The 'Next Oil' - Hydropolitics in Africa

As already discussed, water is fundamental to all forms of life on this planet but it's scarcity and uneven nature makes it highly politicised. Waters political nature is multi-scalar operating locally, nationally and internationally - water involves biopower, geopolitics and social inequality. Within this section of the blog I will explore the geopolitical and biopolitical underpinnings of this critical resource in relation to Africa. A Geopolitical issue Prominent water's resources often form the basis of many international borders as is clearly evident on the African continent. From the Zambezi river separating Zambia and Zimbabwe to the border which demarcates the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania running halfway along Lake Tanganyika. Despite prominent water resources demarcating multiple borders on the African continent, national boundaries 'seldom' ( Ashton 2007 ) align with the natural boundaries of river catchments or aquifers. The arbitrary formati...

The 'Next Oil' - Hydropolitics in Africa The global water crisis is one of the world's most pressing issues and has been greatly intensified by a combination of rapidly growing global population coupled with intensified climatic change which has put great strain on water resources globally. In 1995 World Bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin stated 'If the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water' ( Serageldin 1995 ). We are comfortably into the century in which Serageldins prediction rests and this prediction appears increasingly accurate as we are faced with increased water scarcity coupled with ever increasing demand globally. Water the next oil? Illustration by Andrea Ucini - Source Though, unlike oil, water exists as a fundamental and basic resource for human life, every living thing on the planet needs water. Water fuels society, the economy, the environment and without it our home, the blue marble...