Nations in North Africa need to become more proactive in preventing drought before it happens in what is one of the world’s most water-scarce regions. That’s according to a report released Friday by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), released in conjunction with World Day to Combat Desertification and…
When it comes to conflict over water resources, the stories are as different as the cultures and the context – and since the 1980s, scientists at the Pacific Institute have been tracking how and why water is at the center of those conflicts. The database of incidents, now updated for…
It isn’t climate change that will increase the frequency of civil war in Africa as a result of food scarcity, according to a study recently published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. Rather, it’s the abundance of food that attracts armed actors and creates an incentive for controlling resources. “Understanding…
The official death toll remained at 16, but authorities in Mozambique say there may still be victims buried beneath a mountain of trash that collapsed on people and their homes near Maputo. Another six people were injured and at least seven homes were destroyed in the Hulene neighborhood when the…
As Cape Town and its water-weary residents prepare for Day Zero – currently, the April 12 date when the taps run dry – attention has turned to the use of groundwater to help avert the looming water crisis. The World Wildlife Fund in South Africa wants Capetonians to understand how…
In Cape Town, the water crisis isn’t getting any better – and on New Year’s Day, the city of 4 million people will go to new Level 6 water restrictions. That means a 60 percent reduction in water use for agricultural operations, and a 45 percent reduction for urban businesses…
As of Wednesday, the overall water level at Cape Town’s major dams was at 36.3 percent as the city continues to plan for its worst-case drought scenarios. The level in the dam system that provides water to some 4 million people was down slightly from about six weeks ago, when…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The City of Cape Town has started rationing water as the rainy season comes to an end without any hoped-for replenishment of the reservoirs in its dam system. Officials say they’ve implemented Phase 1 of the Critical Water Shortages Disaster Plan, which means they’ve started to intentionally reduce water flow…
The World Food Programme says it’s been forced to cut rations to 420,000 refugees living in the Dadaab and Kakuma camps in northern Kenya because of insufficient funding. The United Nations food relief agency said Monday that those refugees will receive 70 percent of their current food allotment because of…
Parts of South Africa that have experienced severe drought were confronted with a new catastrophe on Wednesday as wildfires fueled by storm-related winds erupted along the coastal Western Cape. At least eight people are reported to have died as the severe storm swept ashore, fanning flames that spread through Knysna,…
World Health organization officials say an “unprecedented” outbreak of cholera in Somalia is linked to the drought that began in October 2016, creating widespread shortages of clean drinking water and food. There are more than 40,000 suspected cases since the beginning of the year, with nearly 700 deaths to date,…
The World Bank has approved USD$50 million in grant funding to assist with the drought and famine response, and provide humanitarian aid to Somalia. The Somalia Emergency Drought Response and Recovery Project (SEDRP) will be coordinated through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations Food…
The water crisis and unrelenting drought in Cape Town, South Africa, have become so dire that city officials on Tuesday recommended the highest level of water restrictions for its nearly 4 million people. “This is not a drill,” the city said, in a public message clearly marked as a drought…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Drought and famine are contributing to an uptick in piracy off the Horn of Africa, according to remarks made by the American general in command of Africa during a weekend visit to Djibouti. “There have in the last month been four or five, maybe six piracy attacks here in the…
South African President Jacob Zuma welcomed participants to the United Nations World Water Day summit in Durban on Wednesday, to begin a three-day conference on global water resources. The meeting served as launch for the 2017 World Water Development Report, with its emphasis on waste water resources and their recapture….