Water, Politics and Development in Africa

  For the conclusion of this blog, I found it interesting to address the links between water, development and politics in Africa and to question what has been the guiding matter of this blog.  Indeed, throughout this blog, I wanted to analyze the role that water plays in African politics at all scales and levels.  As I said, politics in Africa is a delicate subject because this continent has a very special colonial history. The present boundaries were drawn centuries ago, by Europeans and without concern for local histories and populations. Therefore, water is a major issue of African policy because, as a reminder, the majority of surface and ground water in Africa is shared by several countries, which forces a certain relationship.  In addition to the historical difficulty of water management in Africa with a difficult common policy, we can add its essential role for the population in terms of agriculture and health : Africa is one of the countries where the population is experi

Inauguration of the Taredji-Podor Road Today I would like to talk about a subject that is different from previous blogs, since I would like to talk about the role that water plays in cultural and political relations between communities. Indeed, we have seen throughout this blog the different international and national political relationships around water in Africa. We have addressed the theme of conflict, cooperation and the political issues it raises in a nation. This article will therefore focus on the relationship between water and the development of a cultural and political way of life and the relationships it induces in Africa.   For this, I will rely on the case of two communities, Toucouleurs and Peuls, in the region of Fuuta-Tooro in Senegal where water is a factor of social differentiation.  Location :   The Fuuta-Tooro region lies on the border between Mauritania and Senegal. It is located on the north of the Senegal River Valley and is 600 km from Dakar.  This region is bo