GOING OUT WITH A SPLASH!

 

And so, we come to the end. Over the last seven blogs I have investigated the effects of dam construction on food in Africa, taking particular focus on transboundary water basins. Underpinning my research has been the politics behind water and food in Africa which undoubtably shapes development, especially in transboundary basins.

The fragility of the Nile and Omo-Turkana Basins and the reliance upon their waters to supply water-stressed regions, paired with complex geopolitical histories, has made them perfect examples to explore the intricacies in achieving food security through dam construction within transboundary basins. Dam construction is rooted in politics as countries attempt food security in their own self-interest. The irony of which the construction of dams to increase food security in one region, can deplete security somewhere else.

What have dams shown us about water and development in Africa? Well a book by Inga Jacobs (2012) explains this best, the major issue with water management is the international water law systems that govern are inadequately developed, inconsistent and unenforceable (Giordano & Wolf 2002). A prominent finding within my research is the necessity for cooperation, which could be done through IWRM(last blog). For decades, development has been reliant on historical management of water resources, but countries are quickly realising that things are changing and that can no longer be the case. Development in Africa, especially for transboundary countries, must be rooted in cooperation and compromising for one another.

Arguably the dams themselves are not the larger issue. Whilst they generate their own hydrological and ecological constraints on water resources, my focus on them has shown me that they are just illustrators of frustration, they are the stage on which states desperately try to feed their citizens. Transboundary management is difficult, laws are obscure and there are new challenges, like climate change that are exacerbating matters, and this is not subjective to Africa. So no, it is not all bad. In fact, dams have facilitated opportunities for countries to diversify their water portfolio and develop other water-resources to ensure food security exemplified by Egypt’s megaprojects of desert reclamation and increasing virtual water trade. In doing so, this alleviates pressures of transboundary water, relieving political conflicts and improving water and food security for everyone involved.

If this blog series has shown me anything, cooperation and communication is vital, one way may be integrated water resource management.

With that, it has been a pleasure.