Atlas of Water Resources and Irrigation in Africa

The Land and Water Development Division of FAO is developing a global information system of water and agriculture with the objective to provide users with comprehensive information on the state of agricultural water management across the world. Such a system should help in assessing the role of irrigation in global food production and the relation between irrigation and water scarcity. The system combines classical country-based statistics on all aspects of agricultural water management (water resources and use, irrigation, drainage, etc.), known as AQUASTAT, and a set of maps, data and models combined through a Geographical Information System (GIS). Africa is the first continent for which the information system has been completed.

The Atlas of Water Resources and Irrigation in Africa is available on CD-ROM published as part of FAO Land and Water Digital Media Series (#13). GIS coverages from the Atlas can be downloaded from the FAO-UN GeoNetwork Portal to Spatial Data and Information at [http://www.fao.org/geonetwork/srv/en/main.search]. The coverages are also available as interactive maps.

The CD-ROM contains all the information collected and processed concerning the African continent, namely:

1. A set of digital tables and maps on water resources and irrigation at continental level and by river basin (major basins and sub-basins) resulting from simulations on the water balance model.
2. A set of GIS coverages and Avenue scripts on water resources and irrigation (Annex 1) intended for advanced users willing to adapt the model to their specific needs.
3. A georeferenced database of African dams in Microsoft® Excel.
4. AQUASTAT country profiles for the 53 countries of Africa.

GIS coverages and interactive maps from FAO-UN GeoNetwork include:

1. Hydrological Basins in Africa
2. Inland Water Bodies in Africa
3. Rivers of Africa
4. Database of African Dams
5. Irrigation Cropping Pattern Zones in Africa

The programme was partly financed by the Dutch Directorate-General for International Cooperation through the Associate Professional Officer Programme. The geographical modelling tool was initially developed with technical assistance of the Center for Research in Water Resources of the University of Texas in Austin under the joint FAO/UNESCO project Water Balance of Africa.