In a global context marked by increasing environmental upheaval, rural communities are on the front line of climate change. Water, a vital resource, is becoming increasingly scarce, unpredictable and difficult to manage. Through stories shared during field surveys, community members accurately describe the threats to the water resources that shape their daily lives.
These threats, whether natural or human-induced, are intensifying and making access to quality water increasingly uncertain. This article focuses on analysing these threats based on testimonies gathered in certain regions of Africa and Latin America where Join For Water is active, highlighting how climate change, human activities and ecosystem degradation are profoundly undermining the water balance in these regions. The article gives a voice to the communities that live to the rhythm of water.
Collective perceptions of the increasing fragility of water resources
In the areas where Join For Water operates, communities have noticed that the availability and quality of water have changed dramatically. One of the first visible signs is the decline in seasonal flooding. In some rural areas of Benin, the Mono River no longer floods at the expected times.
‘Before, we knew when the water was going to rise, but now it’s uncertain,’ explains a farmer in Athiémé, Benin.
This change is profoundly disrupting traditional agricultural cycles. Irrigation channels are no longer maintained, become silted up and cause localised flooding or prevent water from flowing to crops. Wetlands, which served as natural buffers, are gradually shrinking, leaving the soil dry and unsuitable for agriculture.
In the villages of Dalakana and N’gnégnélé in Mali, water sources that were once clear are now cloudy, becoming muddy and sometimes reddish due to erosion and runoff. Ponds, once full all year round, dry up before the end of the dry season, forcing women and children to travel long distances to fetch water. Around Idiofa, in the DRC, rivers have changed in appearance as a result of population growth. Once clear, odourless and tasteless, their waters were directly drinkable. Today, this is no longer the case: the springs have deteriorated, losing their original quality to the point where they are no longer safe to drink.
In the DRC, one man recounts: “When I was young, there were springs nearby, but over time, some of them disappeared. The Idiofa River, which used to seem bigger, has shrunk and lost depth .”
In the village of Nyakacwamba, Uganda, residents obtain most of their water from ponds and wells. However, these sources dry up during the dry season, forcing villagers, especially women and children, to get up at 5 a.m. to fetch water. After this time, the water becomes unfit for consumption. During the rainy season, water is abundant, but the water from wells and ponds is often contaminated.
In other localities, such as Avlo-village and Delekpoe (Benin), people are facing a steady decline in the flow of the Mono River, the formation of ravines, and rapid erosion of riverbanks threatening homes and farmland. In the transboundary watershed of the Mayo-Chinchipe River, residents of Chontali (Peru) have observed a gradual drying up of springs, an increase in landslides and accelerated erosion. These phenomena, which are directly linked to deforestation caused by human activity, are seriously compromising access to water in several rural areas.
Multiple pressures on water resources
Communities do not attribute the deterioration in water availability solely to climate change. They also denounce the pressure exerted by inappropriate human practices. In Hondji and Aguégués (Benin), agriculture is a good example of the environmental impacts: farming practices carried out close to rivers weaken the banks, hinder natural soil regeneration and cause rivers to spread. The widespread use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides is deteriorating water quality, causing public health problems and degrading aquatic ecosystems.
In the Mayo-Chinchipe watershed (Peru-Ecuador), illegal mining is exacerbating the situation. Chemicals used in the processing of gold and other minerals contaminate aquifers and surface waters, rendering the water unfit for consumption. In several areas of Mandé and Dohi (Mali), intensive deforestation for agriculture and charcoal production is reducing vegetation cover, exacerbating erosion, reducing water infiltration capacity and disrupting the local hydrological cycle. The filling of wetlands, the degradation of old hydraulic structures and the abandonment of certain ancestral water management practices further exacerbate this pressure. As in Mali, Kapapali village in Uganda experiences frequent pollution of its water sources due to runoff. In addition, during the rainy season, the flow of drinking water systems decreases because they are solar powered.
In the DRC, urban expansion in Idiofa and Kikwit, linked to rapid population growth, is leading to increased deforestation. This pressure on ecosystems is causing springs to dry up and reducing the flow and quality of water in rivers.
Major social and economic impacts on communities
The degradation of water resources has direct social and economic consequences for communities, weakening the living conditions of the most vulnerable. In Nyarumpongo, Rushubi and Caranka in Burundi, waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea and skin infections particularly affect children.
‘We don’t always have a choice, we have to drink this water, even if it makes us sick,’ says a mother in Burundi.
Unsafe water becomes the only option in some areas, exposing people to significant health risks. Economically, lower crop yields due to water shortages or flooding are forcing many families into debt or abandoning farming. In Idiofa (DRC), seasonal disruptions are jeopardising harvests, causing famine and financial crisis in a region where agriculture is the main economic activity. In addition, increased rainfall damages homes and sometimes makes roads impassable, leading to higher prices for basic necessities.
Lacking opportunities, many young people are leaving rural areas for cities or even other countries in the hope of building a better future. This rural exodus is exacerbating the precariousness of depopulated areas. For women, the burden of finding water increases considerably. They sometimes have to spend several hours a day walking for miles, to the detriment of their health, their children’s education or any other income-generating activity that would give them a chance of independence. The long distances that young girls have to travel to reach a water source expose them to an increased risk of rape. Social tensions are also rising, with conflicts arising over water use between farmers, herders and families.
Communities take a clear view of the threats
The testimonies gathered in these different localities reveal that communities are not simply passively accepting the changes to the aquatic ecosystems around them. They take an informed view of developments in their environment. They clearly identify the visible signs of climate change, such as reduced rainfall, changing seasons, the increasing unpredictability of seasonal floods and the drying up of springs. They also establish a direct link between these changes and certain human practices that they consider harmful, such as intensive agriculture, deforestation, chemical pollution, mineral exploitation and poor resource management.
Acknowledgment:
We gratefully acknowledge the valuable contributions of our colleagues, partners, and especially the community members whose voices and experiences have shaped this article.
