Knowledge of water resource issues is largely confined to a
small number of professionals and specialists in SADC
member-states. Extending
this understanding to all beneficiaries requires extensive
awareness building among political leaders, decision-makers,
professionals, academics, donors, NGOs and the public.
Specific skills should be developed in negotiation, dispute
resolution and confidence building as well as provide
decision-making skills and tools to seek options for win-win
solutions. At the grassroots level, people need to be aware
that water is not a free good, that it is a finite resource
with supply constraints.
Similarly, people are often unaware of the importance
of water quality to their health, that is, contaminated water
can lead to water-borne diseases, effecting human health and
productivity. Moreover,
people need to understand the consequences of deforestation
and land degradation on the quantity and quality of water
resources..
Aside
from public awareness, the human resource capacity necessary
for comprehensive and sustainable water resources development
and management is lacking. The SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems identifies
the need to establish appropriate institutions for the
effective implementation of the provisions of the Protocol.
Yet these institutions do not have sufficiently trained
and educated water sector professionals.
This capacity imbalance will constrain the successful
implementation of integrated water resources development and
management. An
integrated approach requires cross-sectoral and
inter-disciplinary management skills not sufficiently found in
SADC countries. The demand for new infrastructure forecast over the coming
two decades will, likewise, entail increasing needs for
technical and multi-disciplinary professionals.
Stakeholder
Participation
Government
ministries, municipalities or water companies are usually
responsible for the water supply.
The disadvantage of this top-down approach to water
resources development is that almost no choice is given to
beneficiaries for selecting the kinds of water services they
receive. Similarly,
irrigation projects have often had a sad legacy of not seeking
to involve the intended beneficiaries in project design and
implementation. As a result, maintenance is perceived as the government's
responsibility, and there is often limited cost recovery due
to a lack of perceived ownership and responsibility on the
part of the public. These
factors result in unsustainable projects, since governments
cannot afford to support and maintain projects that the
beneficiaries do not accept. The shortfalls in project
performance can, in many cases, be partially explained by
inadequate participation of beneficiaries.
Despite significant progress made, the challenge for
SADC countries is to involve stakeholders more fully in
project formulation, design, implementation, operation and
maintenance.
Stakeholder
participation should not be limited to projects alone.
Strategy formulation and policy design, legislation and
water tariff reforms are other areas that require public
support. These
areas may fail to find the necessary political and financial
backing, if they are perceived as exclusive, technocratic
ideas lacking stakeholder involvement.
Probably
the most critical stakeholder group is women who are
ultimately the principal managers of environmental resources.
The involvement of women has been consistently shown to be
instrumental in the success and sustainability of water supply
and sanitation projects.
The reasons are easy to understand: in the absence of
water supply and sanitation facilities, it is women who spend
substantial portions of their time carrying water and caring
for their families. Their quality of life, in the home and in
the field, is most directly affected by the availability or
lack of water and sanitation facilities.
Stakeholders
-- whether women or others – may, nonetheless, be
constrained for institutional, human resource, financial and
other reasons. For
their part, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and
community-based organisations (CBOs) are now seen as playing a
critical role in expanding involvement and capacity among
stakeholder groups. As
organisations that work directly with and/or represent many of
the end users of the region's water resources, these
organisations can help to ensure that specific water sector
programmes benefit from comprehensive stakeholder input.
Many of the NGOs and CBOs in the region, however, face
significant constraints that may limit their critical role.
These constraints include limitations in organisational
capacity, technical expertise, financial resources and access
to the water management process and relevant
institutions.
Infrastructure
Most
SADC countries’ water infrastructure, regardless of purpose
(e.g., domestic and industrial water supply, sanitation,
hydropower generation, irrigation, flood control, drainage),
is inadequate. In
some cases it is in a state of disrepair and often operates
inefficiently. This is attributed to problems of operation and
maintenance.
The
distribution of domestic water and sanitation services to the
people, especially the poor, has been hampered, to a large
extent, by inadequate infrastructure. In certain urban areas
population growth has outgrown the designed infrastructure
systems and now requires redesigning to meet current and
projected demands. In rural areas, groundwater, the prime
source for water, has not been well developed.
Most
of the large water infrastructure, such as dams, have been
constructed and operated for single rather than multi-purpose
uses. In most instances they have been constructed for
hydropower or for irrigation purposes. These structures cannot
accommodate the growing demands for multipurpose use.
The
SADC Regional Strategic Action Plan >> |
