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WATER POLITICS

As reported by Nairobi’s Business Daily, food and fresh water security was one of four key issues being discussed by world business leaders who recently gathered in Cape Town, South Africa for the 18th Annual World Economic Forum on Africa.  As the article notes:

“…Africa is at an inflection point…  It has been argued that there is no food security without agriculture and no agriculture without water. Policy-makers may have to return to thinking about food and water resources as strategic assets, and businesses should brace themselves for more expensive and more highly regulated water.

The report indicates that with food and water security at the nexus of a range of interconnected risks, the potential for risk conflation is high. In particular, social and political tensions over access to food and water resources can lead to political instability, putting humanitarian efforts at risk and damaging the business and investment climate.

…acute water shortages might exacerbate intercommunity and interstate tensions and blight prospects for development,” said Gareth Shepherd, co-author of the report and member of the Forum’s Global Risk Programme…”