Stakeholder’s Domestic Water Harvesting Infrastructure: Resultant Conflicts and Management Strategies in the Upper Noun Valley, North West Region of Cameroon

Abstract

Many communities in developing countries face difficulties in hydrographic needs for domestic water and hence require greater investment to achieve water security. This paper examines the water infrastructure and the resultant conflicts emanating from the management of the water harvesting infrastructure put in place by the stakeholders of the water sector of the Upper Noun Valley. The study exploited secondary sources such as published and unpublished articles, reports and collected primary data. Primary data collected for this study used both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The results show that, traditional authorities, Village Development Organisations (VDOs) elites, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), confessional bodies (Churches) and the state are main community water supply stakeholders in Upper Noun Valley. Water supply infrastructure ranges from local and manual driven to sophisticated diesel and electric power driven devices that supply water to the communities in the area. Infrastructural diversity generates imbalances in water supply over space and time within the communities in the area. The situation creates water supply shortages that usher in a plethora of water conflicts between users. The conflicts are accentuated by climate change which only makes a bad situation worse. During such periods, conflicts in the form of violence amongst water carriers on few regular sources, and with grazers on streams and rivers, are most common. The study concludes that Community Water Management Conflicts (CWMC) is mostly derived from water system’s management policies by various stakeholders, the type of harvesting technology and the attitude of water users. Traditional policies (Kwifon, Fon) in the forms of beliefs and norms on water, water pricing and rationing are some strategic measures to combat water conflicts within the valley. The study recommends the need to apply a bottom up policy, the reliance on flexible technology in water harvesting, and a concerted effort in promoting an Integrated Water Management policy within the valley communities.