Politics of Water: A Focus on the African Continent

To meaningfully wrap up my term-long exploration of water's political entanglements across the African continent, I wish to dedicate this space to reflect upon key takeaways as well as how my final posts' themes may have progressed and differed from the angle laid out in my introductory post . Diversity Although the  Orange-Senqu river basin  formed an early focus, attempts were made to acknowledge issues and opportunities elsewhere, from the integration of the virtual water trade in the Maghreb  and continental groundwater endowment variations , to balancing sectoral stakeholders in urban sanitation and water provisioning in Nairobi . After all, whilst the notion of Africa's natural environmental characteristics influencing its hydrological landscape plays a part in all countries' water woes, each country's specific challenges are unique. The continent's sheer size and diversity also presents differing political and socio-demographic climates, producing nuances...

In light of UN World Toilet Day last month and Human Rights Day recently, I wish to shift the locus of my examination of water's political dimensions to a rather different but equally pressing water-related issue: sanitation . There is no denying that water and sanitation are cognate sectors. But until recently, sanitation has remained somewhat of an after-thought - if considered at all  (George, 2008)  - within urban water provision, which is particularly troubling for the rapidly urbanising contemporary African cities and associated proliferation of unplanned settlements often disconnected from formal infrastructures. Using examples I found most interesting, this post will explore how urban sanitation is inherently political, and assess how best sanitation users and providers can navigate the complexities and politics of sanitation provision. Realities of poo(r) sanitation facilities The value of readily accessible urban sanitation, like any other form of infrastructur...

Considering our exploration thus far of allocation challenges for both river basin and groundwater aquifer systems, exacerbated by variability under climate change, it sure seems that equitably distributing water is an insurmountable task given Africa's context. But what if this allocation challenge can be tackled without actually dealing with water itself? Today's post will analyse the potential of this idea -  virtual water (VW)  -  and its manifestations on the continent. What is it? VW is "the water needed to produce agricultural commodities" - the trade thereof referring to the international exchange of these commodities, containing all the water required for its production embedded within. Instead of solely trading physical foodstuffs, water is therefore indirectly transferred, tying water with existing global trade networks, and using trade as leverage to ameliorate regional water deficits. To put into perspective the concept's significance: for each tonne...