Competing for Water, Cooperation and Conflict in Local Water Governance. A Case of Namwala District. 1
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C. E Mweemba, 1I. A Nyambe, 2M. Funder and 3B. V. Koppen and 1C. Maseka
University of Zambia Integrated Water Resources Management Centre, C/o School of Mines, P.O Box 32379, Lusaka. carolmweemba@yahoo.com 2
. Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), Copenhagen, Denmark. 3
. International Water Management Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Abstract Water is vital to human existence and the potentially disastrous effects of increased water scarcity have been widely discussed in media and academic articles. However, while much focus has been on the potential for international water wars, there has been relatively little documentation of local water conflicts and their impacts on the rural poor. Moreover, of those few studies that have been undertaken of local water conflicts, there has been very little attention to local water cooperation, and how this may include examples that can be applied more generally to help resolve local water conflicts.
Aiming to explore these issues, the Competing for Water Programme is currently conducting a comprehensive study of local water conflict and cooperation in Namwala District in Southern Zambia. The Programme was launched in June 2007 to investigate water competition among pastoralists, agriculturalists, fisheries and hydropower generation. The research seeks to document and analyse the nature, extent and intensity of water conflict and cooperation in the study area. In addition, it
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will analyse and synthesis findings from national studies, including typologies of water conflicts and cooperation.
The study involves both a quantitative mapping of the number of water conflict and cooperation event in the district, as well as a household survey that explores the role of poverty in such conflicts and cooperation, and finally a series of in-depth case studies of how conflicts and cooperation unfold as a social process.
The preliminary findings from this work suggests that local water conflicts are in part related to the damming of the Kafue River at Itezhi Tezhi which significantly effected downstream flooding patterns. Consequently, water demand for pastoral and agricultural farming in the Kafue Flats has increasingly become a key issue in water resources management conservation in the area. Furthermore, the reduced flooding of the area has destroyed the fish breeding ground, creating another competition among fishermen, who are now moving towards the dam for their activities. Apart from these changes, issues of inequality within communities in terms of wealth/poverty and gender also appear to play a significant role in local water conflict, as do underlying tensions between different livelihoods and identities associated with cattle-rearing, farming and fisheries respectively.
Findings to date furthermore suggest that conflicts often end in loose-loose situations where neither side benefits, but also that acts nor mechanisms of cooperation exist and may provide hope for supporting existing or developing means of conflict resolution.
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Once completed, it is expected that the research will contribute to sustainable local water governance in support of the rural poor and otherwise disadvantaged groups in Zambia by lobbying decision and policy makers to review and enact policies and legal instruments that are pro poor. It will also improve the theoretical understanding of the impact of economic and political inequality on the nature and outcomes of waterrelated conflict and cooperation in Zambia.
Key Words: Competition, Conflict, Cooperation, Livelihoods, Kafue, Water, 1.0 INTRODUCTION Water is vital to livelihood and a key prerequisite to development. In recognition of this, recent years have seen an increasing focus on efficient water management and water governance, reflected mostly on the reforms that are currently taking place in most countries.
Numerous articles and media report on and discuss increasing water scarcity in different parts of the world, and yet little is known about how this affects the frequency and character of local water conflict and cooperation, and what the impacts are for the poorest. It is for this reason that the ‘Competing for Water: Conflict and Cooperation in Local Water Governance’ research was initiated. The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to sustainable local water governance in support of the rural poor and otherwise disadvantaged groups in developing countries by improving the knowledge among researchers and practitioners of the nature, extent and intensity of conflict and cooperation and their social, economic and political impacts and how this may change with increased competition for water.
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The programme is a collaborative research with partners in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Issues of conflict and cooperation are viewed in Mali and Zambia, sub Saharan Africa, Vietnam in South East Asia, and Bolivia and Nicaragua in Latin America. The programme is funded by Danida under the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Zambia, the programme is undertaken by the University of Zambia – Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Centre, in collaboration with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS).
Over the years, Zambia’s climatic conditions have seen changes that have triggered Changes in rainfall patterns as well as surface and ground water flows and water catchments regimes. Other changes in water flows and regimes are a result of human activities in their bid to enhance livelihoods and economic growth. One example of this is the Kafue Flats in Southern Zambia, which have seen changes in seasonal flooding patterns because of the damming of the Kafue River at Itezhi Tezhi. Similarly, most streams and small rivers in the area now dry up soon after the rainy reason, and farmers and cattle herders in the area complain of reduced rainfall in recent years. At the same time, the livelihoods of local communities are changing as people look for alternatives to traditional income sources from cattle, fishing etc.
In this uncertain and changing environment, water plays a key role as it provides both the foundation for continued basic subsistence and domestic use, and a key resource in developing new opportunities for local livelihoods. In this context, conflict and cooperation over water becomes a key issue to understand and from which to draw lessons that can be applied in policy and practice.
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The expected outputs of the research will be:
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Quantitative inventories and qualitative case studies of the origin, nature, extent and intensity of local water conflicts and cooperation and of their social, economic and political impacts
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Cross-cutting analysis and synthesis of findings from national studies, including typologies of water conflicts and cooperation and contributions to the theoretical understanding of the impact of economic and political inequality on the nature and outcomes of water-related conflict and cooperation
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Recommendations for ongoing water policy, legal and administrative reform developed and disseminated to national decision-makers and practitioners
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Enhanced capacity and experience in the partner institutions within povertyoriented analysis of water conflicts and cooperation
2.0 SITE DESCRIPTION The research area is Namwala District (Fig. 1). The district is situated in the Southern Province of Zambia with an estimated population of 83,000 (2000 census) and a growth rate of 3%.
Insert Figure. 1
The main forms of livelihood in the district have traditionally been cattle rearing among especially the Ila and fishing in the Kafue River by the Lozi, Luvale, Kaonde,
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and Bemba with some Tonga farmers also present in the district. However, in some areas community members are now increasingly turning to other opportunities such as crop farming and gardening. This serves to supplement or even in some cases replace existing forms of livelihood, thereby introducing new means of subsistence and income-generation, but also at the same time new forms of water use that competes with established uses.
The district has three ecological zones that comprise the Kafue Basin covering the Southern bank with heavy alluvial clay soils (e.g. Fig 2) with average annual rainfall of 800mm, semi-arid zone covering Ngabo/Kaluweza, Luubwe and Baambwe. The soils are generally light brown to grey silt or sand loam (covering the Central part of the district) and, the annual range of rainfall is 600-1000mm; and the plateau zone covering Mbeza/Nakamboma, Muchila and Chitongo areas. Soils are generally rich red clay/red brown loams and annual range of rainfall is 800-1100mm. (Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources; 2004) Most of the land is flat but slightly slants towards the Kafue River Basin. The altitude of the district is between 1,100 and 1,300 m above sea level.
Insert Figure 2.
The main river is the Kafue. It has a braided channel of the Kafue called Namwala River. The later comes out of the Kafue and joins it again. These are the main sources of water for drinking for both humans and animals. The other usage of the two rivers is for gardening and as a source of fish. The rivers and plains give the district great
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potential for irrigation on a large scale.
The rivers worth mentioning also are
Chitongo and Mbeza, which contain water only in the rainy season.
Many rivers and streams are shallower and do not hold enough water to reach the next rainy season due to siltation and erosion of the banks. Other reasons are due to bad farming methods, cultivation along river/stream banks, deforestation, cultivation along slopes and late burning.
Before the damming of the Kafue River at Itezhi Tezhi, the natural river flow was likened to a natural lake because of the large extents of area the river was covering in width. After the damming of the Kafue River at Itezhi Tezhi in 1977, much water is contained in the main channel, resulting in no flooding in the flats, with only a mean flow of 248 cubic metres per second of water. Before the dam was constructed, the mean
unregulated
flow
was
286
cubic
metres
of
water
per
second.
(Balasibrabmanyam and Abou-Zeid, 1982).
Major water uses in the district include crop production, pastoral farming and fishing. Major water sources include rivers, dambos, shallow wells and boreholes.
3.0 METHODOLOGY
In order to identify, document and analyse local water conflict and cooperation in the study area, the research programme passes through four main steps:
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1. An overview of the National and sub-National Water Policy, Legal and administrative context, including Context descriptors of Namwala District. These features form part of the wider arena in which situations of conflicts and cooperation are played out. The overview documented policies, regulations, and authorities involved in water governance at the National and District level in Zambia
2. Development of quantitative inventories of reported and unreported local water conflict and cooperation events. This will be done through archival research and interviews with informants and stakeholders at national and local level. From this work, data will be extracted into formats that document details of conflictive and cooperative events in the district, which are then processed and analysed through statistical analysis. Unreported events will be traced through interviews in ten communities, using a simple sampling design applied to the four chiefdoms in the area – Nalubamba, Muchila, Mungaila and Mukobela.
3. Household questionnaire surveys will then be conducted in the ten sample communities to explore the particular role of poverty in relation to water use, and the extent to which the poorest households in communities engage in and are affected by water conflict and cooperation.
4. Finally, a set of in-depth case studies of particular selected water conflicts will be examined in detail using process tracing. This entails qualitative interviews with the involved actors to trace the different developments of conflict and cooperation events, and the particular role of inequality between stakeholders in this respect.
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4.0 PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
The change in the flooding pattern of the Kafue flats brought about by the damming of the Kafue River at Itezhi Tezhi Dam has triggered changes in water availability in most water bodies in Namwala. Further, increased drought conditions in the district has reduce water contents in most water bodies in the district causing reductions in both ground and surface water in the district. This has increased in competitive situations for the scarce water resource. Consequently, conflicts over water access, use and use pattern have increased in the district. In addition, competition for water has brought different water users together in knowing how to manage the resource. Similarly, improvements in knowledge on how to share the scarce resource equally among all users have been found out.
4.1 Conflicts
Conflictive situations in Namwala involved major water users in the Kafue Flats to include Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) at Itezhi Tezhi Dam, the fishermen, pastoralists and crop growers along the riverbanks of Kafue.
Preliminary investigations show that due to the damming of the Kafue River at Itezhi Tezhi and untimely release of water in the plains by ZESCO, pastoral farmers, vegetable growers and fishermen experience negative impacts in their economic activities. Pastoral farmers argue that the flood regime of the water in the flats does not favour animal health because the water held up at the dam and in the main river channel does not eradicate ticks found along the riverbanks – the grazing land for
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animals. Consequently, animals in the plains have continued to suffer from tick borne diseases that have killed them rendering a reduction in animal population.
Fishermen complain that ZESCO releases water untimely when fish breeding is taking place. This does not favour fish increases. Floodgates open when eggs laid in the shallow waters are not yet ready for hatching hence washed away and destroyed.
Vegetable growers complain that ZESCO releases water in the plains without considerations on the destruction water pose on the crops grown along the riverbanks. Vegetables not yet ready for harvest are destroyed when water released floods the crop.
Related to these conflicts appear to lie other, more deeply embedded conflicts. For instance, preliminary findings suggest that as the flooding regime of the area changes, conflicts have emerged between traditional pastoralists and households wishing to develop small-scale irrigation for cropping in the plains. In these conflicts, promoters of irrigation are accused by pastoralists of doing away with the traditional way of life and wishing to “take away the plains” in order to develop it for commercial farming. In this way the conflicts over water in the plains appears to be connected to a deeper conflict over identity and modernisation (e.g. being a “traditional cattle herder” versus being a “modern farmer”).
Insert Figure 3
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A further dimension of this is the related conflicts between wealthy cattle owners, and poorer households who wish to diversify into other forms of income and subsistence such as gardening. Such conflicts suggest that wealth and poverty issues are also very at much at stake in the water conflicts of Namwala. Along similar lines, conflicts between men wishing to prioritize water for cattle and women wishing to prioritize water for domestic purposes, shows how gender also plays a role in such conflicts. Apart from conflicts along the main riverbanks, other conflicts noted were on water points such as boreholes, shallow wells, streams, dams and seasonal rivers.
One particular conflict that is clearly recurring in many villages is the siting of boreholes. People in different localities seek to ensure that water sources are sited near their own land/homes. For instance, cases of conflict over borehole siting were established in Maala and Kabongoma villages. Both villages wanted the borehole sunk in their villages. In a similar case, there was anger among people of
one
community when a Chief decided to allocate boreholes to three villages, while leaving out others.
A significant feature of these conflicts over the siting of particular water points is that they often end up in loose-loose situations whereby projects are stalled or simply withdrawn altogether to the benefit of none. For instance, an NGO wishing to fund local dam construction ended up withdrawing altogether as villages disagreed over the location of the dam. A number of similar incidents were found in relation to boreholes. This illustrates the direct practical consequences of such conflicts on everyday subsistence in the area.
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4.2 Cooperation
Acts of cooperation are often forgotten in the literature on water scarcity. However, the preliminary findings suggest that local cooperation of water does happen. For instance, after complaints of “unfair� allocations of boreholes in one part of the study area, people decide to settle the matter through a vote among village representatives on which villages needed boreholes with a matter of urgency. The result appears subsequently to have been respected by community members and local leaders.
Likewise, following disagreements over the siting of dam construction, it was agreed that a local task force should
conduct consultations among communities on which
sites would be acceptable for dam construction. This led to a decision that was commonly accepted by the involved parties
As a further example, one landowner agreed to surrender his exclusive use rights of water on his land to the wider community, in exchange for a contribution from the community for establishment of a more efficient borehole that would benefit all sides. A joint contract was developed to ensure that the agreement was legally documented.
ZESCO and the affected water users along Kafue River showed some degree of cooperation when they signed a Memorandum of Understanding to stipulate proper measures for the release of water in the Kafue Flats. This ensured that vegetable growers would be told which month the floodgates would be opened so that they know the type of crops to grow that would mature before flooding. The fact that this agreement has been stalled in its actual implementation does however highlight the importance of evaluating the longer-term effects of cooperation. Nevertheless,
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preliminary findings suggest that water conflicts do involve acts of cooperation from the involved parties.
Conclusion
The conflict and cooperation events identified to date suggest that these take place at different levels, which can be classified as being intra-community conflicts (i.e. within communities)
inter-community conflicts (i.e. between communities) and
extra-community conflicts, i.e. between communities and external water users like ZESCO and wildlife.
Preliminary studies suggest that these conflicts take place partly as a result of changing environmental conditions, but also suggests that features such as wealth, poverty, gender and identity plays an important part in these conflicts. At the same time, acts of cooperation and conflict resolution do in fact take place within this ongoing local competition over water. This suggests that we need to see local water competition not only as a downward spiral but also as an opportunity for developing new forms of cooperation or revitalizing and scaling up customary conflict resolution practices. It is hoped that the continued research of the programme can help explore these issues further, and thereby help to identify effective approaches and guidelines for handling and avoiding conflicts, which can be integrated into water policies, laws and bylaws.
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References Balasibrabmanyam, S, and S. M. Abou-Zeid. (1982). ‘In Proceedings of the National Seminar on Environment and Change: The Consequences of Hydroelectric Power Development on the Utilisation of the Kafue Flats’ Lusaka, Zambia.
CSO. (2000). ‘2000 Census of Population and Housing’ MFNP, Lusaka
Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources. (2004): Environmental Policy Situation Analysis- Namwala District. Namwala
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Kasama Mansa
Solwezi Ndola The Chairperson
Chipata Kabwe Lusaka Mongu Namwala SOUTHERN PROVINCE
Livingstone
Fig 1. Map showing the location of Namwala in the Southern Province of Zambia
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Fig 2. Picture showing the alluvial clay soils in the Kafue Basin during dry seasons
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Fig 3. Cattle in flood plains of Namwala are a source of conflict between Herders and crop growers
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