Africa Water Atlas_PPT

Revealed through :
 224 maps
 104 satellite images
 500 graphics and
 Hundreds of compelling
photos
A VISUAL ACCOUNT OF AFRICA’S ENDOWMENT
AND USE OF WATER RESOURCES……….

 The economy and
development
 Health
 Food security
 Transboundary
cooperation
 Capacity building
 Environmental
change, and
 Gender
…….AND ITS ROLE IN

TIED TO AFRICA WATER VISION
AN AFRICA WHERE THERE IS AN EQUITABLE AND
SUSTAINABLE USE AND MANAGEMENT OF WATER
RESOURCES FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION, SOCIO-
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, REGIONAL
COOPERATION, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

FROM “HOTSPOTS” TO “HOPESPOTS”
The nature of water issues in Africa is often contradictory:
 Surplus and scarcity
 Under-development and overexploitation
 Challenges and opportunities

ANNUAL WATER BALANCE
Annual water balance
is an estimate of the
available runoff after
evapotranspiration —
water that is
potentially available for
harvesting
The red hatching overlaying the
water balance map shows
where population density
>20 persons per km2 coincides
with areas defined as arid or
semi-arid

“HOTSPOTS” and “HOPESPOTS”
Areas of population density >20
persons per km2 that coincide
with arid and semi-arid zones are
potential hotspots of vulnerability
for water-constrained rain-fed
agriculture (red hatch marks)
Many of these areas have
adequate runoff for filling small
farm ponds, which can reduce
vulnerability and improve food
security

WATER TOWERS OF AFRICA
These are areas identified by:-
•Relative elevation (generally
200–800 m above the
surrounding area)
• Precipitation above 750 mm
• Runoff above 250 mm
• And the contribution they
make to water resources for
populations beyond their
delineated boundaries

Many areas had already
been converted to
agriculture in the 1970s.
Farm fields show as light
and dark patches with
straight edges between the
dark-green forest areas
By 2009, several additional
large forest areas had been
converted to agriculture—
see areas indicated by the
yellow arrows
KENYA’S MAU FOREST COMPLEX

KATSE DAM SITE
The 1991 image shows
parts of the project area
before Katse Dam was
constructed
while the 2010 image was
taken after the dam had
been filled and shows the
area inundated

MOHALE DAM SITE
The 1991 image shows
parts of the project
area before Mohale
Dam was constructed
The 2010 image was
taken after the dam
had been filled and
shows the area
inundated

 Africa is the world’s second-driest continent
 With 15 per cent of the global population, it has only 9 per
cent of global renewable water resources
 Water is unevenly distributed and Africa’s climate is
characterized by an overall unreliability of rainfall
 Increases in access to improved drinking water sources
and sanitation facilities are not keeping pace with
population growth
 Water scarcity is not simply due to geography: population
growth, rapid urbanization, poor planning and poverty
are significant factors
KEY FACTS

TOTAL RENEWABLE WATER RESOURCES
There are wide
differences in natural
water distribution
within Africa’s
sub-regions and
countries

DISTRIBUTION OF DAMS
There is about one dam to
every 683 000 persons in
Africa, while the
equivalent figure for the
rest of the world is 168 000
More than 1 270 dams
have been built on rivers in
Africa to store water and
supply hydropower and
irrigation water

SELECTED REGIONAL DEMOGRAPHIC INDICATORS
Countries with high population
densities include Nigeria in
West Africa, which is also the
most populous nation on the
continent with more than 150
million people (166 people per
km2) and the Central African
nations of Rwanda (394 people
per km2) and Burundi (314
people per km2). It is estimated
that the West Africa sub-region
will still be the most populous
by the year 2050

AVERAGE WATER COLLECTION RESPONSIBILITIES
IN AFRICA
African women often
perform between 65 and 72
per cent of water collection
duties

CHAPTER 2
TRANSBOUNDARY
WATER RESOURCES

The continent’s 63 international river basins
 Cover about 64 per cent of its land area
 Contain 93 per cent of its total surface
water resources
 Are home to 77 per cent of Africa’s population
SURFACE WATER

Groundwater is an important source of
freshwater and it is essential to
supplement the surface water resources
in a region that is increasingly affected
by recurrent drought
Africa is endowed with large and often
under-utilized aquifer resources,
predominantly in the large shared sub-
regional sedimentary systems of the
Sahara and Central and Southern Africa
GROUNDWATER

MAJOR TRANSBOUNDARY RIVER BASINS
The major transboundary
basins of Africa present a
variety of challenges and
opportunities to the people
and countries who share
them

CONGO RIVER BASIN
 3 700 000 km2
 2 000 km across both its
north-south and east-west
dimensions
 It straddles the equator,
gathering heavy precipitation
that falls on the tropical
rainforests covering much of
its extent
The Congo River runs 4 670 km in a counter-clockwise arc around eastern and northern Democratic Republic
of Congo, finally turning west toward the Atlantic Ocean where it discharges 40 000 m3 of water every sec

LAKE CHAD BASIN
The watershed basin of Lake
Chad makes up just over eight
per cent of the surface area of
Africa, and falls across the
boundaries of eight countries
Lake Chad is among the
largest freshwater reservoirs
in the Sahel

While Lake Chad’s
surface area fluctuates
considerably with the
seasonal rains, these
dry-season images of
Lake Chad show the
long-term trend since
the 1960s
Changes in rainfall
during this period have
been a major factor as
has diversion for
irrigation
LAKE CHAD’S VARIABILITY

LAKE TURKANA BASIN
Although the Lake Turkana Basin
occupies parts of four countries, 98
per cent of its area lies within just two
of them. More than half (52 per cent)
is in Ethiopia, where almost three-
quarters of the basin’s rain falls
Lake Turkana is the largest desert lake
in the world

GIBE III DAM SITE
The Gibe III dam was
roughly one-third of the way
to completion when this
March 2009 image was
acquired
It is expected to be finished
around the end of 2013

NIGER RIVER BASIN
The Niger River begins in the Fouta Djallon highlands in eastern Guinea
and in the extreme north-western corner of Côte d’Ivoire.
At 1 635 mm/yr in Guinea and 1 466 mm/yr in Côte d’Ivoire, the mean
annual precipitation is the heaviest in the basin
The Niger River sustains
an island of vegetation
and life in the harsh
Sahel

After drying up in the
1990s Lake Faguibine
has not refilled
significantly, however
some pooling has
occurred during wet
years.
Work is underway to
clear debris from
channels that feed the
lake
LAKE FAGUIBINE

The inland Niger Delta’s
annual floods were
dramatically reduced
during the great
droughts of the 1970s
and 1980s. In 2009,
precipitation and
flooding were more
normal
INNER NIGER DELTA

NILE RIVER BASIN
Almost 78 million people in Egypt
depend heavily upon the Nile
Nile Basin has three of the heaviest
population concentrations in Africa;
surrounding Lake Victoria in Kenya and
Uganda; in the Ethiopian Highlands
surrounding the Blue Nile; and along the
banks of the Nile in Egypt
Egypt accounts for only 9% of the basin’s
area, and holds almost a third of its
population. In contrast, almost 64% of
the Basin falls in Sudan but about half as
many as in Egypt live there

DAMS AND WATER PROJECTS
Development projects are underway in
several of the basin’s countries and are
being considered in others. They include
hydropower dams, irrigation projects, and
other water-diversion projects

COASTAL EROSION
Rosetta Promontory lost
over 3 km to erosion
between 1968 (yellow
line) and 2009 (red line)

Damietta Promontory, formed by one of the two principle outlets of
the Nile River, eroded 1.5 km between 1965 (yellow line) and 2008
(red line)
THE SINKING NILE DELTA

SENEGAL RIVER BASIN
The Senegal River’s two
primary tributaries are
the Bafing and the
Bakoye Rivers, both
originating in the
Guinea Highlands.
The river’s transboundary nature makes managing the Senegal River
Basin’s water resources very complex and challenging

IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT IN THE SENEGAL
RIVER BASIN
The two satellite images show the dramatic changes in a segment of the
middle river valley

DJOUDJ AND DIAWLING WETLANDS
Years of drought and the
construction of two dams
brought the Djoudj and
Diawling wetlands to a
low point in the 1980s.
After changes in artificial
impoundments and water
flows, the wetlands
rebounded

MANANTALI DAM IN SENEGAL RIVER BASIN
The Manantali Dam in
western Mali was one of
two large dams built in the
Senegal River Basin in the
1980s by the Organisation
for the Development of the
Senegal River (OMVS)

TRANSBOUNDARY AQUIFERS
Just as there are
internationally shared
river basins, there are also
internationally shared, or
transboundary, water
resources and aquifers
hidden underground

NUBIAN SANDSTONE AQUIFER
The Nubian Sandstone
Aquifer System underlies
virtually all of Egypt, much of
eastern Libya, and
significant areas of northern
Chad and northern
Sudan

DESERT OASIS DEVELOPMENT- DAKHLA OASIS
Dakhla Oasis, 1986-2010
Archeologists believe
that the Dakhla Oasis
has been continuously
settled for around 8 000
years

EXPANSION OF IRRIGATED AGRICULTURES
RELYING ON FOSSIL GROUNDWATER
The expansion of center-
pivot irrigation (green and
brown circles) is supplied by
water from wells drawing
from the Nubian Sandstone
Aquifer System, which are a
part of the Great Man-Made
River Project

COASTAL AQUIFERS
Abstraction of freshwater
from coastal aquifers can
lead to saltwater intrusion
as sea water replaces the
water that is withdrawn. A
thorough understanding of
the underlying
hydrogeology is needed to
manage this risk

CHAPTER 3
AFRICA’S WATER
CHALLENGES

CHALLENGE
SITUATION
CONSTRAINTS
OPPORTUNITIES
MORE THAN A CHALLENGE

CHALLENGE 1: PROVIDE SAFE DRINKING WATER
Africa as a whole is not expected to meet this MDG drinking water
target; of its 53 countries, only 26 are on track to meet it. The high
incidence of water-related and waterborne diseases related to the
lack of safe drinking water is a drain on human and financial resources
Number of people without access to an improved source of drinking water (millions)

CHALLENGE 2: ENSURE ACCESS TO
ADEQUATE SANITATION
Exploding peri-urban and slum areas; economic growth and higher
demand; geographical isolation; dearth of public utilities and regulation;
and high costs of water provision.
Number of people without access to improved sanitation facilities

Number of cellphone users against the population served with improved sanitation
The number of mobile phone users in Africa has grown Exponentially,
while sanitation adoption has only increased mathematically
MOBILE PHONE VS SANITATION

CHALLENGE 3: FOSTER COOPERATION IN
TRANSBOUNDARY WATER BASINS
Recognize and build on water as a binding factor between
otherwise hostile states; and learn from successful transboundary
cooperation efforts and agreements among African states.

CHALLENGE 4: PROVIDE WATER FOR
FOOD SECURITY
Agricultural growth is the mainstay
of most African economies;
agriculture is the greatest user of
water in Africa; there is inadequate
water use for sustainable food
production; Africa suffers from
food insecurity and 30 per cent of
the population lives with chronic
hunger

IRRIGATED AREAS
Two-thirds of sub-
Saharan Africa’s over six
million hectares of
irrigated land is
found in only three
countries:
Madagascar,
South Africa, and
Sudan

CHALLENGE 5: DEVELOP HYDROPOWER TO
ENHANCE ENERGY SECURITY
The capacity to generate hydropower is unequal across the continent;
climate change will exacerbate rainfall variability and hinder hydro
potential; and hydro dams will need to avoid the environmental and
social impacts historically characteristic of large dam developments
Hydro contribution to Africa’s primary energy needs, 2002

Many African nations have a per capita electricity consumption of less
than 80 kWh/yr compared to 26 280 kWh/yr in Norway, 17 655 kWh/yr
in Canada, and 13 800 kWh/yr in the United States

PROPOSED TRANSMISSION SYSTEM
FROM THE GRAND INGA
Grand Inga would
generate 44 000 MW of
electricity—
enough to power the
entire continent of Africa

DIFFERENT VIEWS: How much hydro potential has Africa developed?
Regional development of economically feasible hydropower potential

CHALLENGE 6: MEET GROWING WATER
DEMAND
Demand for water is increasing with population growth and economic
development; development of water resources is inadequate; prices to
access water are generally distorted; and water provision is highly
inefficient

CHALLENGE 7: PREVENT LAND DEGRADATION
AND WATER POLLUTION
Lack of valuing of ecosystem
services; political instability and
conflict within and between
countries; poor agricultural
practices and farming on marginal
lands that affect water use or
water resources; and lack of
structured water monitoring and
governance

CHALLENGE 8: MANAGE
WATER UNDER GLOBAL
CLIMATE CHANGE
Global warming and its human cause are
undeniable; warming patterns in Africa are
consistent with global ones; Africa is
already subject to important spatial and
temporal rainfall variability; drought in
Africa is common and some regions are
becoming drier; Africa’s repeated drought
cycles kill thousands of people each event;
and floods also occur regularly with severe
impacts on peoples’ livelihoods
Mount Kilimanjaro’s glaciers are melting

LATE 20TH CENTURY WARMING IN LAKE
TANGANYIKA UNPRECEDENTED SINCE AD 500
Lake Tanganyika, the world’s
second-largest (by volume) and second
deepest lake after the Lake Baikal, has
become warmer. Changes in the lake-
surface temperature have affected its
ecosystem, which heavily relies on
nutrient recharge from the depths, the
lake’s base of the food chain

GLACIAL RECESSION IN THE RWENZORI MOUNTAINS
The glaciers declined by 50
per cent between 1987 and
2003. This glacial recession is
generally attributed to
increased air temperature
and decreased snow
accumulation during the
20th century.

Trend in the number of recorded flood and drought events in Africa

Number of people
killed and affected
by Africa’s worst
droughts
Number of people
killed and affected
by Africa’s worst
floods

CHALLENGE 9: ENHANCE CAPACITY TO ADDRESS
WATER CHALLENGES
Africa faces a situation of economic water scarcity; and current
institutional, financial and human capacities for managing water
are lacking.Inadequate and unsustainable funding arrangements
for water resources management; insufficient knowledge base;
lack of an effective research and technology base; and weak
institutional arrangements and legal frameworks for the
ownership, allocation and management of water resources.

CHAPTER 4
WATER PROFILE OF
COUNTRIES

Goal 7 relates to environmental sustainability and includes targets to
address the issue of water.
The targets are to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without
sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
MDG GOAL 7
Tracking Progress Towards Environmental Sustainability

An improved drinking water source: is protected from outside
contamination, in particular from contamination with faecal
matter. For monitoring purposes, the use of improved drinking
water sources has been equated to access to safe drinking
water, but not all improved sources in actual fact
provide drinking water that is safe.
An improved sanitation facility: hygienically separates human
excreta from human contact.

COUNTRY WATER PROFILE
 PROGRESS TOWARDS
MDG GOAL 7
 WATER PROFILE
Water availability
Withdrawal
Irrigation
 TWO MOST IMPORTANT
WATER RELATED ISSUES

PROGRESS TOWARDS MDG IMPROVED DRINKING
WATER TARGET BY COUNTRY, 2008
Three hundred and fifty
four million people of Africa
had access to improved
sanitation facilities in 2006.
Coverage increased from
33% in 1990 to 38% in 2006

PROGRESS TOWARDS MDG SANITATION TARGET BY
COUNTRY, 2008
To meet the MDG
sanitation target, coverage
needs to increase from 38
per cent in 2006 to 67 per
cent in 2015

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