Climate change

INCREASING CLIMATE-PROOFING INVESTMENTS IN THE WATER SECTOR

Preparing the water sector to better adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change is critical to Africa’s future food and water security. This is why the AWF, as the only PPF operating in Africa that is totally focused on the water sector, will continue to provide support to countries and organizations to all stages of the project preparation continuum: ensuring that projects are screened and appraised in line with the AWF and AfDB policies and procedures on climate change, including application of the climate Safeguards System. This will contribute significantly to climate resilience and ensure that climate change risks are duly considered in water management and development decision making.

Building capacity, creating an enabling context and removing barriers for adoption of climate-smart water management

The AWF is supporting knowledge management, capacity building and enabling environment projects that aim at mainstreaming climate change into the water sector. Typically, this might include:

• Planning for anticipated effects of climate change by designing projects that tackle the current or predicted impacts on water resources based on climate models

• Supporting water knowledge and information projects for effective collection and dissemination of key water and hydro-meteorological information for planning and increased preparedness

• Supporting transboundary water resources management (TWRM) to foster regional partnerships for improved water resources management and avoidance of potential water conflicts

• Supporting the development of IWRM master plans that support the implementation of NDCs, SDGs and other relevant plans

Supporting climate resilience across the water sector  

As part of its strategy 2017-2025, the AWF prioritizes projects that feature climate-resilient water management.  The AWF will support climate change adaptation through community-based adaption, ecosystem-based adaptation, water related disaster management, risk-based design, including analyzing the threshold of failure for infrastructure and promoting no-regret infrastructure. Eligible projects might include:

• Supporting innovation in harvesting, conservation, storage, recycling and re-use and sustainable use of water resources

• Supporting water storage projects to secure better access to water in areas at high risk of droughts for domestic use, drinking, agriculture and industry

• Supporting integrated water resources management (IWRM) projects to maximize the use of water resources, especially important for regions facing high water stress

• Supporting flood protection to reduce the impact of changing water patterns in coastal regions, river basins and urban areas where sanitation and water routing and supply are being adversely affected by climate change

• Supporting development and experimentation of insurance products that protect goods and productive assets of most vulnerable communities against water related disasters, as well investors.

Promoting mitigation in water management

The AWF supports projects that have the potential for reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming or that absorb CO². Mitigation in the context of water will be supported through projects that propose to reduce emissions using nature-based or technology driven approaches.

• Supporting the preservation or restoration of wetlands watercourses ecosystems that act as carbon sinks by absorbing GHG emissions

• Supporting afforestation and reforestation activities that might have mitigation benefits, mainly by promoting land degradation neutrality, water retention, and absorption of CO², particularly in arid and semi-arid regions

• Promoting production of renewable energy and recovery, reducing demand for fossil fuels through hydropower generation

• Supporting projects that foster investment in reducing emissions from powering water infrastructure, including for provision of drinking water, treatment of waste and storm water, and pumping water for agriculture and other uses