Gaps and Challenges Groundwater Governance in Africa€¦ · strategically to water resource management. through its systematic inclusion into the IWRM plans, which each country is

Gaps and Challenges in Groundwater Governance in Africa: Lessons Learnt

Sub Saharan Africa Regional Consultationfor the GEF Project ‘Groundwater Governance’

Nairobi, 29‐31 May 2012

Eberhard BrauneUNESCO Chair in GeohydrologyUniversity of the Western Cape

Groundwater plays an increasingly crucial role in the fulfillment of the African Water Vision towards poverty alleviation, socio‐economic development, regional cooperation and environmental protection.

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In contrast to its strategic role it has remained a poorly understood and managed resource. This is becoming a clear threat to sustainable water service delivery and meeting the Millennium Development Goals on Water.

Immense challenge: to turn around the present ineffective and unsustainable use of groundwater throughout Africa will require national, regional and international actions on a number of fronts.

Message to Decision‐makersCape Town, November 2005WWF Mexico, 2006 and AMCOW Exco Brazzaville, 2007

2Groundwater Governance: Gaps & Challenges ‐ Lessons Learnt Nairobi, 29‐31 May 2012

AMCOW 6th Session Brazzaville, 2007

First African Water Week, Tunis, 2008SADC Stakeholder Dialogue (Groundwater), 2009

Groundwater Development/Management in SADC ‐ Status

Overall goal of SADC: ‘Regional Integration and Poverty Eradication’;SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses, 1998, revised in 2003 (one of the sector protocols under the SADC Treaty);Regional strategy for water sector since 1996: now third Regional Strategic Action Plan for IWRM (2011 ‐ 2015);Groundwater one of the Programmes of RSAP;Comprehensive regionalwater resources policies / strategies / guidelines, but individual country groundwater implementationwell below expectations compared to relevant international best practice



Legislation :Harmonization across the region not yet implemented for groundwater‐related legislation.Surface water bias : still general bias towards surface water resources in region despite inability of bulk water supply solutions to address most of the widespread and diffuse water demand required to meet the remaining water services backlogs.The relatively low priority accorded to groundwater is reflected in funding commitments, in particular for vital but completely inadequate groundwater monitoring, exploration and data gathering



Decentralization is becoming a common feature in SADC, but institutions have not yet been properly capacitated in terms of their full groundwater responsibilityA lack of macro planning for groundwater prevails, as most of the programmes are undertaken on an ad‐hoc or crisis response basis. This is one of the most problematic areas in relation to groundwater development The dependence of the majority of the SADC Member States on external funding sources has an important bearing on groundwater development in these states, particularly with respect to the establishment of a stable local development capacity.


Governance – in context

Groundwater governance is much broader than the traditional resource perspective – it is human rights‐basedand involves interaction between the formal institutions of government and those of civil society. Where good governance prevails, authority and its institutions are: accountable, effective and efficient, participatory, transparent, responsive, consensus‐oriented, and equitableLack of institutional capacity is by far the biggest reason for the slow progress throughout Africa towards collaborative governance


ENABLING ENVIRONMENT

Valuation of Groundwater Resources

At the heart …. need for a much clearer understanding and articulation of groundwater’s role and contribution to national and regional development objectives, in particular community water supply; public health; rural development; small farmer development; urban development; mining development; and functioning of vital ecosystems and a critical region‐wide role in adaptation to climate change

This needs to be addressed strategically in each Regional Economic Community to provide a regional framework for joint regional and national action and the basis for a strategic involvement of International Cooperation Partners.


Principal Sources of Water for Rural Water Supply in DRC Congo (Chisugi, 2009)

Expression of Changed Valuation of Groundwater Resources in Africa

“Groundwater resources account for about 15% of Africa’s renewable water resources, amounting to about 810 billion m³ per year. These resources are crucial for many African countries, particularly during the dry season and in the major arid zones.”

Africa Regional Document to 4th World Water Forum, Mexico, 2006.

SADC Water Use StatisticsGroundwater use dependency (Rural)Botswana *** (major) DR Congo * (minor)

WCS & BGS (2003)

“Groundwater has a strategic role to play in the upliftment of millions of people from abject poverty.”Africa Regional Document to

5th World Water Forum, Istanbul, 2009.


Policy and Regulation

Policies and regulations need to address both the broader macro‐economic environment and groundwater technical issues (to overcome constraints and facilitate sustainable groundwater utilization).

A progressive move forward is needed from general groundwater legislation to appropriate regulation. This should be strongly needs‐driven and should go hand in handwith the development of dedicated capacity for this purpose.;

Policy and strategy roll‐out should take place within an IWRM framework, and should be developed and maintained through formal interactionwith its development stakeholders. A national groundwater strategy, developed in this way, will provide an agreed way forward.


Example: Effect of Macro-Economic PoliciesNational Accelerated and Shared Growth Strategy in South Africa

Required focus of pro-poor and equitable growth investment in water:• Multiple uses of water for poverty alleviation and improved livelihood• A planned reform of agricultural water use for food security • Groundwater for multiple uses to achieve spatial equity• Subsidization of appropriate technology (e.g. rainwater tanks)


Financing for groundwater

Novel ways need to be found to achieve financing for groundwater resources management closely related tofinancing for infrastructure development from groundwater;

The high level policy direction by AMCOW (2007) opens the door for such an approach:‘Create synergy with the RWSSI to ensure groundwater’s inclusion in resource assessment and the sustainable management of groundwater resources’

(RWSSI = Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative, the biggest water infrastructure investment programme in Africa, to a large extent from groundwater).


INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Devolved management

The overall management approach should be ‘national facilitation of local action’.

Mainstream groundwater resource management into IWRM processes, which already have their own momentum and resources, e.g. development of IWRM plans, establishment of River Basin Organizations, the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative and the establishment of Water User Associations

Roll out AMCOW, 2007 policy:‘Promote the institutionalisation of groundwater management by river basin organisations to ensure regional ownership of the initiative’

Support devolved management, e.g. water services by local government through a range of measures, e.g. guidelines, regulation, training, coaching, performance monitoring



Stakeholder participation

Effective participation and empowerment of stakeholders in groundwater resources management at all levels ‐ key requirement of good governance and central to the Dublin Principles;

Empowered women stakeholders are particularly important in the case of groundwater;

Small‐scale appropriate technologies – appropriate for the particular physical and socio‐economic environment (e.g. protected springs) ‐were a key lesson coming out of international water for development cooperation and are critical to empowerment;

Self management of local resources (e.g. Water Committees and Water User

Associations) should be aimed for and nationally facilitated.


MANAGEMENT MEASURES

Macro‐planning for groundwater

Move away from bulk water supplymentality to national and local development mentality;

Address inter alia: Role of groundwater as part of IWRM for different development sectors and in different regions; Availability of resources, Development approaches and costs, Regulatory requirements, Capacity requirements;

Only way of ensuring finance and effective and efficient implementation;

Introduce groundwater systematically at all opportunities (e.g. IWRM plans; Poverty Reduction Papers, Green economy strategy, Food security plans; RBO plans).


MANAGEMENT MEASURES

User‐focused information

Resource assessment should address critical information needs of key stakeholders (see macro‐planning).Such information should be suitable for water resources planning and decision‐making, capacity building and awareness raising and should be at least compatible with related surface water information.Systematic communication of Best Practice is vital – each country has some parts of the whole;Monitoring systems should allow for the regular update and improvement of these assessments.There should be a major effort to visibility and accessibility of this information (resource status reports; awareness material; effective websites, education and training).



Capacity Development

A strategic, collaborative approach to capacity development is critical, involving stakeholders from the government, water use and knowledge sectors;

Awareness building should be a key part of this strategy, given the poorly understood nature of groundwater and the many new players involved as a result of ongoing water sector reforms;

The private sector needs to be integrated much more strongly into such a collaborative approach;

Synergies need to be created with capacity building undertaken in the development sectors reliant on groundwater, e.g. the agriculture and the local government sectors;


Networking and partnerships, nationally and regionally, are essential elements of rolling out collaborative capacity development – the AU strategy of creating Centres of Excellence provides an important platform for this;

All regions/countries need to develop a groundwater R&D capacity, commensurate with their groundwater‐based economic development, to be able to undertake capacity development from their own knowledge platform and be able to tap into international knowledge;

There should be a major effort from regions/countries to utilize international initiatives, e.g. ISARM and GW‐MATE, to their own advantage;


Capacity Development (cont.)


AMCOW Directions on Capacity Building

To reach the African Water Vision of sustainable water management and to meet the MDGs in the water sector in Africa, the biggest challenge area that must be addressed up front and as part of all other challenge areas is human and institutional capacity building. Because of past neglect,

political will and a strategic approach is essential.

A golden opportunity should be grasped of linking capacity building strategically to water resource management through its systematic inclusion into the IWRM plans, which each country is to have in place by 2005.

Pan African Implementation Conference on Water, Addis Ababa 2003


Concluding Thoughts

Partnership approaches are tremendously beneficial to capacity building, and present a major opportunity for international cooperation partners.In this project leading global groundwater players are working together to achieve ‘global facilitation of regional groundwater action’As such the initiative has potentially a major role to play in AfricaElements for a way forward could be:* a vision and strategic, longer‐term collaborative approach* upfront and ongoing involvement of key regional stakeholders* and as a starting mechanism – a highly participative diagnostic analysisplus action plan in each Regional Economic Community as a framework for joint regional/national action

and a basis for long‐term international cooperation.

Thank You


“…for waters shall burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert”

Isaiah 35:6

Gaps and Challenges Groundwater Governance in Africa€¦ · strategically to water resource management. through its systematic inclusion into the IWRM plans, which each country is

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