Water's the Problem?
Hello and welcome to my blog on water and politics in an African context. I invite you to join me on my journey exploring how Africa (the 54 countries, NOT, the single continent) interacts with the vital resource of water.
WATER!
The value of water, although not realised on a daily basis for those of us who have free flowing, drinkable, water accessed at the twist of a knob in our homes, is unmatched by all. The undebatable reliance on water for drinking, food, agriculture, sanitation, and climate regulation (not to disregard the industrial uses) signifies that discourses about water are essential for our survival and, to be less anthropocentric, the planet’s. Despite the presence of water being somewhat strictly a result of the Earth’s natural systems and geological formations, it is the handling of water that results in the form that water takes in people’s lives and into our lived interactions with it. Questions of supply and access (whether this be natural or aided by infrastructure), functions (drinking or hydrogen-cell powered vehicles), dynamics (in the form of cyclical variability or long-term climate change), the efficiency and equity of usage, are ultimately answered through a chain of decisions. These embedded processes of decision-making suggest that water is inherently political. Exclusive of its chemical make-up, it is in the power of some to influence this golden resource, which although ideally transparent, is clouded by a complex web of natural factors, actors, uses, authorities, and management held together by necessity.
WHY AFRICA?
Africa is not a country. To start by erasing misconceptions regarding Africa present throughout the history of its discourse, Africa is not a homogenous 30.4 million km2 of "hot and dusty rolling grasslands". As Wainaina discusses, the popular romantic view of Africa picturised in the West is one of a poverty-stricken, malnutritional Africa that displays a landscape of unmatched beauty; it lacks the interest and precision to equitably represent the diversity of the 900 million inhabitants, 2000 languages, and 3000 ethnic groups that colour the continent. Though my experience of the less developed world (coming from Indian origins) has alerted me of the great diversity that some of the most populated areas on the planet possess, and the adversity they face, my devoid drawer of African knowledge sparks an interest in making a start with its unpacking in order to influence a greater awareness.
Figure 1: Map showing access to drinking water in Africa (WHO, 2017)
Africa faces some of the most extreme water problems that are continuously being exacerbated by the phenomena of climate change. From issues of poor supply, potability, sanitation and food security to the economy, inequality, and management - Africa is suffering.
Viewing Africa through a zoomed in lens shows the sheer breadth of problems within and between bounded land. Figure 1 shows the variability in access to basic water drinking services (averaged over countries) and Figure 2 displays water bodies spread over multiple countries. Highlighting the most vital outcome of hydropolitics, access to usable water, brings a focus on Sustainable Development Goal 6 - access to water and sanitation for all.
This goal that ensures survival for current and future generations, involves many decisions - from how this goal is designed, to how it is actualised. In exploring how it plays out, many questions will need to be answered, and perhaps more importantly, raised; starting with why the extremity of the water problem in Africa has gone unaddressed?. I hope I can make a small dent into these chains of decision making, the power relations involved, and the political nature of water in Africa.
I aim to navigate the nuances of the continent; exploring the histories, technologies, contestations, and collaborations surrounding water to write a story of Africa of my own – one that acknowledges its variety, the integral role of politics, and begins with a blank canvas.
See you soon!
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