Water resource management perspective in Botswana: A contrast between the colonial and the post-colonial periods up to 2010

Nyandoro, Mark (2013). Water resource management perspective in Botswana: A contrast between the colonial and the post-colonial periods up to 2010. UNU-INRA Working Paper. UNU-INRA.

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  • Author Nyandoro, Mark
    Title Water resource management perspective in Botswana: A contrast between the colonial and the post-colonial periods up to 2010
    Series Title UNU-INRA Working Paper
    Volume/Issue No. 2
    Publication Date 2013
    Place of Publication Ghana
    Publisher UNU-INRA
    Pages 45
    Language eng
    Abstract Much of the research on water in Botswana places the emphasis on supply and demand and the role of the post-independence state in facilitating infrastructural development under water scarcity conditions. Government experts, the United Nations and major stakeholders have predicted a critical water shortage in the next two decades. Water scarcity is arguably the biggest limiting factor to national development in Botswana. Since the adoption of the Water Act of 1967, a concerted effort has been made to address the imminent water shortage in the new millennium through the work of state agencies. Whilst all water resources, including their control, were vested in the state, legislation in 1967 and subsequent legislative amendments have allowed the state to delegate power over the issuance of water rights to the Department of Water Affairs (DWA) and the Water Apportionment Board. The DWA falls under the ambit of the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources (MMEWR), which has the mandate to formulate post-colonial water policy. The MMEWR is assisted in the implementation of policy by the DWA, the Department of Geological Surveys (DGS) and the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC). In comparison, the colonial administration either deliberately ignored, or was reluctant, due to the costs involved, to significantly develop the water sector beyond the precincts of the isolated white enclaves dotted in some parts of the country. In the protectorate era the management of bulk water supply to the relatively sparsely populated African areas was thus provided by “tribal” committees, borehole syndicates and to some extent by the protectorate administration itself. Existing scholarly works seem to gloss over a comparative historical evaluation of water provision and management in Botswana’s semi-arid environment in the protectorate (1885-1965) and post-independence eras. Using secondary and primary sources, including oral interviews, this research therefore aims to fill this gap.
    UNU Topics of Focus Water
    Keyword Botswana
    Protectorate
    Colonial and post-colonial
    Water supply
    Water security
    Water
    Copyright Holder United Nations University
    Copyright Year 2013
    Copyright type All rights reserved
    ISBN 9789988633844
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    Created: Fri, 31 Jan 2014, 16:29:35 JST by Conor McTernan on behalf of UNU INRA