SOUTH WEST REGION-- STREAMS: A SOLUTION TO WATER CRISIS IN THE BUEA CITY

SOUTH WEST REGION-- STREAMS: A SOLUTION TO WATER CRISIS IN THE BUEA CITY

Only about 30% of the population of Cameroon has access to pipe born water. The rest rely on streams, springs, lakes and rivers. This has been a sustainable source of water for centuries. But growing population and human activities have degraded many streams.

Few days back, prolonged dryness, insufficient rainfall and higher temperatures worsened the scarcity of such natural water. The concern on how to find sustainable solutions to climate-induced water scarcity is a mechanism at the most local level. While some communities are forced to migrate or pay to get water, others are trying to protect and regenerate degraded streams.

In Buea, the increase in population of more than 200,000 inhabitants is also faced with this dilemma despite the geographical location of the town which is at the foot of Mount Cameroon. While villages within the municipality rely on their streams which are more sustainable during the dry season, the urban communities clearly disregard the initiative.

The city duelers, highly dependent on pipe born water, has transformed one of the most reliable source of good drinking water (stream) into car washing centers, thus reducing the vital purpose of such source.
Today, the rains have come, drums are full and crops are green and many of us have forgotten about yesterday. What about tomorrow? It might be worse than yesterday let’s think of our streams as a solution to the rapidly increasing “WAHALA”. 

 

 By: Evambe Atra T.,Community journalist,

Radio Bonakanda-Buea, South West Region

     For Green Alert Network