www.laprogressive.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.66.98  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

GET /search

<form class="m-off-canvas--search" role="form" action="/search" method="GET"><input class="m-off-canvas--search-input" aria-label="Search" placeholder="Search" name="query"><button class="m-off-canvas--search-button m-icon-button"
    aria-label="Submit Search" type="submit"><phoenix-icon-fallback class="m-svg m-icon-button--icon mm-icon-button--size-reset" icon="ico_search"><phoenix-icon-fallback class="m-svg" icon="ico_search"><svg>
          <use xlink:href="/assets-global/icons/svg-sprite.svg?v=2022-11-22-225949-0ee9caa-030184#ico_search"></use>
        </svg></phoenix-icon-fallback></phoenix-icon-fallback></button></form>

Text Content

Skip to main content
Sign In


 * Topics
    * Animal Rights
    * Climate Change
    * Economic Equality
    * Education Reform
    * Elections and Campaigns
    * Environment
    * Healthcare Reform
    * Immigration Reform
    * Labor
    * Law and the Justice System
    * LBGTQ
    * Progressive Issues
    * Racism
    * The Media
    * The Middle East
    * War and Peace

 * Events
    * ACLU People Power
    * Michael Moore Resistance Calendar
    * Past Events

 * Subscribe
 * FORUM
 * GLOSSARY

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 


 * About
 * Contact Us
 * Authors
 * Privacy Policy
 * Privacy Settings


November 23, 2022

 * Topics
 * Events
 * Subscribe
 * FORUM
 * GLOSSARY


 * Topics
 * Events
 * Subscribe
 * FORUM
 * GLOSSARY



 * Home
 * Africa


ACROSS ALL AFRICA, WATER CONFLICT THREATENS SECURITY, HEALTH, AND THE
ENVIRONMENT

More than a third of the planet’s population living without access to clean,
safe water live in sub-Saharan Africa.
 * Author:
   Robin Scher
 * Publish date:
   4 hours ago

Photo by Upesh Manoush on Unsplash

More than a third of the planet’s population living without access to clean,
safe water live in sub-Saharan Africa.

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 



Water is a finite resource on our planet. We can only rely on what we have,
which translates to about 2.5 percent of drinkable fresh water. Of that amount,
only 0.4 percent currently exists in lakes, rivers, and moisture in the
atmosphere. The strain of this limited supply grows by the day and as this
continues, the detrimental impact will continue to be felt in places least
equipped to find alternative solutions—in particular, the African continent.

The global population is estimated to reach around 9.6 billion people by 2050.
This is triple the number of humans on the planet just a few decades ago, having
to exist with the same amount of water, not taking into account the nonhuman
animals and plants that also rely on water to survive.

More than a third of the planet’s population living without access to clean,
safe water live in sub-Saharan Africa. And nearly two-thirds—some four billion
people—live in water-scarce areas. With this number set to steadily rise, the
United Nations predicts that around 700 million people across the world might be
“displaced by intense water scarcity” by 2030.


SCARCITY-LED CONFLICT AND CRISIS

Each year, the world is seeing extreme water-related events including heatwaves
and droughts. In 2021 on the African continent alone, Madagascar, Kenya, and
Somalia experienced severe water shortages. And with scarcity, conflict tends to
follow.

A number of African conflicts are being fueled by competition for dwindling
natural resources. At a state level, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan have been
engaged in a continuing dispute over fresh water in the Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam. Similar issues are playing out across every level of society.






Cameroon, for instance, experienced a violent dispute over water between
fishermen and herders in a town near the border of Chad in December 2021. The
disagreement over rights to water found in a shrinking Lake Chad led to the
death of 22 people and a further 100,000 people displaced from their homes as
the two groups fought.

“Once conflicts escalate, they are hard to resolve and can have a negative
impact on water security, creating vicious cycles of conflict,” said Susanne
Schmeier, senior lecturer in water law and diplomacy at IHE Delft.

This negative feedback loop fueled by conflict is further compounded by the
effect on water quality, agriculture, and forced migration. “With very rare
exceptions, no one dies of literal thirst,” said Peter Gleick, head of the
Oakland-based Pacific Institute. “But more and more people are dying from
contaminated water or conflicts over access to water.”

This insight speaks to the complex interplay between water shortage and
conflict. According to research from the Pacific Institute, the impact of water
on agriculture plays an even greater role in contributing to conflict—a view
backed up by the fact that agriculture accounts for 70 percent of fresh water
use in Africa.

Another conflict-causing factor is the social impact of water shortages. With up
to a quarter of the world’s population facing serious water scarcity at least
one month of the year, people are being forced to migrate. In 2017, at least 20
million people from Africa and the Middle East left their homes due to food
shortages and conflict caused by serious drought.




FOOD INSECURITY DUE TO IMPACT ON WILDLIFE AND AGRICULTURE

Food insecurity caused by water shortages is being compounded by the loss of
wildlife. With a drop in their rainy seasons, Kenya’s sheep, camels, and cattle
have been in decline. This has led to a threat of 2.5 million people potentially
going without food due to drought, according to the United Nations.




Scroll to Continue


RECOMMENDED ARTICLES


ORGANIZED LABOR DELIVERS QUALITY... HEALTHCARE

By Tom Conway4 hours ago


COREY JACKSON MAKES HISTORY IN... CALIFORNIA

By Stephanie Williams4 hours ago


ACROSS ALL AFRICA, WATER CONFLICT... THREATENS SECURITY, HEALTH, AND THE
ENVIRONMENT

By Robin Scher4 hours ago

The impact of drought is taking a severe toll on agriculture, particularly in
counties where this forms the mainstay of their economy. In South Africa, for
instance, agriculture is key to the functioning of the country when it comes to
job creation, food security, rural development, and foreign exchange.

Water shortages in the country impact both commercial and subsistence farmers.
But it is the subsistence farmers who are hardest hit by the droughts, according
to a 2021 paper published by a group of international scientists in the journal
Science of the Total Environment.

While commercial farmers are able to offset a lack of rain through alternative
water supplies, as well as storage and irrigation technologies, subsistence
farmers who are reliant on rain, the scientists write, “are particularly
susceptible to drought as they highly depend on climate-sensitive resources.”
They also point out that the impact is worsened by the fact that this form of
farming is tied to farmers’ own food security.




ADAPTATION

There is no way to avoid the impacts of water scarcity and drought. The best
thing to do is manage and mitigate risk where possible. A tool proposed by the
group Water, Peace and Security is an early warning monitor capable of tracking
information on rainfall, crop yields, and political, economic, and social
factors. According to the group, this tool would “predict water-related
conflicts up to a year in advance, which allows for mediation and government
intervention.”





Another common de-risking approach to conflict is water-sharing agreements.
Since the end of World War II, 200 of these agreements have been signed. Despite
this, the UN has consistently failed to introduce a Water Convention that would
see over 43 countries sharing transboundary rivers and lakes.

A good example where a water-sharing agreement helped avoid conflict can be
found in Southern Africa. In 2000, with tensions rising over shared resources,
an agreement was reached between Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia
that helped avoid further issues.

Reducing water loss remains the most recommended method countries should adopt
to avoid future catastrophes. Agriculture and mining, in particular, are two
industries that could do more to limit their water wastage. Another policy,
suggested by Iceland, is to increase the price of water in relation to its
supply, as a way to help curb water wastage.



Desalination is also a popular method used to free up more water, using seawater
to increase supply. Saudi Arabia, for instance, uses desalination to supply the
country with at least 50 percent of its water supply. Water recycling, known as
“gray” water is another low-cost alternative used by farmers to offset the
impact of drought.

As water scarcity continues to become more commonplace, so too will these
mitigation and adaptation strategies. The question is, will they be enough?





Independent Media Institute

This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life, a project of the Independent
Media Institute.


Tags
terms:
droughtWaterafricaclimate change
By
Robin Scher

Robin Scher is a New York-based South African writer and recent graduate of the
Cultural Reporting and Criticism program at NYU, interested in challenging
perceptions as they relate to all things prefix-African.

 * 
 * 
 * 
 * 







RECOMMENDED STORIES

Labor


ORGANIZED LABOR DELIVERS QUALITY HEALTHCARE

LGBTQ


COREY JACKSON MAKES HISTORY IN CALIFORNIA

Africa


ACROSS ALL AFRICA, WATER CONFLICT THREATENS SECURITY, HEALTH, AND THE
ENVIRONMENT


Education Reform


SUPREME COURT NOW HANDLING BIDEN STUDENT DEBT RELIEF PROGRAM

Economic Equality


THE TAYLOR SWIFT, TICKETMASTER MONOPOLY LESSON

Elections in the United States


POLITICAL TERMS USED IN THE UNITED STATES

Defense


FACING EXTREMISM, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

Economic Equality


REAGAN REPUBLICANS SET THE STAGE FOR RUIN

Loading…
See More
 * About
 * Contact Us
 * Authors
 * Privacy Policy
 * Privacy Settings

© 2022

CLOSE
CLOSE
CLOSE
CLOSE