Water and water-related disasters (WRD)

Water scarcity and excess are the major constraints to sustainable livelihoods in the Sahel and West Africa. They usually result in floods and droughts. SERVIR WA focused during phase I on monitoring ephemeral water bodies and groundwater, and on improving flood risk management. Achievements included the development of a platform providing information on the presence of water in ponds throughout the Ferlo (Senegal), the physico-chemical and hydrogeological characterization of the alluvial aquifers of the Korama and Goulbi Maradi basins, the development of geospatial tools for groundwater storage analysis, the modeling of aquifer dynamics, and the identification and development of the most appropriate and available socio-economic data sources to be incorporated into the hydrological platforms with the aim of evaluating the impacts of floods in West Africa and the Sahel.

During 2022-2027, a pivot towards urban areas will be initiated, to monitor an increasingly vulnerable segment of the West African population. Work will focus on automating workflows and dynamic socio-economic data integration, allowing regular updates and near real-time visualization and exploitation by end-users. This work will benefit from the support of CIESIN at Columbia University as a regional hub member. The WRD service area is led by the AGRHYMET Regional Centre (CRA, Niamey, Niger).