As mentioned in the foregone blog post, the intention of this particular entry will serve as preface to the topic of the blog by giving a brief introduction to the use of water on the African continent. As a reminder, this is so to say part two of the title of the blog 'the impact of climate change on the use of water on the African continent'.
Water Use on the African continent. Focus of this particular blog post.
Africa is obviously a very diverse, variegated and a huge area of varying land encompassing continent. As a consequence, there is a great variety in the hydrology and therefore different availability levels of water itself. Mainly influenced by the tectonics, one could speak of a division of the African continent based on that very fact as well as others, such as rainfall variability, the geology of a region etc.
The question now shall be: What is the actual situation in terms of the water use in Africa?
At first, it would make sense to know who is actually using water, wouldn't it? So with reference to Taylor (2004), let's begin:
1. Agricultural Water Use (83%)
This major part is diverted into two parts, the commercial and the traditional one. Comparing the 83 percent to the world's average of agricultural water use, Africa's use is higher by 13 (world: 70%).
2. Industrial Water Use (4%)
Industrial activity is very limited in Africa. World: 18%.
3. Domestic Water Use (13%)
The domestic water use is basically the same as the world's average.
A point that is becoming very obvious here: The majority of water is being used by the agricultural sector. For example, Cultivated fields need irrigation. At first glance, that might not be too far off. But think of it this way (and this is something that came up in one of the lectures of 'Water and Development in Africa' at UCL, so it is not a scientificly documented fact but still very interesting): Take the Nile as an example. The highest use of water of the whole African continent is to be found there because the people simply have access to water and use it without any further thoughts.
What is beginning to shine through here is something very important: the distribution of water. The reason for water scarcity is not only based on the nature itself; it is also something that emerged from anthropogenic actions.
A basic overview of the two key phrases of this blog's topic has hereby been given. The next blog posts will start to go deeper into the thematic. As I am very much looking forward to exploring an immensely interesting part of science, I'll close this entry with an outlook. Within the next posts, I want to leave this basic level of introductions and connect 'climate change' with 'use of water on the African continent' in terms of the upcoming changing conditions caused by the climate change itself. I am not quite sure where this is going to take me as the author and you as the reader of this blog, but I have numerous ideas and I am very eager to associate them and elaborate as much as possible on the topic!
References
Taylor, R.G., 2004. Water Resources and development challenges in eastern and southern Africa . In: T. Bowyer-Bower and D. Potts (Eds.), East and Southern Africa . Regional Development Text, RGS-IBG Developing Areas Research Group, Addison-Wesley Longman (London), Chapter 7, pp. 198-228.
The blog features some worthwhile reflections on water and climate. The blog could be improved by increasing the frequency and detail of entries. The inclusion, for example, of more critical comments and reflections (e.g. what are you persuaded by or what are you not) would be welcome. Be sure to prioritise literature that is focused on the African continent. There is, for example, an abundance of studies that deal with African climate and climate change (e.g. IPCC AR5) that could be consulted rather than the fairly generic story outlined in your second post. Do try to improve engagement on your blog perhaps by asking fellow GEOG3038 students to comment on your blog and vice versa.
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