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Horn of Africa

Untapping Resilience: Groundwater

Management and Learning in the

Horn of Africa's Borderlands

Context
The he HoA is facing increasing In a region where surface water is scarce untapped, as it tends to be more
T
temperatures, shifting rainfall because of high evapotranspiration rates, difficult to monitor and measure than
patterns, floods, and more frequent sustainable groundwater use and surface water. Groundwater often
and severe droughts. Climate change management are key to peace and the remains the most reliable water source,
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is having adverse impacts on agricultural welfare of people, industry, and acting as a natural reservoir during times
crop production, pastoral and livestock agriculture. The Horn of Africa’s of drought and facilitating resilience to
livelihoods, and fisheries, significantly borderlands are areas of particular climate shocks. Much is unknown about
increasing the challenges to food concern, with few formal institutions and a its potential for building resilience,
security and poverty eradication. The high risk for conflict from increasing including its role as a natural buffer
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region is particularly vulnerable to climatic pressures over natural resources. against climate variability in borderland
impacts on agriculture, with potentially communities, the role of (shallow)
significant reductions in agricultural Groundwater plays an important role in groundwater in water security in fragile
output and increased water stress and building climate resilience and water or conflict-ridden regions, and its role as
insecurity. The spread of human and security, which in turn helps address a catalyst for economic opportunity (e.g.
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livestock diseases, unsustainable natural drivers of migration and conflict, but the agricultural irrigation), inclusion, and
resource extraction, increased conflicts resource is ill-defined and largely regional integration.
and insecurity, and the breakdown of
various services are among the indirect
impacts of climate change that affect
women and other highly vulnerable
groups the most because of higher levels
of poverty, higher household work
burden, and greater dependence on
threatened natural resources. 29

The toll from climate change is already
significant throughout the region; in
Somalia, grazing and more variable water
availability is impacting livestock and
related livelihoods. Many people in
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South
Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda are
simultaneously affected by displacement
and eruptions of violence and conflict
between competing tribes and factions or
against the government. The impacts of
families losing their livelihoods have been
especially severe for women and girls. Men fetch water in the county of Wajir, in North Eastern Kenya. ©Wajir Tintseh / World Bank

26 Cumulative Impact Assessment Horn of Africa Initiative: Regional Economic Corridor Project (Addis-Djibouti Corridor) (P174485) (English). Washington, D.C.: World Bank
Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099195503222334107/P17448507e54750909c0d0c49e06faf88a
27 Turn down the heat: climate extremes, regional impacts, and the case for resilience - full report (English). Turn down the heat Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/975911468163736818/Turn-down-the-heat-climate-extremes-regional-impacts-and-the-case-for-resilience-full-report
28 Africa - Africa's water resources in a changing climate: toward an operational perspective - summary report (English). Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/731511467990383417/Africa-Africas-water-resources-in-a-changing-climate-toward-an-operational-perspective-summary-report
29 Regional initiative in support of the Horn of Africa (English). Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/571071468194354658/Regional-initiative-in-support-of-the-Horn-of-Africa
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