Water stress in Africa to hit 64 per cent by 2025
Water stress in Africa will hit 64 per cent if nothing is done about the current water situation on the continent, Morocco’s Minister in charge of Energy, Mining, Water and Environment, Dr Charafat Afailal, has stated.
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She made the prediction during an International Conference on Water and Climate (ICWC) in Rabat, Morocco, when she jointly launched an initiative dubbed: “Water for Africa” with the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP) 22nd Climate Change Conference Ambassador for Multilateral Negotiations, Mr Aziz Mekouar.
Stating that 300 million Africans are suffering from water scarcity, Dr Afailal said: “Forty per cent of the African population lives under water stress and the figure will increase to 64 per cent by 2025 if nothing is done.”
The initiative
The “Water for Africa” initiative is a call that highlights the need for and commitment from the African community to mobilise around the pressing and alarming water issues on the continent and their link to climate change.
The collective call made by more than 20 foreign ministers including 18 from Africa and representatives from the World Bank and other multilateral institutions seeks to ensure a stronger integration of water in the climate and sustainable development agendas ahead of the COP22 UN Climate Change Conference in November in Marrakech.
The High-Level Ministerial Round-table “Water for Africa” during the International Water and Climate Conference allowed for the launch of a formal call for action.
The call for action includes the consideration of water as a priority in adaptation policies and discussions, the creation of political momentum for the adoption of a priority action plan for water in Africa and putting in place a mechanism to monitor commitments made in the areas of water and climate change.
Climate finance
Touching on climate finance, Mr Mekouar reminded the ministers that: “Fifty per cent of the approximately $10 billion Green Climate Fund is dedicated to adaptation projects.”
He stressed the importance of locating and mobilising financing and told participants in the fast track “one-stop shop” Climate Finance Initiative that Morocco was seeking to develop and roll out during COP22.
The conference
The two-day ICWC was jointly organised by the Moroccan Ministry in charge of Water, the French Ministry of Environment, Energy and the Sea, and the World Water Council, on the main theme: “Water Security for Climate Justice” and five sub-themes.
It was held to place water at the heart of the negotiations in COP 22 and stir debate on the interdependence of climate and water by raising awareness of the impact of climate change on water and mobilising political, institutional, scientific and technical actors to put water issues at the forefront.
During a panel discussion on “Water vulnerability to climate change,” the discussants stressed the importance of generating data and the need to develop a system to coordinate data collection and sharing.
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