An introduction to water in relation to environmental change in Africa

A little introduction

Welcome to my blog! I am a third-year student pursuing a Geography exchange at UCL and specialising in Sustainability Science at Utrecht University. I plan to use this platform as a means to discuss environmental change in Africa through the lens of water. While a range of knowledge and technological solutions exist relative to water, the field is highly saturated with Eurocentric approaches (Arowosegbe 2014). Furthermore, the techniques used to measure or resolve water challenges are questionable in their long-term sustainability. I look forward to delving into topics ranging from climate change to innovative water adaptation, and shedding insight from a sustainability perspective. 

Africa is immensely diverse with respect to climate, topography and culture; however, Western depictions fail to acknowledge the heterogeneity of the 54 countries hosted on the continent (Larsen & Jensen 2020). Having spent the majority of my childhood in Southern-Eastern Africa, it can be frustrating to witness the number of generalisations used to discuss challenges and opportunities surrounding water on the continent. Nonetheless, I hope to present case studies and statistics that deconstruct an image of homogeneity. 

Changes beyond the climate

To start off, it is vital to discuss the inherent links between climate change and inequalities. While the emergence of climate change was largely driven by the rapid industrialisation of countries throughout the Global North, the burdens of such are predominantly attributed to countries in the Southern Hemisphere. The geographical situations of these countries elevates their vulnerability to extreme inundation events, droughts and unprecedented disasters. In Sub-Saharan Africa where various countries display extended histories of drought, conflict and food insecurity, climate change is anticipated to exacerbate challenges, especially in the realm of water.

Fig 1. Drought susceptibility of countries throughout Africa (Hitachi)

Defining Stress

To understand the severity of water-related issues, indicators are a useful mechanism for comparative applications. The Water Stress Index (WSI) is one of the most widespread indicators, which attempts to present scarcity according to availability (Ding & Ghosh 2017). While useful, the WSI excludes various essential factors from its calculations; namely, groundwater storage, seasonal fluctuations, and climate events (Damkjaer & Taylor 2017). An isolated review of the Southern African region alone indicated that approximately 39 million are threatened by groundwater shortages (Tucker et al. 2014). Yet from a WSI perspective, this magnitude of scarcity would not even be considered. It leads us to pose the question of how can we consider such complex, multidimensional issues when our measurement approaches are inherently simple.

I hope to explore further complexities of water management through an analysis of community-based water management. Stay tuned!