Water Accounting Experiences from Southern Africa Glenn-Marie Lange The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Mar 27, 2015
Water Accounting Experiences from Southern Africa
Glenn-Marie Lange
The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Natural Resource Accounting Programme in East & Southern Africa
Started in 1995, currently in Phase 3
Includes
• Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
• More recently, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda
Secretariat at the University of Pretoria, South Africa
Natural Resource Accounting Programme in East & Southern Africa
Minerals Water Fisheries Forests Land/Land degradation
Botswana X X
Namibia X X X partial partial
South Africa X X X
Tanzania X X X X
Mozambique Regional case study
Regional case study
Uganda X X
WATER: Critical Resource in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
ALL COUNTRIES CHARACTERIZED BY:
• Low, highly variable rainfall (250-500mm/year), high evapotranspiration
• High reliance on fossil groundwater (Botswana and Namibia)
• No perennial rivers entirely within a country
• Growing reliance on shared international riversRegional water commissions negotiate allocations of water from int’l rivers
• Water supply vulnerable to climate change
• Water is highly subsidized
NEED TO MONITOR AND MANAGE WATER IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
What Do Policy-Makers Need from Water Accounts?
Economic information to make decisions:1. Allocation of water, water infrastructure among competing
users:• Economic users: agriculture-hydroelectric-municipal, etc.• Ecological requirements: biodiversity-mining-tourism• Meeting international requirements
2. Water pricing and economic instruments: • Understand variation of water costs/treatment by region and set prices
accordingly• Understand impact of water tariffs on different industries and different
social groups, especially the poor
3. Coordinating policy in related sectors: agriculture, rural development, tourism, etc.
4. Planning for future water requirements, water conservation & demand management
Water Accounts in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa
Years covered:– Botswana: 1993-2001– Namibia: 1993 & 1996, 1997-2000– South Africa: 1998 and 2000
Water classified by natural source & institution that supplies water
Water end-users classified by – ISIC: Botswana and Namibia– Dept of Water Affairs classification: South Africa— THIS IS A
PROBLEM—colleagues at Univ. of Pretoria have partially adjusted the official water accounts
Geographic coverage – National water accounts: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa– Catchment-level accounts: South Africa, partial in Namibia,
possible in Botswana
Water Classifications: Natural Source and Supplying Institution
CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL SOURCES
CLASSIFICATION OF SUPPLYING INSTITUTIONS
BOTSWANA GroundwaterDam storage of seasonal riversPerennial surface water
Water Utilities CorporationDept. of Water AffairsDistrict CouncilsSelf-providers
NAMIBIA GroundwaterDam storage of seasonal riversPerennial surface waterRecycled wastewater Seawater
NamwaterMunicipal authoritiesRural Water Supply Rural communitiesSelf-providers: Agriculture, Mining
SOUTH AFRICA
GroundwaterSurface waterSoil water
Dept. of Water Affairs and ForestryIrrigation BoardsWater BoardsMunicipalities
Classification of End-Users(number of industries in each country’s water accounts)
Botswana Namibia South Africa
Agriculture 2 5 4
Mining 4 2 2
Manufacturing & utilities
5Aggregated from
8
10Aggregated from
20
4
Services 7 7 2
Government 2 1 1
Households(urban-rural)
2 2 2
Total end-users in water use accounts
22 27 14
Losses partial yes No
Data Sources for Water Use:Metered Water Use or Estimated Use?
Administrative records that
meter individual
users
By estimation
(mainly
agriculture)
Botswana 49% 51%
Namibia 38% 63%
South Africa 0% 100%
SEEAW Chapter 9.B Indicators and statistics
B.1 Source of pressure on water resources:
• Macro trends in total water use, emissions, water use by natural source and purpose, etc.
• Industry-level trends• Technology and driving forces
B.2 Potential for increasing effective supply and improving water productivity
• Reducing system losses
B.3 Water pricing and incentives for water conservation
B. 4 Sustainability: comparing water resources and water use
0.9
0.951
1.051.1
1.151.2
1.251.3
1.351.4
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Percapita water use
GDP/m3Volume
0.900.951.001.051.101.151.201.251.301.351.40
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Percapita water use
GDP/m3Volume
NATIONAL TRENDS:
Decoupling of Growth & Water
Use?
Index of water use & productivity
Botswana, 1992 = 1.00
Namibia: 1993 = 1.00
Water supply by natural source in Namibia, 2001/02
020406080
100120140
Ephem
eral-
dam
Gro
undwat
er
Peren
nial
Recyc
led w
ater
Seawat
er
mill
ion
m3
Total water supply: 395 Mm3Total freshwater: 326 Mm3
Some groundwater from fossil sources. Nationally small, <5% of water use.Locally, 100% with few alternatives.
Supply of Freshwater by Supplying Institution
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Namwat
er
Mun
icipa
lities
Rural
Wat
er S
upply
Agricu
lture
Min
es
1997/98
2001/02
Note: rural communities not recorded as supplying own water
Industry-level trends: Freshwater use by source and end-user in
Namibia, 2001/02 (million cubic meters)Total Dams Groundwater Perennial Recycled
AGRICULTURE 210.2 60.5 74.6 74.5 0.5 Commercial agriculture 145.2 48.6 51.4 44.7 0.5
Irrigation 119.8 47.3 27.2 44.7 0.5Livestock 25.5 1.3 24.1
Traditional agriculture 64.9 11.9 23.3 29.7Irrigation 32.2 5.8 0.6 25.8Livestock 32.7 6.1 22.7 3.9
MINING (2) 7.0 1.4 3.2 2.4MANUFACTURING 8.0 2.9 2.6 1.9 0.1 Food proc (4) 3.6 1.5 1.5 0.6 0.0 Other Manufact. (10) 4.4 1.4 1.2 1.3 0.0SERVICES (7) 7.9 2.2 4.6 0.8 0.3GOVERNMENT 14.1 5.0 6.2 2.9 0.1HOUSEHOLDS 33.6 11.8 14.6 7.0 0.3
Rural 9.1 0.4 3.8 5.0Urban 24.5 11.4 10.8 2.0 0.3
TOTAL USE 281.5 86.0 107.2 90.8 1.3LOSSES 44.5
INDUSTRY-LEVEL TRENDS:ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMIC PROFILE
Distribution of water use, GDP & employment by industry in Namibia, 2001
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%% Water use% GDP% Employ.
Water Productivity by Industry in Namibia, 1997 & 2000:
GDP per m3 water use (constant 1995 prices)
-200400600800
1,0001,2001,400
ComCro
ps
ComL'
stock
Trad.
Agr
.
Fishing
Min
ing
Man
uf.
Utilitie
s
Servic
esG
ovt
Econo
myA
vg
N$/
m3
wat
er u
se
1997-98
2001-02
Understanding Driving Forces
What drives water demand?
Final use by households + total water needed to produce goods for Final Demand:– Household consumption– Government expenditures– Investment– Exports
Total water requirements include direct + ‘upstream’ water, that is, the water used to produce all the inputs to production. calculated using Input-Output model
Water intensity (direct):
Litres/N$output
AGR Commercial crops 42.5% 326.6 350.7
Commercial animal products 9.0% 17.6 35.7
Traditional agriculture 23.1% 117.7 156.8
Fishing 0.2% <0.1 21.8
MINING Mining 2.5% 1.0 16.9
MANUF Meat processing 0.5% 1.3 31.5
Fish processing 0.3% 0.7 18.6
Grain milling 0.1% 0.3 33.6
Beverages and other food processing0.4% 0.4 27.4
Other manufacturing 1.4% 0.7 1.24
Electricity <0.1% 0.2 16.3
Water <0.1% 0.2 18.4
SERVICES Construction 0.1% 0.1 31.9
Trade; repairs 0.7% 0.4 22.0
Hotels and restaurants 0.6% 1.3 21.7
Transport 0.2% 0.1 23.7
Communication 0.0% 0.1 15.9
Finance and insurance 0.2% 0.2 22.3
Business services 0.1% 0.1 18.2
Other private services 1.1% 2.0 31.8
5.0% 1.7 24.3
Total domestic water requirements:
litres/N$ output
GOVERNMENT
Percent of water use
Direct and Total Water Requirements by Industry: Namibia, 2001/02
Losses & Unaccounted for Water in Namibia, 2000
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Averagefor alltowns
63% 21% 11% 5%
Nationalaverage
Loss rates in towns according to the % of totalmunicipal water provided
Lo
ss r
ates
as
% o
f to
tal
wat
er u
se Max %
Min %
Average cost of supply by Institution and source of water in Namibia, 2000
012345678
All
sour
ces
Dam
Gro
und
Per
enni
al
All
sour
ces
Dam
Gro
und
Per
enni
al
All
sour
ces
Gro
und
Per
enni
al
Gro
und
Namwater Rural Water Supply RuralCommunities
Agr. Self-providers
N$
per
cu
bic
met
er o
f w
ater
Water Subsidies by NamWater, the bulk water supplier
(provides 40% of all water; Tariffs – Supply Costs)
Tariff-Supply Cost
Water Productivity
$/m3 water use $VA/m3 water
Crop irrigation -3.04 0.99
Livestock 0.02 20.86
Mining 0.00 52.72
Manufacturing 0.99 226.56
Construction -2.21 1774.40
Services -2.40 575.31
Government -0.66 234.19
Sales to other water suppliers 0.68 NA
CROSS COUNTRY COMPARISONS:Water productivity in Botswana, Namibia, and South
Africa, 2000 (rands of value-added per cubic meter of water used)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Botswana Namibia South Africa
Ran
ds G
DP/
m3
GDP/m3 water
GDP/m3 water exc.Agric.
Botswana Namibia South Africa
Agricul-ture 14 7 3
Mining 513 389 142
Manufac-turing 1000 455 215
Services 2962 1113 606
Govern-ment 553 338 876
National Level By Industry
Water subsidies in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, 2000
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Botswana Namibia South Africa
No subsidy to any user
No overall subsidy, butextensive cross-subsidies of customers
High subsidy
Water management & policy analysis
Trade & the environment
Managing an international river basin
International Trade & Water UseAre water-scarce countries exporting water?
How much can imports reduce pressure on water demand?
• ‘Virtual Water’ is the water embodied in imported goods
• countries can meet some of their water needs by importing water-intensive goods rather than producing the goods themselves
Net balance of trade in ‘virtual water’ determined by
• Volume of imports compared to exports• Total water intensity of imports compared to exports
International Trade & Water UseHow much does Int’l Trade drive water demand in
Namibia, Botswana and South Africa?
Export promotion is a major part of national economic development strategy
Exports are dependent on primary & processed primary commodities76% Botswana: mostly mining79% Namibia: agriculture, mining, fisheries47% South Africa: agriculture, forestry, mining
Primary products, especially agriculture and processed agricultural products can be water intensive
Method of AnalysisUse Input-Output analysis to calculate direct and total
water requirements for exports & imports
Exports are no problem, use countries’ water accounts
Problem: what is the water content of imports from another country?Botswana & Namibia get most of their imports from South Africa, so we use South Africa’s water accounts & the results are accurate
But South Africa imports mainly from other countries…so– Assume other countries have same water intensity as South Africa – Use South Africa’s water accountsTHIS ASSUMPTION IS WIDELY USED IN ALL COUNTRIES
We can only calculate trade in water accurately when ALL countries have water accounts
International Trade & Water UseAre water-scarce countries exporting water?
Net imports of water in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa in 1998
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Botswana Namibia South Africa
Exports of water asshare of national useImports of water asshare of national use
Why is South Africa a net exporter of water?Its volume of exports is slightly > imports, but mainly because
water intensity of exports > imports
Water intensity of trade summed up over products (m3 per 1000 rands of imports or exports)
0
5
10
15
20
25
Botswana Namibia South Africa
m3
wat
er p
er 1
000
ran
ds
Exports
Imports
RIVER BASIN
ACCOUNTS
Orange River: How should
water be shared by the 4 riparian
countries?
LesothoSouth Africa
BotswanaNamibia
Supply & use of water by riparian states in the Orange River Basin
0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%
UpperOrange
LowerOrange
Lesotho South Africa Namibia Botswana
Supply
Economic uses
Water productivity among riparian states in the Orange River Basin
(rands GDP/m3 of water used)
01020304050607080
Excltransfers to
other WMAs
Incl transfersto otherWMAs
Lesotho South Africa Namibia Botswana
Ran
ds
GD
P/c
ub
ic m
eter
of
wat
er