By IPS Correspondents
BERLIN, Mar 16 2004 (IPS)

Water management is set to play a crucial role in the development of travel and tourism industry in Africa in the coming years, according to experts.

The United Nations specialised agency World Tourism Organisation estimates that some 77 million tourists – three times the number recorded in 1995 – will visit Africa in 2020.

“These expectations will be fulfilled only if the right conditions are created,” says Karl Wolfgang Menck from Hamburg Institute of International Economy (HWWA).

In a paper presented at the world tourism fair ITB in Berlin, Menck says, if this aspect has not been given adequate attention up to now, it is because “the preferred destinations of visitors to Africa are presently not afflicted by bottlenecks in water supply.”

North Africa, which attracts about 40 percent of all travellers to Africa, “has comparatively good water supplies”.

But the water supply situation in Southern Africa that attracts one-third of the global tourists to the continent is far from satisfactory. Water required for public use has to be pumped over long distances from rivers and lakes, and this involves enormous costs.

The situation is aggravated by the fact floods follow on the heels of droughts – underlining the need for adequate water management, says Menck.

East Africa that is expected to share 30 percent of travellers to the continent is no better off. Equally precarious is the water supply situation in West Africa that has not yet drawn a significant tourist attention.

Menck’s concern is shared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), based in Nairobi.

According to Africa Environment Outlook published by UNEP ahead of the World Summit on Sustainable Development late August 2002 in Johannesburg, the continent’s share of global freshwater resources is about 9 per cent.

These freshwater resources are distributed unevenly across Africa, with western Africa and central Africa having significantly greater precipitation than northern Africa, the Horn of Africa and southern Africa.

The wettest country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has nearly 25 per cent of average annual internal renewable water resources in Africa. By contrast, the driest country, Mauritania, has just 0.01 per cent of Africa’s total.

Average water availability per person in Africa is 5,720 cubic metres per capita per year compared to a global average of 7,600 cubic metres, but there are large disparities between sub-regions

Giulia Carbone, UNEP’s programme officer for sustainable tourism, points out that presently, some 206 million Africans live in water stressed or water scarce countries. By 2025 the number will rise to about 700 million as population continues to grow.

Of these, roughly 440 million will live in countries with acute water scarcity – less than 1,000 cubic metres per person per year.

Fifty years ago, there was four times more water for each African than today. “Now there are acute water shortages for crops and for livestock, for industry and sanitation in the cities, and almost everywhere drinking water is increasingly scarce,” says the UNEP.

Caught between growing demand for freshwater and limited and increasingly polluted supplies, many African countries face difficult choices. Finding solutions requires responses at local, national and international levels.

These include community level initiatives to manage water resources better, national water management policies that help not only to improve supply but also manage demand international cooperation. After all, water knows no national boundaries.

UNEP expects increasing tourism in Africa to increase pressure on natural resources. “Therefore the need for responsible and sustainable water use habits and policies is vital to ensure viable growth of one of Africa’s most exciting growth-industries.”

Although tourism, especially eco-tourism, is not the heaviest water use sector, it has a responsibility and a unique need in Africa to strive towards becoming the continent’s flagship water management industry.

Menck says: “Efficient and sustainable use of water resources should be part of all tourism developers’ strategies. This includes incentives for all hotel guests, staff and local population to minimise water use through comprehensive education and awareness programmes.”

But he has also words of praise for African states that have agreed to improve the water management situation with a view to attracting tourists and protect the environment.

Within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), African governments have voted in favour of tourism that is ecology friendly. And this is inevitably linked to adequate water management, says Menck in his paper.

Menck submitted his paper at the Africa Forum organised by ITB Berlin.

The five-day fair that ended Tuesday was joined by travel and tourism operators from 178 countries. African participants included those from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana, Gambia, Eritrea and Mauritius.

Excerpt: