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SUMMARY:Climate change and water security in Africa - Professor Declan Con
 way\, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment\, 
 The London School of Economics and Political Science
DTSTART:20190131T161500Z
DTEND:20190131T180000Z
UID:TALK109699@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:45781
DESCRIPTION:High levels of rainfall variability are magnified in the respo
 nse of river discharges and lake levels creating major challenges to ongoi
 ng activities to achieve water security in sub-Saharan Africa. In many cas
 es climate change is likely to exacerbate these challenges particularly in
  the context of rapid socio-economic development that is driving greater u
 se of scarce water resources. I will briefly characterise key aspects of w
 ater resources distribution and variability across sub-Saharan Africa and 
 introduce two examples of climate-induced pressures on water resources man
 agement. First\, I examine the close linkages between spatial patterns of 
 rainfall variability and the river basin areas that provide runoff used to
  generate hydropower which underpins a major proportion of electricity sup
 ply in eastern and southern Africa. Second\, I trace the hydrological impa
 ct pathways associated with drought during the 2015/16 El Niño that contr
 ibuted to disruption of public water supply in Gaborone and widespread ele
 ctricity outages in Lusaka. The effects of service disruption on businesse
 s in both capitals are described and show critical linkages between climat
 e events (that are not unprecedented in scale) and economic activities in 
 urban areas. I will conclude by using insights from the two management exa
 mples to infer what continued climate change might mean for achieving wate
 r security.
LOCATION:Small Lecture Theatre\, Department of Geography\, Downing Site
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