Nature‐based Solutions for sustainable flood management in East Africa

Abstract

Africa's population is expected to triple by 2050, owing to rapid urbanisation and overall demographic trends. The combined pressures of urbanisation and climate change impact the ecosystem and the services it provides. As a result, additional dangers such as increased flooding, and environmental disruption have risen. Therefore, devising adaptive solutions to mitigate flood risk impacts while also building community resilience is needed. Evidence suggests that Nature‐based Solutions (NbS) can potentially alleviate floods and mitigate climate change impacts while also delivering other societal benefits. Despite rising NbS popularity following its recognition in the last decade, studies on its recognition in Africa remain limited. For this reason, this paper reviewed NbS studies conducted in East Africa (EA) to evaluate opportunities and barriers surrounding NbS adoption in EA. Academic literature published from January 2012 to May 2022 was reviewed using a comprehensive search of the SCOPUS database. Results show 14 papers have been published during the period, with the majority being post‐2020. In addition, the majority of the articles focused on cities and peri‐urban settlements, while public awareness, clear guidelines on performance monitoring, stakeholder inclusion, and diverse demonstration projects were highlighted as potential success factors for the adoption of NbS in EA.

Sensitivity analysis on stormwater management response to land cover dynamics and urban expansion of developing City in Lake Hawassa watershed, Ethiopia

“…With changing conditions, the existing planning strategy often relies on past experiences dealing with similar risks. The contemporary planning approach is traditionally focused on the construction of runoff infrastructures for short-term structural measures to cope with upcoming changing conditions (Lokidor et al, 2023). The change in the urban land cover (ULC) has a long-term effect that involves spatial variation.…”