GEO-6 for Youth: Africa
Most of the shared river basins in Africa have established River Basin Organizations (RBOs) which have become a key feature of transboundary water governance (Wingqvist and Nilsson 2015). RBOs mainly provide each riparian state representation and a means for consideration
Simple water actions
Every challenge related to water can be an opportunity to enhance livelihoods and protect the environment:
• Little awareness on water problems - start a campaign with your friends, spread the word, and equip people with knowledge.
• No reliable water supply - become a social entrepreneur, establish your enterprise, and provide clean drinking water to your people.
• No proper sanitation - design an innovative and cheap toilet and feel achievement and money as a compensation.
• Dirty drinking water - find a cheap and effective way to purify water and sell your innovative water filters.
• Large amount of wastewater - What a wonderful free resource! Reuse it for gardens watering or for energy production.
Maybe, one day, you will discover that you have contributed in saving lives and protecting our planet and contributed to the sustainable development of your country. Do not wait, start now!
of multiple viewpoints that help in sustainable management of transboundary water resources. African youth need to be empowered so that they can be heard at, and take part in, these international dialogues and debates, so that they can define the future in which they will live.
Open-source data
Data availability is one of the most important challenges that hinder efficient water management in Africa. For sound management of water resources, continuous monitoring of the different components of the water cycle is vital. Recent developments in remote sensing and modern sensors offers a great opportunity to quantify the available water, use patterns, and the interactions between different components in the water cycle. Recently, many open platforms have been providing information with good spatial and temporal resolution. This ocean of open source data offers a golden opportunity for researchers, activists, practitioners, and policymakers. Below are links to four examples of such platforms:
• Aquastat:
http://www.fao.org/home/en/index.html • Giovanni - NASA:
https://giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov/giovanni/ • Water Quality database:
https://gemstat.org/ • Water Accounting Plus:
http://www.wateraccounting.org/
Quick facts • There is 100 times more water under the continent’s surface than on it (MacDonald et al. 2012)
• The majority of Africans rely on groundwater as their primary source of drinking water, while its use for irrigation is projected to increase for food security (MacDonald et al. 2012).
• One-fifth of Africa consists of arid and semi-arid land where water availability is a pressing challenge. (WWAP/ UNW 2018).
• Agriculture consumes 90 per cent of freshwater, making it the largest consumer of this resource, with irrigation being responsible for approximately 70 per cent of total blue water use (Gleick 2014; Hoekstra et al. 2012).
• Out of the 159 million people in the world that fetch drinking water from surface water sources, 58 per cent live in Africa (WHO and UNICEF 2017).
• There are 38 African States with a collective coastline of over 47,000 km and about 64 per cent of the region’s land area is covered with inland water sources, among them 63 shared river basins. This network of ocean and aquatic resources sustains natural life and provides ecosystem goods and services that are inextricably linked with life on the continent (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005).
• It is estimated that by 2050 we may have more plastics than fish in the ocean (WEF 2016).
• Currently, fisheries and aquaculture contribute US$24 billion to the African economy and employ over 12 million people (Africa Progress Panel 2014).
• The maritime industry is estimated at approximately US$1 trillion a year (World Bank and UNDESA 2017) and 90 per cent of the continent’s imports and exports are conducted by sea (World Ocean Review 2010).
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