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dam-l Water management and conflict/LS
>From The Namibian, June 28, 1999
Water management a major conflict point
CHARLES MANGWIRO
REGIONAL governments must begin involving rural communities in the
management of natural
resources if they wish to avoid cross-border water conflicts,
European and African resource
managers said in Maputo on Friday.
The managers told delegates from nine southern African countries -
including Namibia - that water
remained the region's scarcest and most desirable resource.
The experts, flown into Maputo for a "co-operation or conflict"
conference by the Finnish Citizen's
Security Council NGO, said violent disputes were often sparked by
rural communities who had no
idea how to manage or conserve existing resources.
This led to inter-community or cross-border conflict, delegates were
warned.
A conference charter, drafted with the assistance of Mozambique's new
Eduardo Mondlane
Foundation, states: "It is necessary that countries sharing the same
natural resources be involved in
permanent dialogue to allow for sustainable use and management of
vital resources".
The charter adds that it is imperative for countries in the
sub-continent to co-ordinate their water
policies and consult widely on projects such as dams or irrigation
schemes so as not to undermine
each others' interests.
National delegates at the conference included representatives from
Mozambique, Angola, Botswana,
Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Finland. - i-M&G-African
Eye News Service
Story index - Back top Top
(c) 1999 The Namibian
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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