Cameroon - Scenario development and modeling of soil and water resources considering climate change in Cameroon
Country / Region: Cameroon/Africa
Focal Point: Soil
Begin of project: December 1, 2021
End of project: November 30, 2024
Status of project: March 27, 2024
Soil and water resources under the influence of climate change
In northern Cameroon, impacts of climate change have been noticeable for years. A temperature increase of 1.0 to 2.5°C from 1971 to 2009 and changes in the distribution, quantity and intensity of precipitation have been observed. With respect to soil, two main effects can be noticed: firstly, an increase in erosion after heavy rainfall events and secondly, longer and more frequent periods of drought. High erosion rates affect soil fertility negatively because topsoil is predominantly lost that contains soil organic matter and nutrients. Droughts cause soils to dry out which reduces the water-storage capacity of soils. Ultimately, there is less water available for crops. Low water availability can lead to low crop yields and thus low overall agricultural production. Water as a resource is also negatively affected by climate change. Forecasts predict the average annual water availability to decrease in the coming years. This might exacerbate the cultivation of high-water-use crops that bring in foreign exchange. Rising temperatures could worsen the situation, as crops will react with increased transpiration resulting in higher agricultural water consumption. In the future, it will therefore be important to manage soil and water resources sustainably, in order to prevent yield losses, food scarcity and potential land-use conflicts due to the growing population.
Building on the results of the previous project, ProSEP, the ProSEC project aims to enable technical institution staff to consider the impacts of climate change on soil and water resources more fully by modelling soil-water fluxes under different climate scenarios and by advising rural communities in this regard.
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Partner organisations in Cameroon
The Ministry of Agriculture (MINADER) is the policy-executing agency. The National Research Institute of Agriculture (IRAD) and the Research Institute of Geology and Mining (IRGM) are the technical partners, responsible for implementating the activities. The universities in Ngaoundere and Dschang as well as various stakeholders such as SODECOTON will also be involved, especially in developing scenarios and making results publically available.
The project:
The aim of the project is to implement a modelling tool that predicts soil-water availability and groundwater recharge considering various future climate scenarios. This will be done jointly with IRAD and IRGM. For this purpose, the Cameroonian partners are supported in two fields of action:
(1) Development of scenarios for soil and water resources as a basis for modelling.
(2) Training and implementation of computer-based modelling for soil and water resources.
The methodological approach consists of developing a numerical model that describes the interactions between soil and water resources, in which future climate-change scenarios are considered. Data from two previous projects (ProSEP and PRESS I) will be used and analysed.
Douka catchment area, northern region
Source: BGR
Additional data will be collected to fill identified gaps. A modelling tool will be selected together with the partners IRAD and IRGM. The partners will be trained to use the computer-based modelling tool. They will also be involved in developing scenarios. Other key stakeholders from the agricultural sector will join the discussions. The outcomes will be presented in workshops and at public events.. In this way, various Cameroonian stakeholders from the public and private sector, science, and civil society will be involved from the very beginning. At the same time, this will create awareness of the impacts of climate change on soil and water resources.
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The project contributes to a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 2 (No Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 15 (Life on Land). The project will work at national and regional level (Northern Region and Adamaoua). The project is based in Yaoundé. Furthermore, the project is part of the joint programme "Rural Development, Cameroon" following the core theme "Life without hunger transformation of food systems". The project will also collaborate closely with relevant programmes and projects of German cooperation organizations such as GIZ and KfW. Further cooperation is being reviewed, e.g., with the parastatal company SODECOTON, which organises the production and marketing of cotton in the North of Cameroon, with the French Agency of Development (AFD), which has already financed several projects on the subject of soil-water-plants, with the Japanese cooperation (JICA) and with the FAO. In addition, the project might contribute to the Team Europe Initiative (TEI).
The project has a duration of three years (12/2021-11/2024) and a financial volume of 3,000,000 EUR.
Project contributions:
Partner:
IRAD: Institut de Recherche Agricole pour le Développement (Research Institute for Agriculture and Development)
IRGM: Institut des Recherches Géologiques et Minières (Research Institute for Geology and Mining)