Sink or Swim? Water, Resource Security and State Co-Operation

This introductory text for Monograph 6, edited by Hussein Solomon, examines the intersection of water scarcity and security, with a specific focus on Southern Africa. It argues that dwindling fresh water resources, coupled with rapid population growth, increase the risk of resource-based conflict, while suggesting that regional cooperation and frameworks like the SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems offer a path toward stability.

• Global water shortages affect an estimated 1.7 billion people across eighty countries, contributing to a shift from ideological Cold War conflicts toward resource-based conflicts.
• The African Development Bank predicts severe water stress and scarcity in several African nations by 2000 and 2025. By 2000, South Africa is expected to suffer water stress, Malawi absolute water scarcity, and Kenya will face living beyond the present water barrier. By 2025, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe will suffer water stress, while Lesotho and South Africa will move into absolute water scarcity, and Malawi will join Kenya in living beyond the water barrier.
• Population growth exacerbates water scarcity; the global population was expected to rise from 5.3 billion in 1990 to 8.5 billion by 2025, while Southern Africa's annual population growth was projected to average 2.7 per cent over a five-year period.
• Examples of water-related conflicts include disputes between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq over the Euphrates; Egypt and Ethiopia over the Nile; the United States and Mexico over the Colorado river; and a dispute in Southern Africa where Zimbabwe attempted to build a dam on the Saabi river, which would reduce flow to Botswana.
• Regional cooperation is presented as an alternative to armed conflict, highlighted by the creation of the Protocol on Shared Watercourse Systems in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region, which was the first protocol in the SADC structure to be finalized.

APA

Solomon, H. (n.d.). Sink or Swim? Water, Resource Security and State Co-Operation. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-6-sink-or-swim-water-resource-security-and-state-co-operation-edited-by-hussein-solomon

Chicago

Solomon, Hussein. Sink or Swim? Water, Resource Security and State Co-Operation. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-6-sink-or-swim-water-resource-security-and-state-co-operation-edited-by-hussein-solomon.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Solomon |first1=Hussein |title=Sink or Swim? Water, Resource Security and State Co-Operation |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-6-sink-or-swim-water-resource-security-and-state-co-operation-edited-by-hussein-solomon |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{solomonndsink, author = {Solomon, Hussein}, title = {{Sink or Swim? Water, Resource Security and State Co-Operation}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-6-sink-or-swim-water-resource-security-and-state-co-operation-edited-by-hussein-solomon}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }