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Episode recorded on September 11, 2023
Episode released on January 25, 2024
Jude Cobbing is a water resource, WASH, and environmental specialist who currently serving as an advisor on integrated water resources management at Save the Children in Washinton DC. He previously worked for the World Bank, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, and the British Geological Survey. He has published numerous papers on water issues in Africa.
Highlights | Transcript
The paper titled Waking the Sleeping Giant emphasizes the huge potential for groundwater in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Cobbing’s paper Groundwater and the discourse of shortage in Sub-Saharan Africa highlights how the current dialogue emphasizing global water scarcity may be restricting sustainable groundwater development in SSA.
The crises in SSA are poverty, water, food, and energy insecurity, and lack of economic growth.
The recent World Bank report “The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Economics of Groundwater in Times of Climate Change” emphasizes the huge potential for groundwater development in SSA to lift the people out of poverty.
The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) with the United Nations and captures acute deprivations in health, education, and living standards considering 6.1 billion people (92% of population in developing countries) in 110 developing countries. The following results were obtained from the Global MPI 2023.
- 1.1 billion out of 6.1 billion people (18%) listed as acutely multi dimensionally poor
- half of all poor people (534/1.1 billion) live in Sub Saharan Africa.
- 50% are children under 18 years of age.
- 25 of the 41 countries halved their MPI within the past 15 years
- 84% of the multidimensionally poor live in rural areas.
These statistics emphasize the poverty crisis in SSA.
World Bank report reveals that China reduced the number of people in extreme poverty (< US$1.90/d) by 800 million in last 40 yr, accounting for 75% of the global reduction in extreme poverty.
India reduced number of people in extreme poverty by 415 million in less than 15 years (2005 and 2021). Times of India (Global MPI).
The crisis in SSA is one of poverty and underdevelopment with a projected 9 out 10 of the worlds poorest people living in Africa in 2050.
An estimated 75% of rural people in SSA rely on groundwater for their domestic supplies.
Use of renewable groundwater in SSA is < 5% of that available in most countries in SSA (with a few exceptions including Botswana, Djibouti, Mauretania, and South Africa).
Irrigation of arable land in SSA is < 5% and could be doubled or tripled without negatively impacting water resources.
The World Bank promotes irrigation by smallholder farmers through the Farmer Led Irrigation Development program.
Water applications as low as 0.5 to 1.0 liters/second could enhance food production, improve climate resilience and transform household and farmer crop yields.
The main barrier to water resource development is not water availability. The British Geological Survey maps reveal that there is 660,000 km3 of groundwater storage in Africa, half in SSA (MacDonald et al., 2012).
An estimated 40% of SSA land area is underlain by crystalline basement rocks where weathered basement can provide low yields for domestic supplies and small-scale irrigation. These aquifers are dynamically recharged and are difficult to overexploit because they are self-regulated (egg carton typology of World Bank).
Secondary factors may be major barriers to water resource development, including the following:
- Access to financing (e.g. microfinancing MPesa program in Kenya developed in 2007; M mobile, Pesa Swahili for money).
- Lack of access to energy: SSA accounts for 75% of world’s population without access to electricity (570 million in 2019) (Tracking SDG7 report 2023). Solar energy may increase access in rural areas.
- Well drilling and pumping technology access.
- Well repair (e.g., Fundifix model for maintaining rural water services in Africa).
- Data access (Intl. Groundwater Resources Assessment Center, IGRAC).
- Water governance
- Agricultural extension
Cobbing provides many examples in South Africa where the secondary barriers were overcome and irrigated agriculture was developed (Cobbing, Hyrogeol. J., 2020)
- Mahikeng, 300 km W of Johannesburg, 70,000 people, 560 mm rainfall, wellfield, dolomite aquifers, complex geology, borehole yields up to 20 – 80 L/s, originally considered poor groundwater resource, benefited from rural electrification, geophysical exploration, and advanced irrigation farming.
- Dendron (Mogwadi) in Limpopo Province, S Africa, commercial farming, rainfall 400 mm/yr, crystalline basement (upper weathered, lower fractured aquifers). 110/336 wells yields 20 – 45 L/s in 1986). Approaches to over-abstraction currently being considered.
- DAGEOS at Oudtshoorn, fractured quartzite: Deep Artesian Groundwater Exploration for Oudtshoorn Supply, began in 2000. 300 km E of Cape Town. Rainfall 200 mm/yr. 90,000 people. Aquifer Storage and Recovery, deep boreholes 50 – 700 m. Flows up to 40 L/s. still being considered.
- Atlantis: Managed Aquifer Recharge project, 50 km N of Cape Town, began in 1980s. drought securyt, wastewater reuse, storm runoff, and prevent seawater intrusion. Unconsolidated sand aquifer 25 m thick, recharge 15 – 30% of rainfall. 2 well fields. Borehole yields 5 – 10 L/s. Rehabilitated scheme during Cape Town Day Zero.
- Windhoek, Namibia, fractured quartzite aquifers: managed aquifer recharge. Rainfall 360 mm/yr. Reliance on groundwater and ephemeral surface water. Population 330,000, demand> supply 1990s. Three surface reservoirs used to recharge groundwater during wet periods. 2011 6 injection wells 420 m43/h injection. 900 m3/hr 2018.
Julian Conrad’s company, GEOSS, monitors groundwater levels in the Sandveld region in the Western Cape where irrigation of potatoes and rooibos tea is ongoing for export. The Sandveld Environmental Management Framework provides a guide to sustainable development of groundwater resources. Rainfall is 300 – 400 mm/yr. Recharge occurs in mountains to the east (Olifantsberge and Cederberg).
SSA can learn from India on approaches to developing groundwater fed irrigation and hopefully avoid overexploitation. Putting groundwater irrigation in the hands of smallholder farmers is difficult to regulate and may initially lead to over-exploitation in some areas, as described in Tushar Shah’s book “Taming the Anarchy”. However, increased monitoring and improved governance could help incentivize groundwater development for domestic water supplies, smallholder farmer irrigation and lead to increased water and food security and climate resilience.
