Water resources are declining in West Africa. The annual renewable water resources in West Africa reported by the World Bank in 1994 was about 350 billion cubic meters (1 cubic meter = 35.3 cubic feet). This averages out to 1,400 cu m per person per year, which is less than 20 percent of the world median water consumption per person (Rogers, 1997, 1). Water availability per capita is predicted to drop to less than one-half the present inadequate levels by 2025 (Ayub, 1994,1).

North African countries are also entering a critical dilemma regarding declining water resources. At the rates of their water consumption, all available water resources will be used up within 15 years. In both the northern and western regions, water demand is continuing to rise because of growing populations and expanding economies. For instance, in Burkina Faso, the women must walk 20 miles just to get a jar of water for their families (Ayub, 1994, 1).

Nearly 85 percent of the land cultivated involves food grains such as sorghum, millet, rice, and maize. The productions of these grains dropped an average of two percent annually from 1966 -1983. At the same time, population growth in West Africa is soaring. The average increase per year since 1967 has been between two and three percent annually. By the year 2,000 the population of the Sahel region will be nearly 54 million people. This exceeds the amount of traditional rain-fed farming production methods by about 30 million people (Day, 1989, 2).

One reason water resources are declining is because of the growing season. Africa is the world’s most arid continent; annual rainfall is less than anywhere else in the world. Sixty percent of the region receives less than 400 millimeters of rain per year. When it does rain, the evaporation rates are higher than any place else on Earth except for northwestern Chile. Throughout most of West Africa, natural flooding tends to occur at the ends of the rains and during the dry season. During the dries and most difficult months of the year, food, agriculture, grazing, and fishing provide invaluable food resources (Scudder, 1989, 27)

In rain-fed farming, rainfall during the growing season and the soil’s water infiltration rate and soil water holding amount, determine the amount of moisture available to crops during the different stages of their growing cycle. Different plants require different amounts of water during the season, depending on the plant variety. During a rain, about 40 percent of the water is run-off, 20 percent is filtered through the ground, and only about 30 percent is available for plant use. Farmers in the past have planted year round and hoped for timely rainfall. Now farmers are seeing that they must change their growing seasons and plant variety to fit the seasonal water availability (Day, 1989, 6).

A second reason the water resources are declining is because of the lack of water conservation. Only in the past few decades have countries invested heavily in water development. Governmental authorities are trying to find answers to serious water conservation problems in arid/semiarid climates with irregular and limited rainfall. They have built dams, numerous irrigation schemes, and water supply systems, with impressive results (Scudder, 1989, 6). In Mali, from 1970 to 1990, for example, farming areas tested with irrigation increased production by almost 80 percent. Some families living on irrigated settlements were better off than in the past, but most did not move beyond subsistence. In the areas of West Africa that received virtually no water, farmers have to take a costly move and abandon the barren irrigated land in search for water (Day, 1989, 8).

Water management and water itself is becoming more and more expensive as populations grow and water resources decline. Capital development costs of irrigation sometimes exceed $20,000 per hectare. The countries taking these measures are gaining better access to water resources as well as safe drinking water (Scudder, 1989, 6). A study in Mali, for instance, has shown that water conservation through method of tied ridges resulted in mass increase in crop production and economic benefits to farmers. But the labor involved in tied ridges have kept this method at a minimal (Day, 1989, 8).

Unfortunately if water conservation does not work out, it may lead to political instability and possible war or disputes over water. Researchers have said there is a possibility of water wars in Africa due to the international water boundaries between countries. This is because the traditional farming systems are falling apart, which cause the environmental resources to deplete. (Rogers, 1997, 2). At the current rate of water consumption by Egypt and Sudan, both countries will encounter a water deficit by 2010 (Starr, 1991, 22)

The use of ground water aquifers that cross international boundaries have also caused conflicts between nations. Egypt and Libya have threatened each other over the $30 billion Nubian Aquifer created to provide coastal cities with water (Rogers, 1997, 2)

Of the 55.5 billion cubic meters of water the Nile provides to bordering countries, over 86 percent is used in Egypt each year (Starr, 1991, 17). At the same time Egypt received over 97 percent of its water from outside countries. The Nile Basin is becoming a battle ground for the eight countries sharing its boundaries. The Ethiopians have challenged the Egyptians and the Sudanese who control 80 percent of the river. The Ethiopians fear that Egypt will misuse the waters of the Nile. (Pearse, 1991, 3).

Despite years of effort by African countries to resolve conflicts over water control, no solutions have been made. If water conservation is taken advantage of, then with declining water resources and poor rain-fed farming, relief can be made.

List of Works Cited:

Adams, W. M. "Indigenous use of Wetlands and Sustainable Development in West Africa." The Geographical Journal. 159 (July, 1993): 209-218.

Ayub, Mahmood Ali, and Ulrich Kuffner. "Water Management in the Maghreb." Finance and Development. no Vol no. (June 1994): 28-29.

Day, John C. Soil and Water Management in West Africa." Foreign Affairs. 289 (October 23, 1989): 1-10.

Pearce, Fred. "Water Supply: The World's Next Challenge." New Scientist. 129 (March 23, 1991): 34-40.

Moorehead, R. "Access to resources in the Niger Inland delta, Mali. Environmental Issues in African Development Planning. Ed. J. Seeley and W. M. Adams.

Rogers, Peter. "Water Crisis in the Middle East and North Africa." Britannica Online. [CD-ROM.] http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=boy/98/L04181. html&bold=on&sw=. 1998.

Scudder, Thayer. "River Basin Projects in Africa." Environment. 31 (March, 1989): 4-31.

Starr, Joyce R. Starr. "Water Wars." Foreign Policy. 82 (Spring 1991): 17-36.