Introduction: understanding Africa's water crisis in a changing world
An Introduction to impacts of environmental change on water in Africa
Welcome to my blog! As a third-year physical geography student at UCL, I'm excited to discuss the impacts of environmental change on water in Africa and various adaptation strategies. We'll begin with the challenges of writing about Africa, providing an overview of environmental change, before diving into case studies and solutions, including the UN's bottom-up approach in Sudan.
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| Fig.1: Sudanese women (UNEP) |
Africa consists of fifty-four countries, with approximately thirty million square kilometres, and a population of 1.2 billion. Please watch the video below for a better understanding.
The Kenyan writer Wainaina’s essay on ‘How to Write About Africa’ is a satire highlighting the Western media’s stereotypical depictions: ‘treat Africa as if it were one country’.
You are probably wondering what this has to do with environmental change. Well, Western nations’ perspectives are actually directly linked with the fight against environmental change. Africa is the lowest contributor to CO2 emissions, however it is also estimated that it is, and will be, the one suffering most from climate change.
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Fig. 2: Bob Geldof, the figurehead of Live Aid (1985) This Irish songwriter raised millions of dollars for famine relief efforts in Ethiopia, however, although seen as a hero, allegations state that the funds he raised were diverted to support armed conflict in Ethiopia. Debates then arose on the ethics of celebrity-led humanitarian campaigns. |
Increased human activities, like burning fossil fuels, exacerbate climate vulnerabilities. This leads to more extreme weather, with altered rainfall patterns, and worsened food security risks due to the continent’s dependance on rain-fed agriculture.
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| Fig. 3: Bar chart representing the change in temperature from 1901 to 2020 in Africa. The stripes represent the annual average temperature. Berkeley Earth |
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Fig. 4: Smallholder farmers from the Wadi El Ku catchment area in North Darfur, project by UNEP |
Food insecurity, in the most extreme cases famine, is a common issue in Africa and countries like Somalia are severely impacted (Fig. 5). Moreover, the phenomenon of El Nino also heightens these challenges.
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Fig. 5: Women carrying jerry cans of water from shallow wells dug from the sand along the Shabelle River bed, following a drought in Somalia. Reuters/Feisal Omar |
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| Fig. 6: A man fixing a truck's tube to ensure water can still go to the storage bag. The woman leaning on the storage bag explains that 'there is not enough food' and 'only getting water is already better than dying in the countryside'. Source: AlJazeera |
A great use of pictures and videos in this blog post! I feel you have really set up by addressing the problems faced in Africa with a range of case studies.
ReplyDeleteHi Amelia, thank you for your comment. Make sure to check my upcoming posts as well, there will be more interesting pictures coming up!
DeleteWhat an engaging introduction! I loved the clear and concise links made between water and environmental change. Looking forward to reading about potential solutions and effective interventions. I was just wondering if you could expand on the role of adaptability or governance in relation to famine or weather you believe it is solely a product of El-Niño.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your encouraging words and thoughtful question! Adaptability and governance play crucial roles in addressing famine, which is not solely a product of El Niño. While El Niño can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities through extreme weather patterns, the ability of communities and nations to adapt to these changes significantly influences the severity of famines. Effective governance is key in implementing adaptive strategies, such as developing resilient agricultural practices, improving water management, and ensuring timely aid and policy responses. These measures, alongside international cooperation and support, are essential in mitigating the impacts of climate-induced challenges like El Niño.
DeleteA lovely introduction! I think you did a great job in mentioning that Africa has contributed the least to but will suffer the most from anthropogenic environmental change and how Western perspective is critically linked to the fight against such change. Do you feel like this concept is very often underrepresented in media and academic writing, where people often focus solely on the threats Africa is facing under climate change, but ignore Western society’s responsibility for causing such damage to the Earth system? And if so, how can this be more critically reflected in writing about Africa?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your positive feedback! You raise an important point about the underrepresentation of the West's responsibility in causing environmental changes that disproportionately affect Africa. This issue is often overshadowed in media and academic discussions, which tend to focus more on the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by Africa rather than the root causes.
DeleteTo more critically reflect this in writing about Africa, it's crucial to contextualize the environmental challenges within the larger narrative of global environmental impact and responsibility.