By Kerstin Danert
Zambia only withdraws an estimated 1.5% of its total renewable water resources and thus, at the national scale not, water scarce. However, the population, currently 18 million, is expected to be between 60 and 110 million by the end of the century. Increased water use is important for raising the agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers and reducing rural poverty, Zambia’s mining industry, is central for the country’s exports and generating foreign exchange and large scale irrigated agriculture plays an important role for the economy and livelihoods. These realities, coupled with droughts and future climate change impacts will all contribute to increased pressure on Zambia’s water resources.
There are also risks of pollution from mining, agriculture and the lack of sanitation infrastructure. This all illustrate the centrality of water resources in Zambia, which, ¨if not properly managed, could place fresh water availability at risk.
The year 2018 witnessed the commencement of regulation of groundwater development and use in Zambia. Regulations, of any kind, are essentially control systems with specific capacities that set standards, gather information (or monitor) and modify behaviour. The recent Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) publication documents the achievements and lessons learned of implementing these regulations.
The Water Resources Management (WRM) Act, 2011 was the basis for establishing the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA). The Act contains 64 instances requiring regulation, which were grouped, providing a basis for eight Statutory Instruments (SIs). The three SIs that were promulgated[1] in 2018 are an important step towards protecting Zambia’s aquifers and regulating abstraction, while supporting the sustainable development of the country’s groundwater resources and protecting the interests of the general public. The three SIs define tariffs and charges for water use (SI 18), require drillers to be licenced and set borehole standards (SI 19), and require groundwater users to apply for permits (SI 20).
The process of developing the regulations illustrates the importance of partnership and wide consultation. Since the promulgation of the three SIs in March 2018, a considerable amount of data has been collected by WARMA alongside the generation of substantial revenue. There has also been valuable learning about legal pitfalls alongside the practicalities of regulating – including administration, human resources, physical presence, and the need for suitable Information Technology (IT) systems.
The study found an appreciation among of the importance and need to regulate groundwater, alongside a recognition that, particularly given the size of the country, that this is a huge undertaking for WARMA. However, the regulations have been politicised, and even labelled “the borehole tax”, which could affect implementation going forward. In Zambia, water is recognised, by law, as having as an economic value, and the cost of facilitating its use is recognised as having a significant administrative cost. It is essential that this, and that the associated permit, licence and use charges are widely understood, particularly by water users.
While there is widespread awareness of the new regulatory requirements there are concerns that more is needed to communicate with water users who may not yet be aware of the regulations. While there is evidence of goodwill towards the regulation, there are concerns that while these three new SIs are generating revenue for WARMA, the process of translating the WRM Act, 2011 into regulations is not yet fully complete. Important gaps remain with respect to groundwater pollution and protection, as well as local governance of water resources and allocations at catchment and sub-catchment levels. The SIs concerning these components of the Water Act, 2011 have not yet been issued, undermining the holistic and integrated approach of Zambia’s WRM Act, 2011 will be fully enacted as envisaged.
While over 30,000 existing boreholes were registered within the first year, and over 1,000 new permits to drill have been issued subsequently, it is taking time for digitisation of this information. This means that these data, and other data (e.g., drilling logs) has not been as readily available as hoped.
If you want to read more, you can download the publication (in English and French) from here: https://www.rural-water-supply.net/en/resources/details/1040
[1] Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect (Wikipedia, 2021).