The Role Of Sub- Regional Organizations In Preventing Water-Related Conflicts In The Eastern African Region.
Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is twofold: First, i
t examines the preventive efforts taken by
IGAD, EAC and ICGLR to prevent and manage water-rel
ated conflicts in the Eastern African
Region, and second, it analyzes the extent to which
these sub regional organizations have been
able and are willing to mainstream prevention and m
anagement of water related conflicts in their
institutional culture and work. Section one discuss
es the debates for and against water wars. In
doing so, it demonstrators why cooperation is impor
tant while managing shared water resources.
Section two
offers regional perspectives on specific examples,
causes, and impacts of the water-
related conflicts in the Eastern African Region. S
ection three examines how the prevention of
water related conflicts within the sub regional org
anisations:
East African Community (EAC),
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) a
nd International Conference on Great
Lakes Region (ICGLR). S
ections Four
shows the successes and challenges faced by these
organizations and what needs to be enhanced to make
the sub regional organisations more
effective. This examination shows that great stride
s have been made by individual sub regional
organizations to include the frameworks on the prev
ention of water related conflicts in their
organizations. But what is lacking is the co-ordina
tion across these sub regional organizations
them.
The concluding section tries
to highlight the fact that, while each sub regiona
l organization
is characterized by its own constraints and opportu
nities, some key challenges are similar to all –
among them, the necessity for local, national, regi
onal and international stakeholders'
coordination and cooperation when dealing with wate
r –related conflicts. Key to this paper is the
argument that prevention of water related conflicts
in this region must produce results.
Therefore, the sub-regional organizations have to b
e proactively engaged in the prevention of
these conflicts.
There is much that these organizations can learn fr
om each other’s experiences in making the
prevention of water-related conflicts in this regio
n work. It is this exchange of experiences – of
successes and failures –that will help determine if
the prevention of these conflicts will indeed
emerge as a core principal of regional interaction
in the years to come
Citation
MARTINON, MUMMA-CA. 2010. The Role Of Sub- Regional Organizations In Preventing Water-Related Conflicts In The Eastern African Region. . (Kenya: International Peace Support Training Centre, Ed.)., Number Occasional Paper, Series 1. No.7. , NairobPublisher
University of Nairobi Political science and Public Administration