how can water resources in SSA be improved
As stated in the previous blog, water is a resource in Africa that needs far more management, however, the question remains: how can water be better managed in Africa? In this post I aim to spli t water resource management into two categories: utilisation (of resource) and location - I feel this break down will best tackle what I consider to be huge injustices in Africa. The main focus of water resource management should, and is, seen as development as well as being a political and economic priority for countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
In order to better establish an improved management system there needs to be greater levels of water usage accountability, especially with shared limited resources such as transboundary aquifers. With increasing levels of usage and strain placed on groundwater resources in lieu of climate change it becomes imperative to properly manage these resources. At present the jurisdiction of water managmement in rural areas lies under the communities that depend upon them, these communities however often do not consult each other over ground water usage - often leading to an unfair "share" being used by some parties over others. There needs to be a greater level of communication between different settlements and communities that utilise the same resource in order to reach an understanding of water availability so as to ensure that the "wells [do not] run dry" .One area that offers huge promise for integration within the Sub Saharan region is agriculture. The sub-Saharan is such a huge region that very rarely does the whole area suffer from drought, with greater integration and resource sharing it is possible that cooperation within the area from all stakeholders could immensely improve the rate of development as well as health and well-being. Even with a very limited increased co-operation in the region, sustainability would also improve.
Furthemore, as mentioned in the first blog post the average distance travelled by villagers in Africa to fetch water is over 3.7miles, this distance is often travelled by women and children who carry around 20 liters using containers placed on their heads - the weight and strain of moving these cast quantities of water has been attributed to health issues. As well as this, the task of providing water for households falls disproportionately to women and girls, especially in rural areas. In a study carried out by UNICEF of 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, it was estimated that in terms of sheer man-hours over 16million hours were spent collecting water daily, these hours would be far better spent on education to further the cause of women in communities in Africa.
As is the objective of SDG 6, and many water aid charities, water supplies need to be centred on villages - for example a greater prevalence of hand pumps or wells within villages could greatly reduce the amount of time spent travelling by women and children to fetch water, allowing for greater levels of education and equality, health and of course sanitation - water collected is often riddled with disease which creates huge levels of health problems . However, installation of pumps is expensive and often if not backed by the local community, the pumps break through lack of maintenance. As with solutions to food growth, it is important that the local community are involved in pump installation and location decisions to benefit the community in the long run.
In a later blog post I aim to discuss the theme of Water reources and conflict in Africa. So to sum up: water resources can be used to benefit large swathes of SSA, with greater integration within the region development, water scarcity and food scarcity slowly improve, further to this, with better management of resources and installation of pumps it is possible that development will further improve through increased education, equality and well being of women.
In order to better establish an improved management system there needs to be greater levels of water usage accountability, especially with shared limited resources such as transboundary aquifers. With increasing levels of usage and strain placed on groundwater resources in lieu of climate change it becomes imperative to properly manage these resources. At present the jurisdiction of water managmement in rural areas lies under the communities that depend upon them, these communities however often do not consult each other over ground water usage - often leading to an unfair "share" being used by some parties over others. There needs to be a greater level of communication between different settlements and communities that utilise the same resource in order to reach an understanding of water availability so as to ensure that the "wells [do not] run dry" .One area that offers huge promise for integration within the Sub Saharan region is agriculture. The sub-Saharan is such a huge region that very rarely does the whole area suffer from drought, with greater integration and resource sharing it is possible that cooperation within the area from all stakeholders could immensely improve the rate of development as well as health and well-being. Even with a very limited increased co-operation in the region, sustainability would also improve.
Furthemore, as mentioned in the first blog post the average distance travelled by villagers in Africa to fetch water is over 3.7miles, this distance is often travelled by women and children who carry around 20 liters using containers placed on their heads - the weight and strain of moving these cast quantities of water has been attributed to health issues. As well as this, the task of providing water for households falls disproportionately to women and girls, especially in rural areas. In a study carried out by UNICEF of 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, it was estimated that in terms of sheer man-hours over 16million hours were spent collecting water daily, these hours would be far better spent on education to further the cause of women in communities in Africa.
As is the objective of SDG 6, and many water aid charities, water supplies need to be centred on villages - for example a greater prevalence of hand pumps or wells within villages could greatly reduce the amount of time spent travelling by women and children to fetch water, allowing for greater levels of education and equality, health and of course sanitation - water collected is often riddled with disease which creates huge levels of health problems . However, installation of pumps is expensive and often if not backed by the local community, the pumps break through lack of maintenance. As with solutions to food growth, it is important that the local community are involved in pump installation and location decisions to benefit the community in the long run.
In a later blog post I aim to discuss the theme of Water reources and conflict in Africa. So to sum up: water resources can be used to benefit large swathes of SSA, with greater integration within the region development, water scarcity and food scarcity slowly improve, further to this, with better management of resources and installation of pumps it is possible that development will further improve through increased education, equality and well being of women.
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