Abstract
Sustainable development in Africa is dependent on increasing use of the continent’s water resources without significantly degrading ecosystem services that are also fundamental to human wellbeing. This is particularly challenging in Africa because of high spatial and temporal variability in the availability of water resources and limited amounts of total water availability across expansive semi-arid portions of the continent. The challenge is compounded by ambitious targets for increased water use and a rush of international funding to finance development activities. Balancing development with environmental sustainability requires (i) understanding the boundary conditions imposed by the continent’s climate and hydrology today and into the future, (ii) estimating the magnitude and spatial distribution of water use needed to meet development goals, and (iii) understanding the environmental water requirements of affected ecosystems, their current status and potential consequences of increased water use. This article reviews recent advancements in each of these topics and highlights innovative approaches and tools available to support sustainable development. While much remains to be learned, scientific understanding and technology should not be viewed as impediments to sustainable development on the continent.
Highlights
At the turn of the century, as part of a worldwide visioning process, leaders in Africa formulated Africa Water Vision 2025 (UN-Water 2003)
Research, capacity building, and strengthening the financial base are all featured in the framework for action (FFA), but the most ambitious numeric targets call for doubling the area of irrigated agriculture and increasing fivefold the overall exploitation of water resources for agriculture, hydropower, industry, and domestic needs (Table 1)
The importance of sustaining ecosystems and biodiversity is acknowledged, and the FFA calls for allocation of sufficient water for environmental sustainability across all nations on the continent by 2015, a decade before other targets reach their maximum values
Summary
At the turn of the century, as part of a worldwide visioning process, leaders in Africa formulated Africa Water Vision 2025 (UN-Water 2003). The importance of sustaining ecosystems and biodiversity is acknowledged, and the FFA calls for allocation of sufficient water for environmental sustainability across all nations on the continent by 2015, a decade before other targets reach their maximum values. These targets are aligned with numerous national and regional development plans, and they were reaffirmed in a regional paper delivered at the 2009 World Water Forum, where the Africa Development Bank Group called for investments of US $50 billion per year for new water infrastructure to meet targets (WWF5 2009). This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com www.kva.se/en
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
