CHARLES MANGWIRO, Maputo | Friday 2.45pm.
REGIONAL governments must begin involving rural communities in the management of natural resources if they wish to avoid cross-border water conflicts, European and African resource managers said in Maputo on Friday.
The managers told delegates from nine southern African countries that water remained the region’s scarcest and most desirable resource.
The experts, flown into Maputo for a “co-operation or conflict” conference by the Finnish Citizen’s Security Council NGO, said that violent disputes were often sparked by rural communities who had no idea how to manage or conserve existing resources.
This led to inter-community or cross-border conflict, delegates were warned.
A conference charter, drafted with the assistance of Mozambique’s new Eduardo Mondlane Foundation, states: “It is necessary that countries sharing the same natural resources be involved in permanent dialogue to allow for sustainable use and management of vital resources”.
The charter adds that it is imperative for countries in the sub-continent to coordinate their water policies and consult widely on projects such as dams or irrigation schemes so as not to undermine each others’ interests.
National delegates at the conference included representatives from Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Finland. –African Eye News Service
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