Facing the Water Challenges in Cameroon: A WWDR3 Case Study
From WaterWiki.net
- Synopsis
Although endowed with abundant freshwater resources, the country faces a lack of comprehensive information, an inadequate legal and institutional framework, weak enforcement capacity, poor coordination among agencies and other obstacles to sound, sustainable water management. Cameroon is lagging on the Millenium Development Goals, in part because its water sector is highly fragmented and underfunded.
Context | |
Focus Areas | water supply and [[sanitation, IWRM
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Geographic Scope | |
Stakeholders | |
Contacts | |
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Contents |
Background and Significance
The Experience: Challenges and Solutions
- The Main Challenges
Poor water services, rural-urban disparities: While Cameroon is not yet on track to meet the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation, it has made notable progress since 1990. In 2006, 70% of the population had access to safe drinking water. The coverage in urban centres is 88%, significantly better than the 47% in rural areas (WHO/UNICEF, 2008). Of Cameroon’s 300 urban centres with 5,000 inhabitants or more, however, only 98 have water supply networks. Moreover, rapid urbanization in smaller towns has often rendered existing infrastructure inadequate, with frequent service interruptions. Many periurban dwellers also lack access to safe drinking water. Another problem is the amount of water unaccounted for: the average rate of loss rose from 25% in 1990 to 40% in 2000, clearly indicating an aging network and poor maintenance. Hence, in reality, the supply situation is worse than the figures imply.
Sanitation coverage is also poor. In urban areas only
58% of the population has access to improved
sanitation facilities, and the rate in rural areas is 42%
(WHO/UNICEF, 2008). Studies from different parts of
the country indicate that many water resources used for
household consumption are polluted to varying degrees
because waste disposal infrastructure is insufficient in
urban areas, and the capacity to enforce existing laws
is very weak. Especially affected are areas where latrines
and septic tanks, for example, are located near springs
and shallow wells used without treatment for household
water supply.
There is little information on the amount of pollution
reaching surface and groundwater resources, or on the
severity of the problem. Some studies have indicated
that most industrial facilities discharge waste into the
environment with little or no treatment. A 2002 study
of the effluent from a textile plant in the coastal region
indicated that some water quality parameters exceeded
recommended limits by up to 2,700%. The company
knows it is polluting, but because monitoring and
enforcement are inadequate, it lacks any incentive
to invest in wastewater treatment.
Water-related disease is quite common in Cameroon and
particularly affects children. The main causes of death in
children under 5 are diarrhoea, malaria and measles.
Among children under 4, diarrhoea accounts for about
10% of all deaths. Malaria affects about 46% of the
population. Health expenditure in Cameroon for
2001–2002 amounted to around US$110 million, which
corresponded to 4.5% of the national budget and about
1% of GDP.
Poverty is another major issue in Cameroon. Although
the poorest areas are in the far north, all regions suffer to
varying degrees. The first national household survey in
1996 estimated that 51% of the population was living in
poverty. The figure had fallen to 40% by the time the
second survey was conducted in 2001. However, the
decline mainly benefited urban dwellers. Just over 22% of people in urban areas are poor, compared with nearly
50% in rural areas (IFAD, 2008).
- Decreasing Biodiversity and Wetland Degradation
Cameroon has a wide variety of natural resources, including its forests, which occupy about 50% of the country’s surface area. With its climatic and ecological variety, Cameroon is rich in terms of biodiversity. However, an inadequate legal and institutional framework, combined with insufficient political will and commitment to enforcement of regulations, has led to decreased biodiversity. Wetlands are also at risk because of various pressures, including overgrazing and pollution. Other activities that have resulted in degraded wetlands include drainage for agriculture and for construction in urban and periurban areas. In the past, some development projects were carried out without adequate environmental impact assessment (Box 1.1), which affected wetlands and other ecosystems. Today, however, environmental impact assessment is required for all major development projects in Cameroon.
The biggest problem in Cameroon is not the availability of water – it is the poor management and development of the resources, coupled with inadequate political will and commitment for the long term. The patchiness of information available on the quality and quantity of water resources is a major constraint for successful water resources management and a handicap for poverty alleviation efforts. Although progress has been made in water supply and sanitation coverage, much more needs to be done to improve the situation, especially in rural areas. The enabling environment for application of the IWRM approach is weak, as are institutional frameworks. In this situation, Cameroon is lagging in meeting the MDG targets. Improving water information systems, as well as completion and implementation of an IWRM plan, would go a long way towards improving water security in Cameroon, in addition to contributing to poverty alleviation.
Results and Impact
Lessons for Replication
Testimonies and Stakeholder Perceptions
References
See also
Aquastat. 2005. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization.
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/countries/cameroon/tables.pdf#tab3
(Accessed December 2008.)
Aquastat. 2007. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization.
http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/data/query/index.html. (Accessed
February 2008.)
Energy Information Administration (EIA). 2004. Country Analysis Briefs: Chad
and Cameroon. EIA, U. S. Department of Energy,
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Chad_Cameroon/Electricity.html
(Accessed December 2008.)
Fonteh, M. F. 2003. Water for people and the environment: Cameroon water
development report. Background paper for African Water Development
Report, Addis Ababa, Economic Commission for Africa.
International Energy Agency (IEA). 2006. World Energy Outlook. Paris, IEA.
http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2006.asp (Accessed December
2008.)
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). 2008. Rural Poverty in
Cameroon. Rural Poverty Portal.
http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/web/guest/country/home/tags/came
roon (Accessed November 2008.)
UN-Water/Africa. 2006. African Water Development Report. Addis Ababa,
Economic Commission for Africa.
http://www.uneca.org/awich/AWDR_2006.htm (Accessed December
2008.)
WHO/UNICEF. 2008. Coverage Estimates: Improved Sanitation, Cameroon. Joint
Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation.
http//documents.wssinfo.orgdownload?id_document=932 (Accessed
December 2008.)
World Bank. 2007. 2007 World Development Indicators Online. Washington,
DC, World Bank. http://go.worldbank.org/3JU2HA60D0 (Accessed
February 2008.)
World Resources Institute (WRI). 2007. EarthTrends: Environmental
Information. Washington, DC, WRI. http://www.earthtrends.wri.org
(Accessed February 2008.)
External Resources
The United Nations World Water Development Report 3
