21 Proposed Research, Science, Technology and Innovation …
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and semi-arid lands into productive industrial or agricultural lands cost-effectively
and sustainably at large scales, and simultaneously fight land degradation as well as
alleviate poverty and food insecurity.
According to UNEP (2016), approximately 85% of people in sub-Saharan countries live in rural areas, with farming making up their main source of income. Rainfed
agriculture produces much of the food consumed and accounts for more than 95%
of farmed land in sub-Saharan Africa (IWMI 2018). Therefore, the quality of life
in many parts of Africa depends on climatic factors, especially frequency of rainfall
events and severity of agricultural droughts. Sustainable food production is under
threat from droughts and floods, especially for countries that rely on low-input
and low-output subsistence production systems. Small-scale agricultural production
systems are often subsistence, labor-intensive, rainfed, or informally mechanized,
while many irrigation schemes have water-inefficient irrigation systems that rely on
costly non-renewable energy. The cost of energy, financing and maintenance, insufficient economies of scale, and consequently modest profits remain barriers to the
sustainability of many small-scale rainfed and irrigated farms.
Africa is committed to industrialization as a way of diversifying the region’s
economies, build resilience to shocks, and develop productive capacity for sustained
economic growth. Primary industries like agriculture and the extractive sector dominate industrial activity in the region, which are likely to cause localized environmental
damage such as water and land degradation (UNEP 2016). Africa’s industrialization
must take advantage of the region’s abundant and diverse resources, including agricultural and mineral assets, but it must also embrace green economic approaches
to improve resource efficiency and cleaner production, including the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions. Can improvements in technology and productivity as well
as more environmentally protective approaches broaden and strengthen economic
fundamentals, build wealth, create jobs, and raise the standard of life of communities with little capacity to adapt to climate change, as well as protect African river
basins against pollution?
Africa has the world’s fastest growing population, and hence the ratio of land
and water availability to person continues to dwindle. Demand for freshwater is
increasing with economic development and the rising population, and this resource
is under threat from pollution and climate change. Competition for water resources
is driving prices and local-level conflicts, with impacts on freshwater-dependent
economic activities such as agriculture and electricity generation (Jacobsen et al.
2012; UNEP 2016). Cooperation at national and regional levels and among sectors,
as well as technology development, is essential for the sustainable management of
water resources in the region and in turn to improve food security and socioeconomic development. How best to cooperate in management of transboundary river
basins and among communities with competing and diverging interests is a challenge for many African countries. Is equitable benefit sharing possible, and would it
enhance cooperation and economic development of transboundary water resources?
Case studies of the construction and management of dams on the Kunene River for
Ruacana hydropower generation, inter-basin water transfer for urban and rural water
supply, and irrigation development in the Cuvelai-Etosha River Basin in southwestern
493
and semi-arid lands into productive industrial or agricultural lands cost-effectively
and sustainably at large scales, and simultaneously fight land degradation as well as
alleviate poverty and food insecurity.
According to UNEP (2016), approximately 85% of people in sub-Saharan countries live in rural areas, with farming making up their main source of income. Rainfed
agriculture produces much of the food consumed and accounts for more than 95%
of farmed land in sub-Saharan Africa (IWMI 2018). Therefore, the quality of life
in many parts of Africa depends on climatic factors, especially frequency of rainfall
events and severity of agricultural droughts. Sustainable food production is under
threat from droughts and floods, especially for countries that rely on low-input
and low-output subsistence production systems. Small-scale agricultural production
systems are often subsistence, labor-intensive, rainfed, or informally mechanized,
while many irrigation schemes have water-inefficient irrigation systems that rely on
costly non-renewable energy. The cost of energy, financing and maintenance, insufficient economies of scale, and consequently modest profits remain barriers to the
sustainability of many small-scale rainfed and irrigated farms.
Africa is committed to industrialization as a way of diversifying the region’s
economies, build resilience to shocks, and develop productive capacity for sustained
economic growth. Primary industries like agriculture and the extractive sector dominate industrial activity in the region, which are likely to cause localized environmental
damage such as water and land degradation (UNEP 2016). Africa’s industrialization
must take advantage of the region’s abundant and diverse resources, including agricultural and mineral assets, but it must also embrace green economic approaches
to improve resource efficiency and cleaner production, including the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions. Can improvements in technology and productivity as well
as more environmentally protective approaches broaden and strengthen economic
fundamentals, build wealth, create jobs, and raise the standard of life of communities with little capacity to adapt to climate change, as well as protect African river
basins against pollution?
Africa has the world’s fastest growing population, and hence the ratio of land
and water availability to person continues to dwindle. Demand for freshwater is
increasing with economic development and the rising population, and this resource
is under threat from pollution and climate change. Competition for water resources
is driving prices and local-level conflicts, with impacts on freshwater-dependent
economic activities such as agriculture and electricity generation (Jacobsen et al.
2012; UNEP 2016). Cooperation at national and regional levels and among sectors,
as well as technology development, is essential for the sustainable management of
water resources in the region and in turn to improve food security and socioeconomic development. How best to cooperate in management of transboundary river
basins and among communities with competing and diverging interests is a challenge for many African countries. Is equitable benefit sharing possible, and would it
enhance cooperation and economic development of transboundary water resources?
Case studies of the construction and management of dams on the Kunene River for
Ruacana hydropower generation, inter-basin water transfer for urban and rural water
supply, and irrigation development in the Cuvelai-Etosha River Basin in southwestern