African Water Development Report

The general level of water resources development for meeting the needs of the African populace (for potable drinking, food security and other necessities of human life) is still very low. This situation could be a blessing in disguise if proper policy frameworks for planning, development, and management of water resources in African countries can be divised, taking advantage of the advancement in water science and technology and also he positive and negative experiences of the technologically-advanced countries through appropriate knowledge and technology transfer mechanisms. It is well known that the harnessing the resources of water bodies in its many forms of occurrence (rivers, lakes, seas and others), have exerted decisive influence on the development of human society and determined the level of general socio-economic development. It is therefore obvious that any accelerated development in Africa would, to a very large extent, depend on how effectively African countries are able to harness their water resources for a sustainable socio-economic development and, above all, for the eradication of endemic poverty without impairing the environment. As we observed in the interim report of the African Water Development Report (AWDR), never in the history of the tortuous efforts in Africa aimed at reversing decades of endemic poverty and pervasive underdevelopment in Africa has the realization of the cardinal role of water in socioeconomic development been so high as at present. This positive trend has been achieved through decades of International and African concerted efforts at evolving policies and strategies for effectives water resources development and management, culminating in the adoption of the Dublin Principles of Integrated Water Resources Management. These processes cans generally be referred to as the "Water Journey from Rio to