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dam-l Water conflict/LS

South Africa
>Water identified as major conflict point in southern Africa
>African Eye News Service (South Africa)
>June 29, 1999
>By Charles Mangwiro
>MAPUTO, Mozambique - Regional governments must begin involving rural
>communities in the management of natural resources if they wish to avoid
>cross-border water conflicts, African Eye News Service reports.
>European and African resource managers told delegates from nine southern
>African countries on Thursday that water remained the region's scarcest and
>most fiercely completed for resource.
>The experts, flown into Maputo for a "cooperation or conflict" conference by
>the Finnish Citizen's Security Council (KATU) NGO, said that 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, added that: "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".
>Stressing that water remained the major catalyst for regional conflict, the
>charter adds that it is imperative for countries in the sub-continent to
>coordinate 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.
>
>http://www.africanews.org/south/southafrica/stories/19990629_feat24.html

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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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