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dam-l Water forum on Africa/LS
>From the World Water Forum web site
(http://www.worldwaterforum.com/news/frameset2.cfm). This was the recent
huge meeting of ministers, bankers, developers and a handful of NGOs. Note
that both of these stories make reference to building more dams, with no
reference to the problems of dams. Dam-affected groups were not invited to
the Africa sessions to my knowledge, and those of us attending who work
with affected people were given little or no opportunity to raise these
issues.
There will be NGO follow up to this meeting, which I'll keep you informed of.
20-03-2000
Africa Caucus Presentations
Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink
That, in short, was one of the issues discussed at the Africa Caucus
Presentation.
Other issues included the improvement of sanitation, irrigation and
hydro-power projects, and the
facilitating and coordinating role that the African Development Bank Group
can play in the
watermanagement process.
People from all over the globe came to attend this presentation that was
given in several languages.
Face-painted and robe-wearing Africans sat amongst ministers in
three-piece suits. The room was
decorated with African paintings and pictures of issues that were
discussed during the presentation.
The presentations were split up into several sessions covering a diverse
array of issues such as
'Water and Socio-economic Development in Africa', 'The Africa Water Vision
for 2025' and 'The
Presentation of the Africa Water Web Site'.
The main view on the policy for integrated water resources is that water
management has to be an
integral part of regional policies. At present, fourteen African countries
experience water scarcity,
and this number is expected to rise significantly. Social and
environmental factors have to be taken
into account and an effective program for water use is needed. Today, the
supply of water in most
African countries is dependent on rainfall. Too much or too little
rainfall can have devastating
effects.
Building up our knowledge base will help to increase the understanding of
the principal causes
behind the mismanagment of water, such as environmental degradation. In
recent years, public
awareness has grown, and this has resulted in the development of public
and private partnerships.
Better watermanagement and the development of water resources in Africa is
essential for economic,
social and environmental growth. The African Development Bank Group will
play a major role in
setting up guidelines to bring about the much neaded change.
----
The Mozambique catastrophe
Yesterday, March 20th, an extra press conference was held following the
'Water in Rivers' session.
One of the issues discussed was the devastating floods in Mozambique.
Mr. Henrique Cossa, Vice-Minister for Public Works and Housing, was asked;
"What kind of
support does he think is needed in Mozambiqe"? Mr. Costa's answer was loud
and clear; "First of
all we need about one hundred million dollars, which is needed for
rebuilding bridges, schools,
sanitation works etc. But most of all it's very important to get the help
of people with expertise
who know how to build dams to prevent future flooding".
A follow up question was "Who can give you this expertise?" Mr. Cossa
responded that "For
example The Netherlands experts are very good at funding and designing
such constructions". He
stressed that, "We need a system that will ensure something like this
doesn't happen again".
Dr. Alvaro Carmo Vaz explained how the Forum has given officials from
Mozambique the
opportunity to discuss and elaborate on the extent of damage and
devastation. The Forum has also
offered a much needed arena for officials from Mozambique to network and
to discuss technical
support and assistance from the international community.
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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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