Some problems concerning water resources development in Africa

The invitation to contribute a short paper to the publication prepared on the occasion of the official start of the survey of the lakes in the equatorial Nile is much appreciated. It gives me a welcome opportunity to discuss certain problems of water resources development in Africa, problems which are not perhaps restricted to this continent, but which I feel are nevertheless practical problems. I have preferred to touch upon a number of problems in outline instead of attempting to discuss only one but more thoroughly. I will first make some general remarks on the justification for the collection of hydro-meteorological data followed by one or two observations on staffing problems. The paper continues with some observations on the development of international rivers in Africa and ends with some brief comments on those areas of research for which I feel there is particular need at this juncture