By Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo
The Head of the Black Volta Basin, Dr Joachim Abungba, has reemphasised that as the effects of climate change worsen and the world’s population rises, it is imperative that countries join forces “to safeguard and conserve” water as the most valuable resource.
He said data from the United Nations indicate that more than three billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses different nations or borders, but only 24 countries have cooperation agreements for their shared water resources.
Dr Abungba was speaking at a citizenship dialogue on water use conflict at Tumu to commemorate 2024 World Water Day in the Upper West Region. GBC’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo reports that the event was under the auspices of the Water Resources Commission (WRC) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Dr Abungba observed that tensions between communities and nations can arise when there is lack or inadequate water or when people have uneven or no access to it, stressing the significance of integrated water management on all fronts with specific reference to Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 17.
He said: “The Sustainable Development Goal 6 calls on all to ‘ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030’, and target 6.5 of the Goal 6, specifically advocates for the implementation of integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation, whiles SDG 17 calls for a global partnership for sustainable development.”
“This year’s celebration highlights the fact that when we cooperate on water, we create a positive ripple effect, thereby fostering harmony, generating prosperity, and building resilience against shared challenges, including conflicts. We must act upon the realisation that water is not only a resource to be used and competed for, but a human right that is intrinsic to every aspect of life,” Dr Abungba averred.
The Sissila East Municipal Coordinating Director (MCD), Adams Moro, who represented the Municipal Chief Executive, Fuseini Yakubu Batong, called for support to Assemblies across the country “towards the protection and maintenance of water bodies in our communities”.
The MCD expressed appreciation to traditional leaders, WRC, NGOs, religious groups, and philanthropists for supporting the Sissila East Municipal Assembly to provide potable water facilities to deprived communities, noting that the synergy has greatly improved access to drinkable water in the Municipality.
In a solidarity message from IUCN, the Project Officer of Land of Opportunities in the Sahel (LOGMe), Madam Dorcas Adjei, indicated that their collaboration with WRC hinges on the need to promote sustainable management of natural resources/water bodies.
She said: “As we all know, water is an essential part of our human rights just as land is. Some have categorised water as part of land, so we need to live as individuals. There is the need to have this dialogue to discuss what the different needs are and how the different needs could be addressed in order to avoid or control conflict around our water bodies.”
Madam Adjei urged the participants to brainstorm on how to use water sustainably, which will inure to the benefit of all of us.
A Senior Lecturer at the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS), Godwin Achana, stated that most of the water use conflicts relate to the destruction of crops by livestock and stressed the need for integrated usage approach to be factored into the design of water systems in order to prevent conflicts relating to access.
There was also a field trip to Nanchala to inspect a nursery for tree seedlings, a water facility, and the catchment area of Nyerivre Stream, which is being restocked with trees to protect the stream. Dr Abungba and other officials were impressed by the survival rate of the trees so far planted.
An Assistant Programme Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency in Tumu, Abdul-Rashid Zakaria commended the people of Nanchala for their marvellous work in planting trees in the stream’s catchment area and encouraged them to keep up the momentum “to serve as a model community for others to emulate”.
In another development, there was a dialogue on water conflict management between Wa Senior High School and Wa Islamic Senior High School.
Wa Senior High School emerged as the winner at the dialogue session with 61 points, with Wa Islamic Senior High School getting 53 points.
