Causes of Water-Related Conflict
Historically, water has offered minimal opportunities for greed and exploitation, so has only had a limited threat of conflict, but as water resources are put under increasing pressure, this is beginning to change (Alao 2007). This blog post examines some of the prophesied causes of conflict over water.
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| Figure 1: A Picture of the Okavango River. |
Inequality
This was touched upon in my introductory blog post, but unequal access to water has been approached in a few ways:
Structural Inequality Discourse: (Turton 2000) Conflict may arise if there is unequal access to water. Africa has unevenly distributed water resources, and countries within the same basin may experience different levels of social, economic and political development (Ashton 2002). Uneven water resource use between upstream and downstream riparian states (coupled with the pollution of water bodies) can be a contentious issue (Ashton 2002; Pallett 1997; SARDC 1996), especially if water is used without consideration of other riparian states (Ashton 2000; Heyns 1995).
Environmental Scarcity Discourse: This approach refers to water scarcity that emerges from the actions of the dominant social group against a weaker social group, for example, ethnic or racial marginalisation. Actions have important ripple effects across society, potentially leading to conflict (Alao 2007).
Climate Change
The UN warned of the increased risk of water-related conflict due to increased competition over scarce resources due to climate change (UN 2009). Water management will have to adapt as a result. I expand on this in 'Looking Ahead: Discussing the Threat of Climate Change'.
Water as a Political/Military Goal
Water may be a military or political goal (Gleick 1998). State boundaries in Africa are a colonial legacy (Ashton 2002; Prescott 1979), and these (somewhat) arbitrary borders mean that many water basins are transboundary (Pallett 1997). States compete over resources (Ashton 2000), and if scarcity already exists debates may arise about how the water can be distributed between groups or states, the relative power of these groups, and the availability/accessibility of alternative water resources.
The international border between Namibia and Angola runs along the Okavango, meaning that both countries maintain a right to withdraw water there, which could incite conflict (Kaniaru 2015; Ashton 2000).
Poor Resource Management
International water resources must be effectively managed because actions that affect the quality or availability of water increase the risk of conflict (Alao 2007). Therefore, domestic, regional and international/transboundary policies relating to water resources are critical (Alao 2007).
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| Figure 2: Windhoek, Namibia |
Interdependencies make states vulnerable (Peterson-Perlman et al 2017; Mogomotsi et al 2020); Namibia and Botswana have a greater dependency on the availability of the Okavango, but have less control over water quality as downstream riparian states. Namibia is the driest country in Africa (Meissner 1998), so there is constant pressure on the government for a reliable water supply.
Furthermore, the Okavango is their only permanent flowing river, so stakeholders must align their water management strategies for peace, prosperity, and the avoidance of conflict (Ashton 2002; Ashton and Haasbroek 2002; Ashton 2000; Pallett 1997; Turton 1999).
Bibliography
Ashton, P.J. (2002) ‘Avoiding Conflicts over Africa’s Water Resources’, Ambio, 31, 3, 236-242.
Ashton, P.J. and B, Haasbroek. (2002). ‘Water demand management and social adaptive capacity: A South African case study’, in A.R, Turton. and R, Henwood. (eds.), Hydropolitics in the Developing World: A Southern African Perspective, Pretoria, South Africa: African Water Issues Research Unit (AWIRU) and International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
Pallett, J. (ed.) (1997) Sharing Water In Southern Africa, Windhoek, Namibia: Desert Research Foundation of Namibia.
Prescott, J.R.V. (1979) 'Africa's boundary problems’, Optima, 28, 2-21.
Turton, A.R. (1999) ‘Water and conflict in an African context’, Conflict Trends, 5, 24-27.
UN World Water Development. (2009) Water in a Changing World, Available online at: www.unesco-wwap.org/wwdr3/media-kit/documents/WWDR3%20low%20res.pdf ; (Accessed 01/11/2023).
Hi Ciara! Another great blog post to explain why the Okavango specifically might face water security issues in the future. I was wondering there are any specific case studies that you will pull upon in future blog posts to support the wider arguments you made in this and the first blog posts?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I will do a 'deep dive' into some of the specific conflicting interests and discourses between the Okavango stakeholders, particularly in relation to the the Rundu-Grootfontein pipeline proposed by Namibia, much to the anger of Botswana.
DeleteHi Ciara, this is a lovely post and I love how clearly you have explained everything. What do you think organisations such as the UN who make these warnings can do to help? or will you be exploring this in a future blog? Thank you!! I also love the range of references you have used!
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