COP22 focuses on water and agriculture in Africa

Last week (November 18^th), the 22^nd 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.

Hello!

Hello and welcome to my blog about water, development and agriculture in Africa. I’ve been fretting about making my first blog post; I’m not sure where to start! There’s a lot that can be said when looking at a whole continent through such a broad lens. I cannot hope to provide a comprehensive analysis of all the issues surrounding water, agriculture and development in Africa. Instead what I do write will hopefully find a balance between breadth and depth.

I’m coming into this blog with a background in human and development geography, rather than hydrology. I hope to bring in as much of this knowledge as I can, while also embarking on a (hopefully steep) learning curve in hydrology, and in all things agriculture.

Figure 1. Raster map of average rainfall 1995-2001 in SSA

Agriculture employs over 60% of Africa’s working population (UNEP 2009), making it an important vehicle of African development. Agriculture in Africa also accounts for 88% of total annual water withdrawals, and demand is increasing. Water scarcity and water stress are predicted to increase by 2025. Degradation of water resources including watersheds, wetlands and groundwater is also occurring (UNEP 2009).

One thing to note before I start is that Africa is a heterogenous continent. Groundwater levels, rainfall, vegetation, farming methods, levels of development...  these all differ hugely from one part of Africa to another. For this reason, I will try to avoid the pitfall many 'Westerners' fall into referring to Africa as if it was one uniform place of poverty and drought. Figure 1 illustrates, by way of example, the differences in rainfall in Africa from 1901-2005.

As a starting point, I want to learn about wetlands. I expect this blog will get more specific over time, perhaps narrowing its focus onto a specific area or theme. However, while I’m still learning the basics, I will keep it general.

References

HarvestChoice, 2011. 'Longterm Average Annual Rainfall (mm).' International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC., and University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. Available online at http://harvestchoice.org/node/4963.

United Nations Environment Programme (2009) 'Agriculture at a Crossroads: International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development' (WWW) Island Press: Washington (http://www.unep.org/dewa/agassessment/reports/subglobal/Agriculture_at_a_Crossroads_Volume%20V_Sub-Saharan%20Africa_Subglobal_Report.pdf: 22nd November 2016)