The current water emergency in Cape Town, South Africa, is part of a major challenge facing the dry southern African region in the coming years, as population growth, development and climate change combine to create water scarcity. South Africa is hardest hit by this, as it is already one of the driest countries, with a fast-growing population and high level of economic development, meaning it is already drawing heavily on its existing water resources. This HC Policy Brief is available to download Here. |
I lived in Harare, Zimbabwe from 2014-2016. I am not a water resources expert or climatologist, but while l was researching transboundary management of water-related disaster risks in southern Africa in 2015, I read a swathe of technical material on the issues. I produced this referenced summary, which I think others interested in water policy in the region might find useful. This article is adapted from my book chapter: Mary Picard, ‘Water Treaty Regimes as a Vehicle for Cooperation to Reduce Water-Related Disaster Risk: The Case of Southern Africa and the Zambezi Basin’ in David Fisher and Jacqueline Peel (Eds), The Role of International Environmental Law in Disaster Risk Reduction, Brill Nijhof, 2016. |