INTRODUCTION General
This report covers the involvement of Namibia in the International Hydrological Programme (II-IP) and related matters for the years 1995 and 1996. Namibia is still in the process of joining the IHP by forming its National Committee. Participation in most IHP activities has therefore been minimal, but local, regional and international activities in the field of hydrology are reported upon. Summarising information regarding hydrological monitoring in Namibia and recent hydrological conditions is also included.
Hydrological monitoring in Namibia
Namibia, which is situated on the south-eastern shore of the Atlantic Ocean, is the driest country of Sub-Saharan Africa, because of its subtropical position and the cold Benguela Stream. Rainfall, in the form of convective showers, only occurs during the rainy season from October to April, and varies on average between nil at the coast and 700 millimetres per annum in the north-east.of the country. Surface runoff is low and erratic, and all rivers in the interior of the country are ephemeral, flowing shortly as “flash floods” in a direct response to rain events. The only perennial rivers are on the borders and are fed from rainfall and runoff in neighbouring countries (Zambezi, Kwando, Okavango, Kunene and Orange rivers).
Hydrological monitoring in Namibia is carried out by the Hydrology Division in the Department of Water Affairs, which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Rural Development. At present some 130 river flow stations, 30 rainfall stations and 10 evaporation stations are in operation. The specific features of river beds that are dry most of the time and of violent flash floods make direct measurements and continuous recording of river flow a challenging undertaking.
Hydrological conditions during 1995 and 1996
Both the 1994/1995 and 1995/96 rainy seasons were well below average for most of the country, except for the north-west where wide-spread and heavy rains occurred during February and March 1996. At many places in the eastern areas, the total rainfall for the 1994/95 and/or the 1995/96 rainy seasons was the lowest since records have been kept, starting at the beginning of the century. As a result grazing conditions have deteriorated and crop production has been low, and the Namibian Government was forced again to declare a drought situation and request foreign assistance in 1996.
River flow in the interior of the country was sporadic, except in the endoreic Cuvelai Delta, where the good rains over the north-west of Namibia and the other catchment areas in Angola caused major inundations and flooding damage during the first half of 1995. Except for the dams in the southern half of the country in 1996, inflows were not significant and historic low storages have been reached in many dams.
Combinations of stringent restrictions, emergency borehole schemes and the linking of additional water sources had to be introduced in the central and eastern areas of Namibia.
Record low minimum and maximum flows were experienced in the Zambezi, Kwando and Okavango rivers on Namibia’s north-eastern border during 1995 and
1996, while flow in the Kunene River in the north-west was high in 1995 and fairly normal in 1996. In the south, heavy rains in South Africa caused many dams in the system to overflow, and a very high discharge was maintained in the Orange River along the Namibian border during the first half of 1996.
1. ACTMTIES UNDERTAKEN IN THE PERIOD JANUARY 1995 - AUGUST 1996 1.1 Meetings of the IHP National Committee
I. I. 1 Decisions regarding the composition of the II-LP National Committee
The formation of the IHP National Committee for Namibia will be finalised after the meeting of the IHP Intergovernmental Council in Paris, France, 23 to 28 September 1996. This meeting will be attended by Mr Guido Van Langenhove as representative for the National Hydrological Services in Namibia.
I. I .2 Status of IHP-IV activities
Namibia has not participated in any IHP - IV activities.
I. 1.3 Decision regarding contributions to/participation in IHP-V
Participation in IHP - V will be discussed and decided upon during and after the IHP Intergovernmental Council in Paris.
1.2 Activities at a national level in the framework of the IHP
So far, Namibia has not formally taken part in any IHP activities, although it has been active in the FRIEND project (refer to item 1.6.2).
1.3 Educational and training courses 1.3.1 Contribution to IHP courses None.
1.3.2 Organisation of specific courses
From I7 to 29 July 1995, the Namibian Department of Water Affairs organised the biennial regional course for hydrological technicians. In total 45 participants of all I I countries that are member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), attended the event, which was also supported by the German Gesellschaji fir Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), the Southern African Regional Commission for the conservation and Utilisation of the Soil (SARCCUS), the SADC Environment and Land Management (ELMS) Co-ordinating Unit, and the Water Affairs departments in Botswana and South Africa.
The course provides a general introduction in aspects of surface and ground water monitoring and field investigations and targets in particular junior technicians with no formal education in the field of hdyrometric techniques. Special emphasis is put
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on instrumentation and field work, and the training included excursions to laboratories, water supply schemes and experimental investigation areas.
1.3.3 Particioation in IHP courses
Two staff members of the Hydrology Division in the Namibian Department of Water Affairs are enrolled at the Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, and the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, for further specialisation in water resources and hydrology.
1.3.4 Particioation in other courses
Staff of the Hydrology Division attended the following courses:
Special Course in Hydrology, University of New South Wales, Sidney, Australia, February to May 1995.
Use of Radio-active Isotopes in Water Resources Assessment, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, April to June 1995.
Radar Techniques in Satellite Imagery, Pretoria, South Africa, March 1996.
MIPS soj?ware for satellite image processing, Pretoria, South Africa, June 1995.
1.4 Publications
Namibian scientists co-authored at various conferences the following papers that were subsequently published in the conference proceedings:
Satellite rainfall estimation for water resource management in Namibia, Conference on Remote Sensing and GIS for Environmental Resources Management, Jakarta, Indonesia, June 1995
The water resources
of
the Okavango River along the Namibian border, XXXIth Congress of the International Association of Hydraulic Research, London, United Kingdom, September 1995.Flow regime changes in Namibian rivers: patterns, efects and possible causes, International Association for Hydraulic Research (African Branch) Biennial Congress, South Africa, August 1996.
Surface water Utilisation in Namibia, International Association for Hydraulic Research (African Branch) Biennial Congress, South Africa, August 1996.
1.5 Participation in international scientific meetings 1.5.1 Meetings hosted bv the countrv
None.
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1.5.2 Participation in meetings abroad
Apart from the conferences mentioned under item I .4, staff attended also the following international scientific meetings:
Seventh South African National Hydrological Symposium, Grahamstown, South Africa, October 1995.
Global Environmental Change: Implications for Southern Africa, Pretoria, South Africa, March 1996.
1.6 Other activities at regional level 1.6.1 Institutional relations/co-ooeration
Most of the international co-operation in the field of hydrology in which Namibia is involved is limited to the southern African region. The Department of Water Affairs is actively engaged in activities of the following organisations:
The joint water commissions with the neighbouring states, Angola, Botswana and South Africa.
The SADC ELMS Co-ordination Unit and the SADC Water Resources Technical Committee.
The SARCCUS Standing Committee for Hydrology, and the Sub-committees for Aquatic Weeds and Geohydrology.
I .6.2 Comoleted and on-going scientific oroiects
The Namibian Department of Water Affairs is also involved in the following on- going scientific projects with a regional aspect:
The SADC Zambezi Basin Hydrological Operating Committee (ZABHOC) and the real-time hydrological monitoring in the Upper Zambezi Basin.
The SADC Zambezi Action Plan (ZACPLAN) and the investigation into the sustainable and equitable utilisation of the water resources in the Zambezi Basin.
The UNESCO/IHP supported Flow Regimes for International and Experimental Network Data (FRIEND) project. Two staff members of the Hydrology Division attended the SADC/FRIEND Steering Committee meeting which was held in Grahamstown, South Africa, in October 1995.
The bi-national (Angola, Namibia) investigation into the feasibility study of a hydro-power scheme on the Lower Kunene River.
The South African Orange River Re-planning study.
The Southern African Hydrological Cycle Observation System (HYCOS) Project, which has been approved for financial and technical support by the European Commission.
The Sub-Saharan Hydrological Assessment Programme, which was carried out for Namibia during 1995 and which is currently being finalised.
2. FUTURE ACTIVITIES
Future activities within or related to the IHP programmes will be discussed and decided upon during and after the IHP Intergovernmental Council in Paris.
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