West Africa – Water Resources Vulnerability Using a Multidimensional Approach

Gordon, Chris; Nukpezah, Daniel; Tweneboah-Lawson, E.; Ofori, Benjamin D.; Yirenya-Tawiah, Dzidzo; Pabi, Opoku; Ayivor, Jesse S.; Koranteng, Samuel Senyo; Darko, Deborah; Mensah, Adelina

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-384703-4.00518-9

Cited by 19 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Consequently, recent assessments have suggested that water resources planning and management for present and future generation in the basin, needs to take a holistic and integrated approach, where stakeholder interest and concerns are adequately considered; and both the critical environmental and socio-economic issues and their interrelationships concomitantly captured (Douxchamps et al, 2012;Gordon et al, 2013;UNEP Volta Project, 2013;Mul et al, 2015;Williams et al, 2016). In sum, actions to achieve food security and reduce poverty will have to be based on an integrated and systemic modelling approach and a collaborative decision-making process.…”

Section: Developing the Research Problem And Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It occupies an area of about 400,000Km 2 within the sub-humid to semi-arid West African savanna zone (Figure 1.1 as it enters the sea (the Atlantic Ocean) at the Gulf of Guinea (Barry et al, 2005;Gordon et al, 2013). It is a trans-boundary river basin shared among 6 riparians West African countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Togo, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, and Mali, making it an ethnically and culturally diverse basin.…”

Section: Study Context: the Volta River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Black Volta drains a land area of about 146,820Km 2 and donates about 18% of the annual flows to the Volta Lake; the White Volta covers an area of 105,540Km 2 and contributes about 20% of the annual flows of the Volta River system; while the Oti river basin drains an area of 71,940Km 2 . However, the network of the Volta River System within the area of Ghana occupies approximately 70% of the total land surface of Ghana (Gordon et al, 2013). The basin contributes about 25% of the annual flows in the Volta River system.…”

Section: Study Context: the Volta River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The basin contributes about 25% of the annual flows in the Volta River system. Surface water is received from both outside and within the country, with about 54% of the flows of the tributaries coming from outside the country of Ghana (Gordon et al, 2013). Mean annual rainfall varies across the basin from approximately 1600mm in the south-eastern section of the basin in Ghana, to as low as 300-700mm/yr in the northern parts of Ghana and Burkina Faso (Barry et al, 2005;Martin and Van De Giesen, 2005;Wagner et al, 2006;Youkhana and Laube, 2006;Gordon et al, 2013).…”

Section: Study Context: the Volta River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surface water is received from both outside and within the country, with about 54% of the flows of the tributaries coming from outside the country of Ghana (Gordon et al, 2013). Mean annual rainfall varies across the basin from approximately 1600mm in the south-eastern section of the basin in Ghana, to as low as 300-700mm/yr in the northern parts of Ghana and Burkina Faso (Barry et al, 2005;Martin and Van De Giesen, 2005;Wagner et al, 2006;Youkhana and Laube, 2006;Gordon et al, 2013). In the Southern part of the basin, there are two rainy seasons with peaks in June/July and September/October, whereas, in the Northern portion, there is only one wet season, from May through November, with peak rainfall occurring in September (Rodgers et al, 2007a).…”

Section: Study Context: the Volta River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Systems thinking and modelling for sustainable water resources management and agricultural development in the Volta River Basin, West Africa

Kotir¹

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It is well established that the conventional approaches to understanding and managing natural resource systems such as the traditional linear-reductionist and mechanistic approach founded on a positivistic understanding of science do not provide a sufficient framework for understanding the dynamic complexity and growing uncertainties inherent in most environmental systems. Dynamic complexity arises because such systems are: tightly coupled (components or drivers of the system interact with one another); governed by feedback; nonlinear; history dependent (making a choice precludes other options and determines the destiny); adaptive (decision rules change over time); counterintuitive (cause and effect are distant in time and space); and policy resistant. Despite the recognition of these complexities, there is still a lack of dynamic models that adequately integrate various physical, social, and economic factors and feedback processes that determine the current and future dynamics of most Social-ecological systems such as water resources management systems. There is, therefore, the need for an integrated system dynamics simulation model that adequately captures the non-linear interactions and feedback effects between the key system drivers to improve our understanding of the dynamic behaviour of water resource systems and evaluate the effects of different policy and management scenarios.The overall aim of this research was to develop computer-based integrated conceptual, dynamic and simulation models that can be used to support decision-making for sustainable water resources management and agricultural development in the Volta River Basin in West Africa. To this end, a systems-based/systems thinking approach was used as the theoretical framework. Systems dynamics approach grounded in the relativistic, holistic/pragmatist philosophical or methodological paradigm provided an appropriate modelling tool to capture the relationships between the key system variables and their dynamic behaviour over time. Overall, a three-tied research plan (mixed methods approach) was employed. A comprehensive literature review, structured expert judgement/surveys and interviews were used to explore and identify the key system drivers, factors, and processes that influence the sustainability of the river basin system. A participatory modelling approach was employed where the system expert stakeholders from academia, NGOs, government, and private consultants were engaged in developing an integrated qualitative conceptual model that described the causal systemic feedback processes operating between the biophysical, environmental, and socio-economic drivers of the system. Based on the conceptual model, a formal quantitative simulation model was then developed using a system dynamics simulation approach, allowing different policy scenarios and strategies to be identified and tested. Besides the baseline or business as usual scenario, three additional policy scenarios were designed and simulated to explore ii alternative futures, incl...

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Section: Developing the Research Problem And Questionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Context: the Volta River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Context: the Volta River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Context: the Volta River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Context: the Volta River Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Systems thinking and modelling for sustainable water resources management and agricultural development in the Volta River Basin, West Africa

Kotir¹

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Linking Macroinvertebrates and Physicochemical Parameters for Water Quality Assessment in the Lower Basin of the Volta River in Ghana

Kwakye

Feng

Hogarh

et al. 2021

Environmental Management

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The health of the lower basin of the Volta River in Ghana was evaluated in January–February and May–June 2016 using physicochemical parameters and benthic macroinvertebrates sampled at 10 locations. Selected environmental variables were compared to accepted environmental water quality standard values where applicable. Principal component analysis (PCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) were used to analyse the association between the benthic macroinvertebrates distribution and physicochemical variables. Pesticide concentrations were generally below the limit of detection 0.01 and 0.005 µg/L for organophosphate/synthetic pyrethroid and organochlorines respectively. Nutrient levels were also generally low; however, significant differences existed between the values of physicochemical parameters at the different sampling sites and seasons (Monte Carlo permutation test; p = 0.002), as well as between the abundance of macroinvertebrates at the different sites and seasons (p = 0.002). The environmental variables dissolved oxygen (DO), phosphate, pH, substratum (p < 0.05), turbidity, conductivity, total dissolved solids, total solids and nitrate (0.05 < p < 0.10) significantly explained the variation in macroinvertebrate composition between sampling stations in the Volta River. Polypedilum fuscipenne, was positively correlated with turbidity and DO concentrations; Physa sp., Centroptilum sp., Centroptiloides sp., Phaon iridipennis and juvenile fish were positively correlated with nitrate concentration and pH and negatively correlated with turbidity and DO. Polluted sites were dominated by the snail Lymnaea glabra. This demonstrates that physicochemical parameters and macroinvertebrates could be applied to describe the water quality and improve the biomonitoring for water resources management and the environmental protection in the Lower Volta River.

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Terrestrial water storage and climate variability study of the Volta River Basin, West Africa

Atayi,

Anornu,

Awotwi

et al. 2023

Theor Appl Climatol

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West Africa – Water Resources Vulnerability Using a Multidimensional Approach

Cited by 19 publications

References 12 publications

Systems thinking and modelling for sustainable water resources management and agricultural development in the Volta River Basin, West Africa

Systems thinking and modelling for sustainable water resources management and agricultural development in the Volta River Basin, West Africa

Linking Macroinvertebrates and Physicochemical Parameters for Water Quality Assessment in the Lower Basin of the Volta River in Ghana

Terrestrial water storage and climate variability study of the Volta River Basin, West Africa

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