WaRisCo project
sponsored by the BMBF funding measure "Water Security in Africa"
A dust storm rolls over the plains of the Free State, close to the Vaal Dam in South Africa
WaRisCo project logo
Graphic: Sophie BiskopWater Risks and Resilience in Urban-Rural Areas in Southern Africa -
Co-Production of Hydro-Climate Services for an Adaptive and Sustainable Disaster Risk Management
Project Acronym: WaRisCo
Project period: May 2024 - April 2028
Consortium speaker in Germany:
Dr. Sophie Biskop, Dept. of Geography, Geographic Information Science - Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Consortium speaker in Africa:
Prof. Dr. Francois Engelbrecht, Global Change Institute - University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract:
Southern Africa is projected to become drastically warmer, and likely also drier, but with more extreme rainfall events in the east. WaRisCo will explore two of the biggest risks that climate change poses to South Africa:
- the risk of a day-zero drought in the Gauteng province - an event with potentially disastrous socio-economic and environmental impacts, and
- the risk of mega-flooding in the Durban region - such floods may be catastrophic in terms of the number of human lives lost.
WaRisCo will develop a comprehensive hydrological modelling system integrating km-scale regional climate data and explorative land-use scenarios, enabling a step-up in the projection of future drought and flood risk in South Africa. Working with key stakeholders, WaRisCo will work towards anticipatory Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation strategies.
Impact:
WaRisCo is the first project to directly explore the probability of occurrence of mega drought and flood disasters in South Africa’s Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces. Based on this scientific foundation, the research team will develop in co-design with key stakeholders in national and local government adaptation options to these risks. Key national implementation stakeholders are the Department of Water and Sanitation and the National Disaster Management Centre, and at the local level, the City of Johannesburg and the South African Cities Network. A particular focus of the project will be the development of climate-smart DRR plans that cater for events unprecedented in the historical record. WaRisCo will offer wide benefits to several sectors, including industry, agriculture and water.
Key elements of the WaRisCo project
Picture: Sophie BiskopFocal points of the project:
- Integrated hydrological model development
- Generating climate change projections at cloud permitting scale
- Development of explorative land use / management and cover (LUMCC) scenarios
- Projections and assessment of future hydro-climate hazards
- Co-design & co-development of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and adaptation strategies
- Capacity development
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the WaRisCo project (Support code: 02WAS1714) as part of the "Water Security in Africa" (WASA) funding measure within the framework of the Federal Water Research Program "Wasser: N". Wasser: N contributes to the BMBF strategy "Research for Sustainability" (FONA).
