A holistic framework for capacity building to achieve sustainable water management system in arid and semi-arid lands of Africa

Akanksha Sinha, Purdue University

Abstract

According to the 2008 ILRI report, ASALs comprise more than 40% of the earth's land surface and supports 20% of the total human population. The report also discussed that two thirds of Africa is classified as deserts or dry lands and these are concentrated in the Sahelian region, the Horn of Africa and the Kalahari in the south. As per the UN Economic and Social report of 2007, Africa is especially susceptible to land degradation and bears the greatest impact of drought and desertification. The 2011 drought in Horn of Africa was considered to be the worst in past 60 years which affected 13.5 million people in these regions (IFRC 2011). Disaster events like droughts have far reaching adverse impacts on human health, food security, economic activity, physical infrastructure, natural resources and the environment, and national and global security (Diene et. al. 2007). Although drought has several definitions, the central element in these definitions is water deficit. Water interventions by Government and NGOs in ASALs of Africa are short term relief programs and do not accommodate the long term water needs of the community. A holistic framework for capacity building is proposed in this research to achieve sustainable water management system in ASALs of Africa. A sustainable water management system in this research is a combination of an indigenous water management practice in ASALs of Africa and planned strategies for using the water efficiently for long term. A matrix is proposed in this research which highlights different capacity types along with the three levels of capacity. The columns mention the capacity types which are social, economic, and environmental whereas the levels of capacity i.e. individual, organizational level and system level are represented in rows. Capacity building is a five phase cyclic process which involves preparation, analysis planning, implementation and evaluation. The first four phases use the above proposed matrix to demonstrate the stages of capacity building at three levels and three different types. The final phase evaluates the impact of the overall capacity building process using a system dynamics model. This model helps in projecting the water availability in a region, and the social, economic and environmental impact of the sustainable water management system.

Degree

M.S.

Advisors

Hastak, Purdue University.

Subject Area

African Studies|Civil engineering|Water Resource Management

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