Hydropolitics in Africa

Previously I mentioned Watkins argument that inequality and power imbalances are central to water crises ( 2006 ). This idea is likely to feature a lot throughout my blog as power is inherent to politics whereby groups of people make decisions ( Axford et al. 1997 ). This post will outline how the physical landscape and climate of Africa contributes to inequality. It aims to contextualise my blog and provide a grounding from which we can explore how this inequality has (or has not) been compounded by politics in future posts.  Photo from meeting of the Executive Committee of the African Ministers’ Council Water (AMCOW) whose mission is to provide ‘ political leadership, policy direction and advocacy in the provision, use and management of water resources’. Source Freshwater availability The terms ‘water scarcity’ and ‘water stress’ are often used to describe a country or region’s freshwater availability. Whilst there is much debate over their definitions, values of 1700m 3 /capit...

This is a quick post about a video I came across and wanted to share. Although it gives a global overview of the water crises, I think it nicely summarises why water and freshwater management is important as well as portraying its political nature.  Source Whilst some of the case studies mentioned in the video are from countries elsewhere in the world, the broader issues they touch upon, such as transboundary resource issues (Colorado River) and local water conflicts (Mexicali), can also be explained using case studies from around Africa. One line from the video that particularly stood out to me was:  " The more scarce water gets, the more access to it becomes a competition with winners and losers, often with governments picking." Not only is this highly relevant to the blog but it also suggests that water will become increasingly politicised in the future as climate change leads to increased water scarcity ( UN 2020 ).

Hello and welcome to my blog where I discuss hydropolitics in Africa! This blog post is a quick introduction to me and why I'm passionate about African hydropolitics. It will also give a brief insight into why water is such an important political issue and touch upon some topics I hope to explore more in future posts. I grew up in the cultural melting pot that is Johannesburg, South Africa, and this sparked my interested in the Africa continent. Although whilst living there I experienced hosepipe bans and occasional water shortages due to poorly maintained water pipes, it was not until I moved to the U.K. that the topic of hydropolitics in Africa really grabbed my attention. When back visiting Johannesburg, I volunteered at the Yeoville Community School which caters to children with challenging socioeconomic backgrounds.  Most of the children I met lived in informal housing in the surrounding townships, such as Alexandra, Vooslorus and Orange Farm and almost all of them looked for...