Climate change impacts on water resources have jeopardized human security in the Sahel countries for many decades, especially in achieving food security. Many strategies and policies have been made to address such impacts. However, there are still difficulties to measure progress and the effectiveness of these policies and strategies with regard to climate risks. The lack of practical and consensual monitoring tool is one of the factors that can explain gaps in policies and initiatives to overcome these impacts. To move towards filling this gap, using ClimProspect model and a participatory approach, and based on in-depth vulnerability analysis, this paper makes available some innovative integrated and coherent resilience indicators and a new index for Burkina Faso's water resources. Taking into account both climate and disaster risks, the indicators and index developed are related to warning, responses, recovery and long term resilience. The indicators-based index applied to three sites shows that agriculture water is less resilient to a changing climate with a score varying from 22.66% to 24%. These tools can help in formulating, implementation and reviewing water policy to secure water resources under the stress of climate change. The approach and findings bring together, on one hand, social and ecological resilience to climate risks, and sciences and policy on the other.

Purpose This paper aims to propose, for the very first time in Burkina Faso, a “no regret” reference tool to improve policies and processes which could strengthen agricultural water resilience under climate risks and change for sustained food security. Such a framework consists of five pillars derived from the agricultural water vulnerability analysis. Design/methodology/approach The method combined a new designed tool “ClimProspect”, adapted to the Sahelian climatic context, participatory and analogue approaches. Findings Innovative “no regret” framework to overcome current and future climate risks on agricultural water requirements has been built. Research limitations/implications The paper proposes a new way to assess vulnerability and build resilience for a given system and brings climate and disaster risks together. In fact, in the country, disaster and climate risks are closely associated. Practical implications The proposed measures will reinforce water security under climate variability and change and disaster risks, boost the farmers’ participation in water governance and secure the adaptation investment for the long term. Social implications Implementing the proposed measures should provide farmers with agricultural water needs at any time over the year, having access to social protection and sustainably increase their food security. Originality/value Method used explicitly allows for paying attention, at the same time, to climate variability and change, disaster risks and social issues. The “no regret” framework is a practical secured tool for policy makers and planners, and it gives them a new way to secure sustainable water requirements.

La résilience des secteurs économiques face aux risques et mutations climatiques constitue un enjeu majeur de développement en Afrique de l’Ouest. Une information scientifique robuste est essentielle pour formuler et mettre en œuvre des stratégies de résilience efficientes et performantes. Pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest, et singulièrement pour le secteur agricole, rendre disponible une telle information est l’un des défis scientifiques majeurs dans l’élaboration des stratégies de résilience. Au Togo, l’agriculture est l’un des secteurs économiques particulièrement concernés par les questions d’amélioration de la résilience face aux risques climatiques et de catastrophes. À défaut, le développement de ce secteur pourrait être lourdement handicapé par les changements climatiques qui vont altérer les régimes des précipitations et accroître la fréquence et l’intensité des événements climatiques extrêmes. Cet article propose un corpus de référentiels d’aide à la décision pour une amélioration de la gouvernance et des processus de résilience du secteur vivrier dans la région Maritime du Togo. Les référentiels reportés se fondent sur le modèle « ClimProspect » qui est basé sur la méthode du jugement d’expert et couplé avec l’approche participative. Cette dernière a consisté en une collecte de données qualitative au moyen de groupes de villageois. Les résultats ont permis d’identifier des référentiels d’impacts, de vulnérabilités (V1, V2, V3 et V4), de suivi de la vulnérabilité et des chemins de résilience, capables de promouvoir, des espaces de concertation des acteurs intervenant dans la production agricole pour définir et mettre en œuvre des chemins innovants de résilience de ce secteur de développement.

Burkina Faso, like other Sahelian countries, has experienced a profound change in its climatic regime,with the new context characterised by high rainfall variability with an overall downward trend and ashortening of the seasons. The future rainfall pattern anticipates a decrease in the frequency of lowrainfall (0.1 to 5 mm per day), a lengthening of the average duration of dry sequences, and an early endand late start of rainy seasons. The objective of this study was to perform an in-depth analysis of stakeholder perceptions about agricultural water (AgWater) resources sustainability, practices in the context of climate variability and change in Burkina Faso. Interviews were held with institutional actors involved in water resources decision making and initiatives (Government, Research, Non-Governmental Organisations) in the country. In addition, based on four main criteria (climate condition, type of farm and crop, type of AgWater sources, reliability of AgWater), three agricultural sites were investigated using household surveys. The results showed that organisations and farmers in Burkina Faso were aware of climate impacts and had initiated and implemented for many years, diverse options and water control mechanisms for AgWater adaptation. However, there were still gaps in strategies for adapting the water sector to climate threats. Institutional bodies had not got yet attained capacity to sustainably anticipate the effects of climate change on AgWater. There was a lack of mainstreaming hydroclimate services at farm levels, especially for the dry season crops; lack of on-farm flood control mechanisms, absence of a clear gender approach and no standardised monitoring system, Farmers also lacked anticipatory resilience strategies, particularly those who used water sources that were considered as “reliable” then. In general, most of the climate adaptation initiatives implemented lacked synergies, sustainability, and were uncertain about sound water resource management such as moving towards “no regret” and “win-win” options.  

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