SOUTHERN AFRICAN WATER CO-OPERATION LESSONS FROM THE

SOUTHERN AFRICAN WATER CO-OPERATION – LESSONS FROM THE OKAVANGO BASIN Anthony Turton & Peter Ashton Gibb-SERA Chair in IWRM and CSIR – Environmentek © 2004 P. O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION • Understanding the background to the problem • Practicalities and difficulties • What can we learn for environmental peacemaking? • What do we want to communicate to decision-makers on environmental peacemaking? • Conclusion

UNDERSTANDING THE BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM

SITES OF DISPUTES OVER WATER Most disputes over water occur in areas of transition from perennial to ephemeral systems, or where availability is uncertain N 0 250 Kilometres 500

MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL D. R. C. (1, 534) TANZANIA (937) ANGOLA (1, 050) MOZABIQUE (969) ZAMBIA (1, 011) MALAWI (1, 014) Mean annual Rainfall (mm) ZIMBABWE (652) Large areas of the Okavango / Makgadi basin receive low rainfall NAMIBIA (254) Only Cubango and Cuito rivers are perennial BOTSWANA (400) SOUTH AFRICA (497) SWAZILAND (788) N 0 250 Kilometres 500 LESOTHO (760) 2500 2000 1500 1250 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100

MAKGADI CATCHMENT ANGOLA DRC T A Za Mo Cuando R. ZAMBIA Cuito R. Zambezi R. Cubango R. Kavango R. Zi N Ma B SA S L Okavango Delta Chobe R. Okavango Basin ZIMBABWE Boteti River basin Omatako R. Nata R. Lake Ngami Map sourced from GEF Report on Okavango Delta Study Deception Pan complex N Sowa Pan basin Okwa R. NAMIBIA Ntwetwe Pan basin 100 km Deception Pan basin Extent of Ramsar Site BOTSWANA R. S. A.

WATER ABUNDANCE / SCARCITY Annual Availability (“Normal” Year) Availability in Driest Month (“Normal” Year) Supply >> Demand Supply ≈ Demand Supply << Demand Source: Biggs & Scholes (2004)

PROPORTION OF WATER INFLOWING / TRANSFERED FROM NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES 0% 5 8 7 25 60 33 32 10 9 7 9 50 58 76 91 0 - 10 % 11 - 25 % 26 - 50 % > 50 % 42 12 0

PRACTICALITIES AND DIFFICULTIES

THE LEGACY OF CONFLICTS

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PEACEMAKING?

Lake Chad SHARED RIVER BASINS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA Nile Congo (DRC) Congo Tanzania Angola Rovuma Mozambique Zambia Kunene Zambezi Zimbabwe Cuvelai The types of “solutions” that are selected for the Okavango / Makgadi basin could be used in other SADC basins Malawi Pungué Buzi Save-Runde Okavango/ Makgadi Namibia Botswana Limpopo Incomati Umbeluzi Maputo Orange Swaziland South Africa N Lesotho 0 250 Kilometres 500

Lake Chad DAMS AND SHARED RIVER BASINS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA Nile Congo (DRC) Congo Tanzania Angola Rovuma Zambezi Zimbabwe Cuvelai South Africa and Zimbabwe are listed amongst the top twenty countries in the world in terms of the numbers of dams built (WCD 2000) Mozambique Zambia Kunene Malawi Pungué Buzi Save-Runde Okavango/ Makgadi Namibia Botswana Limpopo Incomati Umbeluzi Maputo Orange Swaziland South Africa N Lesotho 0 250 Kilometres 500

Lake Chad WATER TRANSFERS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA Nile Congo (DRC) Congo Tanzania Angola Rovuma Mozambique Zambia Kunene Zambezi Zimbabwe Cuvelai Existing water transfer scheme Proposed new water transfer scheme Malawi Pungué Buzi Save-Runde Okavango/ Makgadi Namibia Botswana Limpopo Incomati Umbeluzi Maputo Orange Swaziland South Africa N Lesotho 0 250 Kilometres 500

POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS Possible water ANGOLA transfers into the Cubango or Cuito from the Kasai River Several potential hydropower dam sites identified on the Cubango River Could include irrigation supply Cuito R. Expansion of irrigated agriculture along ZAMBIA bank of south Kavango River – (part of Namibia’s N “Green Plan” for Cuando R. food security) 100 km One potential hydropower dam site identified on Kavango River in Namibia Cubango R. Kavango R. NAMIBIA (Popa Falls) Omatako R. Possible water abstraction at Rundu for transfer to Windhoek Okavango Delta Potential expansion of irrigated agriculture near Shakawe Lake Ngami Expanded groundwater abstraction from fringes of BOTSWANA Okavango Delta Okavango Basin

WHAT DO WE WANT TO COMMUNICATE TO DECISION-MAKERS ON ENVIRONMENTAL PEACE-MAKING?

LANGUAGE DISTRIBUTION KEY TO LANGUAGE CODES ANGOLA 2 1 ZAMBIA Cuando R. 3 Cuito R. Cubango R. 13 Zambezi R. Kavango R. 12 11 1 = NKANGALA 2 = MBWELA 3 = NYEMBA 4 = KWANYAMA 5 = !O!UNG 6 = KWANGALI 7 = HERERO 8 = KUNGU / TSUMKWE 9 = KUNG / =KX’AU//‘EIN 10 = YEYI / KXOE 11 = MBUKUSHU 12 = KXOE 13 = DIRIKU Plus: PORTUGUESE, AFRIKAANS, ENGLISH, TSWANA, UMBUNDU Okavango Delta Chobe R. N 4 5 ZIMBABWE 6 10 Omatako R. Nata R. Boteti R. Lake Ngami 9 7 7 Okwa R. 8 Deception Pan complex Makgadi Pans NAMIBIA 100 km BOTSWANA SOUTH AFRICA

DEVELOPMENT IMPERATIVES (1) Rural Development Post-Conflict Reconstruction Urban & Industrial Growth Eco-Tourism Development

DEVELOPMENT IMPERATIVES (2) Subsistence Agriculture National Food Security Conservation Hydroelectricity

2002 ADULT HIV/AIDS PREVALENCE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 8. 3 7. 4 8. 9 4. 2 7. 2 15. 0 5. 9 7. 8 5. 5 13. 0 21. 5 0 - 10 % 10 - 15 % 33. 7 15 - 20 % 20 - 30 % 22. 5 15. 0 38. 8 > 30 % Data Sources: • UNAIDS, 2003 • World Population Data Sheet, 2003 33. 4 20. 1 31. 0

CONCLUSION

Conclusion • Build on shared values • Ubuntu – “umuntu, abantu, amabantu” (a person is a person because of people) –Cultural heritage –Language • Peace needs for health and prosperity are universal –HIV/AIDS as an opportunity for engagement

Conclusion • Strategic development ethic: WEALTH • W - water • E (2) - education & energy • A (4) - access (markets, finance, justice & ecosystems) • L – land tenure • T - technology that is appropriate • H (2) - health (human & ecosystem)

Conclusion • Move from national self-sufficiency to food security –Southern African Hydropolitical Complex – Driver of regional economic integration • Move from water sharing to benefit sharing –Parallel National Action (PNA) as a possible model – Deepening the democratic experience