Water governance - challenges in Africa : hydro-optimism or hydro-pessimism?. Centro de Estudos Africanos (Porto, Portugal): CEAUP studies on Africa ; Vol. 2.

Ein tadelloses Exemplar. - Fresh water is indispensable to life and human activities. The improvement of livelihood of Africans is directly related to improvements of water supply and sanitation. There is also a strong and direct dependence of people on a particular natural resource that leads to the concept of social-ecological systems. This is demonstrated by conflicts over access and control of water as part of everyday local politics, which dictate the necessity of understanding practices and processes of local governance from a rural point of view. There is a need of exploring the relationships between the state and market regulation in order to guarantee full access to water. Water sector reforms are thus necessary to increase equity, efficiency and environmental sustainability, through a participatory approach involving water-users associations and basinmanagement committees. The success will though depend on social learning in this process, as it is crucial for human progress and survival in face of water stress that is aggravated by climate change, growing water demands from agriculture and urbanism, demographic pressure and tourism. The book is an endeavour of different specialities to tackle the different aspects of water governance challenge on the African continent. Indeed, policy debate and critical thinking on future development scenarios is a task just in its infancy. These papers can aid in a process of converging research efforts both North-South and South-South, which will bridge the optimism-pessimism divide. Whilst the hydro-optimists might say that the right decisions are being taken to �futureproof� Africa against natural and man-made hazards including droughts and floods (and deterioration in water quality), for the pessimists the future is always frightening. - Contents: MANUEL C. BRANCO AND PEDRO D. HENRIQUES: The market economy and the human right to water in Africa -- PAULA D. LOPES: Implementation of the human right to water: Multi-level challenges -- MATHIAS POLAK AND STEFAN LIEHR: Theoretical reflections on the analysis of water governance in coupled social-ecological systems -- SIGNE MARIE COLD-RAVNKILDE: Between a rock and a hard place: Decentralization and struggles for water in Mali -- HELEN BROWN: Social learning and water-resource management in Southern Africa: Can interactive learning trigger changes in water management? -- DANIEL ALVARENGA: How does the river flow? The Mphanda Nkuwa project and China's impact on Mozambique and Southern Africa's water and development -- ADRIANO BORDALO AND JOANA SAWA-BORDALO: The water question under extreme poverty: The example of Bolama, Guinea-Bissau (West Africa) -- GODWIN UYI OJO: The politics of water management in rural communities of Nigeria: Deep or shallow commitment? -- AGATHE MAUPIN: From hydro-pessimism to hydro-optimism in Southern Africa: Hydropolitical risk as a tool for improving water resource management -- IBRAHIMA ANNE: Integrated water resources management in the Senegal River basin -- Nico. H. VAN LEEUWEN: Rainwater management in Africa: A green revolution to increase agricultural production. ISBN 9783034311335