Water Wheel May/June 2022: African River Basins

Abstract

How the Senegal River sets an example of transboundary basin water management Africa has more share of its area (62%) within transboundary basins than any other continent. A total of 68 transboundary basins, out of 310 worldwide, are in Africa. South Africa is no stranger to the implications of these statistics. The country shares six international watercourse systems with neighbours. The four most important basins are the Limpopo, Incomati, Maputo and Orange, which are shared with Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The Orange-Senqu River Basin is a case in point of the disputes that can develop between adjacent states. South Africa’s largest river, the Orange originates in the Lesotho Highlands. From here the river stretches for 2 300 km to the Atlantic Ocean along a basin that includes Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia and southwestern Botswana. The last 600 km form an ambiguous border with Namibia that has led to tussles with South Africa over what constitutes ‘fair’ water allocation.

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