At the dawn of a new millennium, Africa finds itself at a critical juncture. It is at a point where it must choose between being marginalized and being integrated into a fast evolving global economy spurred on by recent advances in information and communications technologies. In the event, African leaders have chosen the second option. They have unveiled a New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). This is a bold and unprecedented initiative. However, the success of this bold initiative would depend upon the extent to which Africa’s human, economic, technological, and natural resources can be applied to this new vision. Thus this is the time for all sectors in Africa to consider the role they can play in this new and bold initiative. This paper is about how water can help.
Africa is endowed with precious, industrial, and strategic minerals. It has oil, forest and natural features, an attractive tourist appeal. Its vast agricultural potential remains largely under-exploited. In the immediate post-colonial era, the development of these assets was hampered by conflict, political insecurity and inadequate accountability and openness in governance. However, at the dawn of this new millennium, there is progress. Democracy is spreading; there is a collective African effort to deal with conflict and political instability; and there is a growing awareness of the benefits of participation by civil society, women and the youth.
Yet there is still a danger that Africa will be marginalized in a world that is undergoing rapid globalization and economic development spurred on by recent advances in information and communication technologies. Today, Africa remains one of the poorest and least developed continents of the world, with 340 million of its people, half its population, living on less that US$1 per day. Only about 60 percent have access to safe water supplies. Food insecurity is critical, with the undernourished exceeding over 200 million people. Debility and mortality from preventable communicable disease like malaria, HIV/AIDS, and diarrhoea are high. The mortality rate of children under five years is 140 per 1000, and life expectancy at birth is only 54 years. The rate of illiteracy of people over 15 is 41 percent. Africa’s poverty stands in stark contrast to prosperity in other parts of the world.
Africa’s leaders and global communities believe that Africa can break free of poverty if we can overcome the “development trap that confines it to a vicious cycle of underdevelopment, conflict, and suffering. Africa’s Heads of State have responded to this challenge by unveiling the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) which seeks to lay the foundation for sustainable development in Africa. Given this political leadership, what should be the response of the water sector to this challenge? This paper is an attempt to create a platform for addressing this question.
In preparation for the Second World Water Forum in 2000, an Africa Water Vision was prepared. Based on it, a framework for action on water has been produced for Africa; and IGWA (an inter-agency group on water for Africa) has decided to use it as the basis for the work of its agencies in Africa.
Already there has been progress. The principles of integrated water resources management (IWRM) have been widely embraced. At national level, there have been significant water policy reforms accompanied by important technical developments in the water sector with parallel initiatives at the political and economic development levels. What is now needed is development of the link between national, sub-regional and regional water programs and the broad political and economic policy programmes.
There is a need for an understanding of the significance of investment in water for socio-economic development programs and an understanding of the broad development path for Africa in the water sector. Without this, low priority will be given to water in national budgets and in economic development programs.
The NEPAD initiative offers a rare opportunity to establish this link. This paper aims to show the link between water and sustainable development in Africa and how water can help in achieving the goals of NEPAD.
There is already a general appreciation that water has a vital role in all forms of development. What is less well understood is what needs to be done to mobilise the potential of water for development and to ensure that water does not become a constraint to sustainable development, capable of wiping away the gains of development either progressively or overnight, as happened in Mozambique in the floods of 2000. Decision makers also need to know that, unless correct approaches are taken, economic and social development could negatively impact on water resources and that this in turn could constrain future development efforts.
The specific objectives of this paper are therefore:
- To summarize the NEPAD agenda for sustainable development in Africa.
- To show the vital and indispensable role for water in the success of the NEPAD agenda for sustainable development in the 21st century.
- To identify critical water issues in Africa that could undermine NEPAD, and constrain sustainable development.
- To identify strategies for addressing these issues.
- To propose an Africa-wide water agenda to support the NEPAD agenda and underpin sustainable development in Africa in the 21st century.
|
