Water security for climate resilient growth and development
HR Wallingford has developed tools to help African leaders integrate water security and climate resilience into development planning, with a focus on prioritising no or low regrets’ investments and financing strategies.
We led the development of a Strategic Framework for Water Security and Climate Resilient Development in Africa. The African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) launched the Framework in Cairo, Egypt during Africa Water Week (May 2012). A complementary Technical Background Document (TBD) was launched during World Water Week in Stockholm (August 2012), and used in the first instance by teams implementing the African Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP).
Many African countries experience cycles of drought, flooding and other extreme climatic events that cause damage, suffering and disruption to their populations, particularly the most vulnerable and poor. Such experiences provide a sober warning of what could be in store in future with the climatic changes that increasingly seem likely. For many countries, climate change implies a worsening of all-too-familiar climatic fluctuations and other long-term changes in average temperature and precipitation, which could threaten the viability of African development.
To sustain jobs, employment, economic growth and social stability, African leaders of today and tomorrow must make investment decisions that promote water security and climate resilient growth and development. The Framework serves as a tool to help integrate water security and climate resilience into development planning, with a focus on prioritising no or low regrets’ investments and financing strategies.
The TBD supports application of the Framework by providing detail on concepts, methods and approaches that underpin the actions and steps identified in the Framework. It is relevant to a wide range of water resource-dependent sectors, including drinking water supply and sanitation, agriculture, energy, environment, health, tourism, industry, mining and others. It is also relevant to development cooperation partners involved in the application of the Framework, such as: professional, technical and financial consultants and advisors to government; external donors agencies; United Nations organisations; international financial institutions (IFIs); non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and others.
Promoting water security and climate-resilient development reinforces actions that reflect the overarching messages from Rio+20 which emphasised the green economy, sustainable development, meeting the Millennium Development Goals, and strengthened international climate action.
The work was commissioned by the Global Water Partnership (GWP), on behalf of AMCOW, with funding from the Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN).
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