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The Problem of Water in Southern Africa and in Particular the Management of Water in South Africa

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The Problem of Water in Southern Africa and in Particular the Management of Water in South Africa TECHNICAL SYNTHESIS THE PROBLEM OF WATER IN SOUTHERN AFRICA AND IN PARTICULAR THE MANAGEMENT OF WATER IN SOUTH AFRICA Franck Lustenberger E-mail : [email protected] February 2010 AgroParisTech - Engref à Montpellier Ministère de l’Ecologie, de l’Energie, B.P.44494 – 34090 MONTPELLIER Cedex 5 du Développement Durable et de la Mer Tél. (33) 4 67 04 71 00 92055 La Défense Cedex Fax (33) 4 67 04 71 01 Summary Since the middle of the 50s massive water transfers have been established in Southern Africa, mainly from the initiative of the Republic of South Africa. These developments have several objectives which the guideline is to compensate for an imbalance between the large eastern basins (well watered) and the western lands (semi- arid). The transfers are intended primarily to enhance the semi-arid lands South and West of the country, and encourage the development of some mining towns (Johannesburg for gold mining, Kimberley for diamond mining). Politically, these equipments are supported by the ideology of apartheid, that chose to provide water for vast regions held by white farmers (who have often political responsibility too), rather than to develop activities in regions naturally better watered and occupied by people of African descent (example of the Bantustans territories on the eastern coast). The end of apartheid in 1994 seemed to announce a new water policy, based on a more equitable share of resources ("Some, for all, for ever" slogan of the new Water Act) and better consideration of the needs of the aquatic environment, within the definition of instream flow requirements. The principles of sustainable development were supposed to be transcribed within the new water policy. A review of the institutional and regulatory framework for 15 years should suggest that water supply management is still more important than water demand management. Keywords Republic of South Africa, Orange River, water installation, water transfers, equitable share, instream flow requirements, supply management, water reallocation 2/27 Glossary ANC African National Congress CMA Catchment Management Agency DWAF Department of Water Affairs and Forestry IFR Instream Flow Requirement LHWP Lesotho Highlands Water Project ORASECOM Orange-Senqu River Commission ORDP Orange River Development project SADC Southern African Development Community WCD World Commission on Dam WUA Water User Association 3/27 Table of Contents Introduction ..........................................................................................................................5 The multiple roots of the transfer policy of water in South Africa....................................5 o A large Hydrographic disparity ................................................................................... 5 o A settlement on dried land ......................................................................................... 6 o Fron the hydraulic complexity to the hydro-politic complexity in South Africa ............. 6 The "hydraulic mission" of South African engineers ....................................................6 The bond with the construction of the apartheid regime..............................................7 Major water projects to support the apartheid regime .................................................7 The organization of water transfers in southern Africa.....................................................8 o The Orange River Development Project : restoring faith in the Republic of South Africa ................................................................................................................................. 8 The genesis of the project : the myth of the Boer........................................................8 Description of the ORDP.............................................................................................9 o The Lesotho Highlands Water Project : responding to the thirst of Johannesburg ...... 9 The genesis of the project : a strong geopolitical issue ...............................................9 Project Description....................................................................................................10 o Other transfers ..........................................................................................................10 o Water transfers and dams : production and manipulations of lands ..........................11 Transfer shape in time and space geography of South Africa ...................................11 Hybridization of rivers ...............................................................................................11 From passive to active space....................................................................................12 The management of water after apartheid : ambition and pragmatism..........................12 o The New Water Act of 1998 : from the desire of breaking out into the economic realism..............................................................................................................................12 "Some, for all, for ever" : a new policy framework for water.......................................12 The economy to save transfer...................................................................................13 The need for a new governance ...............................................................................13 o The difficult implementation of water sharing ............................................................15 The ecological part of the reserve : the myth of return to natural flow .......................15 The reallocation of resources to meet customary rights and land issues...................15 The difficult financial equalization of water services ..................................................16 o What future for the hydropolitical system of South Africa? ........................................17 Some examples of transfer projects..........................................................................17 A convergence of factors rather favorable to the prosecution of transfers.................17 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................18 Références..........................................................................................................................19 APPENDIX...........................................................................................................................23 4/27 INTRODUCTION With several billion cubic meters of water transferred each year, extreme climatic variability on its territory (from temperate to hyper arid), and a multitude of structures of transfer (dams, canals, tunnels, pipelines), southern Africa displays extreme data on water management. But unlike other regions of the world which have also deployed this transfer policy, southern Africa stands out in a very unequal sharing of water between racial groups. The racist policy of apartheid, which ruled the region until the mid-90s, has left its mark in the political management of space and resources, including through the principle of "separate development" between black African population and a minority of white descendants of early settlers. In this context, South Africa combines all these features and emphasizes at a large scale what can be observed in neighboring Namibia, Botswana or Zimbabwe ; therefore this study will focus mainly on this country. On this basis, it is legitimate to wonder about the interrelations between spatial hydraulic organization in South Africa, and the more general policy held by the apartheid regime and by its successor : what are the key elements that can now better explain the introduction of the policy of water transfer in South Africa? Specifically, how do they organize the transfers and what is the relationship with the management of space? Finally, did the end of apartheid bring changes in water management in South Africa? THE MULTIPLE ROOTS OF THE TRANSFER POLICY OF WATER IN SOUTH AFRICA The water management in South Africa is based on many water transfers. They cover almost all the rivers of the region and bordering countries. Their justification is complex, involving hydrological arguments and historical, and political features of the past, through the region marked by the apartheid regime (see map in Appendix 1 : resource and water demand in South Africa (Blanchon, 2009), p. 23). O A LARGE HYDROGRAPHIC DISPARITY In southern Africa, as in other countries where they are implemented, water transfers are used primarily to offset a sharp disparity between geographic regions where water resources are abundant, and others where it is lacking, or whose needs exceed local resources (Lasserre, 2009). It is therefore primarily a policy of supply management. The case of southern Africa make no exception to these characteristics : the transfers are organized to reduce the high variability of resources available through the use of space by bringing water requirements and available resources (Blanchon and Turton, 2005). Southern Africa is marked by high rainfall on the east coast bordered by the Indian Ocean (Blanchon, 2009). The relief rises west to the Drakensberg plateau, above 2000 to 3500 m where the highest rainfall is concentrated (Blanchon and Turton, 2005). The precipitation then declines very rapidly between the Drakensberg and the West Coast Atlantic, it is a succession of vast semi-arid areas bordered by the cold Benguela current. Apart from some small coastal rivers that flow
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