From scarcity to security: Water as a potential factor for conflict and cooperation in Southern Africa

Abstract

We never miss the water until the well runs dry. (Scottish Proverb)Water scarcity has emerged as a compelling non-military security issue that justifies an expanded human security agenda. This article argues that a buttressed notion of mutual interdependence is critical to the prospects of enhanced hydropolitical cooperation over shared water resources in Southern Africa. The link between water and politics is inextricable and the impending water scarcity in the region, which can easily engender a whole host of economic and environmental insecurities, has the potential to lead to escalating tensions; it can also be a catalyst for cooperation. It is therefore imperative that basin-wide regimes redressing imbalances in the institutional and legal framework governing water rights and allocation be established at the regional level in order to promote equity in the utilisation of shared water resources, as envisaged in the Revised Southern Africa Development Community Water Protocol.