Sustaining African water resources under climate change: Emerging adaptation measures from UNFCCC national communications

Abstract

The changing climate is expected to affect the demand for and availability of water resources. The African continent is known to be water scarce with highly temporal and spatially variable rainfall. This paper explores climate-induced challenges faced in the water sector and recommends sustainable adaptation options emerging from 21 African countries. This paper combines a literature review and grounded theory approaches with data obtained from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) second and third National Communication reports. Among key adaptation measures that are emerging are sustainable management of water resources, water conservation and putting in place appropriate policies. The study concludes that there should be a shift towards a more balanced and integrated approach on water management through the implementation of adaptation measures. The findings highlight the need for policy approaches that use adaptive management approaches in water resources management including scaling up rainwater harvesting; water efficiency across all sectors of the economy, especially agriculture; desalination and groundwater recharging. Such should be the new approaches for the future.