1st Edition

The Volta River Basin Water for Food, Economic Growth and Environment

    302 Pages
    by Routledge

    302 Pages 117 Color & 55 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    302 Pages 117 Color & 55 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    The Volta River Basin (VRB) is an important transboundary basin in West Africa that covers approximately 410,000 square kilometres across six countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo. Its natural resources sustain the livelihoods of its population and contribute to economic development. This book provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary review and assessment of the issues and challenges faced.



    The authors provide a science-based assessment of current and future scenarios of water availability, the demands of key sectors, including agriculture and hydropower, and the environment under changing demographic, economic, social and climatic conditions. They also identify solutions and strategies that will allow available water resources to be sustainably used to improve agricultural productivity, food security and economic growth in the VRB. Overall, the work examines from a multidisciplinary and multi-stakeholder perspective the solutions and strategies to improve the use of water and other natural resources in the VRB to achieve enhanced food security, livelihoods and economic growth.

    Part 1: Introduction  1. Introduction  Timothy O. Williams, Marloes L. Mul, Charles Biney and Vladimir Smakhtin  Part 2: Basin Resources: Trends, Drivers and Status  2. Socioeconomic Status, Trends and Drivers of Change  Shashidhara Kolavalli and Timothy O. Williams  3. Surface Water Resources of the Volta Basin  Marloes L. Mul, Raymond A. Kasei and Matthew McCartney  4. Groundwater Resources of the Volta Basin  Emmanuel Obuobie, Boubacar Barry and William Agyekum  5. Climate Variability and Change over the Volta River Basin  Mouhamadou B. Sylla, Frank O. Annor, Raymond A. Kasei and Mamadou L. Mbaye  6. Managing Floods and Droughts  Raymond A. Kasei, Barnabas Amisigo and Marloes L. Mul  Part 3: People, Policies and Institutions  7. Poverty, Vulnerability and Livelihoods in the Volta Basin: A Gendered Analysis  Amy Sullivan, Elsie Odonkor and Nicoline de Haan  8. Water Governance in the Volta Basin  Ben Ampomah, Winston Andah and Charles Biney  Part 4: Challenges and Opportunities in the Use of Water Resources  9. Improving Agriculture and Food Security in the Volta Basin  Augustine Ayantunde, Pamela G. Katic, Olufunke Cofie and Edward K. Abban  10. Urban and Industrial Development  Daniel Van Rooijen, Ben Ampomah, Josiane Nikiema, Yacouba Noël Coulibaly and Lydie Yiougo  11. Water-Food-Energy Nexus and Hydropower Development  Emmanuel O. Bekoe, Winston Andah, Frederick Y. Logah and Bedru B. Balana  Part 5: Balancing Development and Nature  12. Ecosystem Services in the Volta Basin  Fred Kizito and Bedru B. Balana  13. Environmental Flow Requirements in the Volta Basin  Marloes L. Mul and Yongxuan Gao  14. Water Quality and Public Health  Chris Gordon, Adelina Mensah, Josiane Nikiema and Pay Drechsel  15. Sustainable Agricultural Intensification in the Volta River Basin  Timothy O. Williams, Jennie Barron and Olufunke Cofie  Part 6: Governance and Livelihoods  16. Simulating Current and Future Volta Basin Water Development Scenarios  Aditya Sood, Ousmane Seidou, Gerald Forkuor, Frank O. Annor and Matthew McCartney

    Biography

    Timothy O. Williams is Director for Africa at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), based in Accra, Ghana.



    Marloes L. Mul is a Senior Researcher in Hydrology and Water Resources at the IWMI, Accra, Ghana.



    Charles A. Biney is Acting Executive Director of the Volta Basin Authority, based in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.



    Vladimir Smakhtin was Head of the Water Availability, Risk and Resilience Research Department at IWMI, Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is now the Director of the Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

    "The diverse topics covered, contributed by leading researchers and senior policy makers in the basin, are presented with forward looking perspectives and recommendations on key strategies to inform planning and investment decisions at basin, national and regional levels to enhance food security, livelihoods, growth and sustainable management of natural resources. The book is essential for policy makers, development partners, students, researchers and those who work in public and non-governmental organizations to provide advice to farmers, as it will serve as a source of useful information and an important reference document." – From the Foreword by Hon. Dr Kwaku Agyemang Mensah, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Republic of Ghana