Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/96295 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2014/033
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
An assessment of the impacts of projected climate change on water availability and crop production in the Volta Basin and the southwestern and coastal basin systems of Ghana has been undertaken as a component of the impacts and adaptation study for Ghana by UNU-WIDER and the University of Ghana. Four climate change scenarios were considered in addition to a reference (no change) scenario - two dry and two wet scenarios. The CliRun water balance model was used to simulate catchment runoffs using projected rainfall and temperature under the scenarios. The water evaluation and planning software was used for the water allocation modeling. The climate impacts on yields of many of the economically important Ghana crops were modeled using the AquaCrop software. The results show that all water demands (municipal, hydropower, and agriculture) cannot be simultaneously met under any of the scenarios used, including the wet scenarios. This calls for an evaluation of groundwater as an additional source of water supply and an integrated water resources management in the catchments to balance demand with supply and ensure sustainable socio-economic development. In addition, the AquaCrop model forecasts negative impacts for the crop yields studied, with some crops and regions seeing larger impacts than others.
Subjects: 
Ghana
water resources
agriculture
climate change
JEL: 
O55
Q54
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9230-754-7
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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