Concluding Remarks

Over this series of blog posts, I addressed the projected worsening of the water crisis under climate change in the SRB, and assessed one of the most prominent adaptation strategies which are the dams and large-scale irrigation schemes, which are currently lacking in environmental and social sustainability. Looking forward, there is a strong need for an integrated approach in managing water to adapt to climate change, such as following the concept of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), in which environmental and societal impacts should be taken into account and the voices of different stakeholders should be heard and considered (Lahtela, 2021).

Finally, it is important to remember that the climate-induced water crisis does not solely exist within the SRB, in fact, it is a pressing issue across the African continent. While there are similarities, the situation in SRB does not represent other regions; there is large spatial variability in hydrological projections, implications and adaptation strategies. I hope this blog series sheds light on a way in which the worsening climate change manifests in hydrological problems in Africa, and brings more awareness towards the urgent issues in water and climate change in Africa.