Blog 4: Local hydro political conflict in Namwala District, Zambia

In this blog, I will exclusively explore the local hydro-political conflict that has ensued in Namwala District, a rural district located in Southern Zambia within the Kafue River Basin (Schelle and Pittock, 2006). The Kafue is one of the major tributaries to the Zambezi River with a catchment that occupies some 20% of Zambia’s total land area. Conflict, in this instance, is on a local scale as governance is represented through the full council in Namawala District and the majority of vested interests are domestic of those of local farmers and pastoralists (Funder et al, 2010). 

Figure 1 - Showing the geographical location of Namwala District in Zambia

The provenance of such conflicts can be attributed to two main reasons; the discrepancy in developed water infrastructures in rural areas and insufficient coordination and management of water sources. Unfortunate seasonality in rainfall makes water distribution and conservation extremely variable. Water sources such as shallow wells, on which the majority of Namwala's community depend, lack sufficient water to last the whole year, because they dry out in the months starting late August to early November (Mweemba, 2010). This forces the local community to become highly competitive over water due to its scarcity, and increasingly depend on other water management structures, of which supply is often insufficient in meeting demand. Inequality in water distribution and the infrastructures that support it can be exemplified by the fact that approximately 46% of the population has access to safe drinking water, typically those located in major settlements, while the remaining population relies on the limited open surface water sources and hang dug wells for drinking water and watering of livestock (Funder et al, 2010)

The competitive nature of players involved in the water disputes can often lead to conflict over the watering of livestock, irrigation development and access to water for domestic users, especially drinking water (Funder et al, 2010). The majority of conflicts involved are due to the inefficiency of water managements structures, mainly that of water infrastructure being unevenly distributed across the district, in a particularly regressive manner. Disagreements include; disputes between cattle owners and crop farmers over irrigation development, the siting of water infrastructure, including where boreholes and small dams should be located, and access to infrastructure developments once they are established, including priority of access to boreholes between different types of water users (ibid). 

Figure 2 - Showing the installation of tippy taps in Namwala District

Conflicts as a direct result of water mismanagement often take the form of denouncements to authorities and or third parties, as structures in Zambian rural areas are held in very high esteem and are regarded as important institutions for conflict resolution at the local level. Locals often aggressively express their discontent in the inefficient distribution of water and water infrastructures to their relevant elders, which can often gain a lot of tract and attention from the local community due to the respect and authority that these elders hold (Mweemba, 2010). Such discontent is expressed on a local scale in favour of the district and national scales due to communication barriers and different perceptions that the rural members hold. This disregard of the district and national governments' involvement in the conflicts in the area can often lead to further political struggles between local ‘Big Men’ such as chiefs, headmen and local politicians who take opposing stand points and invoke discourses of e.g. ‘irrigation vs pastoralism’ (Haller, 2007). The pitting against each other of local leaders and politicians exacerbates the conflict and can often make the resolution of such conflict much more reluctant and ill-natured. As a result, the community often chooses to partner and interact with NGOs, as seen above whereby organisations such as UNICEF and World Vision supported the community by installing 68 tippy taps (Global Handwashing Partnership),

Therefore, this blog was set out with the intent to explore and analyse the issue of hydropolitical conflict at an exclusively local scale. It demonstrates the fact that hydropolitical conflict is not always due to complex bureaucratic, financial and political reasons that become convoluted at the top of national and transnational institutions. This conflict is still extremely relevant and credible due to the discrepancies in the distribution of water and the infrastructures that support it. regardless of the level of power of those involved and the lack of interaction with more formal structures in Zambia.