STOCKHOLM - The Horn of Africa is a region exposed to the risks of water insecurity due to population growth and the impact of climate change. Growing water stress complicates many of the region’s social, political and economic difficulties, including weak governance and societal tensions between ethnic, regional or religious groups, reveals a report published by SIPRI.
The double impact of climate stress and violent conflict has led to increased social vulnerability and political fragility, which in turn affects the region’s prospects for adapting to changing environmental conditions. Cooperation over water resources as a policy option to address such challenges has been high on the research and policy agenda for decades. International and national policymakers are particularly interested in how different forms of water cooperation can mitigate the drivers of conflict, prevent the escalation of tensions, and build resilience to better respond to the impacts of climate change.
Previous research has identified that water cooperation is relevant both in different forms and at different levels, which calls for a better understanding of informal arrangements at the local level. This joint SIPRI–CIWA report aims to help to fill this research gap by exploring the role of local-level cooperative initiatives in improving water resource challenges in the Horn of Africa.
The report draws on three illustrative case studies of transboundary basins in cross-border regions: the Sio–Malaba–Malakishi Basin; the Dawa River and Aquifer; and the Bahr el Ghazal Basin and the Baggara Basin Aquifer. In doing so, it provides lessons learned from existing cooperative initiatives.
Summary
The Horn of Africa is a region exposed to the risks of water insecurity due to population growth and the impact of climate change. Growing water stress complicates many of the region’s social, political and economic difficulties, including weak governance and societal tensions between ethnic, regional or religious groups. The double impact of climate stress and violent conflict has led to increased social vulnerability and political fragility, which in turn affects the region’s prospects for adapting to changing environmental conditions.
Cooperation over water resources as a policy option to address such challenges has been high on the research and policy agenda for decades. International and national policymakers are particularly interested in how different forms of water cooperation can mitigate the drivers of conflict, pre-vent the escalation of tensions, and build resilience to better respond to the impacts of climate change.
Previous research has identified that water cooperation is relevant both in different forms and at different levels, which calls for a better understanding of informal arrangements at the local level. This SIPRI report aims to help to fill this research gap by exploring the role of local-level cooperative initiatives in improving water resource challenges in the Horn of Africa.
The report draws on illustrative case studies of transboundary basins in cross-border regions and provides lessons learned from existing cooperative initiatives.
Drivers of conflict and resilience in the case study basins
The three case studies under consideration—the Sio–Malaba–Malakishi (SMM) Basin; the Dawa River and Aquifer; and the Bahr el Ghazal Basin and the Baggara Basin Aquifer—all include resource challenges, conflict patterns and cooperative initiatives related to water. Yet these basins harbour different aspects of political fragility, socio-economic vulnerability and violent conflict. The ability of their populations to meet water resource challenges is primarily put at risk by intercommunal tensions, the presence of armed groups and militarized border conflict, respectively.
The SMM Basin, shared between Kenya and Uganda and part of the Upper Nile Basin, presents a case of intergovernmental cooperation leading to interactions with and between local communities over water. For example, the SMM Investment Programme, if signed, would provide crucial infrastructure for the local population in a communal conflict-prone area and could contribute to local peacebuilding efforts. The planned investment projects intend to enhance water quality and promote environmental conservation in the basin area, and they benefit local communities who have participated in the planning process.
The case of the Dawa River and Aquifer provides insight into the potential for water cooperation to build resilience in cross-border communities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. In the Dawa River and Aquifer basin area, community-based and nature-based solutions have been implemented to improve water supply to the local farmers. For example, local communities in the border region between Ethiopia and Kenya signed a water-sharing agreement to alleviate tension around growing water scarcity.
The Bahr el Ghazal Basin, a tributary of the Nile Basin, and the Baggara Basin Aquifer, both shared between Sudan and South Sudan, demonstrate how the resilience of communities with nature-dependent livelihoods has been challenged by prolonged insecurity and decades of armed conf lict. Since the independence of South Sudan, access to water by pastoralist groups has become more restricted by militarized border conflict. Installing additional water access points, for example, aims to relieve watershed-protection schemes.
It can occur at various levels: while most cooperative frameworks worldwide have been between governments of water-sharing countries, some also involve local authorities (e.g. the tripartite cooperation over the Jordan River) or local communities (e.g. in Kosovo).12 Water cooperation—especially at the community level—is one way to build resilience for the local population to better respond to environmental challenges.13
Further, the promotion of water cooperation needs to ensure and facilitate the equal and active participation of women and girls in the decision making.The issue has been high on the research and policy agenda for decades. No consensus has yet been reached on how and why cooperation can aid conflict prevention, but there is an increasing need to find ways to resolve the conundrum. Evidence from Colombia, Nepal, South Sudan and Sudan suggests that environmental cooperation initiatives with strong community participation can contribute to confidence building and social cohesion across different social groups.14
Another mechanism through which water cooperation can strengthen resilience for the local population to adapt to growing water stress is by facilitating investment in infrastructure, which is crucial for responding to problems related to water resources.15 In fragile and
1. The Sio–Malaba–Malakisi (SMM) Basin, shared between Kenya and Uganda, presents a case of intergovernmental cooperation aided by institutional support from external partners (chapter 2).
2. The case of the Dawa River and Aquifer provides insight into the potential for water cooperation to build resilience in cross-border communities in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia (chapter 3).
3. The case of the Bahr el Ghazal Basin and the Baggara Basin Aquifer, shared between Sudan and South Sudan, demonstrates how the resilience of communities with nature-dependent livelihoods has been challenged by militarized border conflict (ch apter 4).
These cases were selected from a sample of water cooperation initiatives supported by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on peacebuilding, environmental conservation, development and governance, including gender equality.
The analysis of the case studies provides important insight into the local- and national-level contexts and explores the linkages between local and international cooperation processes. In the selected cases, local-level water cooperation initiatives are nested in, or inf luenced by, national or intergovernmental cooperative frameworks. The report’s ability to offer insight into the informal processes at the local level, however, remains limited.
About the authors
Dr Kyungmee Kim (Sweden) is a Researcher with SIPRI’s Climate Change and Risk Programme.
Emilie Broek (Netherlands/Switzerland) is a Research Assistant with SIPRI’s Climate Change and Risk Programme.
Elizabeth S. Smith (United States) is a Research Assistant with SIPRI’s Climate Change and Risk Programme.
David Michel (United States) is a Senior Researcher with SIPRI’s Environment of Peace 2022 initiative.
Dr Erwin de Nys (Belgium) is Programme Manager of the Cooperation in International Waters in Africa (CIWA) Programme and Lead Water Resources Specialist at the World Bank.
Nicolas Salazar Godoy (Colombia) is a Social Development Consultant at the World Bank.
To download the report, visit: https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2021-12/2112_water_cooperation_in_hoa.pdf
