Droughts in the Anthropocene

Sub-Saharan Africa – Knowledge to overcome water and food challenges

In the sub-Saharan African countries of Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, people’s access to food and water is severely affected by climate variability. The most vulnerable groups in society, whose livelihoods are dependent on pastoralism or subsistence farming in semi-arid and arid regions, are often acutely affected. Water-related disasters can perpetuate the cycle of poverty, and droughts are a central driver of both famine and malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa [1], and an inhibiting factor to economic growth and development [2]. Pressures from climate change, land degradation and increasing populations converge to create local, national and regional challenges to water and food security. Although there is a need to assess water resources and how they relate to agricultural production and the resilience of local communities, local research and data have been scarce. A collaborative project is working to fill this gap. Called Building Research Capacity for Sustainable Water and Food Security in Drylands of sub-Saharan Africa (BRECcIA), it is supported by the United Kingdom (UK) Government through its Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and led by the University of Southampton, in coordination with IHP [3]. The four-year project seeks to understand the dynamic relationships between food production, dryland water variability and policies, and how this can inform resilience and adaptation opportunities. It aims to build research capacity in local institutions, especially among early-career researchers, focusing on informing policies to improve food and water security for the poorest within society. BRECcIA is based on a locally driven interdisciplinary approach, involving 52 researchers in five research teams [4]. The research starts with stakeholder

engagement to help identify specific research questions that are important to decision makers, communities and those experiencing the impact of climate change. Once research questions have been identified, small research projects are designed by interdisciplinary teams working closely with stakeholders so that the user perspective is kept central. In some cases, stakeholders even join these project teams to form partnerships with academic institutes, strengthen existing links and create new ones. The project is being implemented across several sites, drawing on indigenous and local knowledge to identify challenges and inform solutions. The research combines institutional and legal reviews, focus groups, hydrological mapping, biophysical assessments and interviews with key informants of policymakers and community leaders. The analysis will be used to identify capacity gaps that have resulted in low adaptive ability and resilience in the area. Examples of specific projects include the use of drones to assess small-scale irrigated cropland in southern Malawi, where high spatial resolution satellite images are used to classify agricultural areas and land-use types [5]. Understanding how agricultural land use is changing is necessary in order to understand food security and using this type of data can bridge the knowledge gap in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. BRECcIA is also working with IHP to understand the potential of rainwater harvesting for addressing water scarcity in some regions. UNESCO’s Rainwater Harvesting App developed in collaboration with several partners allows people to obtain information on how to collect rainwater and store it appropriately [6]. It also offers a rainwater calculator allowing people to estimate how much water they can harvest in a given geographical area [7]. The tool contains

rainfall data for all the 54 African countries and is available in three languages: English, French and Kiswahili. The overall approach and specific projects will have an impact on local communities through improved access to reliable information, increased capacity of local institutions, and connections to a network of partners. Ultimately, BRECcIA is focused on improving the lives of those in the most vulnerable communities, whose livelihoods depend on critical ecosystem services.

AFRICA

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