Climate expert calls for integration among countries sharing river basins

By Aregu Balleh

African leaders have been asked to pursue regional cooperation that promotes an integrated use of water, energy and food among countries that share river basins.

Addressing a climate change forum in Marrakech, Morocco, Ms. Belynda Petrie, Chief Executive Officer of OneWorld Sustainable Investments, pointed out that by 2035, Africa’s demand for energy, food calorie per person, and water is projected to be higher than today, and that will pose serious challenges on different countries sharing water basins.

Two or more countries share an estimated 61 of Africa’s river basins. This suggests that the prospects for regional cooperation are ripe.

Ms. Petrie urged that instead of exporting food and energy abroad, countries in Africa that share river basins should trade regionally. “Benefits accrued from river basins in the form of energy, food and water can be shared among the basin countries, and that will promote regional cooperation and economic integration,” she told the conference.

She cited the Limpopo, Zambezi, and Nile as examples of river basins that are shared by many countries.

Given that Africa possesses 60 percent of the world’s arable land, there is no reason why it should not be able to feed itself and the entire world.