Monday 21 November 2016

COP22 focuses on water and agriculture in Africa

Last week (November 18th), the 22nd Conference of the Parties of the United Nation Climate Change Conference (better known as COP22) came to an end. The conference was held in Marrakech, Morocco and thus had a particular focus on African nations. Excitingly, for the first time at a COP, this year the links between climate change, water issues and agriculture took centre stage.

 The Wednesday of the conference was entirely to devoted to action on water issues; scarcity, cleanliness, sustainability, all within the broader climate change framework. The ‘Water for Africa’ initiative was launched, which aims to mobilise global institutions to improve water and sanitation services to those countries most affected by climate change (UN 2016). I couldn't, however, find out much about this initiative online.

 The Moroccan government also used the occasion to launch the 'Adaptation of African Agriculture Initiative' (AAA), which aims to invest $30 billion in improving the resilience of agriculture to climate change (AAAInitiative 2016). Under 'Agricultural-water control', the initiative's website lists 5 aims. I have listed these below.
  1. Reinforce water-potential mobilisation: rehabilitate existing structures to optimise their capacity and build new structural facilities;
  2. Proactively develop complementary irrigation between (a) large-scale irrigation based on the development of great plains, (b) lowland and flood-recession agriculture, (c) small-scale rural irrigation, and (d) individual irrigation;
  3. Continue to strengthen the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) approach, particularly for cross-border water management;
  4. Modernise and promote more water-efficient and more productive irrigation and production systems;
  5. Proactively support irrigation development through capacity building.
It remains to be seen how effective these initiatives will be, but nevertheless, it's good to see water and agriculture in Africa receiving the attention it deserves from the World's governments.
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1 comment:

  1. Shriya23 December 2016 at 15:29

    Hi Matt,

    I found the 5 aims quite interesting, particularly the second aim addressing irrigation. In my opinion, the aim is quite unrealistic - it addresses the issue as if small-scale, lowland, individual and large-scale irrigation schemes are already co-existing perfectly with no competition for water. Surely promoting irrigation in all 4 areas is going to put a strain on resources? Are they all going to be prioritised equally? Perhaps I have misinterpreted the 'complementary irrigation part' but what's your opinion on this and how realistic these initiatives are?

    Shriya

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