The Hunger Games II: Round 1 Team Success💦

Ding ding ding... in the first corner we have Team Success; will they win the hunger games or will they be left in the dust like the other tributes?

Welcome Back:

Hopefully you all have a good understanding of Namibia's MAR scheme from previous posts. I have decided to make this post as a follow up to evaluate! Whilst I am planning to look under this project with a critical lens (again referring back to my action plan) I will try my best to not make generalisations. 

Successes:

The MAR initiative has unquestionably improved Windhoek's water and hence food security, however we need to take this one step further as Geographers to try and understand to what extent it has actually improved. Their approach to water management has not only maintained a consistent supply of water but also reduced dependency on outside water sources (Taylor, 2019), which is a significant step in the right direction for a 'desert' city (Tredoux, Van Der Merwe and Peters, 2009). 

Through prudent water storage during times of surplus, the city has protected itself against the unpredictability of its arid environment (this can only be verified by a time of drought/hardship). During the 2015/2016 drought "borehole water provided the city’s water security...because the aquifer had been replenished via borehole injection prior to the drought" (Murray, 2017), this a clear example of success for the MAR project in a practical context, critics argue if it weren't for the boreholes due to the lack of other water retainment strategies Windhoek would have struggled through this period of drought. To link this back to the big picture of food, decreased water availability means less water to grow crops with and hence decreased food security. Empirical data is also undeniable proof, Figure 1 shows after 2005 when the boreholes were drilled the water level of the Micaceous quartzites returned back to pre-1950 extraction levels.

Figure 1: Water Level overtime in Aquifers (UNESCO, 2021)

Figure 2 also highlights this:

Figure 2: "Total aquifer abstraction, injection, rainfall and average water level from all boreholes" (Murray et al., 2018)

In addition, it is also important to highlight the other successes as a biproduct of MAR. For example, there are evident economic impacts of an improved water supply (Mapani, Shikangalah and Mwetulundila, 2023). Having a reliable water source means that they can develop their agricultural and tourism sectors which ultimately contributes to the economy in a secular manner.

Main Points and Overview:

• MAR has clear successes for water/food security.
• It has other benefits outside of just water/food security (e.g. economic).
• It can be statistically proven to be successful, suggesting it's transferable to other regions.

Initially, I was going to weigh up the successes and limitations of Windhoek's MAR scheme into one post however I underestimated how much literature and reading there was surrounding this topic. Hence I have decided to now dedicate one post to successes and one on limitations (and a conclusion/comparison!)

I hope this will paint a much more detailed picture of the true story of water security in Windhoek.

As always thanks for reading and I encourage you to comment below with any thoughts or feedback!                              

The Hunger Games: Groundwater is Gold🗺️

Hey everybody, welcome back to my second post. In light of the new Hunger Games film coming out in November, I thought I would start this post by trying to link the film series and Geography! There are some clear theme overlaps between the films and Water/Food in Africa (the most obvious being the play on words), however in the films there are themes of oppression, starvation and corruption which can sadly be found in certain African regions. Despite this, building on my first post and using the action plan I devised it's not fair to to make the generalisation that this is the case in all African regions.  

The Hidden (but Not so Hidden) Groundwater: 

For many African farmers, groundwater, is "an essential ingredient"(Gaye and Tindimugaya, 2018). It is an in theory steady and dependable source that is especially important in areas with limited or unpredictable surface water. Exploring groundwater in the context of a case study will make analysis stronger, I have chosen Namibia as it's an arid region with a high variety of aquifer productivity as seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Aquifer Productivity Distribution in Africa (McGrath, 2012)

Namibia in Context:

With the Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) initiative, the city of Windhoek (the capital) is addressing the severe reality of water shortage (and hence food shortages as a biproduct) in a novel way. In addition to addressing the pressing issue of water security, this strategy establishes a standard for long-term, sustainable water management in dry areas (Murray et al., 2018).

The unique climate and topography of Windhoek need creative ways to water management. Because of the difficult terrain and scarcity of permanent rivers, the city could not continue to rely on traditional water supply (Tredoux, Van Der Merwe and Peters, 2009). The MAR project, which has been under progress since 2006, was first proposed in 1997 and aims to make water safer and more sustainable in the future.

Restoring a fractured quartzite aquifer underneath the city is the main objective of the MAR plan. In order to use this process, clean water must be periodically injected into the aquifer so that it may be drawn from when resources are few. During the first phase, six injection boreholes (Figure 2) with a 10,000 m³/day (Murray et al., 2018) capacity were erected. Subsequent additions have resulted in a considerable increase in the system capacity.

Figure 2: Injection Borehole Site (Murray, 2017)

For Windhoek, the MAR plan is more than a technological advancement; it's a lifeline. In addition to ensuring the population's survival, the city's increased water supply also creates the foundation for future expansion, development and addressing food issues - a thriving population can't be a hungry one. Such programmes are more important than ever in light of climate change (Wise, 2017), providing a 'proof of concept' model for other areas with comparable problems.

Moving Forward:

The next post will offer an analysis into the effectiveness of the MAR scheme.

As always, I encourage you to comment your thoughts (don't be shy!) Any feedback is appreciated!