A Study by the Water Resource Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-WRI) on climate change and water resources has revealed that there would be a general reduction in annual river flows in Ghana by 15-20% in the year 2020, and 30-40% in the year 2050.

Also, according to the study, there would be a reduction in groundwater recharge from 5-22% and 30-40% in 2020 and 2050 respectively. It further noted that there would be an increase in irrigation water demand of 40-150% and 150-1200% in 2020 and 2050 respectively.

These statistics were made known to the media at a workshop organized by the Development Institute (DI) in Accra yesterday under the theme: “Up-scaling of ADAPTS project in Ghana And Are riparian communities in Ghana benefiting from water resources and climate funding?”

By the year 2020, all river basins will be vulnerable and the whole country will face acute water shortage, according to the Development Institute (DI). Under climate change, they noted “the quality of freshwater in rivers, and other water bodies will also be impacted negatively, as expected increased floods would carry pollutants into water bodies, restricting their use and putting further constraint on water availability to meet growing demand.”

Climate change is expected to result in gradual changes in temperature, rainfall patterns and sea level rise. Also, increased climate variability and extreme events; threatening water availability and food security for millions of poor people.

Rainfall, according to the DI, is decreasing; with droughts more prolonged and flood and water bodies drying up and deforestation is more acute.

In view of these worrying phenomena, the DI introduced a project called the Adaptation Strategies for River Basins (ADAPTS) in Ghana to help riparian farming communities to switch from unreliable rain fed farming to small-scale irrigation farming.

The ADAPTS approach was developed in the Netherlands by a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Both Ends, the research Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) of Free University in Amsterdam and consultancy ACACIA Water, and was piloted in 2008 and 2011 in four river basins in Ghana, Peru, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

The ADAPTS approach, according to the DI was designed to increase developing countries’ adaptive capacities by achieving the inclusion of climate change and adaptation considerations in water policies, local planning and investment decision.

The ADAPTS project was built on the premise that by “building on local knowledge, priorities and initiatives and by including local actors in relevant decision-making processes, more effective and sustainable adaptation to climate change can be achieved,” according to the DI.

The initiative, the Institute notes, was designed to strategically move from the over-dependence on rain fed farming to small-scale irrigated agriculture, up-scaling of agro forestry, and the introduction of buffer zones and drought-resistant high value crops as a means to cope with the erratic nature of rainfall in Ghana.