Water Accounting
Experiences from Southern Africa
Glenn-Marie Lange
The Earth Institute at Columbia University
Natural Resource Accounting Programme
in East & Southern Africa
Started in 1995, currently in Phase 3
Includes
• Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
• More recently, Mozambique, Tanzania,
Uganda
Secretariat at the University of Pretoria,
South Africa
Natural Resource Accounting
Programme in East & Southern Africa
Minerals Water
Fisheries
Botswana
X
X
Namibia
X
X
South Africa
X
X
Tanzania
X
X
X
Regional
case
study
Regional
case
study
Mozambique
Uganda
X
Forests
partial
X
X
X
X
Land/Land
degradation
partial
WATER:
Critical Resource in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
ALL COUNTRIES CHARACTERIZED BY:
• Low, highly variable rainfall (250-500mm/year), high
evapotranspiration
• High reliance on fossil groundwater (Botswana and Namibia)
• No perennial rivers entirely within a country
• Growing reliance on shared international rivers
Regional water commissions negotiate allocations of water from int’l
rivers
• Water supply vulnerable to climate change
• Water is highly subsidized
 NEED TO MONITOR AND MANAGE WATER IN SOUTHERN
AFRICA
What Do Policy-Makers Need from
Water Accounts?
Economic information to make decisions:
1.
Allocation of water, water infrastructure among
competing users:
•
•
•
2.
Economic users: agriculture-hydroelectric-municipal, etc.
Ecological requirements: biodiversity-mining-tourism
Meeting international requirements
Water pricing and economic instruments:
•
•
Understand variation of water costs/treatment by region and set
prices accordingly
Understand impact of water tariffs on different industries and
different social groups, especially the poor
3.
Coordinating policy in related sectors: agriculture,
rural development, tourism, etc.
4.
Planning for future water requirements, water
conservation & demand management
Water Accounts in Botswana,
Namibia and South Africa
Years covered:
– Botswana: 1993-2001
– Namibia: 1993 & 1996, 1997-2000
– South Africa: 1998 and 2000
Water classified by natural source & institution that supplies
water
Water end-users classified by
– ISIC: Botswana and Namibia
– Dept of Water Affairs classification: South Africa— THIS IS A
PROBLEM—colleagues at Univ. of Pretoria have partially
adjusted the official water accounts
Geographic coverage
– National water accounts: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
– Catchment-level accounts: South Africa, partial in Namibia,
possible in Botswana
Water Classifications: Natural
Source and Supplying Institution
CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL
SOURCES
CLASSIFICATION OF
SUPPLYING INSTITUTIONS
BOTSWANA
Groundwater
Dam storage of seasonal rivers
Perennial surface water
Water Utilities Corporation
Dept. of Water Affairs
District Councils
Self-providers
NAMIBIA
Groundwater
Dam storage of seasonal rivers
Perennial surface water
Recycled wastewater
Seawater
Namwater
Municipal authorities
Rural Water Supply
Rural communities
Self-providers: Agriculture, Mining
SOUTH
AFRICA
Groundwater
Surface water
Soil water
Dept. of Water Affairs and
Forestry
Irrigation Boards
Water Boards
Municipalities
Classification of End-Users
(number of industries in each country’s water accounts)
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Agriculture
2
5
4
Mining
4
2
2
Manufacturing &
utilities
5
10
4
Aggregated from
8
Aggregated from
20
Services
7
7
2
Government
2
1
1
Households
2
2
2
22
27
14
partial
yes
No
(urban-rural)
Total end-users in
water use accounts
Losses
Data Sources for Water Use:
Metered Water Use or Estimated Use?
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Administrative
records that
meter
individual
users
49%
38%
By
estimation
0%
100%
(mainly
agriculture)
51%
63%
SEEAW Chapter 9.B Indicators and
statistics
B.1 Source of pressure on water resources:
•
•
•
Macro trends in total water use, emissions, water use by natural
source and purpose, etc.
Industry-level trends
Technology and driving forces
B.2 Potential for increasing effective supply and improving
water productivity
•
Reducing system losses
B.3 Water pricing and incentives for water conservation
B. 4 Sustainability: comparing water resources and water use
1.40
1.35
1.30
1.25
1.20
1.15
1.10
1.05
1.00
0.95
0.90
Botswana, 1992 = 1.00
NATIONAL
TRENDS:
Percapita w ater use
GDP/m 3
Volum e
Decoupling of
Growth & Water
Use?
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
1.4
1.35
1.3
1.25
1.2
1.15
1.1
1.05
1
0.95
0.9
Namibia: 1993 = 1.00
Percapita w ater use
GDP/m 3
Volum e
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Index of water use
& productivity
million m3
Water supply by natural source in
Namibia, 2001/02
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
m
a
er
t
d
a
w
al
r
d
e
n
u
m
ro
he
G
p
E
Total water supply: 395 Mm3
Total freshwater: 326 Mm3
al
i
nn
e
r
e
P
R
yc
c
e
d
le
w
er
t
a
aw
e
S
er
t
a
Some groundwater from fossil sources.
Nationally small, <5% of water use.
Locally, 100% with few alternatives.
Supply of Freshwater by Supplying
Institution
50%
1997/98
40%
2001/02
30%
20%
10%
M
in
es
Ag
ri c
ul
tu
re
ly
at
er
Su
pp
R
ur
al
W
M
un
ic
ip
al
itie
s
N
am
w
at
er
0%
Note: rural communities not recorded as supplying own water
Industry-level trends:
Freshwater use by source and end-user in
Namibia, 2001/02 (million cubic meters)
Total
Dams Groundwater Perennial Recycled
AGRICULTURE
210.2
60.5
74.6
74.5
0.5
Commercial agriculture
145.2
48.6
51.4
44.7
0.5
Irrigation
119.8
47.3
27.2
44.7
0.5
Livestock
25.5
1.3
24.1
Traditional agriculture
64.9
11.9
23.3
29.7
Irrigation
32.2
5.8
0.6
25.8
Livestock
32.7
6.1
22.7
3.9
MINING (2)
7.0
1.4
3.2
2.4
MANUFACTURING
8.0
2.9
2.6
1.9
0.1
Food proc (4)
3.6
1.5
1.5
0.6
0.0
Other Manufact. (10)
4.4
1.4
1.2
1.3
0.0
SERVICES (7)
7.9
2.2
4.6
0.8
0.3
GOVERNMENT
14.1
5.0
6.2
2.9
0.1
HOUSEHOLDS
33.6
11.8
14.6
7.0
0.3
Rural
9.1
0.4
3.8
5.0
Urban
24.5
11.4
10.8
2.0
0.3
TOTAL USE
281.5
86.0
107.2
90.8
1.3
LOSSES
44.5
INDUSTRY-LEVEL TRENDS:
ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMIC PROFILE
Distribution of water use, GDP & employment by industry in Namibia,
2001
% Water use
% GDP
% Employ.
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
OV
T
G
VI
CE
S
IL
IT
IE
S
UT
.
UF
M
AN
M
IN
IN
G
FI
SH
IN
G
gr
.
Tr
ad
A
SE
R
Co
m
m
Ag
ric
0%
Water Productivity by Industry in
Namibia, 1997 & 2000:
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
-
19 9 7 - 9 8
M
in
in
g
M
an
uf
.
U
til
iti
es
Se
rv
ic
es
G
ov
Ec
t
on
om
yA
vg
C
ro
ps
om
L'
st
oc
k
Tr
ad
.A
gr
.
Fi
sh
in
g
2 0 0 1- 0 2
om
C
C
N$/m3 water use
GDP per m3 water use (constant 1995 prices)
Understanding Driving Forces
What drives water demand?
Final use by households + total water needed to produce
goods for Final Demand:
– Household consumption
– Government expenditures
– Investment
– Exports
Total water requirements include direct + ‘upstream’
water, that is, the water used to produce all the inputs
to production.
 calculated using Input-Output model
Direct and Total Water Requirements by Industry:
Namibia, 2001/02
Percent of
water use
AGR
Commercial crops
42.5%
Commercial animal products
9.0%
Traditional agriculture
23.1%
Fishing
0.2%
MINING
Mining
2.5%
MANUF
Meat processing
0.5%
Fish processing
0.3%
Grain milling
0.1%
Beverages and other food processing
0.4%
Other manufacturing
1.4%
Electricity
<0.1%
Water
<0.1%
SERVICES Construction
0.1%
Trade; repairs
0.7%
Hotels and restaurants
0.6%
Transport
0.2%
Communication
0.0%
Finance and insurance
0.2%
Business services
0.1%
Other private services
1.1%
GOVERNMENT
5.0%
Water intensity
Total domestic
(direct):
water requirements:
Litres/N$output
litres/N$ output
326.6
350.7
17.6
35.7
117.7
156.8
<0.1
21.8
1.0
16.9
1.3
31.5
0.7
18.6
0.3
33.6
0.4
27.4
0.7
1.24
0.2
16.3
0.2
18.4
0.1
31.9
0.4
22.0
1.3
21.7
0.1
23.7
0.1
15.9
0.2
22.3
0.1
18.2
2.0
31.8
1.7
24.3
Loss rates as % of total water use
Losses & Unaccounted for Water in
Namibia, 2000
80%
70%
Max %
Min %
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Average
for all
towns
National
average
63%
21%
11%
5%
Loss rates in towns according to the % of total
municipal water provided
Namwater
Rural Water Supply
Ground
Perennial
Ground
All
sources
Perennial
Ground
Dam
All
sources
Perennial
Ground
Dam
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
All
sources
N$ per cubic meter of water
Average cost of supply by Institution
and source of water in Namibia, 2000
Rural
Agr. SelfCommunities providers
Water Subsidies by NamWater, the
bulk water supplier
(provides 40% of all water; Tariffs – Supply Costs)
Tariff-Supply
Cost
Water
Productivity
$/m3 water
use
$VA/m3 water
Crop irrigation
-3.04
0.99
Livestock
0.02
20.86
Mining
0.00
52.72
Manufacturing
0.99
226.56
Construction
-2.21
1774.40
Services
-2.40
575.31
Government
-0.66
234.19
Sales to other water suppliers
0.68
NA
CROSS COUNTRY COMPARISONS:
Water productivity in Botswana, Namibia, and South
Africa, 2000
(rands of value-added per cubic meter of water used)
National Level
By Industry
GDP/m3 water
450
GDP/m3 water exc.
Agric.
400
Botswana
Namibia
South
Africa
250
Agriculture
14
7
3
200
Mining
513
389
142
150
Manufacturing
1000
455
215
50
Services
2962
1113
606
0
Government
553
338
876
Rands GDP/m3
350
300
100
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Water subsidies in Botswana,
Namibia and South Africa, 2000
80%
70%
No subsidy to any user
60%
50%
No overall subsidy, but
extensive crosssubsidies of customers
40%
30%
High subsidy
20%
10%
0%
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
Water management & policy analysis
Trade & the environment
Managing an international river basin
International Trade & Water Use
Are water-scarce countries exporting water?
How much can imports reduce pressure on
water demand?
• ‘Virtual Water’ is the water embodied in imported
goods
• countries can meet some of their water needs by
importing water-intensive goods rather than
producing the goods themselves
Net balance of trade in ‘virtual water’ determined
by
• Volume of imports compared to exports
• Total water intensity of imports compared to exports
International Trade & Water Use
How much does Int’l Trade drive water demand in
Namibia, Botswana and South Africa?
Export promotion is a major part of national
economic development strategy
Exports are dependent on primary & processed
primary commodities
76% Botswana: mostly mining
79% Namibia: agriculture, mining, fisheries
47% South Africa: agriculture, forestry, mining
Primary products, especially agriculture and
processed agricultural products can be water
intensive
Method of Analysis
Use Input-Output analysis to calculate direct and total
water requirements for exports & imports
Exports are no problem, use countries’ water accounts
Problem: what is the water content of imports from another country?
Botswana & Namibia get most of their imports from South Africa,
so we use South Africa’s water accounts & the results are
accurate
But South Africa imports mainly from other countries…so
– Assume other countries have same water intensity as South Africa
– Use South Africa’s water accounts
THIS ASSUMPTION IS WIDELY USED IN ALL COUNTRIES
We can only calculate trade in water accurately when ALL countries
have water accounts
International Trade & Water Use
Are water-scarce countries exporting water?
Net imports of water in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa in 1998
Exports of water as
share of national use
Imports of water as
share of national use
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Bot swana
Namibia
Sout h Af rica
Why is South Africa a net exporter of water?
Its volume of exports is slightly > imports, but mainly because
water intensity of exports > imports
Water intensity of trade summed up over products
(m3 per 1000 rands of imports or exports)
m3 water per 1000 rands
25
20
15
Exports
Imports
10
5
0
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
RIVER
BASIN
ACCOUNTS
Orange River:
How should
water be shared
by the 4 riparian
countries?
Lesotho
South Africa
Botswana
Namibia
Supply & use of water by riparian
states in the Orange River Basin
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Supply
Economic uses
Upper
Orange
Lesotho
Lower
Orange
South Africa
Namibia
Botswana
Water productivity among riparian
states in the Orange River Basin
Rands GDP/cubic meter of water
(rands GDP/m3 of water used)
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Excl
Incl transfers
transfers to
to other
other WMAs
WMAs
Lesotho
South Africa
Namibia
Botswana