The African Water Vision 2025: its influence on water governance in the development of Africa's water sector, with an emphasis on rural communities in Kenya: a review

HIGHLIGHTS

INTRODUCTION

Writing two decades ago, a report from the independent World Commission for Water (WCW) looking forward to the 21st century stated that:

‘Water is life. Every human being, now and in the future, should have access to safe water for drinking, appropriate sanitation, and enough food and energy at reasonable cost. Providing adequate water to meet these basic needs must be done in an equitable manner that works in harmony with nature. For water is the basis for all living ecosystems and habitats and part of an immutable hydrological cycle that must be respected if the development of human activity and well being is to be sustainable’ (Cosgrove & Rijsberman, 2000).

Furthermore, it was stated that as of the turn of the century:

‘We are not achieving these goals today, and we are on a path leading to crisis and to future problems for a large part of humanity and many parts of the planet's ecosystems. Business as usual leads us on an unsustainable and inequitable path. A holistic, systemic approach relying on integrated water resource management must replace the current fragmentation in managing water’ (Cosgrove & Rijsberman, 2000).

In response to the WCW report, the World Water Council commissioned a series of water vision statements for countries and regions around the world. We examine the impact of one of these reports, the African Water Vision 2025 (AWV 2025)¹, and provide some insight into the effectiveness of this framing in relation to the development, management and governance of water resources in Africa. An assessment of the barriers or mechanisms that have hindered or assisted in delivering on this vision statement is given. Due to the great complexity associated with different countries in Africa, in a more detailed analysis, we focus exclusively on Kenya and its rural population to capture the top-down impact of AWV 2025 in Kenya and its rural population. We provide an analysis of the actions of successive Kenyan governments in improving water governance in the last 20 years, with direct reference made to the goals and objectives set out in AWV 2025.

AN ANALYSIS OF WATER MANAGEMENT IN AFRICA

The importance of reliable water resources for agricultural sector productivity, food security and economic development in Africa...