Namibia was the first country in the Orange-Senqu River basin to compile national water accounts, for 1993 and 1996 under the Namibian Natural Resource Accounting Program initiated in 1995 (Lange and Hassan 2006). The Ministry of Environment and Tourism, and later the Department of Water Affairs, established the program in support of the Water Act (Lange and Hassan 2006). Policy changes in recent years have stressed water as an economic good, and improved database management systems have made water accounts a better tool for sound water management. Water accounts in Namibia follow a simplified version of the SEEA approach for flow and stock accounts. The accounts are mostly derived from flow, as there is very little data available for stock water. Wastewater accounts have not yet been developed, nor have environmental flows.
In Namibia the water flow accounts consider the source of water (natural and the supply agency), as well as the end-user. “Use”—losses not accounted for—are also considered in the accounts. There are 26 classifications of users in Namibia across the primary, manufacturing, service, government and household sectors.
A conventional water meter in rural Namibia.
Source:DRFN 2006
( click to enlarge )
Natural Sources of water included in the water accounts for Namibia include:
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Groundwater
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Perennial surface water
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Ephemeral surface water stored in dams
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Recycled or reused water
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Seawater
Water supply institutions (non-natural sources) include:
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Namwater
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Municipal, town, regional and village water authorities,
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Rural Water Supply
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Rural communities.
 The Lower Orange River in Namibia. Source:Shilomboleni 2007 ( click to enlarge ) |
