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Foreword by Daniel Nyanganyura
Continued water infrastructure and technology investments and the introduction
of relevant incentives by African governments are also needed, as are investments
by the private sector and international financing agencies, all of which have a role to
play. Climate change is likely to produce increased numbers and intensities of floods
in many areas, with a variety of management actions required to improve flood
management, including early warning systems and rehabilitation of degraded catchments and flood-proofing of water supply and sanitation infrastructure, to reduce the
risk of subjecting vulnerable communities to a lack of drinking water and functioning
sanitation facilities.
In other parts of the continent, investing in increased water storage infrastructure
and other water provisioning infrastructure may be a higher priority to avoid and/or
overcome water shortages and periods of drought. Increased investment and access to
information about appropriate irrigation technology (e.g., drip irrigation, rainwater
harvesting) may be required to improve effective water use and productivity at the
farm level in the face of climate change. Shifting from rainfed to irrigated agriculture
will protect rural livelihoods and food security in many areas. Artificial groundwater
recharge in areas experiencing over-exploitation and degradation is also needed.
Overall, a systematic scaling up of locally appropriate solutions is critical to ensure
area- and region-wide poverty alleviation, climate change adaptation, and economic
development.
Flexible planning to promote long-term adaptation to climate change is also necessary. This requires access to accurate climate change information for key waterrelated development planning departments (agriculture, mining, power generation,
municipalities, etc.) and strong alignment and cooperation between water departments and those responsible for development planning. For basins and aquifers, the
primary allocations are among riparian states. At the sub-basin or local level, multiple
water allocation systems operate in Africa, with many parallel systems, both formal
and customary. All must be sufficiently flexible and cooperative to enable water allocation adjustments that address climate variability in the face of national development
objectives, with simultaneous consideration of capacity constraints.
Water stakeholders also must be involved in the water resource management
process to ensure full support for any approach to be implemented; adequate and
timely information exchange between stakeholders and responsible authorities is
particularly crucial. Climate change adaptation ranges from creating major storage
infrastructure down to the household level, particularly in areas that governments
fail to reach consistently or effectively. The simple and timely provision of information can assist communities and households to prepare for anticipated changes,
including the strategic selection of new crops to grow, improvement of cropping
and livestock management techniques, local water resource use, and protection and
flood warnings. Improving and sharing knowledge and information about climate
change vulnerability and adaptation involves complex interactions among local land
and water resource characteristics, economic conditions, and often diverse livelihood
capitals and strategies of individual households.
These approaches depend on improved science and information-sharing, particularly across vulnerable transboundary basins and aquifers. A major challenge that
Foreword by Daniel Nyanganyura
Continued water infrastructure and technology investments and the introduction
of relevant incentives by African governments are also needed, as are investments
by the private sector and international financing agencies, all of which have a role to
play. Climate change is likely to produce increased numbers and intensities of floods
in many areas, with a variety of management actions required to improve flood
management, including early warning systems and rehabilitation of degraded catchments and flood-proofing of water supply and sanitation infrastructure, to reduce the
risk of subjecting vulnerable communities to a lack of drinking water and functioning
sanitation facilities.
In other parts of the continent, investing in increased water storage infrastructure
and other water provisioning infrastructure may be a higher priority to avoid and/or
overcome water shortages and periods of drought. Increased investment and access to
information about appropriate irrigation technology (e.g., drip irrigation, rainwater
harvesting) may be required to improve effective water use and productivity at the
farm level in the face of climate change. Shifting from rainfed to irrigated agriculture
will protect rural livelihoods and food security in many areas. Artificial groundwater
recharge in areas experiencing over-exploitation and degradation is also needed.
Overall, a systematic scaling up of locally appropriate solutions is critical to ensure
area- and region-wide poverty alleviation, climate change adaptation, and economic
development.
Flexible planning to promote long-term adaptation to climate change is also necessary. This requires access to accurate climate change information for key waterrelated development planning departments (agriculture, mining, power generation,
municipalities, etc.) and strong alignment and cooperation between water departments and those responsible for development planning. For basins and aquifers, the
primary allocations are among riparian states. At the sub-basin or local level, multiple
water allocation systems operate in Africa, with many parallel systems, both formal
and customary. All must be sufficiently flexible and cooperative to enable water allocation adjustments that address climate variability in the face of national development
objectives, with simultaneous consideration of capacity constraints.
Water stakeholders also must be involved in the water resource management
process to ensure full support for any approach to be implemented; adequate and
timely information exchange between stakeholders and responsible authorities is
particularly crucial. Climate change adaptation ranges from creating major storage
infrastructure down to the household level, particularly in areas that governments
fail to reach consistently or effectively. The simple and timely provision of information can assist communities and households to prepare for anticipated changes,
including the strategic selection of new crops to grow, improvement of cropping
and livestock management techniques, local water resource use, and protection and
flood warnings. Improving and sharing knowledge and information about climate
change vulnerability and adaptation involves complex interactions among local land
and water resource characteristics, economic conditions, and often diverse livelihood
capitals and strategies of individual households.
These approaches depend on improved science and information-sharing, particularly across vulnerable transboundary basins and aquifers. A major challenge that