Ernest Nti Acheampong

Sustainable Urban Water System Transitions Through Management Reforms in Ghana

Despite decades of water reforms, Ghana’s struggle to achieve sustainable urban water system is deepened by complex interactions of multi-layered political, socio-economic and managerial characteristics, leaving a rationing system of water supply in major cities like Accra. Using a multi-level perspective framework, the paper examines the dynamics of urban water system transition through management reforms. The study showed how external pressure at the landscape level influenced policy direction within urban water regime through the implementation of neo-liberal economic policies, paving way for resistance and grassroots innovation at the niche level. The implementation of such policies in the reform process did little to help achieve the desired sustainable urban water system goals. The paper suggests a blend of public and private financing with support for grassroots to improve urban water system management. However, subsequent urban water policy reforms must be informed by knowledge of social, economic, and political realities rather than imported generic “best policies and practices” that often conflict with local realities.

Vulnerability assessment of Northern Ghana to climate variability

The impact of climate variability, manifesting in floods, droughts, unseasonal rains, and extreme events, create enormous developmental challenges for developing countries (IPCC 2001). The poorest communities in developing economies are hit hardest due to their dependence on climate-sensitive economic sectors, such as rainfed agriculture, and their limited economic,technological,andhumancapacitiestoadapt.Rainfedagricultureremainsvitaltothe economies of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. It covers 97 % of crop land and dominates food production (Calzadilla et al. 2010). Ghana’s economy is primarily driven by rainfed agricultural production, which predisposes the economy to risks posed by climate variability.

Modeling the Impact of Climate Variability on Crops in Sub-Saharan Africa

The impact of climate variability is expected to have significant impacts on crop production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Being a region with high climate vulnerability, the quantification and understanding of the extent and rate of impact of climate variability on crop productivity is highly essential. Crop models have been used to analyze such impacts by predicting crop yields, conditions of growth, and suitable crop types under both current and future climatic conditions. The chapter examines the impact of climate variability on crop production system and analyzes the contribution of crop models in defining appropriate crop management strategies against the threat of high climate risk and uncertainty in sub-Saharan Africa. The region faces a range of climate risk that could have far-reaching implications on future cropping system. Uncertainties in the changing patterns of rainfall and temperature pose a threat to crop production and contribute to increasing rural vulnerability and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. Variation in inter-seasonal and intra-seasonal rainfall variability is considered as highly crucial in shaping the outcome of cropping systems during the season.