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G. A. Manful and Y. Opoku-Ankomah
Keywords Volta river basin · Climate change · Reducing vulnerabilities ·
Enhancing resilience · Sustainable development
1 Introduction
The Volta River Basin is a transboundary basin that spans parts of six riparian countries in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo. The
basin is saddled with socioeconomic challenges associated with inadequate water
management practices and national development efforts. These countries depend, to
a large extent, on the exploitation of their natural resources, including water, for their
survival and to make progress toward their development aspirations. Throughout the
basin, agriculture, a major economic activity, is predominantly rain-fed, including
for cotton, millet, rice and sorghum, which are cultivated in the northern part of the
basin, and yam, cassava, plantain, cocoyam and cocoa, which are predominantly
grown in the south. Limited irrigation is used to grow crops like tomatoes and
onions throughout the basin in the dry season. Animals are also raised alongside
crop production. About 77% of water extracted from the basin is used for crop irrigation and livestock farming; the remaining 23% is used for urban and rural water
supply for drinking (UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013). Large-scale irrigation in the
basin is not used and has a little socioeconomic impact. The total amount of water
extracted from the basin is 928 million cubic meters per annum. However, in order to
meet the agriculture demands of an increasing population coupled with variable and
uncertain rainfall intensity and distribution, serious irrigation practices must be introduced across the basin. Water for irrigation alone is anticipated to increase from 69%
of the total volume of water used in 2000 to about 82% in 2020 (UNEP-GEF Volta
Project 2013). This proportion is subject to variation when climate change is factored
into planning for water management. Complicating planning, the effects of climate
change on rainfall distribution in the Volta River basin are not well understood; more
research is needed in this area.
Water supply for domestic and industrial use is also important for socioeconomic
development in the basin. Domestic water use there is projected to increase sharply
from 360 million cubic meters in 2000 to about 1,058 million cubic meters in 2025
(UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013). In urban and rural areas with large populations,
surface water is treated and sufficient to meet human needs, and rural areas and
villages with smaller populations are served by water from springs and streams,
as well water. In general, urban populations have better access to safe drinking
water than rural populations. In Burkina Faso, for example, only 11.5% of the urban
population does not have access to safe water, compared to 35% of the rural population (Lemoalle and de Condappa 2009). The potential for climate change to reduce
surface and groundwater resources can threaten the sufficient supply of water if proper
management plans are not implemented. In the downstream basin, water is used for
hydropower generation; reduction in flows as a result of climate change and large
G. A. Manful and Y. Opoku-Ankomah
Keywords Volta river basin · Climate change · Reducing vulnerabilities ·
Enhancing resilience · Sustainable development
1 Introduction
The Volta River Basin is a transboundary basin that spans parts of six riparian countries in West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo. The
basin is saddled with socioeconomic challenges associated with inadequate water
management practices and national development efforts. These countries depend, to
a large extent, on the exploitation of their natural resources, including water, for their
survival and to make progress toward their development aspirations. Throughout the
basin, agriculture, a major economic activity, is predominantly rain-fed, including
for cotton, millet, rice and sorghum, which are cultivated in the northern part of the
basin, and yam, cassava, plantain, cocoyam and cocoa, which are predominantly
grown in the south. Limited irrigation is used to grow crops like tomatoes and
onions throughout the basin in the dry season. Animals are also raised alongside
crop production. About 77% of water extracted from the basin is used for crop irrigation and livestock farming; the remaining 23% is used for urban and rural water
supply for drinking (UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013). Large-scale irrigation in the
basin is not used and has a little socioeconomic impact. The total amount of water
extracted from the basin is 928 million cubic meters per annum. However, in order to
meet the agriculture demands of an increasing population coupled with variable and
uncertain rainfall intensity and distribution, serious irrigation practices must be introduced across the basin. Water for irrigation alone is anticipated to increase from 69%
of the total volume of water used in 2000 to about 82% in 2020 (UNEP-GEF Volta
Project 2013). This proportion is subject to variation when climate change is factored
into planning for water management. Complicating planning, the effects of climate
change on rainfall distribution in the Volta River basin are not well understood; more
research is needed in this area.
Water supply for domestic and industrial use is also important for socioeconomic
development in the basin. Domestic water use there is projected to increase sharply
from 360 million cubic meters in 2000 to about 1,058 million cubic meters in 2025
(UNEP-GEF Volta Project 2013). In urban and rural areas with large populations,
surface water is treated and sufficient to meet human needs, and rural areas and
villages with smaller populations are served by water from springs and streams,
as well water. In general, urban populations have better access to safe drinking
water than rural populations. In Burkina Faso, for example, only 11.5% of the urban
population does not have access to safe water, compared to 35% of the rural population (Lemoalle and de Condappa 2009). The potential for climate change to reduce
surface and groundwater resources can threaten the sufficient supply of water if proper
management plans are not implemented. In the downstream basin, water is used for
hydropower generation; reduction in flows as a result of climate change and large