Women should lead water resource management initiatives
It is widely believed that the next world war is not over oil but water. A 2018 research paper from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre indicated that water indeed could become a key cause of conflict in the future.
An essential and precious resource, there has never been more need to conserve water and protect resources, amidst growing threats of climate change, particularly for landlocked, semi-arid countries such as Botswana.
Growing evidence also indicates that there is a need to put women at the forefront of water conservation and management efforts, as custodians of communities and climate resiliency efforts.
Water is a necessary resource for domestic use from cooking, cleaning and washing, hygiene and sanitation, as well as, growing food (agriculture) and women are often in this engagement. Hence it is important to engage and involve them on issues related to water conservation, management and policy projects, which would empower them and ensure they gain insight on best practices related to water conservation and cross-border water management systems. This involves how to access, utilise, distribute and recycle water equitably.
Additionally, with its growing population (a growth of approximately 1.95 percent in the past five years according to Statistics Botswana) and increased urbanisation and industrialisation, there is a need to refine water supply systems to meet domestic, sanitation, agricultural and industrial use.
The Orange-Senqu River Basin Commission
(ORASECOM) in collaboration with the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), recently hosted a workshop in Gaborone to establish a strong network of women in water diplomacy within the Orange Senqu River Basin (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa).
The aim is to establish a platform for knowledge-sharing and learning, fostering collaboration between the state parties and other global networks on women in water diplomacy. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union supported the workshop, which promotes the political, social, and economic participation of African women in line with the vision of feminist development policy, and strengthening women’s rights, representation, and resources.
Speaking at the workshop, SADC Secretariat senior programme officer for water, Patrice Kabeya, said partnerships ought to be forged to mobilise resources, share best practices, and strengthen regional cooperation on gender and water issues.
“Policies should be in tandem and be inclusive and responsive to the needs of marginalised communities, which are mostly populated by women, rural and remote dwellers as well as indigenous communities and low-income households,” he said.
His sentiments were echoed by Ministry of Lands and Water Affairs permanent secretary, Kekgonne Baipoledi, who said that water is the most limiting factor to socio-economic growth. There is a need to enhance the collective capacity of women in the Orange Senqu Basin.
“There is a need for water policy that is inclusive, that cooperatively brings prosperity and that meets society’s interests, especially when considering that Africa has many shared resources and is currently experiencing booming urbanisation and industrialisation. “Botswana especially is a landlocked country and should, therefore, refine policy and have regular engagement with neighbouring countries that are closer to water sources and contribute to water supply in the country,” he said.
ORASECOM component manager for environment and water resource quality, Michael Ramaano said protection of groundwater should be inculcated in water conservation efforts. He said one way this can be achieved is through the inclusion of aquifer vulnerability in legislation.
“Aquifer vulnerability to contamination is defined as the tendency or likelihood for contaminants to reach a specified position in the groundwater system after introduction of some contaminants at some location above the uppermost aquifer,” he said in an interview.
“Vulnerability maps should be produced to inform groundwater pollution protection legislation which is not covered by the Botswana Water Act of 1968.
“Therefore, there is a dire need to legally protect water resources in Botswana.
“The groundwater vulnerability and pollution protection zones maps will then guide what developments can be undertaken in a particular area based on the pollution risk.”
Ramaano further said the protection of groundwater resources in wellfields is required for sustained management and to minimise risks to public health.
“Responsible activities and control over land use can help to minimise the risk of contamination.
“The main pollution sources are landfills, effluents from desalination plants and hospitals, watering points for farmers and burial sites, pit latrines and soak ways in the homesteads for the villages,” he said.
He also emphasised that water conservation should be a continuing priority in national education to inculcate a culture of cherishing water. He encouraged collaboration amongst government departments when it comes to planning.
“Water is very much affected by land use planning and the activities for which land is used ultimately leads to pollution or the lack of.”
Ramaano emphasised that Botswana needs to go back to basics with regards to water-wise practices.
“We are raising children who do not have any idea about water conservation, efficient water use, recycling, greening and all sustainability issues.
“We raise environmentally ignorant children and we miraculously expect them to be environmentally conscious when they are elders.
“We will never win this war if we don’t go back to the basics of catching them young.
“Let us introduce environmental education from the primary level through the doing type of learning.
“It has to be the way of doing things from an early age,” he said.