The Volta River Basin

Water for Food, Economic Growth and Environment

Timothy O. Williams, Marloes Mul, Charles A. Biney, Vladimir Smakhtin

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781317479536
• Subtopic: Development Economics
• Index: Biological Sciences

The Volta River Basin (VRB) is an important transboundary basin in West Africa that covers approximately 410,000 square kilometres across six countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo. Its natural resources sustain the livelihoods of its population and contribute to economic development. This book provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary review and assessment of the issues and challenges faced.

The authors provide a science-based assessment of current and future scenarios of water availability, the demands of key sectors, including agriculture and hydropower, and the environment under changing demographic, economic, social and climatic conditions. They also identify solutions and strategies that will allow available water resources to be sustainably used to improve agricultural productivity, food security and economic growth in the VRB. Overall, the work examines from a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder perspective the solutions and strategies to improve the use of water and other natural resources in the VRB to achieve enhanced food security, livelihoods and economic growth.

PART I

Introduction

1
Introduction

Timothy O. Williams, Marloes L. Mul, Charles A. Biney and Vladimir Smakhtin

The Volta, a name given by early Portuguese traders in reference to its twisting and meandering course, is an important transboundary river connecting six West African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo. It flows over a distance of 1,850km from north to south before it drains into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of Guinea. The river has three main tributaries with different local names: the Black Volta (Mouhoun), originating in south-west Burkina Faso, the White Volta (Nakanbé), originating in the north of Burkina Faso, and the Oti River (Pendjari), originating in north-west Benin. The Volta River Basin (VRB) covers a surface area of about 409,000km² across varying portions of the six countries. Burkina Faso and Ghana, with 42 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, have the largest share of the basin, followed by Togo, with 6 per cent, Mali and Benin, with approximately 4 per cent each, and Côte d’Ivoire, with 3 per cent (Figure 1.1). In 2010, the population of the basin stood at 23.8 million and is projected to reach 38.4 million in 2030.

Figure 1.1 The Volta River Basin

The basin has low relief in general, with altitudes varying between 1 and 920m. Mean altitude is about 257m, with more than half of the basin in the range of 200 to 300m. Rainfall follows a north–south gradient, with higher rainfall in the south and lower rainfall in the north. Average long-term annual rainfall varies from about 1600mm/a in the south-eastern part of the basin in Ghana to about 360mm/a in the northern part of Burkina Faso. Rainfall variability is very large during the rainy season and the onset of the rainy season is particularly unpredictable (UNEP–GEF Volta Project, 2013).

Historically, the VRB was inhabited by cavemen about half a million years ago. Three thousand years ago, the inhabitants settled down and started rearing cattle and growing yams. The earliest villages date back to 2,000 years ago and were located along the banks of the river; around this time, iron processing was introduced. The Europeans arrived on trading expeditions in the fifteenth century, though missionary work and exploration did also occur. The trade in gold was a major factor in the expansion of European interest in West Africa. Gold from West Africa represented a tenth of the world’s gold reserve in the early part of the sixteenth century (Boahen, 1986). By the seventeenth century, when the slave trade was in full swing, European traders’ attention shifted away from gold. Slaves were obtained from the Volta Basin with the full and active cooperation of African kings and merchants. The slave trade was abolished in the nineteenth century and by the mid-twentieth century the Volta Basin was populated by newly emergent independent nations.

At the time gold mining started in the basin, gold was mined mainly using gold panning practices. About 200 years ago, small-scale miners used mercury and cyanide to separate gold from the soil, a practice locally known as galamsey. This practice contributed to land degradation and deforestation, and affected water quality (Ofosu-Mensah, 2011). Apart from trade in gold and slaves, the inhabitants of the Volta Basin historically practised a combination of farming and livestock rearing, with farming more dominant in the southern parts of the basin and nomadic livestock rearing dominant in the northern part. Although rainfall, the main source of water for agriculture, is limited, especially in the north, there are no records of (small-scale) irrigation development before 1900. The construction of small reservoirs in Burkina Faso started in the 1920s and in Ghana in the 1950s, with a peak in the 1960s–1980s during consecutive drought years. The use of shallow wells (permanent and temporary) is mainly a practice started nearly 50 years ago (Ofosu, 2011). Direct abstraction of water from the river came about when motorized pumps became accessible.

The Volta River continues to serve as a lifeline to many communities in the basin, providing year-round water supply in the southern part of the basin and seasonal flows in the northern part to replenish natural and artificial water bodies. Various ecosystems that are dependent on this seasonal water supply provide essential services to riparian communities to sustain their livelihoods. Natural water bodies, such as wetlands and coastal lagoons, also serve as feeding grounds for large concentrations of migratory and resident water birds, as well as habitat for hippopotamuses and other aquatic mammals. Artificial water bodies such as the Bagré and Kompienga Dams in Burkina Faso have a status of ‘wetlands of international importance’ according to the Ramsar Convention of 1971.

The six riparian countries of the Volta Basin are interdependent with respect to water and other natural resources. The Dependency Index, which represents the total share of renewable water resources of a country produced outside its borders, ranged from about 6 per cent in Côte d’Ivoire to 60 per cent in Benin, with an average of 30 per cent for the six riparian countries (ECOWAS, 2008). Given this interdependence and the imperatives of socioeconomic development demanding the utilization of more water resources, talks about transboundary management of water resources started in the post-colonial period in the early 1960s. Although formal coordinated water management among riparian countries is fairly recent, records show that bilateral consultations have been going on for over 40 years, mainly between Burkina Faso and Ghana within a broader cooperation framework that extends beyond water resources. These initiatives became solidified after the West African Conference on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) held in Ouagadougou in March 1998, which led, among other things, to a declaration to create a framework for regional cooperation on IWRM, harmonize policies and legislation on water issues and re-vitalize the consultative frameworks between riparian countries for the joint management of shared basins. Further to this, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) adopted a West African Regional Action Plan for IWRM in 2000, which led to the establishment in 2001 of a Permanent Framework for Coordination and Monitoring of IWRM in West Africa with the aim of supporting ECOWAS countries to ensure sustainable, equitable and efficient management of water resources.

In the Volta Basin, this process gathered momentum with the inauguration of the Volta Basin Technical Committee (VBTC) in March 2005 with representation from all the six riparian countries. The VBTC was charged, among other things, to identify the conditions and measures needed for the establishment of a Volta Basin body. The activities of the VBTC culminated in the ministers responsible for water resources in the riparian countries signing a Memorandum of Understanding to create a Volta Basin Authority (VBA) in December 2005 and adopting a draft Convention and statutes in July 2006. The VBA was formally established in January 2007, when the heads of state of the riparian countries signed the Convention on the Status of the Volta River and Establishment of the Volta Basin Authority (VBA, 2007) to promote permanent consultation and sustainable development of the water and related resources of the Volta Basin for the equitable distribution of benefits towards poverty alleviation and better socioeconomic integration. The headquarters of the VBA is located in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.

Economic activity in the riparian countries is still largely dependent on the natural resources of the basin. Agriculture, including livestock rearing and fisheries, which employs 54–85 per cent of the labour force and contributes 23–41 per cent of the gross domestic product, is heavily reliant on land and water resources. Water is also used for hydropower generation, mining, manufacturing, trade, recreation and tourism. In recent years, water resources in the basin have come under increasing pressure from population growth and the attendant growing demand for food, energy and manufactured products. As indicated in Chapter 2, the basin’s population will more than double over the next 35 years. Combined with climate change, demographic pressure is likely to pose a real threat to the sustainable development of the VRB and its rich ecosystems. At the same time, and despite recent improvements in economic growth, the countries that share the basin remain among the poorest in the world. Agriculture, which is currently extensive and mostly rain-fed, is unable to meet food demands, resulting in the importation of cereals such as rice, wheat and maize. All of the riparian countries are currently experiencing energy shortages and an increased and more frequent incidence of floods and droughts.

Thus, the main challenge facing policy makers is how to manage the natural resources of the basin to improve food security, reduce poverty and promote economic growth, without further degradation of the natural ecosystems. This challenge was reiterated by regional policy advisors at a consultative workshop organized by GGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) in Accra, Ghana in May 2013. They highlighted the need for research-based evidence and collated information that would: a) enable agricultural policies and strategies to be revised to address changing demographic patterns and climate; and b) facilitate a transition from extensive to sustainable intensification of agriculture. Although a number of recent studies (IUCN, 2012; McCartney et al., 2012; UNEP–GEF Volta Project, 2013) have reviewed and analysed specific aspects of this challenge, no single book exists that takes an all-encompassing view of the multidimensional challenges and opportunities in the VRB.

The twin objectives of this book are: a) to provide a science-based assessment of current and future scenarios of water availability and the demands of key sectors and the environment under changing demographic, economic, social and climatic conditions; and b) to identify solutions and strategies that will allow available water resources to be sustainably used to improve agricultural productivity, food security and economic growth in the VRB. To achieve this objective, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the WLE assembled a multidisciplinary and multinational team of leading researchers and senior policy advisors working in the basin to cover the topics included in the chapters of this book. The authors reviewed the socioeconomic trends and drivers of change and linked hydrology, water resources availability and governance, the water–food–energy nexus, climate change, ecosystems, the sustainable intensification of agriculture and future scenario analysis to offer suggestions that can enhance food security, economic growth and sustainable natural resource management in line with the Sustainable Development Goals recently adopted by the comity of nations, including the riparian countries.

The following summary key messages have emerged from the analysis described in detail in the subsequent chapters:

• The population of the VRB is projected to increase from 23.8 million in 2010 to 56.1 million in 2050, with the proportion of young people under 34 years of age much higher than older people. Over the next 15 years, urban population is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 2.8–4.9 per cent. These demographic trends will have huge implications for the future demand for food, goods and services, and employment, and for the overall development of the basin.

• Although much progress has been made in reducing poverty and malnutrition in the riparian countries, much remains to be done. The share of the population who live on less than US$1.90 per day remains high, varying from 25 to 50 per cent, and the proportion of undernourished people ranges from 5 to 20 per cent.

• The Volta Basin is at risk from droughts, with approximately 66 per cent of the basin, especially in the northern parts, facing a medium to high risk of droughts. An estimated area of 9 per cent of the entire Volta Basin is at risk of medium or high flooding due to overflowing of the river banks.

• For the Volta Basin countries, hydropower contributes significantly to the electricity mix, with Ghana dependent on hydropower for over 50 per cent of its electricity supply. However, the basin’s hydropower capacities have not increased much since 1992, despite increasing energy demands. The only major development over the last two decades has been the Bui scheme, which was commissioned in 2013 in Ghana.

• Current demand for hydropower generation at the Akosombo and Kpong Dams is approaching the limits of the water stored in the dams and, with limited options for additional large-scale hydropower development in the basin, alternative options for electricity generation will need to be sought.

• Gender dimensions of rural poverty and vulnerability in the Volta Basin are evident in the inequitable control of and access to natural resources. While women in the basin bear the burdens of provisioning households with water and food, traditional and statutory institutions limit their access and control over these natural resources. Reducing their burden via improved access, increased control and technologies will contribute to decreased vulnerability and poverty reduction.

• There has been a general increase in the production of staple crops such as maize, millet, sorghum and groundnut in the basin, though there have been strong year-to-year fluctuations in the growth rate linked in part to variable weather conditions. The agricultural sector growth is generally far below the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme’s 6 per cent target for African countries.

• There is a compelling case for the sustainable intensification of smallholder farming sys...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Notes on authors
• Chapter photos
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Acronyms and Abbreviations
• Part I Introduction
• Part II Basin resources: trends, drivers and status
• Part III People, policies and institutions
• Part IV Challenges and opportunities in the use of water resources
• Part V Balancing development and nature
• Part VI Governance and livelihoods
• Index