Center for Development Research (ZEF)

Extreme weather events disproportionately affect residents of low-income urban settlements in the global South. This paper explores the impacts of extreme heat and flooding on water and electricity services in Accra and Tamale, Ghana. Interviews with water/electricity providers and water quality analysis are combined with household interviews, focus group discussions and observations conducted in eight low-income urban settlements. The findings highlight the interconnected nature of service provision during extreme weather events, with challenges in one sector reinforcing problems in another, exacerbating difficulties with access. Although households can utilize rainwater during flooding, it is highly susceptible to faecal contamination, and electricity supplies are often disconnected. During extreme heat, demand for water and electricity outstrips supply, leading to severe shortages, especially in Tamale. Water and electricity service providers should consider their interconnected ...

Rainfall and runoff patterns affect mans activities in so many ways and as such, designs of agricultural, storm water management, telecommunication, erosion, droughts, food security etc. It is essential that the role of rainfall and stream flow are recognized, understood and taken into account when modelling hydrological processes within any Basin. The Pwalugu catchment in the White Volta Basin experiences one rainy season which usually begins from April and peaks up in July, August, and September and gradually end with some showers in October and part of November. The basis of the analysis comprises of the rainfall events and runoff of the White Volta River at Pwalugu, to determine the relationship between the rainfall events and runoff and also estimates the contribution of rainfall to runoff by a certain threshold of rainfall. The analysis shows that the period is characterized by high inter-seasonal rainfall and discharge variability with a correlation coefficient of 0.78 which showed a strong positive relationship between rainfall and runoff in the catchment. For the linear regression relationships of cumulated rainfall events and discharges for the various years considered for the study, it is realized that 2003 and 2009 recorded the highest coefficients of correlation of 0.96 and 0.92 respectively. The studies showed that the minimum rainfall that can cause runoff in the catchment is 25mm which was set as a threshold. It is also observed from the analysis that a rainfall of at least 18mm can contribute 0.2m 3 /s of water to river flow with a correlation coefficient of 0.90 indicating a strong relationship between rainfall and riverflow.

Globally, cities have made efforts to shift to low-carbon emission development (LED), amidst air pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and high temperature anomalies. However, the emphasis on cities to help shift the global economy to LED has been on a single individual sector approach operating in silos rather than the inter and intra-specific outcomes of multiple sectors. Thus, there are uncertainties of adopting suitable pathways for cities’ transition to LED, due largely to data paucity and policy incoherence, constrained further by barriers to integrating science, policy, and practice. Hence, the need for cities to take advantage of the benefits of multi-directional perspectives of multiple sectors acting together—the “multi-vector” approach, to confront key questions of climate compatible development (CCD) that support LED. Therefore, the paper extends the development narratives of the CCD approach to an “enhanced” climate compatible development (EnCCD) pathway with in-bu...

Hydrological modelling with downscaled climate data from a Regional Climate Model (RCM) was undertaken to determine the impact of climate change on the surface water resources of the Densu River Basin. This basin is largely a rural one that is the source of potable water supply to many parts of Accra and also provides life support for the communities living in and close to it. The aim of the study was to assess the resilience of the city of Accra to impacts of climate change on its water supplies. The adequacy of streamflows in the Lower Volta Basin as a source of water supply to Accra in the future under climate change was also ascertained. This river currently supplies about half of the water requirements of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA).Results of the study show that the Densu Basin streamflow is currently under stress conditions due to high water abstraction from the river for municipal and industrial water supplies. The climate change impact analysis indicates a reduction in streamflows in 2050 from the 1961-1990 baseline period as a result of general drying conditions projected for the basin. This future drying condition could result in rural agriculture in the basin shifting from largely rainfed at present to more irrigation. The result would be a substantially more upstream water abstraction from the Densu river system with dire consequences for downstream water supply to the city of Accra. However, the assessment of the streamflows of the Lower Volta River showed that these were adequate to meet the water supply requirements of GAMA even under climate change.It is recommended that an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) plan be fully developed and implemented in the basin for the proper management of the water resources. In addition, the Lower Volta River, which has substantial flows, could be considered as a more reliable source of water supply to Accra.

In the Volta River Basin, infrastructure watershed development with respect to the impact of climate conditions is hotly debated due to the lack of adequate tools to model the consequences of such development. The Volta basin drains an area of approx. 400 000 km² of the subhumid to semiarid West-African savannah zone and is shared by six riparian countries. The region is characterized by erratic rainfall patterns, and domestic and agricultural water users in the upper regions of the Basin complete with hydropower generation in the south for increasingly scarce water resources. There is an ongoing debate on the impact of further development of small, medium and large reservoirs on the water level of Lake Volta. The GLOWA Volta Project (GVP) has developed a Volta Basin Water Allocation System (VB-WAS), a decision support tool that allows assessing the impact of infrastructure development in the basin on the availability of current and future water resources, given the current or futur...

Rainfall and runoff patterns affect mans activities in so many ways and as such, designs of agricultural, storm water management, telecommunication, erosion, droughts, food security etc. It is essential that the role of rainfall and stream flow are recognized, understood and taken into account when modelling hydrological processes within any Basin. The Pwalugu catchment in the White Volta Basin experiences one rainy season which usually begins from April and peaks up in July, August, and September and gradually end with some showers in October and part of November. The basis of the analysis comprises of the rainfall events and runoff of the White Volta River at Pwalugu, to determine the relationship between the rainfall events and runoff and also estimates the contribution of rainfall to runoff by a certain threshold of rainfall. The analysis shows that the period is characterized by high inter-seasonal rainfall and discharge variability with a correlation coefficient of 0.78 which ...

Hydrological modelling provides a means for the investigation of the interaction between climate and riverflow. It also acts as a vehicle for the assessment of the impact of human activities on hydrological regimes. Within this paper a review of some of the approaches employed in rainfall-riverflow modelling is presented. The paper highlights the rationale and structure of the modelling approaches, and their strengths and weaknesses which may assist in making an informed choice of a modelling approach for hydrological studies.

Runoff could be a quick response of river basins to climate change. Drought events in some selected sub-catchments of the Volta basin in West Africa were analyzed to detect if any, the effects of climate variations on runoff regimes especially during low flows in the last decades. Statistically, significant changes have been realized in the last centaury (Oguntunde et al,

Extreme weather events pose significant threats to urban health in low-and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where there are systemic health challenges. This paper investigates health system vulnerabilities associated with flooding and extreme heat, along with strategies for resilience building by service providers and community members, in Accra and Tamale, Ghana. We employed field observations, rainfall records, temperature measurements, and semi-structured interviews in health facilities within selected areas of the cities. Results indicate that poor building conditions, unstable power supply, poor sanitation and hygiene, and the built environment reduce access to healthcare for residents of poor urban areas. Health facilities are sited in low-lying areas with poor drainage systems and can be 6°C warmer at night than reported by official records from nearby weather stations. This is due to a combination of greater thermal inertia of the buildings and the urban heat island effect. Flooding and extreme heat interact with socioeconomic conditions to impact physical infrastructure and disrupt community health as well as health facility operations. Community members and health facilities make infrastructural and operational adjustments to reduce extreme weather stress and improve healthcare provision to clients. These measures include mobilisation of residents to clear rubbish and unclog drains; elevating equipment to protect it from floods; improving ventilation during extreme heat; and using alternative power sources for emergency surgery and storage during outages. Stakeholders recommend additional actions to manage flood and heat impacts on health in their cities, such as, improving the capacity of drainage systems to carry floodwaters, and routine temperature monitoring to better manage heat in health facilities. Finally, more timely and targeted information systems and emergency response plans are required to ensure preparedness for extreme weather events in urban areas.

The Sustainable Development Goals Series is Springer Nature's inaugural cross-imprint book series that addresses and supports the United Nations' seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. The series fosters comprehensive research focused on these global targets and endeavours to address some of society's greatest grand challenges. The SDGs are inherently multidisciplinary, and they bring people working across different fields together and working towards a common goal. In this spirit, the Sustainable Development Goals series is the first at Springer Nature to publish books under both the Springer and Palgrave Macmillan imprints, bringing the strengths of our imprints together. The Sustainable Development Goals Series is organized into eighteen subseries: one subseries based around each of the seventeen respective Sustainable Development Goals, and an eighteenth subseries, "Connecting the Goals," which serves as a home for volumes addressing multiple goals or studying the SDGs as a whole. Each subseries is guided by an expert Subseries Advisor with years or decades of experience studying and addressing core components of their respective Goal. The SDG Series has a remit as broad as the SDGs themselves, and contributions are welcome from scientists, academics, policymakers, and researchers working in fields related to any of the seventeen goals. If you are interested in contributing a monograph or curated volume to the series, please contact the Publishers: Zachary Romano [Springer; zachary.romano@ springer.com] and Rachael Ballard [Palgrave Macmillan; rachael.ballard@ palgrave.com].

Debates of the nexus between water-related stresses and water availability for groundwater-dependent irrigation which comprises of non-conventional groundwater abstraction schemes is only recently emerging. The interaction between Seasonal Shallow Wells (SSWs), one of such indigenous abstractions scheme and groundwater recharge remains new to groundwater science and development. The SSWs supplement formal irrigation (e.g. reservoirs) and surface water for dry season agriculture in Ghana's White Volta Basin, yet links with the overall gradient of groundwater is unknown. Therefore, using the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) model and qualitative techniques, the implications of groundwater recharge and surface runoff in their orientation to shallow wells is explored. Standardized precipitation index (SPI) from a regional downscale model for droughts and floods showed increased drought and flood influence on groundwater recharge and irrigation. Enhanced surface runoff water and climate change continuously reduced groundwater recharge by 2030, with decreased stream and water inflows. Irrigation water requirements of reservoirs were computed to be between 173% and 327% of normal reservoir water requirements, yet majority of dams did not meet these requirements especially during the dry season. The basin has history of dryness and exhibited uneven distribution of groundwater, yet recharged water of unsaturated soil moisture zones made water available to the SSWs. The SSWs were patronised mostly by women and farming households based on perceptions of limited cost, less sophistication and no formal regulatory measures. The paper therefore provides framework for establishing links between the mechanics of SSWs, and existing climatic and hydrologic conditions for informed groundwater development.

Background Two of Ghana's ecological zones-Guinea-savanna zone (GSZ) and Forest-savanna mosaic zone (FSZ)-are practically homologous in terms of structure and floristic composition, with some differences. The various sub-ecosystems that make up these areas are being depleted and losing their natural values due to various threats. There is little understanding about the fire trends in these areas due to a lack of data and poor accessibility to existing fire statistics. This study aimed to contribute to the understanding of the trends of area burned and active fire in the Guinea-savanna and Forest-savanna mosaic zones in order to inform policy-makers about sustainable management options. We used the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily active fire (MDC14ML) and burned-area (MCD64A1) products to characterize the fire regime in terms of seasonality, intensity, density, burned area, frequency, and trends during the study period of 2001 to 2021. Results This study indicated that fire activity started in October and peaked in December (GSZ) and January (FSZ). The mean proportion burned was approximately 39.95% (burned area of 2659.31 km 2 ; FSZ) and 60.05% (burned area of 3996.63 km 2 : GSZ), while the frequency was approximately 42.87% (1759.95 of active fires; FSZ) and 57.13% (2345.26 of active fires: GSZ). In 2018, GSZ recorded the largest burned area (19 811.2 km 2 , which represents an average of 825.5 km 2 of the total area burned from 2001 to 2021) with 4719 active points detected. FSZ recorded its greatest burned area in 2015 (8727.4 km 2 ; which represents an average of 363.6 km 2 of the total area burned from 2001 to 2021) with 5587 active points recorded. In addition, it was found that specific times of the day (1000 h to 1420 h) recorded the majority of burned areas. In overview, between 2001 and 2021, burned areas increased by an average of 1.4 km 2 (FSZ) and 4.6 km 2 (GSZ), and the number of active fires increased by an average of 4.7 (FSZ) and 4.4 (GSZ) active fires per km 2. Conclusions In conclusion, burned areas and active fires are increasing in both ecological zones. This study demonstrated the relevance of remote sensing to describe spatial and temporal patterns of fire occurrence in Ghana and highlighted the need for fire control and fuel management by the policies and institutions (e.g., Ghana National Fire and Rescue Service) in these important and vulnerable zones (GSZ and FSZ). This is especially true in the Forest-savanna mosaic zone, which is increasingly affected by the disasters of wildfires and records more active fires than GSZ, indicating that this zone is becoming more and more vulnerable. Therefore, rigorous continuous monitoring is essential, and collaboration between organizations fighting for the conservation of natural resources in the field is strongly recommended.

The problem of climate variability and its impact on food security in terms of agricultural productivity continues to attract scientific research in many parts of the tropics. Temporal variability of rainfall is associated with the yields of rainfed crops. In the North of Ghana perennial food shortage has been of major concern. The paper present an overview level analysis of the major climate variability factors in two districts (Bawku and Yendi) and to identify areas and periods with high levels of climate variability that have the potential to limit or adversely affect crop or livestock production. Analyses with regards to some aspects of rainfall management of the two districts were carried out using INSTAT. Participatory Rapid Rural Appraisal surveys were conducted on some selected communities of the two Districts for information on farming systems, vulnerability to climate variability and their coping strategies. Climate variability factors that have the potential for climatic stress on food security and the lack of environmental consciousness resulting in poor land and water management were contributed to seasonal food deficits in both areas. The two Districts of Yendi and Bawku are seasonally faced with problems of food deficits, probably due to lack of environmental consciousness resulting in poor land and water management.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reports indicate that those who are least responsible for climate change are also the most vulnerable to its projected impacts. In no place is this more evident than in Sub Saharan Africa, where greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are negligible from a global scale. In Africa, energy demands could be the major factor that may lead to the increase of its emissions in the very near future. Forests are being used up for domestic energy supply. Oil produced energy increases carbon foot prints and hydropower is unreliable due to uncertainties in rainfall patterns. By 2004, the energy consumption mix of West Africa was dominated by oil (58%), followed by natural gas (38%) and hydroelectric (8%) with coal and other energy forms not part of the mix. The Sayigh's universal equation is presented in this work, for estimating the global solar radiation analysing data from 1972 to 2004 in Nigeria using Umudike, as a case study. The global solar radiation within the region was noted to range from 1.99 to 6.75 kWh indicating that the method could be used in producing signatures of global solar radiation in Nigeria when actual measurements are not available.

Background Two of Ghana's ecological zones-Guinea-savanna zone (GSZ) and Forest-savanna mosaic zone (FSZ)-are practically homologous in terms of structure and oristic composition, with some differences. The various sub-ecosystems that make up these areas are being depleted and losing their natural values due to various threats. There is little understanding about the re trends in these areas due to lack of data and poor accessibility to existing re statistics. This study aimed to contribute to the understanding of the trends of area burned and active re in the Guinea-savanna and Forest-savanna mosaic zones in order to inform policymakers about sustainable management options. We used the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily active re (MDC14ML) and burned-area (MCD64A1) products to characterize the re regime in terms of seasonality, intensity, density, a burned area, frequency, and the trends during the study period of 2001 to 2021. Results This study indicated that re activity started in October and peaked in December (GSZ) and January (FSZ). The mean proportion burned was approximately 39.95% or a burnt area of 2659.31 km 2 (FSZ) and 60.05% or a burnt area of 3996.63 km 2 (GSZ), while the frequency was approximately 42.87% or 1759.95 of active res (FSZ) and 57.13% or 2345.26 of active res (GSZ). In the year 2018 GSZ recorded the largest burned area (19 811.2 km 2 or an average of 825.5 km 2) with 4719 active points detected whereas the FSZ recorded its greatest burned area in 2015 (8727.4 km 2) with 5587 active points recorded, which represents an average of 363.6 km 2 of area burned of the total area burned (2001-2021). In addition, it was found that speci c times of the day (1000 hours to 1420 hours) recorded the majority of burned areas. Conclusions In conclusion, the trend is decreasing for the area burned, and increasing for the number of res. This study demonstrated the relevance of remote sensing to describe spatial and temporal patterns of re occurrence in Ghana and highlighted the need for re control and fuel management by the policies and institutions (e.i: Ghana National Fire and Rescue Service) in these important and vulnerable zones (GSZ and FSZ), especially in the Forest-Savannah zone, which is increasingly affected by the disasters of wild res and records more and more of active res than GSZ. Therefore, rigorous continuous monitoring is essential in collaboration with organizations ghting for the conservation of natural resources in the eld is strongly recommended.

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.