Integrated water management tools supporting future water security and food production in West Africa

摘要

In most West African countries, the limited water resources are subject to several pressures including population growth and the associated increasing demand for water of sufficient quantity and quality for food production, changing land use and climate. Significant changes have occurred in land use and land cover (LULC) throughout the region, if compared to other environmental changes (Braimoh and Vlek 2004, Berger et al. 2006, Badjana et al. 2014). This calls for the integrated land and water resources management (ILWRM), an appropriate approach to strive for sustainable management of water resources and to adapt to global change impacts (Fluegel 2010). Thus, the integrated assessment of surface and subsurface water resources based on a holistic systems's analysis approach (Fluegel 2010) is essential to develop adequate management responses. However, the implementation of this approach is difficult in a region facing a lack of accurate and representative available data, limited knowledge and adequate technologies. Adapted technologies, techniques and practices are therefore required to overcome these difficulties and reduce the uncertainties related to future water availability and demand. This paper presents methodologies and tools that are in development and application, all supporting sustainable water management and food production in West Africa.