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SEI built WEAP models for seven major river basins, enabling the exploration of policies and investments under various climate futures.
Aerial view of the Zambezi. Photo: golero / Getty Images.
Sub-Saharan Africa is already feeling the effects of climate change. Extreme weather events – such as floods, droughts and storms – threaten this region’s economies, and underscore the need for climate-resilient infrastructure.
SEI evaluated seven major river basins in the region: those of the Congo, Orange, Niger, Nile, Senegal, Volta, and Zambezi rivers. These basins hold strategic significance in terms of hydropower, basic water supply and irrigation potential; together, they account for some 200 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower generation capacity and have the potential to increase irrigation capacity by more than 60%.
For each basin, SEI created a model in its Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system. These models enabled users to estimate streamflow, as well as domestic and agricultural water demands, under various climate futures – and to explore different management strategies and investments under a range of uncertainties.
Journal article / This study finds that the most resilient energy plan for the Eastern African Power Pool is one that assumes a slightly wetter climate than historical trends.
Tool / The Water Evaluation and Planning tool (WEAP) provides a comprehensive, flexible and user-friendly framework for policy analysis in water resources planning.
SEI working paper / This report finds that WEF nexus research has not validated claims that nexus approaches can improve resource management and governance outcomes.
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